I have a centurion c3 and it's a nice light and well built,but it is past it's time.I updated it with rechargeables and an xml module,but I wouldn't consider it "must have" there is many other lights out there that trump surefires.If you were assembling a classic surefire collection,then it would be a "must have."
Absolutely nothing, but there are very nice Xenon dropins out there for Surefires and they seem to be very taylor made for the Surefire internals. (missing outer spring, contour-shaped, etc.)
The C2 is hands down just an awesome design. You’ll need to outfit the light with a modern p60 drop-in, and perhaps get a steel bezel ring, but man. It’s a quality host. Great anodizing, knurling, and style.
My favorite hosts are my Surefire C2, 6p, then my solarforce l2p.
I own both the C2 and the L2T, and the only difference IMO is the that you can’t get the L2T in the color of the C2. Other than that I think the Solarforce is an exceptional light especially for the price. I have more Solarforce lights that I have SF lights.
Here is my C2 which currently is in the basement getting no use. Hmmmm…maybe I should sell it. J)
For $121 (plus shipping) they had BETTER stand behind their overpriced metal tube.
Some people are happy to pay $300 (or more) for a $19 bottle of vodka in a club as well.
I guess you would all agree with Sheldon.
Sheldon: Remarkable. Diamonds, crystallized carbon. Every day, people go to the grocery store and come home with sacks full of carbon in the form of charcoal briquettes that they toss in their barbeques and set on fire. But just because you’ve got some carbon with the atoms stacked neatly, you expect me to plunk down thousands of dollars.
You often need an expert to tell real diamonds apart from fake ones.... so your example couldn't have been better. ;-) I think it comes down what one individuals taste is like. If you like your G2 with that special drop-in and you enjoy it every time you pick it up... it's probably money well spent for you. It comes down to personal taste and preferences and then there is no right and wrong anymore. Luxury items like diamonds put that reasoning over the top.
As already mentioned by Vectrex, all P60’s are subpar for LED use anyway. I have a bunch only because it’s fun to mix & match (heads/tail/clip in addition to drop-in), but can’t imagine serious use from a hack job of a design for mounting an LED.
If you’re going to spend the $, buy a superior olight/eagletac/jetbeam/thrunite/etc for same amount or less.
BTW if you just like the looks, get this instead: www.manafont.com/product_info.php/ultrafire-c1-flashlight-tube-no-led-emitter-p-4846
Works just as well, fraction of the price.
Saw a review of it posted with date July 2003. You got to remember that was still the incandescent light bulb era. Think of C2 is Optimus Prime or your Model T.
What does that work out to in Aus$, SparkyMarky? (BJflasher, et al.)
The C2 is like an old classic Camaro: it’s not the newest with the newest technology nor is it the most powerful, but, people still spend tens of thousands of dollars to buy one to fix up and modernize. There’s just an aesthetic quality about the C2 that can only be appreciated when you have one in your hand. Are the walls of the light thin after being bored? Yes, they are, but, failures at the grip ring are rare. I own a bored C2 and a stock L5, which is a C2 with an LED head, as well as a bored 6P, stock M3, stock M4, G2, L2P, L2T, and P1. My bored C2 is my secondary EDC and I find myself taking it out of my pocket at times to just hold it in my hand because it just fits my hand so well. I’ll admit that I was mildly surprised by the quality when I bought my first L2 (stolen) and none of the Solarforces I’ve bought since have been any less in terms of quality, but, the Surefires just have a quality to them that you have to experience to believe.
Someone compared the C2 to a Toyota, I want to say that it’s more like a Mercedes Benz: the fit and finish are a step above, but, the car does not stand out when you look at it sitting there or driving down the street. The Solarforces that I own are like Toyotas: inexpensive, well made, a value for the money. If you’ve never owned nor driven a Mercedes then you’ll never know what it’s like. The bank vault solidity that the car has when new will still be there in ten years. The Toyota will be a bit loose, a few squeaks here and there, etc.
(that photo of the cut in half C2 was taken by me, BTW. It was destroyed while being bored by someone else and I bought it for the sole purpose of doing what I’ve done to it: to bore it to 18.65mm, the same diameter that most Surefire hosts are bored to, to show how much material is left at the thinnest areas. I’ve since cut windows into the area that the drop-in sits to see how much and where the contact is made from various drop-ins)
Or Norm? Does that suit you well?
they outta change the name to, SureMires. 
I think once you ‘bore out’ classic stuff like this it changes the deal into something else. To wit, I don’t believe in removing metal from classic Camaro’s either and still have the panache to call it a genuine original 1969 Camaro. It ain’t.
I have a discontinued Z2 in the closet that I drop-pilled into a 200 lumen monster. 
But I didn’t change the essence of it - no metal removed which means it can be reverted right back to how it was from the factory. Scaru would be proud of me. :cowboy_hat_face:
Btw, I distinctly remember paying $84 at a gun show. I think I remember the guy saying it was a $200 light or something and what a deal this was. My then future wife looked at me like I was insane. I remember trying to explain to her why it was worth it and then her eyes kinda glazed over. I thought I might’ve lost her. It is a very nicely made light I must admit.
This was over 20 years ago.
I once succumbed to the SF C2 too. It’s all about marketing a product esp as a tool of war. Back when I was counting on freebie lights that came banded with mom’s pack of batteries or dad’s gallon of car lube, SF was unreachable. That childhood deprivation surfaced in a mid-life crisis and the rest is history. I’ve leaned towards others like Solarforce now. But I now understand why dad had a wardrobe full of long-sleeved business shirts that mom complained that he’d never wear. I can imagine there are still quite a few torchaholic’s having the orig 2 or 3-tier SF plexi-glass cabinet filled with specimens from the entire catalogue!
Sorry for stealing your pic, but it does show how well built the light is, thanks for the other view.
I think it’s popularity came from a time before there was as many options outside Surefire for quality P60 hosts.
G2 - Nitrolon so not as good for heat issues and not the metal heft that gives a feel of quality.
6p was Type II anodization.
Z2 - Type II and the tactical style body.
C2 - Type III, color options, and a clip on the tactical style body.
Lump it all together and the C2 was easily at the top of the food chain for Surefire built P60 hosts for a typical flashlight enthusiast - best anodization, clip and clicky with a choice of colors. There were other hosts but the well machined ones generally weren’t all that much cheaper than the Surefire price range of the time and came without the lifetime warranty. Solarforce wasn’t an option early and it wasn’t till much later they started coming out with HA and things like the L2T.
The love of P60 host flexibility even today keeps C2s relevant. (Given emitter efficiency improvements I’d actually say the weak thermal path is less of an issue than it used to be.) They’ve got nostalgia factor. They’ve been the old reliable for very long for most of those voting (because let’s be honest basically it’s a metal tube with a simple switch - take out the module and of course it’s reliable. )
Now though…well the boring cost alone to take 18650’s would let someone buy a nice SolarForce. 
[quote=scaru]
I had a PM from ChicagoX calling me BJ, I’m not quite with you guys.
Oztorchfreak, BJflasher, SparkyMarky...whatever.
You just can't stay away - we really must be the Best Little Forum on the 'net
EDIT: It's quite funny, watching you log off here, pop up on the other side, and vice versa...
Why do I have this PM from ChicagoX?
I think he needs to get a life take the blue pills and stop smoking that sh#t .