Will surefire ever discontinue their "personal" incan lights?

The L models are not that much more and get much better brightness to runtime ratio. I can picture them continuing making bulbs, but discontinuing the lights. Your opinions?

In the near term no. Too many old farts around, myself included, who like the simplicity of incans.

Whats in my backpack? An E2e. I prefer this over the latest L1, which sits in storage.

kelmo

I think it'll be quite a long time before all their incans are discontinued. They are pretty good about reusing parts from their incans in their new LED models so it probably doesn't cost them that much to keep selling the older incan models.

I prefer incans, I wish they would just make them all regulated like the A2 so I wouldn't have any reasons to have LEDs.

Will record players be replaced by CD players???

Luckily if they do I'll still be set. :naughty:

kelmo said:

In the near term no. Too many old farts around, myself included, who like the simplicity of incans.

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Please explain?

How is an incan more simple than an LED?

You've got bulb consumption, filaments that can break from a drop, far more battery rotation (no matter what batteries you're using), pricey bulb replacements, and you consider this to be "more simple"?

PS - I'm no incan hater or anything, I actually intend to own a few high performance incans someday whenever work actually becomes full time again. And that's largely because of what I just typed! (Read, M. O. N. E. Y.)

It just is.

Simple as in positive and negative make contact to a bulb and light comes out.

Sgt. LED said:

It just is.

Simple as in positive and negative make contact to a bulb and light comes out.

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Ahh, perhaps we're talking from a modding standpoint? That I could definitely understand...

:thumbsup:

Dude Dudeson said:

Please explain?

How is an incan more simple than an LED?

You've got bulb consumption, filaments that can break from a drop, far more battery rotation (no matter what batteries you're using), pricey bulb replacements, and you consider this to be "more simple"?

PS - I'm no incan hater or anything, I actually intend to own a few high performance incans someday whenever work actually becomes full time again. And that's largely because of what I just typed! (Read, M. O. N. E. Y.)

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They are easier to fix. If the lamp blows you replace it. If the batteries die, you replace them. Twisty switches are very robust. The modern LED light is a very sophisticated machine. Multi-levels, regulation circuits, in some instances more moving parts, etc. More potential failure points. I think I've had just as many LEDs (including my L2) sent back for warranty as I have had to replace SF LAs. 3 for both.

I'm not taking into consideration the financial aspect.

If you run a U2 on high the runtime will not be marginally greater than my E2e IMHO. It will be brighter.

Well they can't really honor a lifetime guarantee if they make incans obsolete...

DimeRazorback said:

Well they can't really honor a lifetime guarantee if they make incans obsolete...

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The flip side is that they could reduce the staffing of their e-mail customer service department...

Doubt Surefire will discontinue their incan models. At least for most of the P/C/Z series the bodies, heads and tails are almost the same and the big item that's different is the lamp modules. For the E series, most of the bodies and tailcaps are the same and the LED modules can fit on the incan and vice versa (the head that is). Their incan models are very simple lights.

Now if only SF would bring back the E Series twisty! At least they should make it an option. Come on!

Kestrel said:

The flip side is that they could reduce the staffing of their e-mail customer service department...

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It might also reduce their inventory. In the flip side, SF might lose a little $$$ since they no longer sell incan bulbs.

However, in my travels to the gun shows, try as the vendors may, people will still buy SF incan bulbs over the P60L or any of the LED modules out today.

I don't see incans being around all that much longer though.

LED technology is being driven on SO many fronts these days, and for so many reasons.

I of course could be wrong, but I have a pretty strong feeling that any disadvantages of LED today will simply be nonexistent within a decade.

I was one of the CRT computer monitor stalwarts for quite some time due to things like ghosting and contrast ratios. Well you get an entire industry worldwide tackling the issues and what do you get? You eventually get a product that pretty much exterminates the age old tech.

I really think LED is on that track.

Dude Dudeson said:

I don't see incans being around all that much longer though.

LED technology is being driven on SO many fronts these days, and for so many reasons.

I of course could be wrong, but I have a pretty strong feeling that any disadvantages of LED today will simply be nonexistent within a decade.

I was one of the CRT computer monitor stalwarts for quite some time due to things like ghosting and contrast ratios. Well you get an entire industry worldwide tackling the issues and what do you get? You eventually get a product that pretty much exterminates the age old tech.

I really think LED is on that track.

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Incorporating LED models seems to be a natural progression. Even then, with all the new LED models out, SF has kept the incan models around such as the CPF favorite, the A2.

On the other hand, Surefire is working on coming out with the LED models of their weapon lights, the Vampire and a new version of the M3. I guess we will find out what direction SF decides to take once their new models roll out. But there is no denying the sheer power (and modability) of the incan M4 and M6! :devil:

Yeah, but I've seen the death of so many things by now that I never would have guessed.

The latest and biggest kicker?

The CAN OF COCA COLA. You go into a convenience store or gas station these days and about 90% of the time you cannot find a can of Coke! It's December, and it's snowing around here, I don't want a big 20 ounce bottle, just a 12 ounce can!

If someone even ten years ago had bet me on this happening I'd have laughed in their face, declared them to be on drugs, and quite readily made any monetary bet against it.

Yet the single can of Coke is rapidly becoming a thing of the past - unbelievable!

So I'm definitely not betting on incans staying around...

Depends on whether or not their primary customers (government military agencies) continue to purchase / issue them.

I'll go out on a limb and say when LED tint gets to replicate incan tint, the incan will be phased out.

Even then I don't see it happening. SF has a lot of business with the military. While IR light production is a non-issue for most of us, it is important to have for the military. And as others have said, simplicity. Without the replaceable parts a 6p is basically an aluminum tube, some glass and a switch, there's not much to go wrong there.