Is SureFire Fury already losing?
Since I'm a relative noob at this, some things may strike me funny, but I'm not afraid to ask a stupid question. SureFire seems to be the top shelf choice in flashlights, however I'm perplexed by how their features seem to pale in comparison to the popular Chinese made lights. For example…
1. They can't take 18650 batteries.
2. The UI seems overly simplified. Not even a strobe option on the Fury.
3. Small optional features like the bezel and tailcap create a whole new complete light purchase, instead of being included or offered as an accessory kit.
I don't know; maybe these "short-comings" are the price to pay for a dramatically better built and more dependable light. It's hard for me to assess with my limited experience. What say you?
1. They can't take 18650 batteries.
The Fury is designed to specifically take CR123A batteries. As such, the battery tube is sized to accomodate the batteries snugly to reduce battery rattle. In the past Surefire has indicated that they do not support rechargables like the 18650 as there are too many variances in battery size and quality.
Additionally, these types of batteries require more care in their use - more than the regular user of a light is prepared to give. As such, when Surefire offers a light that accepts 18650's, they offer it in a light that has all of the protection circuitry and charge control built in, along with a safety that only allows the use of Surefire's proprietary batteries. The Surefire Lawman is an example of this.
Surefire offers the safer chemistry of the LifeP04 CR123A battery as a rechargable option for the Fury.
2. The UI seems overly simplified. Not even a strobe option on the Fury.
This was probably done to reduce complexity and cost. Beleive it or not, there is no such thing as being overly simple. The simpler something is to use, the more usable it becomes. In the land of computers, a good user interface is said to be one where a user can get to wherever they want in no more than 3 clicks of a mouse, and less is best. The Fury is designed to be a general purpose light.
Believe me, for the unflashaholics out there, 2 modes is enough. I have co-workers who can't even get their head around clicking my e1b twice to get to a mode that doesn't blind them when they use it for close up work. There are Surefire's that have the extra modes like Strobe, but they're usually designed in a way that makes modes easy to get to - nothing more than 3 clicks I would expect. This obviously requires more complex switches, which in turn increases cost. Again, the Lawman is a good example this.
3. Small optional features like the bezel and tailcap create a whole new complete light purchase, instead of being included or offered as an accessory kit.
The older Surefire's used to offer extra features like bezels and tailcaps. The newer X series Surefire's (the LX2 possiblty being an exception) were developed in response to criticism that Surefire's were too expensive. To reduce cost, while still making their lights in America, and offering the lifetime warrantly, Surefire had to find ways of cutting corners in the design of their lights that didn't sacrifice reliability. One of these was to reduce the amount of screw threads used in the light, and loc-tite down these areas to negate any waterproofing/structural issues this would have caused.
In short, the Fury is one of Surefire's budget lights. If you want more features, the ability to use rechargables like the 18650, and extra accessory lits, you would need to look at something like the Lawman.
