The 2 flashlights in the LA police gear banner
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maxa beam
Banned
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- Feb 26, 2006
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Ahaha, my point of specialty comes. The Surefire Optimus and Invictus. I suggest ordering them from Batteryjunction.com, though.
Please accept this lengthly post explaining the Optimus and Invictus.
What is it?
It's a SUREFIRE, man. That means waterproof to one atmosphere, bulletproof ruggedness, reliability(Their main customer is the military, after all.), performance... Everything. Ask any given member here what the best brand of flashlight is and nine out of ten will tell you "Surefire".
Oh, yes. The Optimus. Almost forgot. It has a maximum of a scorching 200 LUMENS, more than any of the mentioned lights. Surefire is pretty much the only company that uses an integrating sphere to measure lumen output. Other manufacturers measure torch lumens, while Surefire measures out-the-front lumens. A 100 lumen Surefire is usually brighter than a 150 lumen other-brand. The leds are sorted, making sure you won't get a fluke. It has one LED of unknown make, but whatever it is, it must be pretty efficient. The Optimus has 11 settings..
1: Off.
2: SOS
3: 2 Lumens.
4: 4 Lumens.
5: 8 Lumens.
6: 15 Lumens.
7: 30 Lumens.
8: 60 Lumens.
9: 120 Lumens.
10: 200 Lumens.
11: Strobe.
The lowest, 2 lumens, runs for 100 hours. Judging from the runtime of Surefire's combatlights, which also run on two 123s, the Optimus' highest setting will be available for a long time.
It also has a Military-Spec Type 3 Hard-Anodize coating. It's a beautiful black coating of aluminum oxide, a substance up there with diamond and other precious gems. It's chemically grown onto the surface, so don't worry about paint chipping! Very few manufacturers provide mil-spec anodize.
It also has a stepped-down body and rubber grip. It's called combatgrip, and provides an amazingly secure grip.
That may be a little hard to picture, or maybe I'm just relieving your eyes with some eyecandy of this beautiful flashlight. Either way, have a picture.
The Optimus also has a fuel guage led. It glows green when the battery is full, orange when medium, red when low. I haven't thought of this, but that could also serve as a locater if you dropped the flashlight.
Oh, that's not all. It has a magnetic selector ring for cycling through the modes, and if you don't feel like doing that and need maximum power RIGHT THEN, press the MaxBlast tailcap.
OH, and some more features.
The Optimus also has an adjustable focus beam and a total internal reflector, meaning it gathers almost ALL of the light from the LED, while reflectors gather less. But, anyways, variable focus. It focuses the beam into either a pleasing wall of light(Indoor use, maybe.), or a sharp, piercing beam for throwing lots of lumen very far. And ask any member of the forums if the Surefire L4 is an amazing wall-of-light illumination tool, or if the L1 is an amazing thrower, and most, or all, will say yes. The beams on Surefires are some of my favorite. (The L4 in particular.)
It works by having a rippled "plate" over the total internal reflector, which moves further or closer to the TIR, redistributing the energy of the light. It, theoretically, would work great, with minimal light loss. Other focusable flashlights, like maglites, move the reflector further away from the beam, or closer to it, and reflectors have only one focal point. This means the beam becomes ridden with rings, holes, and imperfections, meaning less light if transmitted, meaning less visibility.
The body is made of aircraft-grade aluminum, an alloy extremely tough and resilient, and it transfers heat very well, not that LEDS produce alot of heat (not NEARLY as much as incandescents.). Oh, it uses a Lexan window, which is scratch, and shock resistant, with anti-reflective coatings on each side, meaning almost all of the light is transmitter to the target. It costs 289 USD and comes with 20 lithium primary Surefire batteries, my favorite brand. That's enough to last a VERY long time, as the Optimus takes 2 batteries.
I'm sure I missed a bunch of features, but that's all I can remember off the top of my head. You can guess that I spend alot of my time salivating at it. The only possible downside to this light I can ever think of: It doesn't use rechargeables, but they're extremely volatile and, unless you get protected ones, can die very, very soon if you overuse them. Protected rechargeables are expensive, and plus you need an expensive charger.. This stuff's enough to buy alot of Surefire Lithium 123s, which are 1.75 USD.
Woah, I just now realized I just created a wall of text describing a 6.5 inch, 6.5 ounce flashlight. Oh well, it benefits the person asking the question, and it makes me tingly recounting the features of this amazing tool in detail.
You can also gather how reliable Surefire is when I'm recommending a light not even out yet.
There's another model called the Invictus coming out later, which is the same light, except very slightly longer, and it has no variable-focus ability.
The upside?
It has..
400 LUMENS.
That seems merely like a number..
Go ask about the Surefire M6, a 500 lumen incandescent, and you'll know why it's so amazing. I would gladly shell out 400+ dollars for a 400 lumen Every Day Carry light. I'll probably get both. If I could pick one? Optimus. 200 Lumens is blindingly bright, which is why it has multiple modes. When I got my first multi-level I thought "I'll be using this on high all the time.", untill I actually SAW it.
Please accept this lengthly post explaining the Optimus and Invictus.
What is it?
It's a SUREFIRE, man. That means waterproof to one atmosphere, bulletproof ruggedness, reliability(Their main customer is the military, after all.), performance... Everything. Ask any given member here what the best brand of flashlight is and nine out of ten will tell you "Surefire".
Oh, yes. The Optimus. Almost forgot. It has a maximum of a scorching 200 LUMENS, more than any of the mentioned lights. Surefire is pretty much the only company that uses an integrating sphere to measure lumen output. Other manufacturers measure torch lumens, while Surefire measures out-the-front lumens. A 100 lumen Surefire is usually brighter than a 150 lumen other-brand. The leds are sorted, making sure you won't get a fluke. It has one LED of unknown make, but whatever it is, it must be pretty efficient. The Optimus has 11 settings..
1: Off.
2: SOS
3: 2 Lumens.
4: 4 Lumens.
5: 8 Lumens.
6: 15 Lumens.
7: 30 Lumens.
8: 60 Lumens.
9: 120 Lumens.
10: 200 Lumens.
11: Strobe.
The lowest, 2 lumens, runs for 100 hours. Judging from the runtime of Surefire's combatlights, which also run on two 123s, the Optimus' highest setting will be available for a long time.
It also has a Military-Spec Type 3 Hard-Anodize coating. It's a beautiful black coating of aluminum oxide, a substance up there with diamond and other precious gems. It's chemically grown onto the surface, so don't worry about paint chipping! Very few manufacturers provide mil-spec anodize.
It also has a stepped-down body and rubber grip. It's called combatgrip, and provides an amazingly secure grip.
That may be a little hard to picture, or maybe I'm just relieving your eyes with some eyecandy of this beautiful flashlight. Either way, have a picture.
The Optimus also has a fuel guage led. It glows green when the battery is full, orange when medium, red when low. I haven't thought of this, but that could also serve as a locater if you dropped the flashlight.
Oh, that's not all. It has a magnetic selector ring for cycling through the modes, and if you don't feel like doing that and need maximum power RIGHT THEN, press the MaxBlast tailcap.
OH, and some more features.
The Optimus also has an adjustable focus beam and a total internal reflector, meaning it gathers almost ALL of the light from the LED, while reflectors gather less. But, anyways, variable focus. It focuses the beam into either a pleasing wall of light(Indoor use, maybe.), or a sharp, piercing beam for throwing lots of lumen very far. And ask any member of the forums if the Surefire L4 is an amazing wall-of-light illumination tool, or if the L1 is an amazing thrower, and most, or all, will say yes. The beams on Surefires are some of my favorite. (The L4 in particular.)
It works by having a rippled "plate" over the total internal reflector, which moves further or closer to the TIR, redistributing the energy of the light. It, theoretically, would work great, with minimal light loss. Other focusable flashlights, like maglites, move the reflector further away from the beam, or closer to it, and reflectors have only one focal point. This means the beam becomes ridden with rings, holes, and imperfections, meaning less light if transmitted, meaning less visibility.
The body is made of aircraft-grade aluminum, an alloy extremely tough and resilient, and it transfers heat very well, not that LEDS produce alot of heat (not NEARLY as much as incandescents.). Oh, it uses a Lexan window, which is scratch, and shock resistant, with anti-reflective coatings on each side, meaning almost all of the light is transmitter to the target. It costs 289 USD and comes with 20 lithium primary Surefire batteries, my favorite brand. That's enough to last a VERY long time, as the Optimus takes 2 batteries.
I'm sure I missed a bunch of features, but that's all I can remember off the top of my head. You can guess that I spend alot of my time salivating at it. The only possible downside to this light I can ever think of: It doesn't use rechargeables, but they're extremely volatile and, unless you get protected ones, can die very, very soon if you overuse them. Protected rechargeables are expensive, and plus you need an expensive charger.. This stuff's enough to buy alot of Surefire Lithium 123s, which are 1.75 USD.
Woah, I just now realized I just created a wall of text describing a 6.5 inch, 6.5 ounce flashlight. Oh well, it benefits the person asking the question, and it makes me tingly recounting the features of this amazing tool in detail.
You can also gather how reliable Surefire is when I'm recommending a light not even out yet.
There's another model called the Invictus coming out later, which is the same light, except very slightly longer, and it has no variable-focus ability.
The upside?
It has..
400 LUMENS.
That seems merely like a number..
Go ask about the Surefire M6, a 500 lumen incandescent, and you'll know why it's so amazing. I would gladly shell out 400+ dollars for a 400 lumen Every Day Carry light. I'll probably get both. If I could pick one? Optimus. 200 Lumens is blindingly bright, which is why it has multiple modes. When I got my first multi-level I thought "I'll be using this on high all the time.", untill I actually SAW it.
Last edited:
maxa beam
Banned
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2006
- Messages
- 420
I'm extremely excited about them, aswell, as you can see form above wall of text.
Thank you maxa beam
Can you or anyone explain to me the difference I will see between the Optimus and the Fenix TK10 (the one flashlight I have now).
I am about 1 month in my flashlight obsession and admit that I know very very little.
From what I see, The TK10 is 25 lumens more powerful and $200 cheaper, so what will I see when I compare the 2?
Can you or anyone explain to me the difference I will see between the Optimus and the Fenix TK10 (the one flashlight I have now).
I am about 1 month in my flashlight obsession and admit that I know very very little.
From what I see, The TK10 is 25 lumens more powerful and $200 cheaper, so what will I see when I compare the 2?
maxa beam
Banned
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2006
- Messages
- 420
The Optimus will be much brighter, trust me. If you'd of read my lengthy post you'd know that!
Surefire measures out-the-front lumens, others measure exaggerated
emitter lumens, which are inaccurate. 100 Surefire lumens is equal to 150 other-brand lumens.
You can also expect less durability, no chemcoated electronics (Which means the Surefires can simply dry off slowly when their electronics are soaked, which isn't likely, and they'll work fine.), not-as-good anodize, etc. Read the lengthy post.
mackey
Newly Enlightened
looks expensive but full of awesomeness 
does it also come with the kitchen sink?
does it also come with the kitchen sink?
LEDninja
Flashlight Enthusiast
maxa beam, I hope you do not mind my linking to your post in my listing of SSC-P7 lights. I cannot find a good description of the Optimus and Invictus elsewhere.
Other manufacturers CALCULATE LED lumens, while Surefire measures out-the-front TORCH lumens
Some manufacturers use the biggest number they can find on the LED spec sheet. BOO!
SSC-P7
Current production is 700-800 LED lumens at 2.8A.
As the CR123A cannot support 2.8A, I suspect Surefire to be deliberately underdriving the Optimus and using a bigger battery or more CR123As in the Invictus
The 4 die setup in the P7 produces a floody beam so fans of the L4 rejoice.
L-mini Q5 left, MTE SSC-P7 right.
Note the L-mini does not have a turbohead and can still focus the beam of the Q5 tighter.
MTE SSC-P7 top, L-mini Q5 bottom.
Other manufacturers CALCULATE LED lumens, while Surefire measures out-the-front TORCH lumens
Some manufacturers use the biggest number they can find on the LED spec sheet. BOO!
SSC-P7
Current production is 700-800 LED lumens at 2.8A.
As the CR123A cannot support 2.8A, I suspect Surefire to be deliberately underdriving the Optimus and using a bigger battery or more CR123As in the Invictus
The 4 die setup in the P7 produces a floody beam so fans of the L4 rejoice.
L-mini Q5 left, MTE SSC-P7 right.
Note the L-mini does not have a turbohead and can still focus the beam of the Q5 tighter.
MTE SSC-P7 top, L-mini Q5 bottom.
umc
Enlightened
maxa beam
Banned
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2006
- Messages
- 420
maxa beam, I hope you do not mind my linking to your post in my listing of SSC-P7 lights. I cannot find a good description of the Optimus and Invictus elsewhere.
Other manufacturers CALCULATE LED lumens, while Surefire measures out-the-front TORCH lumens
Some manufacturers use the biggest number they can find on the LED spec sheet. BOO!
SSC-P7
Current production is 700-800 LED lumens at 2.8A.
As the CR123A cannot support 2.8A, I suspect Surefire to be deliberately underdriving the Optimus and using a bigger battery or more CR123As in the Invictus
The 4 die setup in the P7 produces a floody beam so fans of the L4 rejoice.
L-mini Q5 left, MTE SSC-P7 right.
Note the L-mini does not have a turbohead and can still focus the beam of the Q5 tighter.
MTE SSC-P7 top, L-mini Q5 bottom.
Not at all!
But, a clarification.
The Optimus doesn't use a SSC P7, that's the Invictus.
