Why Surefire still make Incandescent model 6P and G2?

Hello.

I wonder why Surefire still make G2 and 6P incan. model.

Are there anyone who know about it?

Just a guess, but they are still great lights? I know Surefire does not care about what good hosts they make for LED dropins, but they still put out as many warm incandescent lumens as they ever did. G2 with a P60 sitting about five feet from me as we speak...

I like to think it's paying homage to their beginnings - the incandescent P60 format. I'm somewhat indifferent about the G2, but the 6P is still such a solid platform (whether it is modded or not) that I hope to see them continue to offer it as long as they are in business.

If I had to guess, I bet they still get a fair amount of orders from law enforcement organizations - enough to justify keeping the models in production.

They are great platforms in their own right, but given the self-contained design Surefire is concentrating on, they're something of an anachronism, even for a primarily LED-based company.

I agree, they are great lights. Apart from the runtime, 65(100 on fresh cells?) lumens are more than enough for maybe 95% of the time I need a light.
I keep two incan G2s and a G3, they don't get as much use as my bored 6P and other LED Surefires but they get the job done and are fun to use.

I would say a lot of it is sales. Money talks(period). They were the cheaper of the P60 style hosts they had. Which probably lent to higher sales volume for those compared to the higher priced C, Z..ect. SF also knew that if they discontinued the other models we would have no choice but to buy what they offer, if you want a SF P60 host. It cuts out the extra expense of manufacturing several different hosts, while focusing on the new loctite lights. They may have to swallow a little pride knowing that these get tore apart and reassembled with various modules and Doo-dad's that they can't make a dime on, but the demand is there for a host. I'm sure they have considered marketing P60 Doo-dads too. I'd say there's more profit in hollowing out some aluminum tubing, and letting the little guys supply the Doo-dad's. Hmm, it sounds like I may be a little grumpy about all that..lol. I'm not really, it just came out that way. While I'd love to be able to buy as many brand new Z2/Z3's as my little heart desires, I think the "search" makes it more interesting, for me anyway. I may even have it all wrong, I've not been around collecting all that long. I love SF lights, even some of the newer loctite models..lol. It's not too hard to find MOST of the other SF hosts right now. In 5-10yrs that may be a different story. Having to settle for a 6P or G2 isn't much to complain about though, IMHO. They are awesome lights strait out of the package. I can deal with that. Just my 2 cents/ramblings on the matter.
Take care, DB


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Because most people who buy flashlights just want flashlights that turn on, turn off, and never fail. Military and law enforcement have higher standards in the durability department, and they are big spenders for things like portable lighting. The 6P and G2 meet those basic qualifications.

I think it's very cool to offer the 6P and say it's the original light that's still going strong.

The 6p was actually placed on the discontinued list before it was taken off. http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...Surefire-discontinuing-some-flashlights/page1

As TMedina said, it's the contracts. Having worked on government bids before, I have tp tell you the process is a little arcane. In many contracts, if you are selling Model T, you have to agree to make Model Ts for X years, and to continue to have parts available for Y years after the end of the contract. In the case of the G2 and the 6P, more than likely the contracts are open ended, unlimited quantity quantity ones. Usually a contract will state that any significant change in specifications, even if supplied at no additional cost, will require that the product be opened for re-bid, with the possibility of losing the business to a competitor. Also, after this length of time, all of the production equipment and R & D costs will have depreciated out, greatly improving the profit margin. For those of us old enough to remember the Chrysler K-cars, that is what happened there. With the tooling and R & D costs depreciated to zero, Chrysler was able to drop the consumer price several hundred dollars, and still keep some increased profits for themselves.(It is amazing how useful that one Business Accounting class has been over all these years, even if I was an IT wonk!)

In addition to above, SF will make more money selling batteries and LAs for these lights.

Thanks for many words.

I see why they still make it.

Doesn't hurt that most of the people on CPF seem to own 50 of them.

Whether or not the company agrees with people swapping out the dropin, people are still buying them and doing it. So this means units are still selling. So why discontinue something that people keep buying? They put a small disclaimer on and then people buy them and increase revenue.

It would be interesting to hear from an insider Surefire's reason but I don't think we will be that lucky.My guess is that there is still sufficient demand and sales to justify production,though I wonder how long that will continue.The 6P and G2 are the only current SF lights that I am interested in myself, but I want them for drop-in hosts and I don't believe SF has any interest in that market even though it is contributing to sales.

Two words.... Military contracts.

It really makes no practical sense, but then how .gov runs rarely does. It certainly has nothing to do with the limited durability or shorter run-times of incans vs. LEDs.

Monocrom said:

Two words.... Military contracts.

Click to expand...

Which military branch is issuing 6Ps? I didn't get one while I was in.

MBentz said:

Which military branch is issuing 6Ps? I didn't get one while I was in.

Click to expand...

No other reason to keep making it.

The contracts may have expired, but I can pretty much guarantee that Surefire is still obligated to produce parts for a certain number of years after end of contract. Since they have to keep equipment available to produce those and for their own lifetime warranty, and there is still demand for the lights for whatever reason, why not produce a little extra and sell them to meet that demand as well.

I will admit I wouldn't mind having another G2 just for old times sake, but the combined cost of the G2 and a medium powered high-CRI drop-in is more than I am willing to spend right now for nostalgia's sake.

I still default to my G2 hosts for my working lights - granted, I run Malkoff M61L and LL drop-ins. But they're solid performers and absolutely reliable barring extreme abuse. And if you look, you can find them on sale from time to time.

The 6P, on the other hand, is still just a tad too high for what I'm willing to spend. I might have to buy one for nostalgia's sake though.