Aww Crap! The bug has bitten... To A2 or not to A2?

Valpo Hawkeye

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Okay, here's the deal. I love LED's. That's just the way it is. My G2 is nice, but it's just for a glovebox light. I have a Milky ML-1 with a Cree P3 emitter on the way. I can't wait...

However, I'm really jones'ing for an A2. The regulated incan is pretty sweet. I wish first stage were a touch brighter, but that's not a deal breaker. My question is, how often do you A2 owners have to replace your lamp assemblies as compared to P60 or comparable lamps. Does the "step up" circuitry really make the lamp more reliable? Also, how do you other LED junkies feel about the L2? Aargh. Darn flashlight addiction...
 

benchmade_boy

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i have had my a2 since august. with my g2 i replaced the lamp4or 5 times in 10 months and i have droped and droped my a2 many times and i still works like new.
 

Mike Painter

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It may have bitten but you are clearly not fully infected, otherwise it would have been
"Two A2 or three A2?"
 

nzgunnie

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I got a limited edition Black HA III A2 about a year ago, it is ok, the incan is nice, but the leds are horribly blue.
 

Chronos

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I LOVE my A2. I read js' writeup and became intrigued. I now don't think I'd part with my A2-RD. It is a great size and the output of the incan is great. I like the LEDs for night use (red) too. Be careful- you can't buy just one! ;) I'm now jonesing for a A2-WH.
 

Traglite

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Check out this A2 type light from Cabelas. I wonder is any CPF's have one of these.
Go to Cabelas.com and do a search for "alaskan guide led" and let me know what you think.
 

Traglite

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To add to my post...its the one called Alaskan Guide Flashlight, and its priced at $69.99. It also claims 50 lumens.
 

fnmag

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OK, another thread about the Surefire A2...skim through it and continue on! But wait, what have you done to me? A link to the JS thread...Oh my goodness! Such heartfelt passion and poetic musings. You mean this A2 is not just another pis ugly yellow incan? Regulated and white throughout most of its battery life! I have heard the siren song and it is totally captivating! I thought my life was complete but no, in fact I was residing in a dank and moldy crevise this side of Dantes Inferno. A huge weight has been lifted and the light has finally illuminated my senses. Eureka! This is the golden calf of intense awareness. I shall make haste to acquire this Harpies song and enlightenment shall be mine. After I decide on red vs. white I shall literally pounce on a black speciman of this vaunted creature. Nirvanna shall be my soulmate and singing shall be heard throughout the kingdom. And with that I bid you ......MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT. :santa:
 

Concept

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Mike Painter said:
It may have bitten but you are clearly not fully infected, otherwise it would have been
"Two A2 or three A2?"

Heh heh, I didn't read the thread right and thought he was trying to decide wether to buy 1 or 2 A2's

In regards to the L2 I love mine and have just modded it to take unprotected 17670's which is good for guilt free lumens.
 

jumpstat

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Hi to all,

My main concern is the main light although rated at a 50 lumens is still a incandescent. I tried testing and unfortunately wasn't in my favor as the output was not round (even) more donut shape compared to an E1L which I finally bought. The design though is excellent as well as the facilities (2 stage) ability. IMHO

Regards.........
 

Valpo Hawkeye

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Chronos said:
I LOVE my A2. I read js' writeup and became intrigued. I now don't think I'd part with my A2-RD. It is a great size and the output of the incan is great. I like the LEDs for night use (red) too. Be careful- you can't buy just one! ;) I'm now jonesing for a A2-WH.

Does the A2 have any advantages over you Cree ML-1? Which one would you take camping?
 

Chronos

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Valpo Hawkeye said:
Does the A2 have any advantages over you Cree ML-1? Which one would you take camping?

Wow, great question. Hmm.

All honesty, probably both. When I hike and climb I don't pack "light." I love my LEDs, and the ML-1 is wonderful with a great tint and beam pattern. However, nothing beats a good incan outdoors, and the A2 is one of the best. The ML-1s runtime and overall output are superior, so in my case I'd use the ML-1 as my primary light.
 

Codeman

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You could always have Milky upgrade the A2's LED's if you want them brighter.

One thing I noticed with my A2 was that it had to grow on me. When I first got one, I was un-impressed with the output. The more I actually used it, though, the more impressed I got. That's why I now have 2 of them. For my money, there simply isn't a more useful incandescent light from a commercial source.

There is one thing that you can count on. If you get an A2 and don't like it, you won't have any trouble selling it. Especially if you let milkyspit put some premium LED's in it.
 
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js

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I EDC my A2 almost every single day, and use it fairly often, and I find that I replace my LA about once every year to a year and a half--not because I have noticed any definite decline in brightness or whiteness, but just because it has about 40 to 50 hours on it at that point. And in fact, a side by side comparison with a new lamp will show that it HAS lost some output after this amount of use--and also some blackening can be seen on the used LA when compared to the new LA. But the point is that if I wanted to wring every last hour out of the LA I could probably put another 20 hours or so on it before it blew or before the output was significantly affected.

Basically, figure that with normal distribution of use, the LA is good for 50 sets of CR123's. That's my best guess. In any case, certainly good for AT LEAST the rated 35 hours of life.
 

MacTech

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Okay, here's a side-by-side comparison shot of an A2 Aviator and a P61'ed 6P, both on fresh batteries...

A2_P61.jpg


"50 lumen" A2 on the left, 120 lumen P61 on the right
notice that the P61 has both a larger hotspot, and a very slight increase in brightness, but the A2 is *whiter*
 

KDOG3

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I've often considered the A2 as my next light as well. I do remember reading here somewhere that the output of the A2 is more like 70 lumens or so. Is it true that it has a "soft start" feature for the incandescent lamp? That would probably lead to increased life for the bulb.
 

greenLED

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Valpo Hawkeye said:
how often do you A2 owners have to replace your lamp assemblies as compared to P60 or comparable lamps. Does the "step up" circuitry really make the lamp more reliable? Also, how do you other LED junkies feel about the L2? Aargh. Darn flashlight addiction...
1. Haven't had to replace the lamp in my A2 yet.
2. Don't really know, but I trust SF's claims.
3. I know the LED/incan combination is a surrogate for low/high output, but I don't think of the A2 as a "two stage" light like the A2. The characteristics of LED/incan beams are so different that I don't feel it's a fair comparison against something like the L2. I have a U2, so the L2 doesn't offer anything extra, BTW.
 

Illum

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I like the A2 for a couple reasons

1-no matter how old the batteries are or how long its been sitting in the light, if the battery has about 50% capacity left, I will still get 100% light when I activate the switch. other two celled surefires, when given batteries of 50% capacity, they'll yield the sickly yellow light, high intensity nonetheless.
2-After buying the A2, [thanks for pushing me off the edge carrot:laughing::rant:] I rarely use the xenon beam, most of the time the LEDs will satisfy most illumination needs
3-Mine is a second hand and haven't had to get the MN02 LA replaced yet..even after my last "emergency" where I needed the xenon for a full 30 minutes, regulations there gentlemen, the beam was never a sickly yellow, it remained white. [30 minutes at 10 minute intervals, lights too hot for me to hold after 10 minutes, but it was all in one night, on fairly used batteries]
 
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