Is the older Version always better?

It seems to me that people are always looking for the older versions of lights: 4-sides version of SF A2, old version of SF L1, round bezel SF 6p, no longer produced SF D2, older version of MAG....

I am not sure whether people are nostalgic, or whether those lights are better than the current version, or it is just my wrong observation.

ymfymf

Not better, in most cases, just different. The shape of an SF body is really personal preference. In some cases, you will miss improvements that have been made in lights when you buy an older version.

Of course, in the case of a discontinued light, "older" is the only choice. On other lights, color choice or bezel style may make an older version more desirable to someone.

Also, you might save some money when you buy an older style light. Older Surefires tend to maintain their appeal because they are older Surefires. If they have had good treatment they will work as well as a newer one.

Mostly, as with many things, older or a little different add some appeal.

Mark

It depends on the individual model. Sometimes, older is better.
It does seem as though the older Surefire A2 falls into that category.

The new model Inova T1 is better than the older one.

L1P vs. L1D... the L1P is "better" from my viewpoint.

Let's see... IMHO the new Inova X1 is better. It has a very pleasant flood, despite losing runtime. The new E1L and E2L's are clearly better, having a very similar beam but much longer runtime.

carrot said:

The new E1L and E2L's are clearly better, having a very similar beam but much longer runtime.

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But the heads (KX1, KX2) aren't nearly as flexible as the "old" KL1 was. You could run the KL1 on Li-Ion rechargeables no problem at all, and you could use it with one or two cells.

Hans

It's a tradeoff, I guess. I have an old E1L and now that they've split the KL1 into the KX1 and KX2, I can't bring myself to part with it.

I think it is human nature to covet that which is unobtainable or no longer available. Who among us hasn't said about a particular item , I have one of those , but "they quit making them". What we are really saying is I have one and you can't get one!!!!!
:naughty:

senna94 said:

I think it is human nature to covet that which is unobtainable or no longer available. Who among us hasn't said about a particular item , I have one of those , but "they quit making them". What we are we are really saying is I have one and you can't get one!!!!!
:naughty:

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Of course. I have three Spyderco Dodo's in varying colors and edge types. But they quit making them!

carrot said:

L1P vs. L1D... the L1P is "better" from my viewpoint.

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Can you explain why ??
You often hear this about many things not just flashlights.

fluke said:

Can you explain why ??
You often hear this about many things not just flashlights.

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Sure thing. Simpler, slightly smaller and lighter, and quite easily user-modifiable if you *must* have two light levels.

I like the old SureFire E1 and E2 (without lockout tailcap) because they're just a tad shorter. Also, the clips were on the head of the old lights, so you could achieve a nice, sleek E1 or E2 with KL1 head (no clip marks, grooves).

I also prefer the old KL1 without the optic--just can't stand the square beam, plus adding WriteRight to protect the rounded optic is problematic. Now all I need is a modder to update to a brighter LED.

The local university is going through this older is better phase now that Vista is upon us. They want to switch everybody back to XP. Seems a lot of their custom software does not run... They get quiet when I mention using things in XP that MSFT said was not supported and might go away at anytime.

I could have written the above when XP replaced 95.

The high turnover in a university guarentees that it will happen again.

senna94 said:

I think it is human nature to covet that which is unobtainable or no longer available. Who among us hasn't said about a particular item , I have one of those , but "they quit making them". What we are really saying is I have one and you can't get one!!!!!
:naughty:

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I have a rare Black Dorcy 1AAA model.... with a reflector!

Jealous??

I think it is subjective to the individual.Currently we are seeing huge advances in LED performance but sometimes there are lights which we like despite the fact they can't match the output of the latest lights.The CMG Infinity Ultra is a good example.I have seen a number of members(self included) here lamenting the fact that Gerber changed the design even though the LEDs being used now are better than the LEDs in the original CMG Infinity.Matter of fact I still like my standard(not ultra)CMG Infinity.Really dim by today's standards but the ease of use,rugged design,common battery and long runtime make this light a winner with me it's great for navigating the house in a power outage or when I don't want to blind myself late at night.Gerber's current version is OK but with a tail twisty it just is not the same light and it doesn't interest me. :shrug:

I'm curious. Given that quite some people are preferring the old (discontinued) versions, why don't the marketing or research department of the light makers get heed of the demand and produce those old models again.

I speculate that if SF is re-making the 9NT, or the square body A2, or ....., people will just be happy to open their wallet.

ymfymf

Sometimes the newer is better due to the technologies used

ymfymf said:

I'm curious. Given that quite some people are preferring the old (discontinued) versions, why don't the marketing or research department of the light makers get heed of the demand and produce those old models again.

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Most likely, it's because CPFers actually make up a tiny percentage of a flashlight company's customer base.

ahhh...., nostalgia....

Sometimes its just that people like the look of the old design more than the new design, Or sometimes light's will change so they no longer accept rechargeable. The reason's are very broad.

Monocrom said:

It depends on the individual model. Sometimes, older is better.
It does seem as though the older Surefire A2 falls into that category.

The new model Inova T1 is better than the older one.

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I've owned a few of each and do not agree. What is it about the older A2's you feel is better?