Calling all Surefire U2 owners...

I was hoping some of you Surefire U2 owners could do some beamshot comparisons between your U2 and some other LED flashlights.

Ultimately i'd love to see a side by side comparison between the U2 and a Fenix L1P, CPF LE 16, and/or an Amilite.

Since i'm in the process of sending my Surefire U2 back to Surefire for a greenish tint to hopefully get the Luxeon replaced i wanted to see what your U2 beam looks like.

When i compare my U2 to my Fenix L1P and my CPF LE 16 i notice how green it is. Just wanted to findout what others thoughts are.

When i use my U2 on its own its not so bad but since i have other things to compare it to it really stands out.

Thanks in advance.

question... i have one of the most brightest and whitest Surefire U2's out there.... but i'm wondering why you aren't considering a HDS? My new U60GT is the light that does everything for me... its super small almost as bright as my U2 and is smaller than the Fenix/amilite...

i would highly recomend looking into these series of lights if you haven't already!

I'd be really interested in this too - Since discovering this forum a couple of months ago I've spend a few £££ and have got some of the flashlights I've been hankering after since I was a child but never knew they existed.I really fancy a U2 but don't want to be dissapointed and am considering a HDS but as I can only get them over the web I can't try before I buy so any "real" beam shots would be great.

In general my U2 appears white, especially at full output. My HDS U60 is slightly blueish, but I don't really notice it unless side-by-side another light. My Caribbean is faintly yellow, but mostly appears white.

Below two pictures were not at the same exposure settings.

Caribbean, Fenix L1P, HDS EDC U60 on max:



Caribbean, HDS EDC U60 on max, U2 on max:

Here are some threads with video comparisons, U2 with other lights, but not the ones in your list:

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=66714
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=66936
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=67266

joema and grnamin,

Thank you so much. A picture and a video says a 1000 words! :wow:

After reviewing both of your contributions i can definitively say that my Surefire U2 is going back to Surefire for repair/replacement.

My U2 does not produce anywhere near the brightness, whiteness, or uniformness (is that a word) of any of the 6 levels shown in the video.

And in joema's picture comparing the U2 against the Caribbean and the HDS EDC U60 i think the Surefire U2 bean looks slightly greenish too but nowhere near as green and donutty as mine.

grnamin, wanna trade U2's? :naughty:


jar3ds, i'm sure i'll own a HDS too but at the moment my U2 dilemma is higher on my priority list.
Again thanks for the information.

iNDiGLo said:

grnamin, wanna trade U2's? :naughty:

Click to expand...

Sorry, InDiGlo, that U2 was sold a year ago. Would you believe that it may have turned out to be an X-bin? :huh: I've had 3 U2s so far, all sold. Wanting to get one without the soft start, but I'm saving up for an Indium Smart. Being a flashoholic, I may get a U2 again anway.

I recently took on a project that involved opening a brand new U2 and swapping out the emitter with a known bin (WXOT), but I just couldn't get the bezel to budge. Ended up returning it to the owner, project unfinished. If I do get a U2 again and the tint and/or donut is bad, I'm going to mod it for sure, preferably non-destructively.

Maybe my U2 is an X-bin. If you believe my HDS U60 is 60 lumens, my U2 puts out over double that, as measured by ceiling or wall reflection. By the same method, my U2 output is equal to my Streamlight TL-3 incandescent.

The TL-3 still throws better, since a greater % of output is in the hotspot, whereas the U2 puts a lot of power in the spillbeam. Also the TL-3 beam color is more conducive to object recognition. But if you get a strong U2, it's pretty impressive.