Estrela Alternative

[GRV]

I called Poway, the shop I ordered it from, at Tom's suggestion. They feel it's really a manufacturer's issue, and it's been so long since I ordered it that they wouldn't usually do a swap. However, the rep I've been dealing with is going to try to help me out, considering the circumstances.

If they agree to swap it out, I'll give the Estrela one more chance. In the meantime though, I'm eyeing the relevant Surefire and Streamlight options mentioned here, and I am preparing myself for having to move to one of those.

[Chuck Haggard]

I called Poway, the shop I ordered it from, at Tom's suggestion. They feel it's really a manufacturer's issue, and it's been so long since I ordered it that they wouldn't usually do a swap. However, the rep I've been dealing with is going to try to help me out, considering the circumstances.

If they agree to swap it out, I'll give the Estrela one more chance. In the meantime though, I'm eyeing the relevant Surefire and Streamlight options mentioned here, and I am preparing myself for having to move to one of those.

If they don't make it right send me the light and you can have mine. You bought it on my recommendation, and I have enough back-up lights to get by until I can get it unfucked.

[GRV]

If they don't make it right send me the light and you can have mine. You bought it on my recommendation, and I have enough back-up lights to get by until I can get it unfucked.

Wow. Thank you. I would feel really guilty doing that though...Let's start by seeing how Poway goes.

I'd feel doubly guilty if I somehow managed to break it. I don't see how what happened to mine could have been from me...it's just sat in a holster on a belt in a bag when it isn't being used...but nonetheless I'd be paranoid.

[secondstoryguy]

I love the Estrella's feature set as a duty light but both of mine had issues related to he switch. I contacted Nightreaper and was issued a refund for both.

I have been running a Surefire R1 Lawman for the last 6 months or so and have been very happy with it. I still like the switching of the Estrella but the SF Lawman switching isn't bad once you get use to it. I like the lawman because the tailcap is always high and the button near the head can be set to a lower setting. When the light is on the lower setting and you hit the tailcap switch it comes on full blast which works well for me. The button on near the head will return to the lower setting at first press. When I do traffic stops I use the tailcap high setting and once I make contact and scan the interior of the vehicle I push the button near the head to a default lower setting for looking at paperwork(it's still plenty bright to scan the interior of vehicles). The light is also just long enough to put under your arm for hands free paperwork handling. On high the Lawman is very bright and induces the "holy shit that's bright" cringe on folks I point it at.

The Lawman holds a charge well, has a light to indicate battery level/charging level and it includes a car charger that works great for the patrol car. I typically plug it my cigarette lighter outlet and when I get to the station/ after briefing it's charged up before my first call. It also includes an adaptor for using 123s in a pinch which is really nice if your in a situation where your away from your charger.

Due to my experiences in the last year with off-brand lights I have made Streamlight and Surefire my go-to lights and do not use anything else to go into harms way.

I got my 1000 lumen Lawman off ebay for something like $280 so it wasn't that painful.

[taadski]

If they don't make it right send me the light and you can have mine. You bought it on my recommendation, and I have enough back-up lights to get by until I can get it unfucked.

Very classy Chuck.

[GRV]

I love the Estrella's feature set as a duty light but both of mine had issues related to he switch. I contacted Nightreaper and was issued a refund for both.

Can you summarize the switching issues you had? Full disclosure, I received a PM from someone mentioning a switching issue with one (intermittently wouldn't turn on, the opposite of my problem).

I've been thinking about the way the switch works, and I'm not particularly surprised mine has the issue it has. There is no clicking or traditional mechanical "memory" for the constant on/off. So, it must be keeping track of that electronically, which definitely sounds like a reasonably likely thing to fail. I think someone said the switch is magnetic? I'm going to hold back from tearing mine apart until I have fully explored all avenues for replacement.

[Chuck Haggard]

The bezel that clicks around to the different modes is the selector for the switching, the on/off part of each mode is magnetic vs a mechanical switching. Same type of switch on the older Gladius was very, very reliable and not prone to wearing out like things such as a Sure-Fire clicky were.

[GRV]

The bezel that clicks around to the different modes is the selector for the switching, the on/off part of each mode is magnetic vs a mechanical switching. Same type of switch on the older Gladius was very, very reliable and not prone to wearing out like things such as a Sure-Fire clicky were.

I think that the selector and momentary switches are probably bombproof. Very good design. Definitely longer lasting than a Surefire clicky, I can see that.

What I'm wondering about is the constant on/off mechanism. Do you know how the switch or light keeps track of whether the light is currently on or off? On a clicky switch, it's very clear: it is basically mechanically held down. On this switch it's less clear, because the physical interface of the switch does not change in any way.

[Chuck Haggard]

I think that the selector and momentary switches are probably bombproof. Very good design. Definitely longer lasting than a Surefire clicky, I can see that.

What I'm wondering about is the constant on/off mechanism. Do you know how the switch or light keeps track of whether the light is currently on or off? On a clicky switch, it's very clear: it is basically mechanically held down. On this switch it's less clear, because the physical interface of the switch does not change in any way.

Internal programing


OK, this might sound dumb, but it your sitch end screwed down tight? Have you changed the batteries/taken the battery out to charge just before this happened?

[GRV]

Internal programing

Yea, so that's the thing I'm worried about: that the internal programming isn't bombproof, or that the chips they're using might have a failure rate, QC issues on the chip fab side, or issues with programming them. I now know of 4 Estrelas that had switching issues not associated with prolonged use or wear. Certainly not a ton of data, but it's definitely suspicious.

OK, this might sound dumb, but it your sitch end screwed down tight? Have you changed the batteries/taken the battery out to charge just before this happened?

Yes. That was the first thing I checked. When I first experienced the issue, I thought it was slightly unscrewed, so I tightened it down good. I have repeatedly experienced the issue since then with the screw down tight and the switch on lockout. At one point, I did an experiment to see if it was being NDed by holsters. By applying pressure in various places (not on the button) and tightly strapping down the stock pouch I did manage to occasionally get it to ND while on lockout, which frankly shouldn't happen. Lately, I have had to store it almost completely unscrewed, just so that it isn't turning on randomly.

It is worth noting that when it NDs it is always into a dimmer setting. Not 1000 lumens. Regardless of what the switch is set to. So, I suspect it is NDing into the constant on/off mode, which would be consistent with faulty memory or programming of that mechanism.

The issue is very intermittent and I cannot reproduce it consistently when I want to.