Surefire 12B: Incandescent Dinosaur?

[guncollector]

Okay, okay, I admit it. I am an actual owner of a Surefire 12B "Emergency Hurricane Light". I bought it years ago in a package deal with 12 123-lithiums integrated into the light.

But my question is: in this day and age of ultra-efficient, ultra-long burn LED's, is the 12B a incandescent dinosaur? Is there any possible reason to keep it if I own an Inova X5, Arc LS, or KL-series? More importantly, is it wise to use it at all, when all you get is 24 hours out of the 12 123-lithiums!

I personally think this thing is going to go the way of the 8-Track...

 

[txwest]

I had considered at one time trying to swap the standard bulb out for a LED & useing a dummy battery so it would be just running off one. Should be able to run your old 123's down pretty low. TX

 

[Joe Talmadge]

The 12B was a dinosaur the moment in came out, IMO. I thought we were all in on the joke that the light was just an excuse to sell batteries on the cheap, so SF's customers could run their lights more affordably! I don't think the hurricane lamp was a serious product, not when it took 12 expensive batteries, to run the lamp for less time, with less light output, than some cheap-battery LEDs that were already on the market back then.

 

[txwest]

But the idea is good, just needs a different bulb. TX

 

[flashfan]

For the longest time I've wanted LED bulbs for my Hurricane lights, to be able to run down used 123 batteries. Unfortunately, SureFire was not interested in doing this, and since I don't possess the technical expertise to do it myself, the Hurricane lights sit patiently in a drawer...

 

[Nerd]

Woah, that is a light, the first time I saw it I just tot that it's just another battery carrier.... LOL

 

[Glow Bug]

I thought Duracell wouldn't allow sales of their battery without a product to use them with when supplied to a manafacturer. So, this light was made to sell the batteries within the aggreement between Duracell and Surefire.

 

[txwest]

G B,
I believe you are correct on this. It was called a "loop-hole". TX

 

[flashfan]

Loop-hole or not, with LEDs, I would actually use it.

By the way, isn't the Hurricane still available from SureFire? And aren't they now filled with SF batteries? If so, someone must be buying/using the light...or SF is overstocked.

 

[txwest]

I'm thinking of getting hold of JB to see if he'll do the mod for me (for a nominal fee). He does really nice work. The 123 I just took out of my ARC LS is down to 2V. I need to hook it to a led to see how much light it puts out. TX

 

[Chris M.]

I have one, and don`t use it as a light. They make great battery storage containers- like big Spares Carriers only not watereproof. Tougher than the cardboard boxes those little red batteries usually come in. I expect that`s the main thing people use them for, so they are useful as something other than a tool to sell expensive batteries cheaper.