To some extent yes. But that said, some designs of sideswitches are a lot better than others.
For example: The Zebralight SC51 is a classic light, but Zebralight received a lot of criticism about the switch. It was too easy to press accidentally. It stuck out of the light, was large and had a soft touch.
Zebralight took the criticism to heart and addressed it starting with the original SC600 and then continuing with the SC52 series.
- They used a smaller switch boot.
- They deeply recessed the switch
- They used a different switch that required significantly more pressure to activate.
The result is excellent. Because the switch is deeply recessed, the structure of the light tends to hold clothing and objects in your pocket away from the switch boot. If something does touch the boot, the extra pressure required to activate makes pocket activation less likely.
At the same time, the switch is actually still very easy to locate by feel … much easier than the tiny protruding switch of an SP10. The Zebralight’s deep recess for the switch acts to funnel the thumb directly to the boot.
Result is a light like the SC600 or SC52 can be pocket-carried without lockout and with minimal chance of accidental pocket activation. Yes, there is still a chance it could accidentally activate in the pocket, but that chance is quite low. Much lower than with any other sideswitch light I’ve tried.
Unfortunately, Zebralight changed their switch again and their latest designs don’t quite recess the switch as much. The SC53, SC64 and SC5wII have less secure switches that aren’t quite as well built to resist accidental pocket activation as the SC52.
And then there’s lights like the SP10.
In the SP10, zero design effort was made to resist accidental pocket activation. The button is small, but it is metal, protrudes outside the body of the light, and requires no special pressure to activate. With this light, its either glue a washer around the button or use lockout.
I have a couple SP10s that I modded with Mtn 15mm drivers with Emisar D4 firmware. I also added rings cut from sheet aluminum around the buttons, which turned the protruding buttons into flush buttons. This helps, but still not enough that I would consider pocket carrying one without using lockout.
Of course this problem isn’t unique to sideswitch lights.
Many tailcap lights also have the same problem. Especially so ones with electronic switches that tend to require less travel to activate like the FW3A. This is why every FW3A I have has received the o-ring mod. Some of them have quite strong switches now. My stiffest FW3A switch requires more than 5 lbs of pressure to activate … easily enough that it can be safely pocket-carried without using any form of lockout.