surefire stiletto pro 2

[umc]

Looking at the two I own, I can't see a spot on either one where SureFire would be able to open them up without breaking the body; in order to pop in a new battery.

Oh interesting. Stiletto Pro 2 definitely has a way to open it up and it's unique. I have mine boxed up and ready to go to the ups store so I cant take pics but it has two post type screws with holes in the top of them so you can stick a tool in there and unlock or unscrew them. They're on either side of the light just below the emitters/head. So it looks like the light separates there. Mind you I'm assuming that is the deal but I'm going say it's a safe bet.

 

[Monocrom]

That is indeed very interesting. I'm not seeing that on my Pro version. Though mine was an early production run. Now I'm wondering if SureFire didn't quietly tweak the handle design later on, but didn't announce it. Would be in keeping with how the company does things. Minor tweaks, changes, or improvements never get mentioned to the Public.

 

[umc]

That is indeed very interesting. I'm not seeing that on my Pro version. Though mine was an early production run. Now I'm wondering if SureFire didn't quietly tweak the handle design later on, but didn't announce it. Would be in keeping with how the company does things. Minor tweaks, changes, or improvements never get mentioned to the Public.

 

[Monocrom]

Yup, that's missing from mine.

 

[umc]

Thank you, I would appreciate it. I'll try to run that test here in the next couple of days. I'll shoot for by the end of the weekend.

Surefires techs response in quotes:

"
The Stiletto Pro II has a lifetime warranty against manufacturer defects. Rechargeable batteries are warrantied two years from date of purchase.

"Our warranty does not cover consumables or normal wear-and-tear— things like batteries draining, headbands and headpads wearing out, ink cartridges running out, and switches wearing out—or damage resulting from abuse, alterations, unauthorized repairs, or use contrary to SureFire's user manuals.""

Then I asked them if a battery for the Stiletto Pro 2 could be purchased after two years and he replied back saying no, that isn't an option.

All of that being said I'm not too worried about it because I called them asking for a new pad for my Minimus recently and they sent out that and a headband. I have a tail switch on an old light that failed and they replaced that so while they may say no, I feel like they'd probably cover it anyway. Time will tell..

 

[dddrees]

Surefires techs response in quotes:

"
The Stiletto Pro II has a lifetime warranty against manufacturer defects. Rechargeable batteries are warrantied two years from date of purchase.

"Our warranty does not cover consumables or normal wear-and-tear— things like batteries draining, headbands and headpads wearing out, ink cartridges running out, and switches wearing out—or damage resulting from abuse, alterations, unauthorized repairs, or use contrary to SureFire's user manuals.""

Then I asked them if a battery for the Stiletto Pro 2 could be purchased after two years and he replied back saying no, that isn't an option.

All of that being said I'm not too worried about it because I called them asking for a new pad for my Minimus recently and they sent out that and a headband. I have a tail switch on an old light that failed and they replaced that so while they may say no, I feel like they'd probably cover it anyway. Time will tell..

Yep, that does match their warranty. Thanks for asking and also letting me know how they typically take care of their customers which doesn't surprise me based on the two conversations I had with their tech. I think you said you had a Stiletto and Stileto Pro if so about how long have these batteries lasted so far? If it's anywhere as good as my IPads and IPhones have been that won't be too bad.

Looks like I owe you a test, thanks again.

 

[umc]

Yep, that does match their warranty. Thanks for asking and also letting me know how they typically take care of their customers which doesn't surprise me based on the two conversations I had with their tech. I think you said you had a Stiletto and Stileto Pro if so about how long have these batteries lasted so far? If it's anywhere as good as my IPads and IPhones have been that won't be too bad.

Looks like I owe you a test, thanks again.

Monocrom owns the last two Stilettos. This is my first.

 

[dddrees]

That is indeed very interesting. I'm not seeing that on my Pro version. Though mine was an early production run. Now I'm wondering if SureFire didn't quietly tweak the handle design later on, but didn't announce it. Would be in keeping with how the company does things. Minor tweaks, changes, or improvements never get mentioned to the Public.

Can I ask about how old your Stiletto and Stiletto Pro are and how their batteries are doing?

 

[Monocrom]

Can I ask about how old your Stiletto and Stiletto Pro are and how their batteries are doing?

Got each one shortly after each individually came out. Unfortunately the Stiletto was a bit too slippery in hand and just didn't have the throw I needed. The Pro was a bit better. But oh, my goodness.... Even worse in the hand. Ridiculously slippery. Those issues meant that both were soon taken out of my normal EDC rotation. I still occasionally use both. Both internal batteries are good, but only because I rarely use either one. Sorry. Both do still charge up easily though.

 

[dddrees]

So are you saying an hour and five minutes total time? About 12 minutes on high and about an hour on medium?

Run it on high, 5-10 minute increments and see when the battery indicator changes and what total run time is on high. I'm curious.

Surefire sent me an ups label so I'm hoping I can get to the ups store tomorrow to have them ship it off. They told me that once they receive it they would send a replacement so hopefully I'm not without for too long. I was super stoked to get this light to I'm pretty bummed with this result. Hopefully it's just a one off issue and the next one is good to go.

Please let me know if you can test more just on high and thank you.

Okay so I just got done running the test. I charged the flashlight probably a week ago and hadn't touched it since then. I decided to run it in ten minute increments and on High.

6:05 to 6:16 Ended on Orange
7:20 to 7:30 Ended on Red
7:35 to 7:45 Ended on Red
7:50 to 8:00 Ended on Blinking Red I started on High but at some point the light auto adjusted down but I didn't catch exactly when it did that.
8:01 to 8:10 Shut Off at 8:10. Light auto adjusted down at 8:03.

So my light lasted 50 minutes but it didn't run on high the whole time. If I remember correctly it is supposed to run an hour on High Power. Just not sure if the battery drained a bit during the time I didn't use it.

 

[Monocrom]

Yeah, that's not going to be one hour of runtime on continuous high-mode. Starts out on high, and by the end of an hour (after it has stepped down in brightness 2 or 3 times) it'll either switch off or will step down to an output level that is too dim to be pragmatic for any realistic lighting chore.

 

[dddrees]

Yeah, that's not going to be one hour of runtime on continuous high-mode. Starts out on high, and by the end of an hour (after it has stepped down in brightness 2 or 3 times) it'll either switch off or will step down to an output level that is too dim to be pragmatic for any realistic lighting chore.

I'm going to play devils advocate for just a bit.

I think it's bit premature to conclude my Stiletto Pro 2 is the Benchmark for this particular flashlight. My tests may not be promising but we've also already seen one battery that simply didn't work. So who says my battery is the benchmark for this flashlight?

So at 500 lumens which is supposed to last 1.5 hours you wouldn't consider that a sufficient amount of light? I guess it depends exactly what you are doing but 500 lumens probably would be sufficient light for a good number of tasks, 1500 lumens would be too much for some as well. What do you think?

 

[Monocrom]

No, you don't understand. One of the annoying industry practices out there (aside from most brands reporting over-inflated emitter lumens numbers, as opposed to realistic Out The front numbers which are always considerably less than emitter numbers) is the practice of over inflating runtimes. Highest setting on a flashlight, you are not getting continuous output on that setting for the whole 1.5 or 2 hours, or 3 hours. No. Unless that "high" setting is a very low number. You might get continuous output for hours if your light is producing 30 lumens or so on its high setting. But 500 or 1,000 lumens for anything remotely close to an hour? No! LED technology is not to that point.... yet.

Those over-inflated runtimes mean that the light starts off at a very high setting. Lasts for a few minutes, then during that 1.5 or 2 hours; you'll see the light drop significantly in output. Oh! But since the output you're now getting is still useable for most lighting tasks, the various brands count that decreased output as if the light is still going just as strong as it was from the very start! Yeah, that B.S. continues after more drops in output. And only ends when the output is so pathetic that not even the various brands themselves can pretend you're getting a useful amount of light out of your flashlight.

They don't stop counting runtime the very first time output drops off a cliff when your light is in Turbo or High mode. Even though they should.

 

[Bigmark408]

Can I ask about how old your Stiletto and Stiletto Pro are and how their batteries are doing?

I have a Stiletto and Stiletto Pro that are used daily by family for a few years , batteries are perfect.

 

[Bigmark408]

I ran my Pro 2 on high for 1 hour 15 and it still had very usable brightness.

 

[Monocrom]

I ran my Pro 2 on high for 1 hour 15 and it still had very usable brightness.

Usable.... But not the brightness level it started off with.

 

[Bigmark408]

Usable.... But not the brightness level it started off with.

Very useful, none will hold that level of intensity for that long.

 

[Monocrom]

Very useful, none will hold that level of intensity for that long.

Exactly! That was the point I made several hours back.

 

[jon_slider]

Usable.... But not the brightness level it started off with.

true..

I cant find a runtime graph for a Stiletto, but here is a typical example of mfg high mode runtime specs:
Surefire Titan Plus:
300 lumens
1 hour

and what the actual output looks like on a graph, from this review by zeroair:

so, after 40 minutes the 300 lumen output dropped to about 10 lumens (3% of initial output)..

obviously that is not actually 300 lumens for an hour.

 

[Monocrom]

We tolerate way too much nonsense and blatant lies from flashlight companies.