souptree
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2005
- Messages
- 1,175
Yes, that's right! As far as I know, I have the world's only SureFire A2 with orange LEDs!
I didn't plan to put orange LEDs in a light. The thought never crossed my mind. I originally wanted to have milkyspit swap the stock red LEDs for brighter red LEDs with a smoother beam. The decision to go with orange LEDs was made on a whim during a conversation with milky. While we were discussing various LED options, he offered some super bright Kingbright orange LEDs he had gotten from LED Museum that he thought I might like. It sounded like a pretty cool and original idea, and I jumped at it.
Now that I have it, and have taken it outdoors for 30+ miles of extended night hiking, it's really become one of my favorite lights.
I find the orange tint exceptionally usable outdoors, and very easy on the eyes after hours of constant usage (I frequently hike from sunset to almost sunrise). It gives better color rendition and contrast for hiking than red or blue, but doesn't blow out night vision too badly at all. Night vision impact is virtually zero if you keep the light a foot away from anything to avoid anything remotely close to a hot spot. At that point, it's 100% flood and exceptionally smooth.
This light is like night and day compared to when I sent it to milky. The original LEDs were barely useful for reading a sheet of paper in the dark, with a beam pattern like a drunk staring at a radiation symbol. As you can see in the beam shot below, the beam pattern is now fantastically smooth, even and useful. I can now easily navigate a clutter filled room in the dark by the A2 LEDs alone, which was impossible before. In fact, we just went backpacking, and I hiked miles at night with just the orange A2 hanging from my neck -- not pointed, mind you -- just hanging from the lanyard, pointing down or wherever it bounced to. The flood from this light hanging in this manner is completely sufficient for lighting up the trail around my feet!
In retrospect, the only thing I would have done differently if I had actually planned out the use of orange LEDs in advance is that I really should have found a black A2 to mod and made it a Halloween A2! That still gnaws at me, so I might wind up doing that and swapping at some point. A second A2 is probably not a bad idea for backup in the wilderness anyway.
I originally purchased the A2 for the incandescent regulation. I am a major incan fan. Given the sad, sad (SAD!) fact that the A2 is the only SF regulated incan, I really felt that the primary purpose of the LEDs was to punch holes in the reflector in order to screw up the incan beam. I just don't know what else I can say about how much of a negative the LEDs were to me originally. They were totally and completely useless before the swap. Frankly, it's pretty disappointing SF would ship a light with LEDs like that. Milkyspit made the presence of the LEDs on my A2 go from a major detriment to a major asset. I never would have realized what a beautiful piece of engineering the A2 reflector is without milky's swap.
[Totally Off-Topic Inset: SureFire! Sell me a regulated incan turbohead light! :candle:]
The top 3 pics are on a grey backpack. Pic #4 is a white wall beam shot (light about 3 inches from wall, camera is at a 45 degree angle to both, maybe a foot back -- it is a close up beam shot). Pic #5 is the A2 side by side with my HDS U60XRGT. The pic with the HDS is taken on an orange Thermarest. You can see a hint of the actual color of the Thermarest in the HDS beam. The beam of the A2 looks way too red in that picture. The hot spots on all of these shots is a little blown out, because the center is pure orange, and not yellow as seen in the pic. The last picture is a daylight shot of the grey pack material and the Thermarest material so you know what you're looking at.
I let someone else carry my HDS half the trip. It's the first time I have EVER let that HDS out of my grasp on a trail since I got it. That should tell you everything you need to know about this A2 (and that person!).
I am really boggled by how much better this light is now, so if you're wondering whether to pull the trigger on a milky mod, I say go for it! And remember -- be patient! You are one of many, but good things come to those who are willing to wait.
I didn't plan to put orange LEDs in a light. The thought never crossed my mind. I originally wanted to have milkyspit swap the stock red LEDs for brighter red LEDs with a smoother beam. The decision to go with orange LEDs was made on a whim during a conversation with milky. While we were discussing various LED options, he offered some super bright Kingbright orange LEDs he had gotten from LED Museum that he thought I might like. It sounded like a pretty cool and original idea, and I jumped at it.
Now that I have it, and have taken it outdoors for 30+ miles of extended night hiking, it's really become one of my favorite lights.
I find the orange tint exceptionally usable outdoors, and very easy on the eyes after hours of constant usage (I frequently hike from sunset to almost sunrise). It gives better color rendition and contrast for hiking than red or blue, but doesn't blow out night vision too badly at all. Night vision impact is virtually zero if you keep the light a foot away from anything to avoid anything remotely close to a hot spot. At that point, it's 100% flood and exceptionally smooth.
This light is like night and day compared to when I sent it to milky. The original LEDs were barely useful for reading a sheet of paper in the dark, with a beam pattern like a drunk staring at a radiation symbol. As you can see in the beam shot below, the beam pattern is now fantastically smooth, even and useful. I can now easily navigate a clutter filled room in the dark by the A2 LEDs alone, which was impossible before. In fact, we just went backpacking, and I hiked miles at night with just the orange A2 hanging from my neck -- not pointed, mind you -- just hanging from the lanyard, pointing down or wherever it bounced to. The flood from this light hanging in this manner is completely sufficient for lighting up the trail around my feet!
In retrospect, the only thing I would have done differently if I had actually planned out the use of orange LEDs in advance is that I really should have found a black A2 to mod and made it a Halloween A2! That still gnaws at me, so I might wind up doing that and swapping at some point. A second A2 is probably not a bad idea for backup in the wilderness anyway.
I originally purchased the A2 for the incandescent regulation. I am a major incan fan. Given the sad, sad (SAD!) fact that the A2 is the only SF regulated incan, I really felt that the primary purpose of the LEDs was to punch holes in the reflector in order to screw up the incan beam. I just don't know what else I can say about how much of a negative the LEDs were to me originally. They were totally and completely useless before the swap. Frankly, it's pretty disappointing SF would ship a light with LEDs like that. Milkyspit made the presence of the LEDs on my A2 go from a major detriment to a major asset. I never would have realized what a beautiful piece of engineering the A2 reflector is without milky's swap.
[Totally Off-Topic Inset: SureFire! Sell me a regulated incan turbohead light! :candle:]
The top 3 pics are on a grey backpack. Pic #4 is a white wall beam shot (light about 3 inches from wall, camera is at a 45 degree angle to both, maybe a foot back -- it is a close up beam shot). Pic #5 is the A2 side by side with my HDS U60XRGT. The pic with the HDS is taken on an orange Thermarest. You can see a hint of the actual color of the Thermarest in the HDS beam. The beam of the A2 looks way too red in that picture. The hot spots on all of these shots is a little blown out, because the center is pure orange, and not yellow as seen in the pic. The last picture is a daylight shot of the grey pack material and the Thermarest material so you know what you're looking at.
I let someone else carry my HDS half the trip. It's the first time I have EVER let that HDS out of my grasp on a trail since I got it. That should tell you everything you need to know about this A2 (and that person!).
I am really boggled by how much better this light is now, so if you're wondering whether to pull the trigger on a milky mod, I say go for it! And remember -- be patient! You are one of many, but good things come to those who are willing to wait.
