D
**DONOTDELETE**
Guest
I finally got my first SureFire in the form of the 8AX H.A.. I already have a Stinger XT and thus have used it as a comparison based on the following factors: Size, weight, construction, operation, aesthetic, beam quality, brightness, cost of purchase, and cost of operation.
The 8AX wins over the Stinger in the size and weight area. It's slightly smaller, but not by much. Thus these two factor earned a point or two over the stinger. The aesthetic is very appealing over the stinger, in that the design looks "cooler" than the stinger, which looks common place. Even the box that the 8AX kit comes in is gear towards visual appeal (however I suspect that the consumer also paid for the design and production of the box). I love the lense that the 8AX has, very smooth and almost transparent, Streamlight should using a better material like SureFire did instead of using that "polycarb"(which I believe is basically polished plastic). The brightness between the 8AX and the stinger is very very close with the 8AX just a tad brighter. And while I like the visual appeal of the construction of the 8AX over the stinger, the feel of the flashlight itself is lacking. Compared to the stinger, the 8AX feels lacking in refinement. Like a strong, yet crude piece of metal verse the smoothed, balance feel of the stinger. The operation between to these two flashlight is as different between night and day. I can understand that SureFire kept the operation design to be simple to limit the chance of operation failure. That is the common law of physics "The less moving parts a machine has, the less likely that machine will fail". However, the momentary switch at the tailcap of the 8AX that simply push the battery stick into contact point is heavy on the feel. The turning of the head for constant on mode is somewhat awkward although logical. The stinger on the other hand has the reassuring "click" feel to it on its tailcap switch. The beam quality has to go to the 8AX, but I noticed that the central focus is sensitive to movement, meaning that the beam drifts un-naturally to my perception as I use the it as a search light in the dark. The stinger does have a much less than "perfect" beam, but it's ability to extend its range (I believe because its not as smooth as the 8AX), can be deemed as a redemption quality. Speaking of beams... I long suspected that the reason that SureFire only sell replacement bulbs as part of a reflector assembly is to maintain its factory focus. Now I can confirm that after having the 8AX in hand myself. This insures or severly limits the possibility of messing up the focus upon replacement of the bulb. However SureFire replacement bulb/reflectors run around $20 a piece. The Stinger has a much lower bulb replacement cost (around $4)because the bulb is replaced only, however, the practice of bulb replacement in the stinger usually result in a out of focus beam. Thus the user will have to play with the bulb-pin to slot alignment game several times before getting a satisfactory focus. The initial cost of both of these flashlights can be deceiving. The 8AX comes with a extra battery, rapid charger, and 2 adaptors. The stinger initially seem to cost less to purchase, but I had to add the extra battery, replace the regular charger with a rapid charger option, and the AC and DC option and the intial purchase cost is about the same.
Overall, the 8AX is good flashlight, however, when compared to the stinger XT, I have to side with the stinger XT based on feel, balance, operation, and cost of bulb replacement. I have to give it to SureFire for quality of beam, material of lense, packaging, and marketing appeal (yes, I graduated from college with a bachelors in marketing). Now if only surefire can remedy the problem of the high bulb replacement cost of its flashlights while maintaining its nice beam quality... Yes, I do have an idea of how these two can be balanced, and it is technically possible.... But I don't work for SureFire...
The 8AX wins over the Stinger in the size and weight area. It's slightly smaller, but not by much. Thus these two factor earned a point or two over the stinger. The aesthetic is very appealing over the stinger, in that the design looks "cooler" than the stinger, which looks common place. Even the box that the 8AX kit comes in is gear towards visual appeal (however I suspect that the consumer also paid for the design and production of the box). I love the lense that the 8AX has, very smooth and almost transparent, Streamlight should using a better material like SureFire did instead of using that "polycarb"(which I believe is basically polished plastic). The brightness between the 8AX and the stinger is very very close with the 8AX just a tad brighter. And while I like the visual appeal of the construction of the 8AX over the stinger, the feel of the flashlight itself is lacking. Compared to the stinger, the 8AX feels lacking in refinement. Like a strong, yet crude piece of metal verse the smoothed, balance feel of the stinger. The operation between to these two flashlight is as different between night and day. I can understand that SureFire kept the operation design to be simple to limit the chance of operation failure. That is the common law of physics "The less moving parts a machine has, the less likely that machine will fail". However, the momentary switch at the tailcap of the 8AX that simply push the battery stick into contact point is heavy on the feel. The turning of the head for constant on mode is somewhat awkward although logical. The stinger on the other hand has the reassuring "click" feel to it on its tailcap switch. The beam quality has to go to the 8AX, but I noticed that the central focus is sensitive to movement, meaning that the beam drifts un-naturally to my perception as I use the it as a search light in the dark. The stinger does have a much less than "perfect" beam, but it's ability to extend its range (I believe because its not as smooth as the 8AX), can be deemed as a redemption quality. Speaking of beams... I long suspected that the reason that SureFire only sell replacement bulbs as part of a reflector assembly is to maintain its factory focus. Now I can confirm that after having the 8AX in hand myself. This insures or severly limits the possibility of messing up the focus upon replacement of the bulb. However SureFire replacement bulb/reflectors run around $20 a piece. The Stinger has a much lower bulb replacement cost (around $4)because the bulb is replaced only, however, the practice of bulb replacement in the stinger usually result in a out of focus beam. Thus the user will have to play with the bulb-pin to slot alignment game several times before getting a satisfactory focus. The initial cost of both of these flashlights can be deceiving. The 8AX comes with a extra battery, rapid charger, and 2 adaptors. The stinger initially seem to cost less to purchase, but I had to add the extra battery, replace the regular charger with a rapid charger option, and the AC and DC option and the intial purchase cost is about the same.
Overall, the 8AX is good flashlight, however, when compared to the stinger XT, I have to side with the stinger XT based on feel, balance, operation, and cost of bulb replacement. I have to give it to SureFire for quality of beam, material of lense, packaging, and marketing appeal (yes, I graduated from college with a bachelors in marketing). Now if only surefire can remedy the problem of the high bulb replacement cost of its flashlights while maintaining its nice beam quality... Yes, I do have an idea of how these two can be balanced, and it is technically possible.... But I don't work for SureFire...
