Jahn - Wow, he called me Jahn. (Swoons away ... )
PK was kind enough to answer some of my anguished pleas, (I pledded very much), and a few days ago let me have some pre-release particulars of the new SureFire lights.
Thank you PK - I am "well chuffed".
Al knows everything about the new products that I do, and doubtless more - especially when it comes to quantifying the XYZ-213 against the YZX-312. Since Al is "our CPF man on the spot", it's probably better that y'all get the true and hot material from he.
What I am absolutely certain of is that these new lights, entire ranges of new models, represent a quantum leap forward in hand-held illumination. With SureFire quality, and SureFire R+D behind them, they are a whole new level in our small world.
(A new dimension, a paradigm shift, revolution not evolution - I'll spare you the rest ... )
Although the prices must also be dependably at SureFire level too !!
I shudder to think how much those $uperlights of 2,000+ Lu will be. For the smaller, Must-Have and (just !) Can-Have-Lights: I'm just waiting for the announcement of price$.
Looking forward ......
However, for these things, there will be a market sector in the real, larger world, the Tactical side. I guess we CPF and SFDB members are a fraction of a micro-sector.
Most of us most probably want them, and we sure-will be discussing them for the longest time. Hey, not too long ago, people would start a new Topic just to gleefully announce that they owned one of the (then) new E2's.
But the Tactical people will just go for their performance and usefulness, without asking too much about the expense, what colours they are available in, etc. etc..
They'll just buy large quantities without all the fun of arguing about them.
Strange, but true.
Like anything else at the very edge of development, the improvements will provoke yet more refinements. These aren't the last SureFire products ever to be designed.
SHOT 2003, to SHOT 2010 - what will they bring ? The highest and best technology will always be more expensive and difficult to produce than the routine. Eventually, the benefits will filter down to other models, and probably other makes.
*Competing* companies (Who ??) will reverse-engineer the improvements, and due to their saving a great deal on R+D costs, will possibly produce less expensive versions.
(6P vs. Scorpion - what do people think ?)
Perhaps mass production of what are currently *novelties* will involve economies of scale, and result in mass producing happy lights enthusiasts.
What will the other companies have to show to compete with these innovations ? I honestly can't imagine that there will be anything as impressive as these.
(I'd love to be pleasantly surprised, but really ... )
PK of SF (and his fearless team) must have worked real hard for long hours on this multitude of designs. It seems like a whole new philosophy of lights has been created. I imagine that the stress involved must have been like going through Hell's fire - Beastly even ........
Enough pontification-ing: let's go over to our Plucky, Lucky, Brit-in-Vegas, the one and only Alastair Windler !!
lightlover
