RedForest UK
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2009
- Messages
- 1,365
ondutygear has it scheduled for a release in May: 'The SureFire EB1-Backup will be available in May 2012.'
SureFire EB1 Backup 200 Lumen Flashlight
- Thread starter Glock 22
- Start date
Help Support Candle Power Flashlight Forum
Curious, where did you find that info? And I wonder whre SF's fourth quarter falls.
Last edited:
Dr. Strangelove
Enlightened
Just when I thought my wallet could take a break, they have to come out with the Fury, Lawman and now the EB1. When will this end! (Never, I hope!!!)
CarpentryHero
Flashlight Enthusiast
chnzwh
Newly Enlightened
It seems that we have a new ETA 
Robin24k
Flashlight Enthusiast
At the moment, yes the EB1 is scheduled to be available in July. If all goes as planned, SureFire will start shipping them out in late June and I should get one to review before July. 
http://www.led-resource.com/upcoming-led-products/
You can keep an eye on that page, as I will be updating it as I get new information.
http://www.led-resource.com/upcoming-led-products/
You can keep an eye on that page, as I will be updating it as I get new information.
Up All Night
Enlightened
- Joined
- May 29, 2012
- Messages
- 487
I stumbled upon that while looking at a Z68 for my E1B. Then I thought "let's see if Robin24k will chime in on this". Well, here you are! The worst part is I have the catalogue and flip through it regularly and you know,.....that new catalogue smell and all!:thumbsup:
tobrien
Flashlight Enthusiast
can't wait
tobrien
Flashlight Enthusiast
just our luck you're probably right. something will get it pushed back i bet
It looks like the head is larger in diameter, or at least does not slim back down from its largest outer diameter. PErhaps they're using a larger diameter TIR to focus [likely XP-G] LED to a similar beam as the older TIR and XR-E combo?
LightWalker
Flashlight Enthusiast
It looks very slippery, like Fenix use to be.
Federal LG
Flashlight Enthusiast
~150 dollars is a fair (and better) price to me!
Can´t wait to get one!
Can´t wait to get one!
Surefire does irritate me a bit. This light first came out in 2008. It was 80 lumen's. Then they come out with the so called 110 lumen version. My two 80 lumen lights were just as bright as the new 110 lumen model. So back in 2008 I believe they all were 110 lumen no matter the packaging.
Four years later (2012) and possibly in November, they will come out with a 200 lumen model. Wow about time this model gets a more updated emitter!!! With the military wars coming to a end, they will no longer be able to lie stagnant for so long. This company will need to be more progressive or it will likely end up folding just like so many other American companies did. Remember Carrier air conditioning, Oneida flatware, Syracuse china, New Process gear. These were major companies only 50 miles from my home. The future of Surefire will not be bright if they keep this slow development pace up. The quality is there, but old fashioned emitters will not make them a force to be reckoned with in the future.
Four years later (2012) and possibly in November, they will come out with a 200 lumen model. Wow about time this model gets a more updated emitter!!! With the military wars coming to a end, they will no longer be able to lie stagnant for so long. This company will need to be more progressive or it will likely end up folding just like so many other American companies did. Remember Carrier air conditioning, Oneida flatware, Syracuse china, New Process gear. These were major companies only 50 miles from my home. The future of Surefire will not be bright if they keep this slow development pace up. The quality is there, but old fashioned emitters will not make them a force to be reckoned with in the future.
Point by point:
- the jump from 80 lumens, to 110 lumens, especially given the same beam pattern, is not that visible to the naked eye. Generally speaking, it requires a quadrupling in output [with the same beam pattern] to appear twice as bright. Surefire also has traditionally under-rated their light outputs, so while the 110 lumen models may put out 110-120 lumens, the 80 lumen models may put out 80 + as well.
-Surefire's largest customer is the military, followed by law enforcement. We flashlight enthusiasts are a small, tightly knit group. But just because there are small companies that cater to our wishes, doesn't mean bigger ones will [Surefire]. We are, realistically, not their target audience. Advances in technology will be slowly adapted and adopted. And the XR-E is NOT an outdated emitter, just because it is a few years old. It is still an extremely durable, quite efficient LED platform that combines physical robustness with excellent [near unmatched] surface brightness, which is extremely important for small flashlights.
I used a photography light meter in a ceiling bounce test. While not the most accurate way to measure, the 80 lumen model put out marginally more light then each of the 110 lumen models. While on the subject the Titan t1a should be putting out 200 lumen's. 100 lumen's is pretty sad. To me this is a good example of why Surefire needs to step up their game if they are to remain a thriving company in the future. Law enforcement is only going to purchase so many lights. The military most likely will cut back. This leaves the public sector. I want Surefire to do well, but they will need to implement new technology faster if they are to remain in the game. This was a major factor as to why the above companies I listed failed. They were too smug to listen, and ultimately it was their downfall.
So the only useful light is a really bright one? 200 lumens from a single cell light like the T1A is just too much light for most of my uses. EB1 will fill this gap though. I would rather have a level of light that's not going to blind me at close range. Just a few years ago we had 2 cell E2e's putting out 60 lumens. Now we have 200+ lumen E2DL and a 500 lumen Fury but some people are just never happy. I'm pretty happy with Surefire's offerings because I'm not looking for brighter and brighter. I'm looking for useful and reliable. The great thing about the EB1 will be the ability to program it to your liking. I would leave the low the same and bump the high from 200 down to something under 100 lumens. 200 Lumens is just overkill for what I use a light for most of the time. But everyone is different.
Robin24k
Flashlight Enthusiast
Exactly, compromises are key. Enthusiasts will always have different demands that don't coincide with the rest of the market, so major companies usually rarely get much attention from enthusiasts (this is true of many hobbies, not just flashlights). You simply cannot get more output without sacrificing something, whether it be runtime, cost, thermal constraints, surface brightness, or something else, and you can't speed up the product development cycle without compromising quality and reliability.
R&D takes time, as does T&E (testing and evaluation), which is why SureFire (and the like) do not release products as quickly as small companies that cater to the enthusiast market. This enthusiast market, which is not easy to please, only makes up a small percentage of the public sector, and no major company is going to put their reputation at stake to push out products that are not fully tested.
It's not a significant difference between 80 lumens and 110 lumens, and you probably won't be able to see any difference at all. Even 100 lumens to 200 lumens is not as impressive as it seems due to non-linear brightness perception (try it with a multi-mode light that has 100% and 50%, 100% won't appear twice as bright as 50%).
R&D takes time, as does T&E (testing and evaluation), which is why SureFire (and the like) do not release products as quickly as small companies that cater to the enthusiast market. This enthusiast market, which is not easy to please, only makes up a small percentage of the public sector, and no major company is going to put their reputation at stake to push out products that are not fully tested.
