$425?????

[yud]

I went to Pro Bass yesterday and I looked at the surefires since I know you all like them.  But the prices amazed me $100 to $425.  $425 plaese tell me it never needs new batteries,


Why do they cost so much

[Spoonrobot]

R&D, brand positioning as well as positioning for government contracts, warranty service, quality/cost of materials and construction, minimum advertised pricing policy, and probably several other factors. There are dozens of threads about this over at CPF, it's become quite the controversial topic with open warfare occurring in most of the threads.

The $425 one was probably the M6, it used to be one of the brightest and the best for hand-held lights before the recent LED/Asian explosion.

[space cowboy]

I usually will not buy a light costing more than $50.00. Some think its worth the cost though.

[zepla]

I went to Pro Bass yesterday and I looked at the surefires since I know you all like them.  But the prices amazed me $100 to $425.  $425 plaese tell me it never needs new batteries,


Why do they cost so much

Here we go   

[Zack]

If you have to ask then its not right for you.  Keep in mind I am in the same boat.  I doubt I will even spend that on a torch, but a few years ago I didn't think I would spend 50 dollars on a torch.  Some people ask the same thing about spending 300 dollars on a knife.  It will do the same thing a 50 dollar or even a 20 dollar knife will do.

[Magnus]

because it says surefire on the side of course  .

People say quality, but cheap and expensive flashlights use the same LEDs and can use the same batteries, all that is left to make good quality is the damn metal tube...

[Styerman]

because it says surefire on the side of course   .

People say quality, but cheap and expensive flashlights use the same LEDs and can use the same batteries, all that is left to make good quality is the damn metal tube...

Things like reflector design are at least as important , good thermal stability/heatsinking is important etc etc , bottom line , attention to detail costs .

Same story with guns , knives , fishing rods , multimeters etc.

$100-$200 is about my upper limit , that covers some nice stuff . I'm thinking of breaking that rule for a pair of McGizmo Haiku's ( bout $450.00 ea. )

Chris

[Kmarr]

If they shoot up the price, it becomes a desired item.  Something cheap isn't considered to be sought after.  Whether or not it is actually of better build is debatable.  

Its up to you where you draw the line between price and "quality."  Some minor details might not even be worth the extra $100 the slap on.  I can't see myself spending over...$60ish on a light, Unless of course it offers the power of searchlights running on a watch battery

[NutSAK]

People say quality, but cheap and expensive flashlights use the same LEDs and can use the same batteries, all that is left to make good quality is the damn metal tube...

...and the circuit?  ....and the reflector material?  ...and the lens material? ...and the quality of the switch? ...and the finish?

My point is, I think you may be over simplifying the differences.

With that said, I can't justify the price either.

[John]

I'll try and keep my reply simple and to the point  
 
$425? because it's a Surefire and not a ultrafire,spyderfire,trustfire,crapfire or brokenfire, it's all in the name and do I know which one to trust SURE I do 

[Blackbeard]

I think they can charge this price because they can get away with it, as theeir target audience does not mind shelling out that kind of $$. I don't own any surefires as of yet, so I can't comment on the quality, but this one seems a little ridiculous, thats half a rent/mortgage check...I can buy a ton of fenix's for that price and be quiite satisfied.

[Freudian Frog]

I think they can charge this price because they can get away with it, as theeir target audience does not mind shelling out that kind of $$. I don't own any surefires as of yet, so I can't comment on the quality, but this one seems a little ridiculous, thats half a rent/mortgage check...I can buy a ton of fenix's for that price and be quiite satisfied.

That's the gist of it. It sure doesn't cost even a 1/5th of that for them to produce. It's sheerly and only because people justify the costs for them.

That being said... I can understand. I too, seem to salivate over these kinds of things. But I also seem to have that missing component that tells me I'm not spending sensibly (also known as the cheap-o-meter).

[andre0407]

Precisely why people would spend 40 grand to get a LM Charge. Because they like them.

[Magnus]

People say quality, but cheap and expensive flashlights use the same LEDs and can use the same batteries, all that is left to make good quality is the damn metal tube...

...and the circuit?  ....and the reflector material?  ...and the lens material? ...and the quality of the switch? ...and the finish?

My point is, I think you may be over simplifying the differences.

With that said, I can't justify the price either.

I guess being a (student) electronic engineer I am just looking at a bit one sided I guess.

[Benner]

because it says surefire on the side of course  .

People say quality, but cheap and expensive flashlights use the same LEDs and can use the same batteries, all that is left to make good quality is the damn metal tube...

It's really that simple huh? I'm guessing you have never handled a Surefire.

Guys, this pricing thing seems to be a hot topic ATM.  Surefire produce high quality lights for a certain group of people.  If you don't like the pricing, you aren't in that group of people and should just move on.  Prices range dramatically for a huge range of things.  Take knives for example.  Fixed blades especially range from just a few $$ to literally thousands.  Does this mean the expensive ones shouldn't be bought?  No far from it, they just "speak" to a different group of people.

I am a Surefire owner and I can understand their pricing as it it far more than "the damn metal tube".  Every aspect on them is an engineering work of art.  This doesn't mean the Fenix's of this world aren't any good, but I would rather pay the extra for that something a bit more special.

[Benner]

People say quality, but cheap and expensive flashlights use the same LEDs and can use the same batteries, all that is left to make good quality is the damn metal tube...

...and the circuit?  ....and the reflector material?  ...and the lens material? ...and the quality of the switch? ...and the finish?

My point is, I think you may be over simplifying the differences.

With that said, I can't justify the price either.

I guess being a (student) electronic engineer I am just looking at a bit one sided I guess.

Perhaps once you are qualified (like myself and Terry) you'll understand then. 

[Magnus]

People say quality, but cheap and expensive flashlights use the same LEDs and can use the same batteries, all that is left to make good quality is the damn metal tube...

...and the circuit?  ....and the reflector material?  ...and the lens material? ...and the quality of the switch? ...and the finish?

My point is, I think you may be over simplifying the differences.

With that said, I can't justify the price either.

I guess being a (student) electronic engineer I am just looking at a bit one sided I guess.

Perhaps once you are qualified (like myself and Terry) you'll understand then. 

I don't think that is the difference... My point is that I was looking at it from a purely electronic standpoint of putting photons out of the LED, forgetting what happened to those photons once they leave the emitter.

[Benner]

I was only joking as both myself and Terry (NutSAK) are both qualified engineers and had similar thoughts where you are working towards and differed. 

[Styerman]

I saw a cutaway of a Surefire A2 , and an empty set of metalwork . The metalwork alone was very impressive , and would retail for quite a bit without any electrical impedimentia . Like many things , the devil is in the details , and attention there too , which in turn =time=money . The A2 was also very innovative at the time , which means that the purchaser is paying for R&D .

If the $425.00 Surefire was the M6 , thats another rather expensive piece metalwork , particularly since they aren't common and come out in small batches .

Chris

[prime77]

I own a few Surefires and agree with what Terry and Ben say. Also when talking about the M6 your talking about components of a light that is used in many of Surefires weapon lights. The head of the M6 for example is fully shock proof. 

SFs are pretty pricey especially when you get into the bigger incandescent lights like the M6. Is it worth the $425 price tag. It really is up to the purchaser. The M6 has been around for many years so someone is buying them.

[Swiss Man]

I don't understand the price either, just like I don't understand why people pay that much for a Chris Reeves Sebbie.

But that is them and not me I would rather have a nice $50.00 flashlight and $375.00 in my bank
then a $425.00 light but that is my opinion.

And before you ask I did carry and borrow my friends Sebbie for the week she was on vacation not my cup of tea.

[Benner]

Pah!  You've just got no class.