Re : Surefire???

[mmalive]

@sdhcssbuy

https://www.cssbuy.com/item-38923499577.html

Here’s SupFire L6 flashlight, which costs about $12 (excluding freight, of course). It’s not too expensive.

Very strange. Forum post is about Surefire. NOT Supfire.

[Deputy_Dog]

@Lightbringer

@Deputy Dog

Come to think about it. I have some 123As, I’m ready to give away, because they are getting old and they pale in comparison IMRs and other rechargeables out there today. But they definitely weren’t free to me.

Tempted to ask how many and how much to ship… :laughing:

Now that I have lights (SP32A, MH20, hotwire P60s, etc.) that can take a pair of ’123s, I find them useful for being able to carry them and not have to worry about a Li cell discharging over time, or suffering a degraded lifetime because of freezing and/or melting in a car’s environment, etc.

Hell, I just got 36 ’123s courtesy of Amazon and Vipon.

I find ’123s incredibly handy… for the right uses.

I was just checking, many if not most of the Surefires are expired (2017). My battery tester indicates good though. I can’t seem to find dates on the TITANIUM innovations. They’re probably not worth shipping. I keep them in the bag for emergencies so I can give them to fire or police during K9 searches or trainings.

[Deputy_Dog]

@Lightbringer

Funny, but speaking of Surefires and P60s… one of the NexTorch lights I got was with an actual hotwire bulb, in all its 60lm glory. Ain’t tossing it, or dismissing it as “useless”, as in a pinch it can still be used with zero maintenance when you need any kind of light and 60 is still better’n 0.

No worrying about cracking a driver or having a bulky inductor flying off the board if you drop it. They’re meant to be rugged, and have been around forever.

FT even sells drop-ins with hotwire bulbs. Paltry output, but 100CRI.

I was just thinking. are Surefire lights actually “rugged” or is it the drop-ins that make them appear so? I have a couple of Solarforces that have taken as much or more abuse as my Surefires, and they still work fine.

[ven]

@Deputy Dog

@Lightbringer

Funny, but speaking of Surefires and P60s… one of the NexTorch lights I got was with an actual hotwire bulb, in all its 60lm glory. Ain’t tossing it, or dismissing it as “useless”, as in a pinch it can still be used with zero maintenance when you need any kind of light and 60 is still better’n 0.

No worrying about cracking a driver or having a bulky inductor flying off the board if you drop it. They’re meant to be rugged, and have been around forever.

FT even sells drop-ins with hotwire bulbs. Paltry output, but 100CRI.

I was just thinking. are Surefire lights actually “rugged” or is it the drop-ins that make them appear so? I have a couple of Solarforces that have taken as much or more abuse as my Surefires, and they still work fine.

The 6p head(c2 etc as well) are actually quite soft. Does not take much of a drop to dent(or a big drop of 20ft which i have done)

Back to round…ish easy enough though

These older bezels dont have the naff plastic rings that can be swapped out for a xeno or OR type(those do add some strength). Solarforce are decent, certainly the P1D, that is a chunk! But i have had switch issues, contact issues over the years. As a host though, pretty good!

Searching around(if inclined of course) can find surefires for solarforce money(or less even) Here an E2D executive defender for a little over £30.

These are nice lights, nice in hand feel and a few options(or build your own) for the drop ins/engines. Inc single, triple and options from lumens factory

I will say the type II ano is much better than most made up Chinese III (because of course not many are). The natural colours of the other 3 are HAIII and one of my favs. Kind of reminds me a little of zebralights ano(which i like a lot as well)

[Deputy_Dog]

My first was a Model 6R211 It came with the 6R flashlight and B65 Ni-Cad battery, and a Model C211 AC/DC RapidCharger (Charges the B65 battery removed from the flashlight in under 2 hours) It had the extension for the Ni-Cads which you could remove to use the 123As. All that for 60 lumens. I forget what I paid for it. Seems to me over $100.

I later bought the 9P for the extra 30 lumens, at that time 90 lumens was something to talk about.

Edited to add: That really makes me feel old

[Lightbringer]

@Deputy Dog

I was just thinking. are Surefire lights actually “rugged” or is it the drop-ins that make them appear so? I have a couple of Solarforces that have taken as much or more abuse as my Surefires, and they still work fine.

Other’n the front glass and the switch (and ancillary things like O-rings that don’t leak, etc.), the main issue is the drop-in, I’d think.

The glass should be crack-/shatter-resistant, and the switch should not only never ever ever leak, but be rugged enough to allow a brazillion switching cycles.

Ano should be tough enough to resist abrasions, and I guess naturally HA3 would he chalky enough for “grip” (’though it’s an oilstain magnet) and especially tough.

It’s the drop-in that was just a small hotwire bulb in a container, but now with LEDs there’s the driver, LED, wiring, etc., that are all weak links.

Get a good driver, pot it, make that as rugged as possible, and it should be able to withstand almost anything.

I only have Solarforces (L2M hosts), no Surefires, and yeah, you can beat someone to death with one and it’ll still keep lighting.

So…? Side by side, I have no idea. :laughing:

[ven]

@Deputy Dog

My first was a Model 6R211 It came with the 6R flashlight and B65 Ni-Cad battery, and a Model C211 AC/DC RapidCharger (Charges the B65 battery removed from the flashlight in under 2 hours) It had the extension for the Ni-Cads which you could remove to use the 123As. All that for 60 lumens. I forget what I paid for it. Seems to me over $100.

I later bought the 9P for the extra 30 lumens, at that time 90 lumens was something to talk about.

Edited to add: That really makes me feel old :weary: :person_facepalming:

Haha tell me about it! Those are very sort after today, cutting edge back then. I fire up a 6p/z2/E incand for nostalgia, on a 4.35v cell its being a little under driven and maybe 50lm of 100CRI. Even today it impresses me for a beam(of what? maybe 30yrs old or near to). Yes its no crazy lumen beast today, but it puts some LED lights to shame in quality imo. Click (if McClicky)or twist on UI, simple, stupid,single mode. No modes, just 1. I do like single mode at times, i know each and every time, no matter how many clicks(or twists) what i am getting. 60lm was enough back then and some, its no darker today, just more light polluted unfortunately.

It puts my maglite 2D beam to shame anyway, for a much smaller form. Might not focus as much(throw) but it sure was impressive back in the day.

We sure have come along way, will admit they dont fulfil most of my flashlight needs today. But with a lot of p60 options, custom and manufactured……………its almost endless in choices, LED/drivers etc. But with the classic torch host which i prefer by a long long way over most of the Chinese lights today. All subjective, thats just me. Cant beat an old surefire host imho and i have a lot of lights!

[Lonelydad]

Back in 2004 when I got my G2, one of the first things I did was order a Lumens Factory HO-6 upgrade. I don’t remember what the original P60s were rated at, but that 160 lumens from the HO-6 was a nice upgrade. I still have it around here someplace. I now have a Lumens Factory triple mode high CRI drop in and two Mountain Electronics CUXM/CUXP drop ins with the Nichia emitters in my two G2s and my 6P.

[mmalive]

OK guys, I checked out some information about Surefire. There were pluses and minuses to this light company.

The main factor I found out is to only use Surefire 18650 batteries. Others will not work. The sizes are different for Surefire due to body tube configurations.

[Henk4U2]

@mmalive

OK guys, I checked out some information about Surefire. There were pluses and minuses to this light company.

The main factor I found out is to only use Surefire 18650 batteries. Others will not work. The sizes are different for Surefire due to body tube configurations.

18650 is 18650. So there is nothing to worry about. Only thing is that:

- Surefire tells you to use button top protected high drain cells. Any high drain = OK. Unprotected = own risk.

• only a handful Surefire models accept 18650 cells (Fury). Others have to be bored out to ca 18.65mm. Or use a 6A EagleTac 16650 protected button top battery for the less potent lights that use 2 * CR123A cell’s.

I bored out my 6PD, put in an EagleTac single mode drop-in and use a protected 3400 mAh Olight, because this drop-in has no LVP.

[Firelight2]

@WalkIntoTheLight

@Firelight2

Put another way… if you were going to spend all day in a Cave and could only have 1 light, would you want the latest high output light? … or would you want the most reliable light possible?

If you’re in a cave with only 1 light, you’re an idiot and probably deserve a Darwin award, no matter how “premium quality” the light is.

Take at least 2 lights. Even if their quality isn’t as good, the chance that both will fail at the same time is far less than the chance of 1 Surefire/HDS/etc light will fail.

Besides, you could easily drop your 1 Surefire down a deep mine shaft. Ooops. Doesn’t matter how good quality it is, it’s not going to levitate back to you.

For purposes of this hypothetical your other light (or lights) ALREADY failed. You’re now down to just one working light remaining and it’s a 90 minute slog to the cave entrance. :smiling_imp: :smiling_imp: :smiling_imp:

Would you want your remaining working light to be the latest high output light? … or would you want it to be the most durable and reliable light possible?

[KawiBoy1428]

I mod a few Surefire light’s…the home made 3P and Fury make the least power… 2700-3000lms.

This one makes over 4000lm. XHP70 2xVTC5A’s…

This one too XHP70 2x Efest 18500’s

These also…. but I have different drop in’s I made…to interchange depending on what the need may be…

The polished M3 is custom made to accept screw in heads/modules, fully potted…. the 70.2 is making just over 8000lm at turn on….

6700lms on 2xAspires…

My latest 6P mod, bored/honed, hand fit press fit copper quad pill Lumileds V2 2x5000k x 2x6500k….

4500lm+ on VTC5A more on a 20S VTC5D nice tint, nice output…

Meh they are fun to make and fun to run…

[sesgum]

Wow nice job kawiboy!

[mmalive]

@Henk4U2

@mmalive

OK guys, I checked out some information about Surefire. There were pluses and minuses to this light company.

The main factor I found out is to only use Surefire 18650 batteries. Others will not work. The sizes are different for Surefire due to body tube configurations.

18650 is 18650. So there is nothing to worry about. Only thing is that:

- Surefire tells you to use button top protected high drain cells. Any high drain = OK. Unprotected = own risk.

• only a handful Surefire models accept 18650 cells (Fury). Others have to be bored out to ca 18.65mm. Or use a 6A EagleTac 16650 protected button top battery for the less potent lights that use 2 * CR123A cell’s.

I bored out my 6PD, put in an EagleTac single mode drop-in and use a protected 3400 mAh Olight, because this drop-in has no LVP.

Wrong man. The “fury” is the exact model I am looking at. From local guys here and youtube videos. Both come up with same result. You have to use Surefire 18650.

[KawiBoy1428]

@mmalive

@Henk4U2

@mmalive

OK guys, I checked out some information about Surefire. There were pluses and minuses to this light company.

The main factor I found out is to only use Surefire 18650 batteries. Others will not work. The sizes are different for Surefire due to body tube configurations.

18650 is 18650. So there is nothing to worry about. Only thing is that:

- Surefire tells you to use button top protected high drain cells. Any high drain = OK. Unprotected = own risk.

• only a handful Surefire models accept 18650 cells (Fury). Others have to be bored out to ca 18.65mm. Or use a 6A EagleTac 16650 protected button top battery for the less potent lights that use 2 * CR123A cell’s.

I bored out my 6PD, put in an EagleTac single mode drop-in and use a protected 3400 mAh Olight, because this drop-in has no LVP.

Wrong man. The “fury” is the exact model I am looking at. From local guys here and youtube videos. Both come up with same result. You have to use Surefire 18650.

Wonder what is special about it that it has to be used in the Fury?
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1381915-REG/surefire_sf18650a_18650_rechargeable_lithium_ion_battery.html/?ap=y&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6IGFrfqC4AIVFIrICh0FWQaWEAYYASABEgLhe_D_BwE&lsft=BI%3A514&smp=Y

[KawiBoy1428]

@sesgum

Wow nice job kawiboy!

Thanks! :+1:

[ven]

Awesome Kawiboy, love those mods

[mmalive]

@KawiBoy1428

@mmalive

@Henk4U2

@mmalive

OK guys, I checked out some information about Surefire. There were pluses and minuses to this light company.

The main factor I found out is to only use Surefire 18650 batteries. Others will not work. The sizes are different for Surefire due to body tube configurations.

18650 is 18650. So there is nothing to worry about. Only thing is that:

- Surefire tells you to use button top protected high drain cells. Any high drain = OK. Unprotected = own risk.

• only a handful Surefire models accept 18650 cells (Fury). Others have to be bored out to ca 18.65mm. Or use a 6A EagleTac 16650 protected button top battery for the less potent lights that use 2 * CR123A cell’s.

I bored out my 6PD, put in an EagleTac single mode drop-in and use a protected 3400 mAh Olight, because this drop-in has no LVP.

Wrong man. The “fury” is the exact model I am looking at. From local guys here and youtube videos. Both come up with same result. You have to use Surefire 18650.

Wonder what is special about it that it has to be used in the Fury?
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1381915-REG/surefire_sf18650a_18650_rechargeable_lithium_ion_battery.html/?ap=y&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6IGFrfqC4AIVFIrICh0FWQaWEAYYASABEgLhe_D_BwE&lsft=BI%3A514&smp=Y

The possibility is true Kawi. A few local guys I talked to said they had problems with different button tops, flat tops, other protected button tops, etc…. Guys called Surefire and SF specified ONLY to use Surefire branded 18650’s.

[KawiBoy1428]

@ven

Awesome Kawiboy, love those mods :heart_eyes:

Thanks ven! :+1: Love your modded Surefire’s especially your E’s!

[Henk4U2]

Please read what others have said/written about the SF protected buttontop HD 18650 battery.

It is not that only SF batteries will make a Fury tick, but a lot of other batteries won’t.
So for half the money you can buy any XX protected buttontop HD 18650 battery.
Just look to it that this battery meets the SF spec’s (6A min).

This LINK becomes relevant from post #30.