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dwkennedy,

60 watts?  That was a seriously wild guess, and way off.  The lamp is more like 8 watts.  You may be confusing 60 lumens with 60 watts.  The standard 2 cell Surefire with standard P60 lamp, a comparible unit to the TACMIII is 60 lumens.  I just measured the current draw on a G2 Nitrilon with slightly used batteries and it was about 1.18 amps.  2 batteries is 6 volts, that makes the lamp about 7+ watts, a little more with fresh batteries.

Sorry to hear about the trouble with the pressure switch though, if I recall correctly that was a design problem with the earlier units and was supposed to be redesigned with the current units.

I also have a couple of TACMIII lights, but I am only using one with an old style tail cap which doesn't even have the button, the whole cap must be pressed or twisted.  I also have not shot with it yet.  I got them a long time ago as kind of a promo when I was a dealer.  I have the pressure switch but have not used it either.  I'll get to try it out in a couple weeks and will post if I also have troubles.

Keep in mind that just because the switch guts it is marked for .3 amps, it can take far more current, just not on a long term basis which the pressure pad was not designed for.  It's a matter of the wire and contact heating up as the circuit is closed.  For temporary use, .3 amp rating might be enough, though I don't know for how long.  I doubt the Surefire switch is rated for a whole lot more itself (as in more than 1 amp, though I don't know), though I would always buy a Surefire over the TACMIII given the opportunity - Surefire has far more experience and R&D into what is required for weapons lights, and they build the best of what's out there. I'm confident the SF units are far more durable.

I made a mistake, I didn't mean to say the pressure switch was redesigned necessarily due to the problem you are describing, just heard something about problems with the pressure switch.  Any chance you can just use the regular tailcap?

As for me, I am only trying one since I got it a long time ago so it's essentially free for me right now.  I would never buy one now given the chance, got to go with Surefire for all the reasons.

I suppose the TACMIII would be okay as a pocket light, but it's damn expensive for a plastic body flashlight.

I guess were both screwed.  I do not have a lot of confidence that it will hold up under firearms recoil, but we shall see.

Update:  While after writing the above, I put on the pressure switchcap on my TACMIII.  I held it on for about 3-1/2 minutes (got tired of holding it, and didn't want to push it) and no problems.  dwkennedy, perhaps you simply have a defective switch?  If you got yours repaired/replaced, you might be able to salvage more of your light than if you just used it as a flashlight...

dwkennedy, when you cut the pressure pad open, did you notice any corrosion?  Where the contacts dry and bright copper colored, or coated with a corrosion preventative film, or where they dark and discolored?  I'm starting to think your switch may have not been sealed properly.  Perhaps there was a micropuncture or air was allowed into the switch at the factory, both of which could have corroded your switch causing contact to be poor and intermittant.  Heat from use would have exasperated this type of problem.