My troubles with 4sevens Quark LEGO set

[enki_ck]

For a long time I was thinking about lego-ing my Quark AA2 R5 Tactical to something smaller but paying $20 (or $40 for both) for a piece of an aluminium tube seemd a bit too much for me. When I saw Mike ordering the AA and CR123 bodies I decided to bite the bullet. I wanted to order the AA and CR123 tubes plus some RCR123 batteries and a charger but decided to start small, luckily, and ordered just the AA tube. When it arrived I discovered it wouldn't fit. I couldn't use it. I wanted to use it with my AA2 tactical head and tail cap but I can't screw the tailcap on the AA body, the head screwed on either end just fine but tailcap couldn't be screwed on the AA body (it was is locking after 1/2 turn). I asked around on Candlepowerforums and browsed around and I saw this kind of problems happened before. So I sent them an e-mail explaining the problem and asking what to do.

Here's the responce:

It sounds like you may have received a AA body with a manufacturer defect. We will ship you out a replacement AA body today. I apologize for the inconvenience.Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance.

Nice service, right? Well... Today I received that replacement body, and again same problem. Let's say I was a bit peeved. I didn't feel like going through one more cycle of this so I tried to fix it myself. I succeeded and now have a perfectly functioning flashlight but that shouldn't have been my job as a paying customer, right?

Here is the e-mail I sent them a few minutes ago explaining the case and what I did to fix it. Doesn't seem to harsh, does it?

Hi, Gary,
 
 I received the replacement AA body today and again it was one with the manufacturer defect. Did you check if it would fit before sending it? I got mad and tired of it and diceded to take a closer look. I noticed that the threads were broader and thicker than on my original AA2 and so I filed them down, removed the excess metal and polished it with some 1200 grit sandpaper. With some trial and error and brute force I managed to fix it. It now works perfectly and I'll leave it at that but I'm not too happy with the service I got. It was nice of you to send me a replacement after the first one was defective but for the second one to be defective too, I didn't expect that from a company for which I always had the utmost respect and have often recommended to people on various forums like EDCForums and Multitool.org.
 
 Regards,
 
 Nikola

P.S. I know I put EDCF in front of MT.O in the e-mail but that was just the linguist in me trying to have it all alphabetically. (and maybe some OCD too  ) . You guys know that in my heart MT.O comes first. 

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

They've had a number of QC issues over the past couple of years unfortunately...

I have one of the 18650 bodies that is slightly off in terms of the angle of the threads that are cut into it.  The result is that when you put a tail cap on it, it doesn't sit quite right; it's very slightly angled out of line with the rest of the body.  If I'm careful when I'm threading it on, going slowly and applying a slight reverse pressure, I can get it to go on and fit pretty well.  But there were many people over at CPF reporting much worse experiences than mine. 

I hate to say it, but I've given up on 4Sevens lights, mostly because of the tint issues they have actually.  I bought one of their new 'neutral' white Preon 2 models a few weeks ago, and it's not neutral... it's definitely cool, with just a slight hint of yellow in the corona of the hotspot.  Again, many members over at CPF are reporting similar tint issues with their 4Sevens lights.  I'm a tint snob, and while I can live with a cooler tint, it depends on what I'm going to use it for.  I bought a Jetbeam PA40 with the 5,000K neutral XML in it as well, and it has similar tint characteristics.  But with that light, I knew it was a 5,000 K light when I ordered it, and my use for it is primarily outdoors, so I can live with the cooler tint.  But for the new Preon 2, my intent was to have it as an EDC-able light, and I just can't use the tint it has for serious EDC purposes.  I'll find something else to do with it, but there's no way it'll be in any kind of primary use role.  It'll be for backup or emergency use only.  Until 4Sevens coagulates their feces sufficiently, I'm off their products. 

[Reinier]

trying to have it all alphabetically. (and maybe some OCD too  )

You mean CDO?

[enki_ck]

trying to have it all alphabetically. (and maybe some OCD too  )

You mean CDO?

Yes, I do.

[Reinier]

[Gareth]

Sadly it doesn't take too many stories like these to ruin a company's reputation.   especially given the fairly speSmurfpillst nature of the product and the fact that the business is entirely on-line (or so I believe).  I know it would make me think twice about buying their products.

[enki_ck]

What troubles me is that there have been reports of bad bodies for over a year now. And there was no one at 4sevens to sit down and say, "lets check the bodies we have in stock to find out which ones are defective". I may have been unlucky to receive a defective one twice but that shows there are lots of defective ones still in stock. Bad business practice for sure, but I don't think that it will damage their reputation that much, cause they still are making a lot of great flashlights. I love mine and to have one flashlight that ranges from 0,2 lumens to 205 lumens on an 2xAA and a maximum runtime of 30days on a single charge is still fascinating. It just seems their quality control  is somewhat lacking lately. 

I'm still waiting on a reply from them.

[jzmtl]

Their CS isn't the best. I had to deal with them twice, one for Zebralight they sell, once for their own 47 brand. Both times it took 3+ months to resolve.