Yes
Yeah Solarforce sales. The bronze one is OK, and it is bronze. I have just been on there website to compare and they are not alike. I like the one on the website, it's a nice muted tan colour. The solarforce logo is a little high and therefore not centered. But the build quality is Quite good. I must also point out that I bought a SS bezel, the $2.50 one and that is not very well made. It has sharp pieces sticking out. I can fix this, no probs, but you should not have to.
Yesterday I received a Jetbeam BC40 and there is a massive difference! The jetbeam looks like it has been made by very sophisticated robots wearing cashmere gloves. The Solarforce however looks like it had been made on a lathe from the Victorian era, that in turn, has been operated by a man in a very greasy apron. There is also a lot of scratches on the inside of the battery tube, just where the battery enters. If you look closely there are tiny dings which have been anodized over. It's as if they are literally spat out of a machine, from a height and ping! into a large bin, where they rattle around for a bit.
I know the jetbeam is more expensive, but I paid $40 from DD if you get the L2p XML it is $32 and the prices go higher as you go up the model range. That's before you realise that the L2 is not really designed for high output like the Jetbeam. So I'm just trying to justify why I am comparing the two.
I don't think I would buy another.
Marc.
Between rides, I have tried what you said but cannot get it to work. Sorry.
Marc.
LOL! Loved that description! Such vivid imagery!
-Garry
Wow, Marc! That is really some horrible stuff! I don't think I've EVER seen a light that poorly machined from any Chinese maker before. I bet you could easily poke a knife tip through the battery tube at that thread spot. Maybe even a fingernail if pushed in the right place. And the horrible pitting in the aluminum...just terrible. 
I can't imagine they would refuse to send you another one if they saw those pics. They should be ashamed.
On the first pic, what I am trying to show, taking in to account my photography skills, is the scratch on the battery tube. It looks like its been placed in a vice and turned a few degrees. Not good.
As for inserting a knife tip between the tail cap and battery tube (if that's what you mean) That I like, you see Foy mentioned that the tail cap and body diameter don't match. Well that's because the cap over laps, meaning you can extend the length by up to 6mm without showing the O-ring, by not screwing the cap all the way. Simply put there should be no problems with different length cells.
Marc.
Ahhh…no, what I meant was you could poke a knife right into the battery tube on the spot where you can see the threads through the machining because the aluminum is so thin. Almost thin enough where you could even poke a fingernail through it.
Ah yes, see what you mean! I don't know what that is. It doesn't seem to unscrew from there
Marc.
seeing as how these older hosts are being cleared out at a discount, some of these imperfections aren't surprising.
Hmm this really surprises me. My Soloar L2m typeII finish and overal machine-work is OUTSTANDING... in many ways better than my Surefire.
Just snapped these pics this morning (56k!!). I pack-carry these inter-changeably and use them at work, although lately I have been preferring the smaller L2m.
Well maybe they have found someone to make them cheaper. What I have also noticed is the knurling on the bronze L2 is quite poor the diamonds are not uniform and it looks like the blade slipped. The grey one has very good knurling. You can see the diamonds.
Let me tell you there is nothing high quality about these 2, but that does not mean I don't like them. At the end of the day they were $9 each I had some gift tokens at DD so I got 2 very cheap drop ins, 1 XML and 1 XPG. so when all said and done they won't stand me at much. However If I'd paid full price for a complete torch, I would not be very happy at all. And if these 2 are anything to go by, I WONT be getting an empty P1 for $27! You really are in Jetbeam territory.
Marc.
Marc: "The grey one has very good knurling."
From what I can see (which is quite a lot; great pics, btw) the knurling is excellent for a budget light. In the first photo there are some tiny machining marks on the half-diamonds, but overall looks like a very good job. Strange that the other nasties are so poor in comparison. Different machines/operators I guess.
Sorry you got a poor light, hopefully SF CS will see you right.
Heres the last Solar L2 I had in my possession... nice host, and I didn't recall anything grossly-poor in terms of overall quality. Definitely on-par with the other lights pictured, including the ones shown in the background. Maybe their quality has dropped? would be interesting hearing others feedback. These pics were taken a while ago.
Yeah, it's the bronze one that has bad knurling. But I'm not to worried, like I say they will be cheap torches when finished. They will be my only Solarforces though! I do expect to get the grey one replaced though.
P.S. Thanks for the pictures compliment!
Marc.
I have purchased nearly all of my Solarforces from Jo (same vendor) and never received such garbage.
You would be 100% justified in requesting an exchange or refund. Had my first Solarforces looked similar to yours, I would have never ordered another.
the L2 hosts you bought are older, discontinued models. they are no longer made and have been replaced with a new version of the L2. that's why they are on sale at clearance prices. that they would be of lesser quality than what you would typically expect from Solarforce is not surprising because they are probably the last few that they had in stock of that model. this often happens when you buy things that are on clearance, that's why they are on clearance. you have to deal with a bit of a lottery with clearance items. some of them are problem free, some of them could be less than satisfactory. if you get unlucky and get a messed up item, you have to contact the seller and they will probably send you another one. but this is what happens when you buy things on clearance. it's the hidden cost of buying on the cheap.
anyway, i have a 2011 L2 and it is nearly flawless. hard to believe it cost me just $12.50.
I can't agree with this, there should at least be a disclaimer stating defects may be present, give the customer the information. This would simply leave me with a bad impression, I would not order again and at very least I would never recommend them if not actually discourage purchases.
As it happens I am happy with all my Solar Force stuff so I hope this is just a blip.
what is there to disagree with? i said that stuff like this often happens with clearance items, which it obviously does. i didn't say that it was right.
Sorry must have read wrong, I thought you were saying if you buy clearance items then you should expect a lottery in the quality.
actually, that is what i said. if you buy an item on clearance, you should expect that there will be a higher risk of a quality lottery than there would be with full priced items. especially with an item like the old L2 where owners in the past have reported getting units with bad machine marks, it only makes sense that some of the last few units in inventory would potentially have problems as well.
what i did not say was that the buyer should accept receiving a poor quality item or that Solarforce was justified in sending out a poor quality item. Solarforce clearly needs to send out a new host and make this right, as they probably will.