Thanks. When you say bend the leads straight, that confuses me. When I open mine up, there is one straight lead and one that looks like it is supposed to have about a 120 deg. angle and a little piece of plastic tubing attached. Should I bend this angled part straight?

The same thing happened to me. I opened mine up and tried to bend the LED wires back into shape so that the switch would work okay. I couldn't get it right and finally gave up.

I have carried both a photon II and the pulsar II in my pocket with keys and other goodies. I have never had this problem with my photon II. I would have to say that the switch is better in the photons.

The pulsars are just as nice, though, when they work. I'm currently building a micro PSK and I have a pulsar II in it. Partly because I had an extra new one lying around. I figure it will be fine if I ever need to start using it, but I don't expect to be able to change batteries and keep going with it like I have with the photons.

This is one data point though; maybe I just had a slightly inferior pulsar. But hearing your similar switch problems just reinforces my preference for the photons.

Good luck trying to fix yours.

Cheers,
Mike

oops soory bout that poor use of english, what i ment was to bend the leads back so they are parallel with each other, like when you get a new one. leave the 120deg angle alone. its just that as the light gets used the leads bend away from the battery, so by bending them back in they touch it again. hope this helps
sc

Ah, now I understand. Thanks for the clarification.

I'm not familiar with Pertex, but that doesn't mean anything as I haven't purchased raingear in quite sometime but, it seems like nowadays every company that makes rain gear has its own waterproof/breathable laminate so you pretty much have to buy something like Gore-Tex, with some other name. I look for things on sale. There always seems to be something that somebody bought too much of and they have to unload it so that they can buy a bunch of junk that they’ll have to put on sale at the end of the next season, so I try to take advantage of that. I also know that I’m a pretty consistent XL so I can buy from places like http://www.sierratradingpost.com or another company that buys up stuff that other people want to get rid of. (Just make sure that you are buying close outs not 2nds.)
Having said that have a Solstice “Backpacker” that has one of those funky laminates, but it has a double zipper up front, pit zips, and adjustable cuffs. My wife bought me a Columbia windbreaker (remember the ubiquitous windbreaker) that stuffs into its pocket. It’s coated nylon and the vents stink, so I sweat like a racehorse in heat but it’ll work in a pinch. Finally, before a raft trip a couple years ago I bought my wife and my-self a Red Ledge jacket and pants set. They were coated nylon, but VERY reasonable in price. They had pit zips and vents and stuffed into their own stuff sacks that were about the size of a pair of socks. Mine did fine but my wife’s blew out. We sent it back with no problem.
Hope this helps,
Biscuits

Sorry Everyone but Snugpak is a quality brand - but as with all these things you need to reason it out. Thousands of British Army soldiers sleep peacefully every night in the Softie range, but you've got to pick the right one. I must confess that if I was in the Sahara in the Summer the Softie 3 would be absolutely my first choice... but for anywhere else you need the 6 or the 9 or even thicker...

http://www.wiggys.com/legacy/jul-aug00.cfm

I followed the link to Wiggy's site and read this:

"Wiggy's Guarantee is for a lifetime of use. If a seam opens, the zipper breaks or the Lamilite insulation deteriorates (such as losing its loft or separating, clumping in one place or another), Wiggy's will repair or replace your bag at no charge to you.
At this time, I know of no sleeping bag manufacturer that would even consider such a guarantee. The reason is simple: they already know the insulation they use will deteriorate. If you have ever compared information from the different sleeping bag and extreme cold weather garment manufactures, you will see that they have never guaranteed the insulation used-nor do they now. "

I had a North Face "Cat's Meow" synthetic bag that lost some loft over a few years' hard use. I submitted it to North Face and they gave me a new bag within a couple weeks.

I've not used Wiggy's gear (never seen it in a retail store) but he sure talks big.

There is nothing remarkable in North Face replacing your bag. Most of the reputable vendors will. It is called PR. The point is Wiggys makes this promise up front in writing. My status as moderator does not carry any wieght in discussing products. I merely give my empirical experience and whatever additional resources are available. I chose a wiggy unit on the direct advise of Chris Janowskie of WSI . I also was shocked to see Wiggy bags listed in THE WINTER WILDERNESS COMPANION by Garret and Alexandra Conover. These folks are major advocates of 'traditional' ( wool, leather etc.) clothing and related gear. I don't want this degrading into a "my sleeping bag can beat up your sleeping bag." Only one person normally climbs into one anyway, so it's a personal choice with personal consequences.

Okay Chris. No more Wiggy's talk. I don't understand why you bring such a defensive tone to your posts.