Next light A2?

I'm trying to decide if I am going to get an SF A2 Aviator I gotta say it looks sweet, possibly the best incan. ever made? and is the blue LED better for general use or is white better. 195.00 for the A2 is now within my price range especially if I buy one of SF highly praised lights. What do you think, could I get pics? Sweet, no longer UNENLIGHTENED!

IMHO, the red led's give maximum versatility.

The A2 is a great light. Ill be getting one once Christmas roles around:rock: For genral use the white led is what you want. The blue leds main purpose at least that i know of is looking for blood(hunters). Ive had blue leds and you can not see things as well as you can with the white. As far as the price goes you could get one on CPF for a little over a hundred.

Yeah, don't pay retail for your A2, check B/S/T first. Most folks, including myself, feel that the white LEDs are most useful. Unless you particularly like blue LEDs, I wouldn't recommend them, very limited applications.

You can get a new A2 from OpticsHQ and TacticalSupply for around $150. I'd recommend white, or an A2 modded with white THC3 LEDs by MilkySpit... Other colors are nice and all, but white is best for all around use.

I have a white LED A2. I have had this for several years and have gone back and forth on whether I should have gotten a red one. On balance, I think that low level red situtations are rare enough, and situations where you want low level white light are common enough, that for me (and I would guess for many) the white LEDs are the better choice. YMMV, though...

The A2 is an Awesome light. I love mine.

I have the red LED's and love it. For general usage I would say go with the white. I have red for specific purposes.

clipse

Hello Ahw,

I find that the white LED's are too bright for my low level use. I prefer the yellow/green.

Tom

SilverFox said:

I find that the white LED's are too bright for my low level use. I prefer the yellow/green.

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I am somewhat inclined to agree with SilverFox; Y/G's are not bad in the color rendition department and, although they're "dim" (compared to the other LED colors offered), they are *plenty* useful once your eyes become dark adapted. I absolutely love my white LED A2, but if it gets to the point where I jump onto another A2, it'll be a Y/G for sure.

For more on LED colors, check out my comparison of A2 LED colors for pics and more.

in my opinion white is the best led color. why? becasue they make blue filters and they make red filters. they dont however make a white filter. so get the white and you cant have all the other colors as well.

in my opinion white is the best led color. why? becasue they make blue filters and they make red filters. they dont however make a white filter. so get the white and you cant have all the other colors as well.

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What Surefire filters will fit the A2 Aviator? They don't list any filter or diffuser accesories for the A2 on their site. Another issue with using filters on relatively low power leds is that you will kill the output. Similar to putting a red filter on something like a Minimag, sure it can be done but the output is pretty low after passing light through a filter. Red LEDs make a lot of sense. If you really need white you still have the main incand. beam.

strat1080 said:

What Surefire filters will fit the A2 Aviator? They don't list any filter or diffuser accesories for the A2 on their site. Another issue with using filters on relatively low power leds is that you will kill the output. Similar to putting a red filter on something like a Minimag, sure it can be done but the output is pretty low after passing light through a filter. Red LEDs make a lot of sense. If you really need white you still have the main incand. beam.

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The filters that will fit the A2 are here:

http://quakeinc.com/opt1.html

My A2 with white LEDs arrived today in the mail. Very well built, sturdy and good looking light. The white LED's work well for bushbashing and such. I would go with the whites.

I purshad an A2 from opticsHQ, and it got shipped today. I choose red leds cause they are subtle, look neat, don't disturb my fiance while she sleeps, and I also heard it doesn't disturb animals as much in the wild.

Really looking forward to getting it!

Congratulations on your A2 purchase. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do mine.

There was a very interesting thread recently with pictures of the Y-G LEDs. I was very impressed. I would still pick white (or what passes for white with the LEDs) for color rendition, but I did think that the Y-G was very competitive.

In this poll, about 77% of A2 owners get white, about 22% get red: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/135469

I like white, because (even though it doesn't maintain night vision), it's widely useful.

I was surprised how useful the A2's LED "low level" is (in white). Beforehand I pictured it as a special "night use" mode, the incandescent beam being for regular use. In fact the white LEDs have adequate brightness for many daytime tasks, so you need the incandescent beam less often.

Red LEDs would better preserve night vision, but are probably less useful for general daytime utility work than white.

I think the white LEDs have a smoother beam pattern than the other-color LEDs.

That said, if night vision preservation is a key priority, by all means get red. OTOH if you want a dim nightstand light to avoid shocking your mate's eyes, maybe even the red LEDs are too bright. In that case a very dimmable light like an HDS U60, Gladius, or Fire~FlyIII might be better.

The A2 is a great light, but it won't win the "white wall beam pattern beauty contest". As long as that's understood and you focus on the A2's practical utility aspects, you'll probably be satisfied. The A2 is a lot more useful than its specifications would imply.

rgp4544 provided a lot of valuable information re red filter verses red LEDs in this thread:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/137821

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I have A2's with both red and white LED's. I've also tried one of the red flip up Bushwacker filters and there doesn't appear to be a significant difference in output between the white A2 with a red filter and the A2 with red LED's. What is bothersome with the filtered output is the red plastic where the hinge is and the red tabs on the filter glow while the light is on.

If you have a frequent need for the colored output, slip on filters can be annoying ... the little bit of rubber around the bezel seems to bump the A2 into the next larger size bracket and makes pocket carry a lot more inconvenient. When the filter is flipped open, the red lens cover sticks out to the side about 1 1/2" or so. The Bushwacker that slips onto the A2 is also pretty tight, and you do have to do a bit of work to put it on or take it off.

That said, if you don't have a regular need to have the colored light output, I would definitely recommend the filter as a low cost alternative to spending a lot of money on a special purpose light.
[ /quote ]

The A2 is a wonderful light! Get the white LED's.

It easy to pocket carry, very handy with the two types and colors of light and high/low feature.

Worth every penny.

Best,

RL