SureFire U2 Ultra

I've read many threads related to the Ultra, however I'm still on the fence about this light. I know the nature of it is flood, as opposed to throw. I've read Ultra vs. Gladius reviews, have heard about some switch issues and the dreaded donut-hole issues with Ultra. All of that being said, do you guys have any recommendations? I'm also considering a custom modded Mag 2D (actually 2-different styles). One will be biased on the AAA-cell platform, using 8-AAA cells. It will have no dimming ability, just press on and press off. The other one I'm considering uses the nFlex and will run on Pila or AAA. The nature of the nFlex means it will have multiple levels, like the U2. Price is not a consideration for this comparision.

What do you think? Which would you go with? ("Buy them both" is not an option).

I don't think the U2 is a flood. The L4 is a flood. The U2 is much more focused. It's slightly less of a flood than a McLux TK with reflector.

Mine has no donut hole. It can use both CR123s or the big, fat Pila 168A (which is 2,000 mAh). I think I remember that you don't like rechargeables, but this big a rechargeable is pretty good.

I like the dimmer better than other lights, and the U2 can get really bright. It's a great light. I don't know about the others that you're looking at.

Josey

Ilike the Beam of the U2 better than all of my Mag mods.
The U2 walks that line between throw, and wall of light. Where the MagMod is throw, with a dimmer sidespill. Personally, due to just the size and the ability to run off of Pila 168s, I would go for the SureFire U2.

I own both, 1 U2, and 2 mag led mods. I use my U2 10 times more than the mag mods, and the magmods are nice lights!!

You really will be happy with either, I say U2.

If you are truly critical about tint and beam shape, you might try to buy it from a brick&mortar store that will let you turn the light on before buying it. Sure you will pay retail, but compared to the time and hassle of returning to SF if not up to your expectations I don't think the $50-$60 premium is all that much.

TIN,

I believe the doughnut hole and bad tint of the U2 have been over-exaggerated over time on CPF.

The LED in the U2 is CC driven, so it is normal that there is some tint shift at lower levels. Non too much, but it can be noticed. In the latest version of the U2 with the faster start-up time, I have noted that the tint shift is very difficult to identify.

Same applies to the doughnut hole. Over five U2s I have seen, only one had a noticeable doughnut hole.

Where the U2 really shines is at the medium levels. In terms of efficiency, I don't know of any other light able to provide the same Lumen/Watt.

Also, the LED is very well taken care from a thermal point of view. 5 watters are famous to die prematurely when overheating - but in the U2, seen the facts that the dissipation is excellent and it is not always used at maximum level, the LED may well last forever.

Hope this helps

Anthony

I bought mine direct from Surefire and am completely satisfied with the result. No donut hole, no switch problems(Yet?), and a beam pattern that is perfect. Not a heavy flood, but also not a heavy throw. Perfect in between beam that is way brighter than I expected it to be. I compare it quite favorably on high power to my M2 with the P61 bulb(120 lumen). In the woods behind my house both are quite equal to my eyes. I have not used rechargables yet, as I have many boxes of Surefire batts stored away.

A U2 has about a perfect mix of flood and throw. These are not spotlights (LEDs), and don't confuse them as such. For the amount of light produced, the U2 is about perfect.

TIN... get the U2... hands down the better light!

being able to run 18650 makes all the differance. U2 is the most versitile light I own.

Surefire U2 - A small well machined all-round lithium powered variable
projector of bright white photons with functional simplicity. The beam
is well balanced with a good spill and great throw, a magnificent
design, and a tough exterior finish with a warranty that is one of the
best in the business. It can also use rechargeable Li-ion batteries.
I run mine on the Pila 168A and love it. ....... :thumbsup:

I believe the doughnut hole and bad tint of the U2 have been over-exaggerated over time on CPF.

Click to expand...

Totally agree. I was just using mine last night and Ive had it about a year and it still impresses me. Was out with some friends last night and they were totally shocked at its dimming ability. Get one, you wont regret it.

Out of all of my Surefire lights:

3P, 6P, 9P E1E, E2E, L1, L2, C3, M2, M3, M3T, 8AX and U2

The U2 is my favorite hands down. Mine did have a very irritating donut hole pattern in the beam but it is in Surefire's hands right now and I should get back a "donut hole" free light in about 2 weeks.

I highly recommend it!

-Goatee

Hmm. I'm not sure if the Mag mod you're considering is an LED or an incandescent. I'll assume it's LED, since we're in the LED forum. I'm also unsure whether the Mag mod will be a Lux I, III or V. Finally, I hope you meant to say the Mag mod will be powered by AA cells, not AAA. I think the AAA cell is probably a lousy choice of battery for a host as large as a 2D. The mAh to volume ratio just doesn't cut it. Besides, it's not that difficult to fit eight AA cells in a 2D, especially if it's been triple bored.

Is runtime a critical consideration? Eight AA NiMH cells rated at 2500 mAh will hold about 24 watt hours of juice, while a single 18650 cell in the U2 will barely hold 9 watt hours. A fully loaded Mag 2D should run a long long time at output levels similar to a U2. Then again, it's going to take up a lot more space in your coat pocket.

There's a bunch of picky personal details to consider. If you really have a thing for the Mag's side mounted switch, that might be a consideration. The U2 has a tactical style tail mounted clicky. The U2 has a pocket clip, which could be good or bad. Some people hate the U2 clip. I seem to like mine. On the other hand, a pocket clip on a Mag 2D is just kinda silly.

I'm still firmly convinced that all U2 lights are bound to have some kind of donut. My first one had a moderately nasty donut, while the replacement they sent under RMA is only barely noticable. After you use it a while, you just kinda forget about it. If your Mag mod has a Lux V, it's bound to have a donut too. The switch on my original U2 tended to jam up, but the one on the replacement still feels mighty good. I think if you buy direct from Surefire, you're more likely to get a really good one. And, as many will tell you, a really good U2 is an impressive light.

All that said, if you can get a Surefire U2 for the same price as an LED modded Mag 2D, I'd go for the U2. It's smaller, has a better finish on it, and likely to be as bright as most single Luxeon Mag mods. The Mag has a bigger reflector and will almost certainly throw farther than the U2, especially if it has a Lux I/III in it.

Thanks guys for all the great comments. It was very helpful. I think I know what I have to do now. I just have to decide whether to order one or two of them.

I'm a bit late to the party, and most of what I was going to point out about the U2 already has. The switch issues are easily fixed (see Jason's thread), and if the donut hole is really bad, SF will exchange the light for you. For me, it was the amount of light/size ratio, the multiple levels (of which I've only routinely used 3 so far), and the possibility of using rechargeables, that convinced me to buy one. Oh, yeah, and the OpticsHQ Special - couldn't resist that.

I'll eventually build a 2D Lux nFlex mod, but mostly for the challenge of building something myself, not for the added functionality (or versatility) that my U2 already provides. Incidentally, I will use 8AA batteries, not AAA as I believe that'll give me much longer runtimes.

Here's a few more bits of info. I snapped a few shots of my U2 next to a Mag 2D and an Arc LSH for size comparison:

http://home.comcast.net/~tbower/u2/size_reference.JPG

This Mag happens to be a Mag74 (incandescent), not an LED mod. Trying to compare it to the U2 is totally apples and oranges. The U2 might crank out 2000 lux at one meter. The hotwire Mag74 is probably more in the 35,000 lux ballpark. Regardless, I snapped a few shots of the U2 on high and low settings, versus the LSH-S and the Mag74.

http://home.comcast.net/~tbower/u2/U2_low_vs_LSH.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~tbower/u2/U2_high_vs_LSH.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~tbower/u2/U2_high_vs_Mag74.JPG

Sorry for my crappy beamshots. If someone can tell me how to make better ones, it'd be much appreciated.

OpticsHQ Special was the clincher for me.

Here's the beamshot on mine.

The donut hole is not noticible unless you're shining it at a uniform target or white wall and looking for it.

Level 6:


Level 5:


Level 4:


Level 3:


Levels 2 and 1... don't photograph too well.

I totally adore my U2 it is my edc, in my opinion one of the best edc lights availible. The beam is GREAT for a multi purpose light the hotspot is wide but even, and the sidespill is more concentrated than most lights (which is nice to have usefull sidespill) No noticible doughnut, and the swich worked great, until i dropped the thing on its taicap! (DOH!!!!!) so i called surefire and they said "ok we'll send you a new tailcap!" i was like .... "wow, really? that rocks!" great coustomer service and a great light!!

IMO the U2 is the best General Purpose Light. My only complaint is that its lowest light level is too bright..

Luxman said:

IMO the U2 is the best General Purpose Light. My only complaint is that its lowest light level is too bright..

Click to expand...

What light would you compare the low-level to? For example, is LOW about the same as an Arc-AAA Premium?