TF offered to send me a replacement or refund. i want a good light rather than money of course. i specifically asked for a ānormalā one, one without two spacers. and the next email i got from them telling me that the light has been sent out already. i hope they understand what ānormalā means. fingers crossed.
Hmm, that jogs some memory for some reasonā¦ maybe those cheapie 3ĆAAA lights. Squeeze it too tightly and it stops working, that kind of thing.
Hmm, may be a blessing in disguise. Thinking about replacing the switch with the spare, Iām now wondering if one of those FC switches would fit into the tailcap of my (RC) ā502. Thatād be totally tits!
Could also be the plastic spacer ring is upside-down. As said you will see what I mean when you get in there.
Another pet peeve of mine it to slice the nipple inside the rubber tailcap so it does not apply any pressure to the sw button. Especially on an omten 1288.
Hmm, itās got the retaining ring, switch+PCB, ātop-hatā spacer, and rubber boot. Everything seems to fit only one way.
Replaced everything, pressing on the spring while flicking the switch a buncha times, then liiiiightly putting the retaining ring in place, gently snugging it up.
Seems to work a bit better, but almost seems to have a NMM unless I let it settle down for quite a few seconds between mode-changes. Most disconcerting.
One thing I did notice is that this one tailstands perfectly, ie, the boot doesnāt protrude the 1mm or so like on my āgoodā VG10.
Also, thereās no ānippleā inside the rubber boot. Not sure if this oneās shaved down and why it sits flush vs protruding, as this is the first tailcap on a ā10 that I took apart (kinda tired to dissect another one, and got āem all from the same batch anyway) so have nothing yet to compare it with.
Bugger, I thought someone else mentioned the nipple and umop apisdn spacer. Couldāve combined the repliesā¦ 
But nope, in this case the spacerās like a top-hat, only one way to fit.
Inside of the boot might very well be shaved (got a bit of a āballoonā feel when first applying pressure to the boot), but canāt really be sure w/o something from a different batch to compare with.
Good idea. I will contact him when I measure precisely. :+1:
Have you tried bypassing the tailcaps all together to see how the lights work? Using a thick paper clip or something to connect the bottom of the battery tube to the negative of the cell.
I really having rarely have used the stock VG10 switches. The lights are much nicer with reverse-clickie switches. So I pretty much swap them before even using the light. Throw in a PD68 lighted tailcap board while at it. You need not bleeder resistor with the stock driver.
EDIT: Fixed typo
Me? Yeh, in msg 106. Only a key instead of paperclip. Worked fine, which is why I zeroed in on the tailcap/switch.
Probably the same issue in one of my F13s which goes wonky like that. Will (eventually) try loosening the ring and diddling with the switch.
Oh, lordyā¦
I just got back a reply through Amazon, basically āCan you describe the problem in detail?ā, as if no one knows whatās going on.
I did specifically mention the thread on BLF, so that in case someone there knows the problem, I could short-circuit the multiple backānāforth to find someone who knows about it. Guess notā¦
Why do I get the feeling this is going to end badly?
ā
Whups, spoke too soon. Got a PM, just repliedā¦
When the problems became clear, we the Q-team were a bit worried and following this
Besides TF stepping up to correct things I think Barry/Thorfire understands the importance of a well executed Q8.
Personally when I read (long ago) what āmarketing talkā Thorfire wrote for the then V2 of the VG10 I wanted one, they said something like āthe tactical ring sucked so we adapted itā and this was so āun-marketingā I really liked it.
Got a VG10 from BLFer X3 and liked it a lot, it started to good relationship with Barry (I wrote a little review as response to a Dutch blog and Barry shipped the S70 and S50 to me for review, starting the whole review thing for me and making them a good candidate for the Q8.
My guess is that the people that manage amazon and those that post on here are different people and work through different channels. So the right hand not talking to the left hand is my first guess in this case.
No luck for me 
Yah, I figured that, but in an early message I got
As amazon order must be handled on amazon backstage, Our customer service will contact you and take care of it.
so I figured someone on the BLF side had to get in touch with someone on the Amazon side to make anything happen.
Unno, hopefully itāll all shake out.
Soā¦ what are we talking about, anyway? I was assured that I wouldnāt have to return the lights, but whatās on the table? I heard ārefund or replacement, as you likeā, but does that mean a 1:1 set of replacement lights?? Or 100% refund?!? Man, theyād take a bath on that if thatās the case.
I ran the ā10 on high for a few min, and it didnāt get as āwarmā as I expected, so Iām suspecting the thermal path isnāt as good as it could be. That concerns me a bit, so yeah, I definitely want to fix the lights. But wow, if thatās the offer, and if that goes through, then TF is pretty stand-up.
Okay, weāll see. More as it unfoldsā¦ 
Bright sideā¦
The holsters for the VG10? I thought they were rather big for the ā10, even in a head-down config, but either way (HU or HD) you can slide the ā10 to the side and remove it from the holster w/o undoing the velcroed flap.
But!, the holster perfectly fits my DV-S9, albeit a bit snugly. And thatās a 26650 light!
Iām using a generic Jetbeam holster (from FT, āthough now discontinued) for my ā10, albeit in a head-up config. Same size as for a ā501, ā502, other similar-sized 18650 lights. Just need to give it a little twist to tuck the fins into the holster and get the tail to seat fully in the holster as far down as itāll go.
Anyhoo, if anyone else thinks the supplied holster is a tad big for the ā10, you can use the holster for a bigger light, and a smaller holster for the ā10. Works out perfectly!
Thorfire offered full refund right away so respect for them. I only agreed on half of price as it seems fair to me. Half is enough to pay for copper spacer to make it perfect.
I was away from home. Got mine today. it also has the multiple spacers and doubble O-rings around reflector.
Didnāt someone say that the convoy M2 reflector fit perfectly in this light without the need for spacers?
If so maybe those reflectors could be sourced, either from simon or another option, and used to fix these lights. That would seem to be the best option for this. Followed by a copper spacer.
I mentioned it in my quad build using the copper quad spacer for the M2ā¦ theoretically possible but I havenāt checked yet. Got to the bench and tangents startedā¦ Finished 2 other lights but quickly forgot what I initially wanted to do. Will try again.
I also received an email from āthorfire officialā about my lights. I have replied and have not heard back in a few days. Time to go directly through Amazon.
Their e-mail server has problems , contact them with a PM here !