Surefire and HID lights?

[mrwhite1]

It seems to me as if Surefire is phasing out the HID lights in favor of LED?
With the demise of The Beast II, and the fact nothing has been heard about the ARC1 / ARC2, the Hellfighter is the only one left?
Any thoughts on why?

 

[Popsiclestix]

LEDs have pretty much gained parity with handheld HID lights now? The SST90 puts out 2250 lumens which is approaching the same general ballpark as the Beast II now.

Not to mention they are less finicky about their electrical requirements and have instant-on/off capabilities.

 

[kramer5150]

LEDs and green energy technologies are forging new grounds in civilian applications. LEDs are pushing the envelope and starting to phase out HID and incan in the automotive realm. Audi, Lexus, and Cadillac are currently producing vehicles with LED headlamps. The amber sodium lamp streetlights around my office were recently replaced with multi-emitter LED arrays.

The brightest LEDs are only going to get brighter and more energy efficient as the technology evolves. IMHO its just a matter of time... if they could figure out a way to replicate incan CRI, that would be the nail in the coffin for me.

A 55W HID emits over 3000 bulb lumens (from what I understand). So LEDs are not quite there yet, but they are rapidly catching up.

Surefire has US military contracts with the hellfighter. I imagine they will develop whatever lighting system the US military needs/wants and is willing to pay for. Towards the end of this video Don Alexander does mention the Hellfighter II and III. So... something is in the works. Whether its LED or HID remains to be seen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbqk60di6Jg

 

[dudemar]

Any thoughts on why?

Like most companies that test new concepts, they experiment with it and often scrap the idea well before it ever gets to market. Surefire took a chance with the Beast as a limited run of 100, then decided to make a run of Beast IIs. I can only speculate but they probably realized the market for a $4800 light is limited to the military, law enforcement and the few people that can afford it. That said they are probably moving on to bigger and better things.

 

[mrwhite1]

I spoke to Surefire, and they said the Arc Lights still aren't off the drawing board but they are still being researched. He said the goal was to offer them in a configuration similar to The Beast (1 - Rechargeable handle 1 - 123 battery handle). He said the goal was 3000+ lumen

 

[XeRay]

A 55W HID emits over 3000 bulb lumens (from what I understand). So LEDs are not quite there yet, but they are rapidly catching up.

A 35 watt HID does that (3000+lumens) The China 55 watt kits typically output about 40 watts to the bulb (~4000 lumens with 4200K quality bulb)
50watt (true) is over 5000 lumens output. 75 watt HID over 8000 lumens.

 

[mrwhite1]

True LED seems to be very popular, but I'm still partial to HIDs when it comes to massive light output.

I would guess surefire started the ARC series when they decided to phase out the Beast II. From the 2008 catalog they listed it at 1600 lumen, to the 2009 catalog that put the ARC-2 at 5000 lumen. To basically nothing in 2010 catalog.

I just hope they keep them on the drawing board.

 

[MetalZone]

Since HID is considered a blackbody radiator (I believe?) I still think it's more suitable for large light outputs considering that they have better CRI than LED's.