Surefire vs ...

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rmorgan84

Newly Enlightened
Joined
May 31, 2008
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Right i have always had an appreciation of quality items such as good flashligts, quality knives etc etc.

I own a surefire G2 & L2 and they are great, however this forum has opened my eyes to other possibilities such as Tiablo, Fenix, Deerelight, Jetbeam, etc...

I am going to buy another light now and have been thinking of either the 6P/9P with a Malkoff drop in. But there are a few other options i am considering.

So my question is this; Are Surefire top of the class in terms of buid quality, or are the other lights mentioned just as good?
 
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:popcorn:

There are other good quality Flashlights other than SureFire. To ask if other lights are just as good is like pooring gasoline on a fire around here. As mass produced lights go, In my opinion SureFire is the one all others are eventually measured against, and yes they are great lights. Are there others that are good? I like Fenix, Inova, Streamlight and Myshondt and a few others. There are short run Flashlights that are of extremely good quality, and yes they are talked about here on CPF. Novatac, Myshondt, McGizmo, HDS to name a small few. Hang around, buy some different brands, and then you can answer your own question, and maybe answer it for all of us too.

Bill
 
Hitthespot said:
:popcorn:

There are other good quality Flashlights other than SureFire. To ask if other lights are just as good is like pooring gasoline on a fire around here. As mass produced lights go, In my opinion SureFire is the one all others are eventually measured against, and yes they are great lights. Are there others that are good? I like Fenix, Inova, Streamlight and Myshondt and a few others. There are short run Flashlights that are of extremely good quality, and yes they are talked about here on CPF. Novatac, Myshondt, McGizmo, HDS to name a small few. Hang around, buy some different brands, and then you can answer your own question, and maybe answer it for all of us too.

Bill
Click to expand...

No intention of causing an argument, just after the facts.

It just seems to me that from looking at various photos that the surefire appears to be the more refined and polished item, some of the others look a bit cheap and cheerful.
 
In my 'unenlightened' opinion, I have yet to find one. Pentagon and Fenix I like and i think they offer great value but they are not as tight tolerance wise as Surefires. My old arc light was close. Same with my pelican, streamlight and inova. Again all good, and worth their price but not as smooth and finished. I was very dissapointed in my Jetbeam.

But its not a fair competition. Surefires are much more expensive than most of those. Would you expect a Bently to be in the same class as a BMW or a Landcruiser? They all do great things in different categories at different price points...
 
rmorgan84 said:
Right i have always had an appreciation of quality items such as good flashligts, quality knives etc etc.

I own a surefire G2 & L2 and they are great, however this forum has opened my eyes to other possibilities such as Tiablo, Fenix, Deerelight, Jetbeam, etc...

I am going to buy another light now and have been thinking of either the 6P/9P with a Malkoff drop in. But there are a few other options i am considering.

So my question is this; Are Surefire top of the class in terms of buid quality, or are the other lights mentioned just as good?
Click to expand...

Lets face it, all these lights are a bunch of aluminium parts (bezel, body, switch) and yes, some are "plastic". There are a great deal of good manufacturers out there that do as good a job as SF. If you don't want the Surefire "drop-in" in favour of the Malkoff then why not consider other hosts for this drop-in……Consider if you want to go rechargeable or primary, if rechargeable, then choose a light system which will accept the wider cells such as the 18650, this advantage will come in handy. If you want to build a system, pick a brand that has a proven record of versatility......good luck.
 
Asking which light to pick is a lot like asking your buddies which girlfriend you should end up marrying. You'll get a lot of mixed feedbacks and responses, but only you'll be able to answer it. Anything anyone tells you, just take it with a grain of salt ... most of us have our preference in terms of which brand to choose and we'll try our very best to convince you. This ultimately will lead to unfriendly debates.

So here's my grain of salt:

I have the 6P with z59 clicky tailcap and Malkoff M60, and I love it. I spent about $110 altogether for that combination. Personally, I like the classic look for 6P, and the way it feels in my hands is indescribable. I purchased a couple of 6P clones (there are many), which I will not name, but they either look or feel cheap, or it doesn't give me the same feeling as when I'm holding a 6P. I ended up selling the clones on BST.

Brand recognition and brand loyalty also play a big role here. Some people will inheritantly trust one brand over another. For example, many will buy Advil instead of Brand X aspirin even though they contain the same active ingredients. Also, big name such as Coke, their intangible assets (e.g., their name) is worth more than their tangible assets (e.g., plant & equipment) in their financial statements (I didn't check to confirm). I remember back in high school, JanSport was really really popular. This inevitably created a lot of clones. Kids will feel proud of owning a JanSport vs. a JinSport (this is an actual brand I saw), even if they look the same. I'm not going to deny that I get a warm fuzzy feeling by owning a Surefire, and that's one of the reasons why I buy them. However, I'm one of the most unloyal consumer you could find ... just because I love one Surefire light, it doesn't mean I love all their lights. Being unloyal to brands allows me to explore other options available.

In a nutshell, it really depends on your preference and what you're willing to spend. Some people don't mind paying more to get a Surefire light, and some people prefer getting budget or value lights. As I mentioned, my 6P with M60 cost $110, you could probably get a clone with generic P60 lamp for about $25.

Okay, I'm really rambling here, so I'll zip it up now. Good luck in your search, and :welcome:
 
Do you need this light to help you serve a certain purpose? The various manufacturers you'll see named here all have their various strengths and weaknesses and none of them makes the single best light for everybody everywhere. Also, while I don't believe you titled the thread to start trouble, we get plenty of people who start SureFire vs. Brand X debates to stir things up. Hope this helps.
 
KeyGrip said:
Do you need this light to help you serve a certain purpose? The various manufacturers you'll see named here all have their various strengths and weaknesses and none of them makes the single best light for everybody everywhere. Also, while I don't believe you titled the thread to start trouble, we get plenty of people who start SureFire vs. Brand X debates to stir things up. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...


I'm new to the forum so was not aware of these debates.

I'm a UK cop and i just want a tough, reliable light and if surefire is going to last longer and be more reliable when i need it then i don't mind paying extra for it....
 
I like Surefire's and wish I could afford to have a whole slew of them...but I can't. For my lighting needs ( and that's a VERY important phrase in this discussion ) I can better equipe myself with 3 lights that cost what one SF does.

I don't chase badguys, or depend on my light to save my life.... If my light fails, I just get another one...no biggie. Also, if you are already planning on putting a Malkoff in it, you'll be paying for a very high quality lamp assembly that will sit on your shelf.

For $150 bucks you could get yourself a nice single cell EDC, a 2 x CR123 powerhouse and a rechargeable set up. It won't have the build quality or come with the customer service you'd get with a surefire.....but you might enjoy it more.
 
rmorgan84 said:
I'm a UK cop and i just want a tough, reliable light...
Click to expand...

Okay, good. So we have toughness and reliability at the top of our requirements, with price being of less concern.

Now:
Do you want an incandescent light, an LED light, or an HID light?

Do you have a preferred batter size or chemistry? (there are pros and cons to everything.)

Do you want rechargeable batteries or primary (non rechargeable) ones?

Do you have a size limit?

What beam pattern would you prefer: throw, flood, balanced..?

Do you want the light to have multiple output levels, strobe, SOS?

What switch type do you prefer
-forward clickie: click switch which allows momentary on.
-reverse clickie: click switch which allows momentary off.
-twisty


Those are some of the basics. The "Welcome Mat" section of this forum has a long list of frequently asked questions for you to reference. I hope this helps.
 
Do you want an incandescent light, an LED light, or an HID light?

LED for extended run time.

Do you have a preferred batter size or chemistry? (there are pros and cons to everything.)

CR123 i've found a very cheap supplier of panasonic works out £1 per battery

Do you want rechargeable batteries or primary (non rechargeable) ones?

Primary, simply because i'm a bit lazy and don't want the hassle of charging batteries etc.

Do you have a size limit?

No bigger than a 2 x C cell mag, but ideally smaller

What beam pattern would you prefer: throw, flood, balanced..?

Balanced with a slight bias towards throw.

Do you want the light to have multiple output levels, strobe, SOS?

Strobe & SOS = No, a low level = Yes

What switch type do you prefer
-forward clickie: click switch which allows momentary on.
-reverse clickie: click switch which allows momentary off.
-twisty

Don't mind i'll adapt to which over the light comes with
 
:welcome:rmorgan84! I am not an LEO so I don't assume to know how you use your light but, based on your answers, the SF 6P + M60 may not be the ideal choice as it doesn't have multiple light levels. But, if that is not necessarily a deal-breaker, then it fits the bill quite nicely. Btw, I too, have a SF 6PD (polished) on the way that I plan on putting an M60 into as well, mainly for its cool factor.

I won't start a debate (yes, as previously indicated, there are definite camps here for SF and other lights - I'm not in either camp as I have all kinds of lights) but, based on your answers, I would suggest the Fenix TK10 which has high output, multiple light levels, runs on CR123's... https://www.fenix-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_85&products_id=438 The only thing it doesn't have is a lot of runtime on high (about 1.5 hours) but it does have a second level that will run for about 10 hours. Oh, and there was another thread by an LEO who gave his endorsement on using a TK10 as a duty light.

Good luck with your choice! Let us know what you end up choosing and give us any real-world stories on how you use your light.
 
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RGB_LED said:
:welcome:rmorgan84! I am not an LEO so I don't assume to know how you use your light but, based on your answers, the SF 6P + M60 may not be the ideal choice as it doesn't have multiple light levels. But, if that is not necessarily a deal-breaker, then it fits the bill quite nicely. Btw, I too, have a SF 6PD (polished) on the way that I plan on putting an M60 into as well, mainly for its cool factor.

I won't start a debate (yes, as previously indicated, there are definite camps here for SF and other lights - I'm not in either camp as I have all kinds of lights) but, based on your answers, I would suggest the Fenix TK10 which has high output, multiple light levels, runs on CR123's... https://www.fenix-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_85&products_id=438 The only thing it doesn't have is a lot of runtime on high (about 1.5 hours) but it does have a second level that will run for about 10 hours. Oh, and there was another thread by an LEO who gave his endorsement on using a TK10 as a duty light.

Good luck with your choice! Let us know what you end up choosing and give us any real-world stories on how you use your light.
Click to expand...

Yeah the dual output isn't a deal breaker, however it would be nice, in an different thread my attention was drawn to the fact that you can mod the tail cap with a resistor to give a 6P dual output.

However my reservations are

a) I'm not the most technincial of people so might screw it up and break the light

b) how rugged is a home-modification going to be and will it stand up to daily use. I don't want the light to fail at a critical time!
 
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