MacTech
Enlightened
My trusty ol' (disclaimer, not really that old...) SureFire G2, the *first* SureFire light i bought, and the one that got me addicted to SF lights in the first place, has been sitting quietly in my car's center console, waiting for the day i needed it, for the most part, i ignored it, in favor of it's metal sibling, the 6P
i liked the increased heft of the 6P metal body, and most importantly, it's Pyrex glass lens, so much better than the cheap, scratch-prone lexan lens on the G2, at the time, i also disliked the "plastic" body of the G2.....
a couple months ago, i picked up a G&P 3W Luxeon lamp module for the 6P, but it didn't fit well, there was a gap between the bezel and light body, so just for the heck of it, i tossed it in my G2, and it fit completely, no gaps, so i played around with the G2 for a while with the G&P 3W.....
y'know, this "plastic" isn't as bad as i thought...., the G2 is actually a nice little light, the Nitrolon actually feels pretty darn rugged
we had a few subzero cold snaps, and even then, the G2 was never uncomfortable to handle in the cold, i don' want to *think* about handling an aluminum light in -20F weather....
then, my 6P started getting mysterious silver wear spots on the body, near the tailcap, the G2 was cosmetically unblemished, however the lexan lens had picked up some scratches, wheras the 6P's lens was flawless....
....y'know, the only thing i *don't* like about the G2 now is the lexan lens, and i can get a glass lens for it from a couple of online vendors....
so, i ordered a UCL lens for the G2, installed it yesterday, and suddenly, i find myself using the G2 more now, i'm really starting to like the G2 a lot, to date, it's my most customized SF, it has an Ultra-Clear glass lens, and a G&P 3W BOG lamp, and i still have a P60 and P61 i could use in it.... the body is more scratch-and-ding-resistant than the 6P, it's lighter, more shock-resistant, and it has a longer battery life (4 hours Vs. 1 hour), and i have a gut feeling that it could withstand more....mistreatment than a 6P due to the Nitrolon bodybeing nearly indestructible....
i still don't like most plastic lights, but the G2's Nitrolon body feels a lot more rugged than "normal" plastic flashlights, and it's far less prone to showing cosmetic dings, no need to get a C2 or M2 just for their HAIII anodizing, i'll just pick up another G2 for the car, and add my upgraded G2 to my EDC array....
i've come full circle, i disliked the G2 at first, writing it off as just another mundane "'cheap' plastic light", and getting a 6P to replace it, then as i played around with it, i warmed up to it, and now, i like it just as much (if not actually a little better) as my 6P
i won't be bumping the 6P out of my EDC array, as sometimes you *need* a powerful incan (foggy nights and LED's are not a good combination.....), but for most of my "i need a brighter light than my EDC Fenix L1" situations, i'll go with the G2
.....now, if SureFire would simply ship the G2 with a pyrex lens, it'd be the *perfect* light, after all, the G2Z ships with a Pyrex lens....
final question, which is more durable, the Flashlightlens.com UCL lens, or the SureFire pyrex lens? would i be better off swapping lenses, putting the UCL on the 6P, and putting the Pyrex on the G2, as the G2 will see "harder" use than the 6P...
i liked the increased heft of the 6P metal body, and most importantly, it's Pyrex glass lens, so much better than the cheap, scratch-prone lexan lens on the G2, at the time, i also disliked the "plastic" body of the G2.....
a couple months ago, i picked up a G&P 3W Luxeon lamp module for the 6P, but it didn't fit well, there was a gap between the bezel and light body, so just for the heck of it, i tossed it in my G2, and it fit completely, no gaps, so i played around with the G2 for a while with the G&P 3W.....
y'know, this "plastic" isn't as bad as i thought...., the G2 is actually a nice little light, the Nitrolon actually feels pretty darn rugged
we had a few subzero cold snaps, and even then, the G2 was never uncomfortable to handle in the cold, i don' want to *think* about handling an aluminum light in -20F weather....
then, my 6P started getting mysterious silver wear spots on the body, near the tailcap, the G2 was cosmetically unblemished, however the lexan lens had picked up some scratches, wheras the 6P's lens was flawless....
....y'know, the only thing i *don't* like about the G2 now is the lexan lens, and i can get a glass lens for it from a couple of online vendors....
so, i ordered a UCL lens for the G2, installed it yesterday, and suddenly, i find myself using the G2 more now, i'm really starting to like the G2 a lot, to date, it's my most customized SF, it has an Ultra-Clear glass lens, and a G&P 3W BOG lamp, and i still have a P60 and P61 i could use in it.... the body is more scratch-and-ding-resistant than the 6P, it's lighter, more shock-resistant, and it has a longer battery life (4 hours Vs. 1 hour), and i have a gut feeling that it could withstand more....mistreatment than a 6P due to the Nitrolon bodybeing nearly indestructible....
i still don't like most plastic lights, but the G2's Nitrolon body feels a lot more rugged than "normal" plastic flashlights, and it's far less prone to showing cosmetic dings, no need to get a C2 or M2 just for their HAIII anodizing, i'll just pick up another G2 for the car, and add my upgraded G2 to my EDC array....
i've come full circle, i disliked the G2 at first, writing it off as just another mundane "'cheap' plastic light", and getting a 6P to replace it, then as i played around with it, i warmed up to it, and now, i like it just as much (if not actually a little better) as my 6P
i won't be bumping the 6P out of my EDC array, as sometimes you *need* a powerful incan (foggy nights and LED's are not a good combination.....), but for most of my "i need a brighter light than my EDC Fenix L1" situations, i'll go with the G2
.....now, if SureFire would simply ship the G2 with a pyrex lens, it'd be the *perfect* light, after all, the G2Z ships with a Pyrex lens....
final question, which is more durable, the Flashlightlens.com UCL lens, or the SureFire pyrex lens? would i be better off swapping lenses, putting the UCL on the 6P, and putting the Pyrex on the G2, as the G2 will see "harder" use than the 6P...
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