As a flashlight enthusiast, I feel I have to speak out against this again.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rant.gif
I like SureFire`s flashlights very much. I enjoy the powerful, smooth beams. The construction is first-rate. The deisgns are very innovative especially the new deep-reflectored LED models or the A2/L1 with the two stage pressure switch. When the original 6P/6C came out it was a revolution. But there is one thing I can`t stand, and that`s turning flashlights into weapons. Sure you can bash someone with a D-cell Mag, and an UltraStinger can do double-duty as a baton if absolutely necessary, but that wasn`t the prime motivation behind their design.
The Porcupine made me cringe, the "new M3" made me shudder, this thing sounds even worse. I hate the TID cookie-cutter things but at least those are third-party, removable aftermarket options.
I can only hope this is not the direction SF wants to go for the future, with teeth and nails all over the place. It has law-suit written all over it. Who knows, in this land I live in where the general public are allowed nothing in the way of self defence besides quick wits and a heavy fist, if SF lights gain a reputation as being weapons, thy will end up being banned here too. People will hear the name SureFire, they will remember the court cases they saw on TV involving people being attacked with these sharpened flashlights, and over-react. There goes my collection of high performance flashlights. OK that may be a selfish view but would it not also seriously affect the progress of flashlight technology? Will we be left with dim AA maglites, as the high-power Xenon lites have been classified along with pepper spray and tasers? If police officers can`t tell if that small, bright lamp someone`s using has sharpened points around the end, I can see that happening here.
I know the general public is not their no.1 market, and there will be certain situations where a properly trained person can use one of these DNA collectors to their advantage. I know this "E2D" is just an option and I don`t have to buy it (I hope it doesn`t replace the E2e) but I think this general new direction they are heading in is a mistake. Will all their new lights have sharp edges? I hope not. I have heard some defend the new-design M3 as saying it`s just scalloping so you can see if it`s been left on, but surely that can`t be right? Look how deep the cutouts are, look how sharp the edges are. Scalloping is the gentle grooves on the KL1, not deep gouges that can be used to jab people with.
A limited-avaliability range of accessories that could be sold to, and used by, properly trained personnel, now I don`t object to that. But making everyone who buys a new M3 (or whatever standard light gets this re-design next) have a light with a jagged edge around the lens is surely wrong. If they want to make these things, make them options not the default, and don`t sell them to the public, please!
[/rant]
Concerned.....
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif