U2 so many proble....

[jar3ds]

not a big fan of the Surefire U2...

its basicly a flashlight without throw nor spill.... which are very important for a flashlight... its like a mid range flashlight which is what a headlamp is supposed to be

 

[phypaa]

"An A2 gets about 50 minutes or so on the incandescent mode..."
I just think that light of that kind can't switch on non-stop for so long...am I wrong

 

[Narpho]

Get a headlight!

Try the 712L. It has enormous bang for the buck.

Nice headlight, but I'm not sure I want two CR123's straped to my head

 

[savumaki]

I did ask for the check before, but they refuse to do so.
Seen like that I may consider the great lights people here talk about

If I was spending that kind of money on a light you can be sure the seller would fire it up for me- if not, bye

It's hard to believe that a retailer would not jump at the chance.

 

[cheapo]

just go for it... you'll like it.... i did and i'm glad i did. basically you'll get the same throw as the a2 but with brighter spill (due to the higher output) and the same (actually a little more) runtime. Not to mention no bulb to blow, and 4 more stages... and probably better beam quality due to the 3 holes in the a2's reflector.

-David

 

[NoFair]

not a big fan of the Surefire U2...

its basicly a flashlight without throw nor spill.... which are very important for a flashlight... its like a mid range flashlight which is what a headlamp is supposed to be

I must most humbly disagree with this In my opinion it has a perfect general purpose beam that throws well while still having bright spill. It is my most used outdoor flashlight, I mainly use a headlamp (PT Apex) for hiking/caving.

I do however agree that it is a perfect beam type for a headlamp, but sadly there aren't any headlamps I've found that uses this reflector and has variable output.

I think the U2 is designed to be a general purpose flashlight and for this the beam type and light levels are perfect for me. If one carries several lights it would off-course be better to have a throw light and a flood light, but this isn't easy to combine in one light...

Sverre

 

[dchao]

There is no competition for U2, that what's QC gets sloppy and SF don't care. It's probably cheper for them to ship out a replacement tail caps than retooling everything.

 

[cheapo]

I must most humbly disagree with this In my opinion it has a perfect general purpose beam that throws well while still having bright spill. It is my most used outdoor flashlight, I mainly use a headlamp (PT Apex) for hiking/caving.

I do however agree that it is a perfect beam type for a headlamp, but sadly there aren't any headlamps I've found that uses this reflector and has variable output.

I think the U2 is designed to be a general purpose flashlight and for this the beam type and light levels are perfect for me. If one carries several lights it would off-course be better to have a throw light and a flood light, but this isn't easy to combine in one light...

Sverre

well, i think he is sorta right though. When i use it the hotspot seems to make the spill less usable due to the spot altering "night vision". On my brothers l2, the spill is very usabe... and it is the same brightness as the spill on my u2- this is due the the l2's spot being less intense.

-David

 

[joema]

the Surefire U2...its basicly a flashlight without throw nor spill.... which are very important for a flashlight...

I definitely disagree. The U2 has tremendous spill, you could argue maybe even too much.

The U2 beam has a central hotspot, no corona and an unusually bright spillbeam. At 1/2 the spillbeam radius it's about five times the lux of my HDS U60 and Streamlight TL-3. The flashlight designer must apportion the available light energy between spillbeam, hotspot and corona. The U2 puts much more overall energy into its spillbeam than the central hotspot. By contrast other flashlights put more into the hotspot.

At first this would appear to adversely affect throw, yet the U2 throw is pretty good. It's not a super-thrower, but at 50 yards range with my TL-3 hotspot focused to the U2 hotspot size, the more powerful TL-3 doesn't visually appear that much brighter. Of course the TL-3 can be focused to a smaller spot and in that configuration will throw much further.

The U2 hotspot beam angle is about 6 degrees, so it's not excessively broad. The spillbeam angle is about 60 degrees, so at 2 feet, spillbeam is 27 inches diameter. By contrast my HDS EDC U60 has a spillbeam angle of 70 degrees, and my TL-3 is 100 degrees. So the U2 spillbeam is a little narrow, but very bright.

In summary, the U2 has a very cleverly designed beam pattern which blends the best characteristics of a pure flood light like the L4, yet retains reasonable throw. This is appropriate for its intended utility role (hence the "U") designation.

Imagine if you instrumented your flashlight with an ultrasonic or laser distance measurement device and data acquisition system, which logged the distance-to-target over a period of time. For most users, you'd find the distance to target is usually in the shorter-to-medium range. The U2 is ideal for the most common usage that the average user encounters.

However if the intended usage is over a body of water, or on a large, flat rural property, you probably want a more throw-oriented light.

The upcoming HDS/Novatac lights look interesting. The LT (Long Throw) version appears to have multiple output levels like the U2, but with a longer throwing reflector.

 

[NoFair]

well, i think he is sorta right though. When i use it the hotspot seems to make the spill less usable due to the spot altering "night vision". On my brothers l2, the spill is very usabe... and it is the same brightness as the spill on my u2- this is due the the l2's spot being less intense.

-David

This is when you need to run it at level 3 or 4 David

Most non flooders will have just the effect you described, but being able to dial the brightness down makes it less off a problem with the U2 than with other lights..

You could also buy a FM64 beam shaper... this will give a smooth flood with no hotspot to trouble you. It also protects the lens when one abuses ones lights... I use a FM65 red filter for this

Sverre