KevinL
Flashlight Enthusiast
I've been thinking a lot ever since The Incident (call it charger, call it cells, I used to work at one place which quite literally believed in "blame EVERYTHING") about my rechargeable strategy.
The problem with the damn things is that they all have their own independent charger platforms, their own price points, their own quirks including length, supported lights, and such. I have a few configurations of lights I'd like to convert to rechargeable. Thought I'd get some opinions from the Collective.
My current investment:
Project C2-90 - a two-cell Surefire running 2 x protected R123s and a P90. Requires R123s and charger, that I have. Cannot run any primary cells without an extender - and I'm not willing to put the extender on because it becomes very long.
Project Rice Rocket (RR) - a two or three cell Surefire 6P with KT Turbohead and A19. Can run either the MN60 with 3xR123, MN15 with 2xR123, or the MN15/16 with 2 x Pila 150S. Can run MN15/16 with primary cells.
U2 Digital Ultra - we all know this one. Pila 168A/168S (will work it out when I get it)... or R123? Can run with 2 primary cells.
Surefire KL1/L4 body/Z52 - R123s and Pilas would work. Can run with 1 or 2 primary cells.
I'd like to invest in EITHER Pilas or R123s but it sure doesn't look like the setup will allow it. This means investing in two kinds of charger for very different setups. The Pila charger is quite a hefty investment as well. Just outfitting say, the U2 alone, or RR alone, would cost upwards of $70. I know I shouldn't be complaining about the cost of chargers especially after The Incident, but I'm starting to get frustrated and feel that I should just get my reseller to ship me a 72-pack of Surefire cells and be done with it once and for all.
The problem with the damn things is that they all have their own independent charger platforms, their own price points, their own quirks including length, supported lights, and such. I have a few configurations of lights I'd like to convert to rechargeable. Thought I'd get some opinions from the Collective.
My current investment:
Project C2-90 - a two-cell Surefire running 2 x protected R123s and a P90. Requires R123s and charger, that I have. Cannot run any primary cells without an extender - and I'm not willing to put the extender on because it becomes very long.
Project Rice Rocket (RR) - a two or three cell Surefire 6P with KT Turbohead and A19. Can run either the MN60 with 3xR123, MN15 with 2xR123, or the MN15/16 with 2 x Pila 150S. Can run MN15/16 with primary cells.
U2 Digital Ultra - we all know this one. Pila 168A/168S (will work it out when I get it)... or R123? Can run with 2 primary cells.
Surefire KL1/L4 body/Z52 - R123s and Pilas would work. Can run with 1 or 2 primary cells.
I'd like to invest in EITHER Pilas or R123s but it sure doesn't look like the setup will allow it. This means investing in two kinds of charger for very different setups. The Pila charger is quite a hefty investment as well. Just outfitting say, the U2 alone, or RR alone, would cost upwards of $70. I know I shouldn't be complaining about the cost of chargers especially after The Incident, but I'm starting to get frustrated and feel that I should just get my reseller to ship me a 72-pack of Surefire cells and be done with it once and for all.
