Over the past couple of months I have been eyeing the Surefire G2 as a car light and a good excuse for buying a Malkoff drop-in.
Well I recently gave in to the GanderMt. sale on the Camo Surefire G2s and picked one up.
I guess the Surefire reputation on build quality and design got me a little more excited for this light than I really should have been. I'm not trying to bash Surefire: I've handled my cousin's 6PL and was really impressed at the heft and build quality.
The light itself feels alright. I'm sure a pure nitrolon body will feel better than the Camo coating. The real disappointment comes at the front and rear though.
At the front - I have never seen a bulb so off center as the one in the P60 lamb assembly. Good thing I intend to replace it, but it just looks horrible viewed thru the lens.
At the back end, the G2 (I assume the G2L is the same) tailcap and tail area is horrible.
- The momentary function of the tailcap is very difficult to operate. I really have to exert quite a bit of pressure to get the light to turn on. If I release even slightly, the light dims. Worse of all, there is a delay between pressing the button and gettting light.
- The tailcap has a horrible wobble on the body, even when snugged tight. When loose for momentary it is even worse and when locked out, it feels like it will back off and fall off by itself.
- The above wobble was fixed almost completely by adding a second o-ring to body. This makes me wonder why Surefire in the first place decided to not install two o-rings to make this area more solid and secure. A simple O-ring that costs pennies makes the light go from feeling like junk to instilling confidence in use.
One final complaint - The original installed O-ring on the tailcap region of the body was half coated with the Camo coating. Seems they install the o-ring, then spray the Camo coating
.
Again, I'm not trying to bash the light or Surefire. I realize this is the cheapest light they offer and it was a steal for $25, but it seems like a few cheap improvements will really make this light shine.
Well I recently gave in to the GanderMt. sale on the Camo Surefire G2s and picked one up.
I guess the Surefire reputation on build quality and design got me a little more excited for this light than I really should have been. I'm not trying to bash Surefire: I've handled my cousin's 6PL and was really impressed at the heft and build quality.
The light itself feels alright. I'm sure a pure nitrolon body will feel better than the Camo coating. The real disappointment comes at the front and rear though.
At the front - I have never seen a bulb so off center as the one in the P60 lamb assembly. Good thing I intend to replace it, but it just looks horrible viewed thru the lens.
At the back end, the G2 (I assume the G2L is the same) tailcap and tail area is horrible.
- The momentary function of the tailcap is very difficult to operate. I really have to exert quite a bit of pressure to get the light to turn on. If I release even slightly, the light dims. Worse of all, there is a delay between pressing the button and gettting light.
- The tailcap has a horrible wobble on the body, even when snugged tight. When loose for momentary it is even worse and when locked out, it feels like it will back off and fall off by itself.
- The above wobble was fixed almost completely by adding a second o-ring to body. This makes me wonder why Surefire in the first place decided to not install two o-rings to make this area more solid and secure. A simple O-ring that costs pennies makes the light go from feeling like junk to instilling confidence in use.
One final complaint - The original installed O-ring on the tailcap region of the body was half coated with the Camo coating. Seems they install the o-ring, then spray the Camo coating
.Again, I'm not trying to bash the light or Surefire. I realize this is the cheapest light they offer and it was a steal for $25, but it seems like a few cheap improvements will really make this light shine.
