Why is the SureFire C2 so good?

[ven]

3 is the magic number

Yes an awesome piece of lighting equipment. These surefires have saved me money, nothing comes close in design and anodising.........nothing for me. So i am not tempted to buy other flashlights right now=save money.

They dont make em like the use to ,springs to mind

 

[F250XLT]

The lone C2 in my very modest collection, I feel so in adequate. [emoji51]

 

[thermal guy]

Oh no my friend I think this is an exception to the rule. One is one😁

 

[F250XLT]

Oh no my friend I think this is an exception to the rule. One is one

Why thank you, I am quite fond of it, even it it does have a somewhat outdated triple (EDC+ X60L3 XP-G2)

 

[ven]

I have the edc+ 4000k xp-g2 also, love the warm beam. Shame the high is so close to medium (to the eyes). They make nicely made good value drop ins. I am also a fan of the sportac triples (maybe 6 of those,mainly Nichia)

 

[F250XLT]

I have the edc+ 4000k xp-g2 also, love the warm beam. Shame the high is so close to medium (to the eyes). They make nicely made good value drop ins. I am also a fan of the sportac triples (maybe 6 of those,mainly Nichia)

I agree, the med to high are too similar, wish it was programmable.

Then again, my Hyperion is, and I can't get that one figured out.

 

[Bullzeyebill]

Does the C2 LED model count? Same body.

Bill

 

[ven]

It must, as i would hazard a guess Bill, most would use LEDs in their C2's. Occasionally i use the bulb, but all mine either have xhp70, triple, quad inside mostly.

 

[Baldmonkey22]

Who can tell me how old these are? The lighter one came from ebay no package but never used. They said it was about 18yrs old. and the plum colored c2 is a bored out 18650 from oveready back in 2013 im just wondering if they were buying nos.

 

[ampdude]

The one on the left would be 2011-12 production or newer. It seemed back then like they fully switched over to the new logo in 2012. If you say you got it in 2013 that makes sense. The anodizing was all over the place on those from plum to light gray. The one on the right is likely 2010 or older. Just from the photo I would guess 2006-08ish. It seemed to me like the light gray natural type III HA on those type of lights was most prevalent from 2003-2010. It might be easier to pin down a date on that one with a serial.

 

[DRoc]

I recently put a HO4 in my C2 and used one of those rechargeable 18650 batteries with the port directly on the positive end.
I never would thought twenty years ago when I received my first C2 I'd be able to have usb compatible Incan on a Surefire. Wow.

 

[Megalamuffin]

Finally got my hands on a C2! It was new in the package but I didn't leave it in there. The head is mismatched anyways so I may as well bang it up.

I swapped a few parts. I have several malkoff's to use in it depending on my needs, all 3000k. I think this will quickly become one of my very favorite lights. It also looks so dang cool!

 

[ampdude]

They're often mismatched parts like many Surefires. Part of the charm of the type III natural finish.

That and it's generally tougher than type III black HA.

 

[yazkaz]

They're often mismatched parts like many Surefires. Part of the charm of the type III natural finish.
That and it's generally tougher than type III black HA.

We all know that the exact Type 3 Hard Clear shading cannot be controlled with ease, which depends on a lot of factors during the ano process. Do also be reminded that SF did not actually undergo Type 3 Hard Clear (OD) anodize but instead colored Type 3 to mimic the OD feel, in many cases.

But why did you say that Type 3 HC is tougher than Type 3 Hard Black? Maybe you were referring to Type 2 Black (not exactly considered HA)? Or maybe the substrate used in Type 2 and Type 3 are of different grades (eg. 6020 vs. 6061)? More clarification appreciated.

 

[ampdude]

Yea, it's known Surefire did use dye with some of their "natural" lights. The ones they did such as the black type III ones would be using dye, which would make the finish weaker than a true type III.

 

[yazkaz]

Yea, it's known Surefire did use dye with some of their "natural" lights. The ones they did such as the black type III ones would be using dye, which would make the finish weaker than a true type III.

I think SF turned to a lot of green dye on later light batches to mimic the Olive Drab/Tactical Green effect. Like I said, true Type 3 Hard Clear (Natural) anodizing shade is very hard to control, and depends on the quality of the metal substrate.

If, for example, the aluminum (alloy) substrate has a lot of tin content in it, then the Type 3 Hard Clear finish will be rendered very pale (say, very light grey) to a very unacceptable level. Perhaps that's why SF used green dye to bring back the OD look to certain degree. Otherwise, the only other option is the Type 3 Hard Black anodize which (of course) involves black anodizing dye.

Regardless of color, the Type 3 anodize in Hard Clear or Hard Black should be the same, as long as the correct thickness is carried out. For fresh metal surfaces such thickness will be 2 mils; for reanodized surface the thickness will have to be increased to 3 mil level (with a range of 0.0028-0.0033").

 

[bykfixer]

Many of the SureFire lights were aimed at military applications, hence the dull olive drab coloring. Perhaps the gray colored C2 was developed with Navy in mind? And black for law enforcement?

I think I can say with some certainty they were not thinking of "sex appeal" for those flashlight junkies back then but more about appeasing majors and generals who decided what brand of flashlight to purchase by the truck load.

 

[rwolfenstein]

Lets see, well the second "tactical" flashlight I bought after having much success with my Surefire G2 was actually the C2. I got it at a local sporting goods place that is long out of business. I guess the C2 had check marked all of the items I was looking for, it has good throw and hotspot (I know its the lamp design). It also had a comfy grip for use with a good for night shooting. I think the only thing I upgraded on mine over the years was, I added a McClicky tailcap and replaced my broken pocket clip with a two way deep carry clip.

 

[yazkaz]

Lets see, well the second "tactical" flashlight I bought after having much success with my Surefire G2 was actually the C2. I got it at a local sporting goods place that is long out of business. I guess the C2 had check marked all of the items I was looking for, it has good throw and hotspot (I know its the lamp design). It also had a comfy grip for use with a good for night shooting. I think the only thing I upgraded on mine over the years was, I added a McClicky tailcap and replaced my broken pocket clip with a two way deep carry clip.

With the stock C2 there are two major things to upgrade, which I deem compulsory: the Z41 McClicky chassis (esp. if you lean towards to the LED route) and the Z44 bezel ring upgrade (either flat or six-cren). Not a fan of pocket clips though, but still think the two-way clip substitute is the right choice due to its lower profile. Otherwise, without the clip I'd use LF's void fill piece to fill up that empty clip socket.

The other thing to invest on are spare grip rings, since they break after prolonged use (esp. with that little nub). SF stopped supplying spares after 2017 so your other alternative would be LF's cloned variant (made of higher quality silicone than SF's and available in three colors).

 

[rwolfenstein]

With the stock C2 there are two major things to upgrade, which I deem compulsory: the Z41 McClicky chassis (esp. if you lean towards to the LED route) and the Z44 bezel ring upgrade (either flat or six-cren). Not a fan of pocket clips though, but still think the two-way clip substitute is the right choice due to its lower profile. Otherwise, without the clip I'd use LF's void fill piece to fill up that empty clip socket.

The other thing to invest on are spare grip rings, since they break after prolonged use (esp. with that little nub). SF stopped supplying spares after 2017 so your other alternative would be LF's cloned variant (made of higher quality silicone than SF's and available in three colors).

Ironically now and days the C2 sits in a drawer. I usually carry a surefire/haley strategic branded light that is called the DFT or a surefire E2E with a lumens factory 110 lumen bulb in it. I like comfort and big 6P sized lights seem like they are good for belt holsters not pocket carry.