Surefire and rechargeable batteries

[Vancouverite]

I did attempt to search but searching has been disabled.

I read someone post that with Surefire's reputation that the upcoming Optimus will very likely not work with rechargeable batteries. Why is that?

 

[Patriot]

It's just a matter of voltage. Rechargeables are higher voltage than primaries. Nothing really new though, the old LuxV L2 and L4 circuitry was not designed to work with rechargeables either. Surefire does not recommend using rechargeables in any of their lights except for the rechargeable specific models. It could also void the warranty if they knew about it.

 

[KeyGrip]

Those rumors are likely based on the fact that new SureFires don't fit 18mm cells and some don't even fit 17mm ones. It's unknown what kind of circuitry the light uses, so it's hard to predict which voltages/chemistries will be compatible. I have no doubt that somebody here will figure out how to get some "free" lumens out of this light.