I just received my Surge from BrightGuy.com today and I really really like this light. (Ordered a 2nd one today!)
First, however, I wanted to say thanks for all the posts from all the people that gave positive reviews on the Princton Tec Surge.
Second, when ever I read that someone says that something is "the best" that implies that they have reviewed every other competitor. I do not have multiple "high end" flashlights (yet) like yall do, so my frame of reference is limited.
Even though I knew exactly how long it was(6.5 inches) and how heavy it was (10.8 to 11.6 ounces) I was still surprised at the length and weight. It seemed smaller than a normal 2 d-cell light.
This is purely subjective, (and maybe dumb), but the Surge looks and feels like a precision instrument in your hand, even though it is "plastic". It is sleek and has only one seam where the head meets the body. Plastic flashlights to me always felt "cheap", but this does not.
The lanyard is nice, and it has a plastic terminator at the end of the cord, and a spring loaded plasitc clip to adjust the length of the loop of the lanyard, similar to a spring loaded clip that one might find on a ski jacket with pull strings. I liked this feature, as I could adjust the lanyard, and have "hands free" if I needed to, without letting go of the light.
My main daily need for a flashlight is to walk my dog in a dark field every night for an hour or two (actually the play field of an elementary school). It is un-lighted, but has ambient light from the parking lot, and other surrounding structures. I have been using two 3-D mag-lites, both with upgraded bulbs, the Xenon (or krypton, whatever is the brighter of the two, they do not have a Halogen buld for a 3-D light) 3D bulb from Radio Shack. I actually liked the weight of the two lights, as they doubled as a hand weight.
The first time I turned on the Surge in the dark field, I was very impressed! I had LIGHT! Just a big flood of light in front of me. I didn't have this narrow 10 inch beam of shadowed light,surrounded by darkness, I had lots of light! And I could see what is in front of me. With the Mag-Light, it seemed that I was looking at the shadow of the beam, not what was in front of me.
As my dog ran front of me anywhere from 50-250 feet, the Surge lit her up, and gave a lot of surrounding light. As she ran, I could easily follow her with the light. With the Mag-Light, you had this narrow beam, and if she ran fast, she could elude your light.
As I was walking down the paved paths in the field, I would turn the Surge on, and it would light up everything that was in front of me. It was a much "safer" feeling than turning on the mag-light. The mag-light left you in darkness, with only a thin beam of light. The Surge lights up a very large portion of the direction you are aiming the light.
The switch of the Surge is very nice too. I have always liked the rubber coated button of the Mag-light and still do, but the Surge is a different kind of switch.
To describe it, it is located where the "rubber button" switch would be located on a mag-light. There is a piviting switch about 3/4 to 1 inch long (picture a 1 inch windshield wiper with the pivot closer to the lamp). It is in a "locked" OFF position when it is at the very left. Move the switch out of the locked position and it is still off, but it is in the "momentary on-off" position. A quick, short move of the thumb to the right, and it is on, and another quick, short move back to the left and it is off again. The pivoting action is just stiff enough to not accidently get turned on by a jar or by gravity. Turning it with the thumb all the way until it clicks into the locked ON postition, and it is locked on.
The surge was perfect for what I needed it for. It did, however, not project as far as the mag-light. At a little over 400 feet in front of me (I paced it out), I tried to project the light on the side of the school. The Surge filled the area with a gentle light. The Mag-Light's beam seemed crisper and more defined. (that's because it was so thin and narrow). However, if I need to spot things at 400+ feet, the mag-light would not be my choice light anyway, I would get something more powerful. Just giving you an example of what happens to the beam at longer distances.
I did, however, have an appreciation of the Mag-Light's "dim-ness", however! The dim mag-light, kept my eyes in my "night vision" mode, whereas if you used the Surge up close, your eyes had to re-adjust to the night vision again.
Will I retire my Mag-Lights? Well, for light, the Surge is definately my light of choice. However, until I find a 3-d sized strudy aluminum replacement for the Mag, that will still have a place in my Truck. The mag-light has "non light advantages" that the small lightweight Surge cannot match.
Can't wait to try this light with the ray-o-vac premium batteries. The light comes with duracell alklines (not ultras).
Maybe they can make a "Surge 2" with 16 AA batteries in a nice alumunin case!
