What is this surefire all about?

Hey guys,

I have been thinking, and I know Surefire is great quality etc. But so are my Fenix lights. And Surefire is expencife for like 80 lumen while fenix cheap is for 220 lumen... To understand the Surefire thing I am thinking of buying the 6P (I do have to say awesome runtime!) But I want your thoughs and/or experience with Surefire products, because most of you will have atleast 1 surefire I think.

I need a good EDC aswell so I will probably buy a Dereelight (the EDC version) but I want to know what's so good about surefire before spending a totall of $180 or something for 2 lights...! Whitch is alot for me being 15 years old.

Thanks for the help fellow forumers

Oh boy. I think you will regret having posted this. :devil:

My take is that Surefire puts out a great light. The only complaint I've ever had was with the tint of the LED, but that can be swapped out.

Also, Surefire's lumen rating are very conservative. You cannot compare their advertised numbers to those of other companies.

Good luck.

The fact that surefire have a LIFETIME warrantee makes it appealing to me.
Just like my Snap-On tools...if it breaks they fix it free...Minus Bulbs and batteries.

The build quality is great and there are a ton of add-ons for their lights, making them easy to upgrade when time or money allows.

Greg G said:

Oh boy. I think you will regret having posted this. :devil:

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Yep!

Haha, I think I got to get that Surefire The 6P runs 11 hours, so I guess that's on 80 lumens?

And I might regret indeed BUT that's a good thing!

Thanks for the fast reply's!

Definitely buy a SF 6P or 6PL. You can't go wrong. :twothumbs

Surefire + any other light company in the same sentence can spark a fierce debate ending in a thread closure, maybe some banned members, and probably hurt feelings.

The 6PL runs around 3-4 hours at 80 lumen and the rest at a lower output. 11 hours or usable output with IIRC is down to 1 lumen.

Surefire:

Good history,
Well known,
Many aftermarket parts,
Good customer service,
Feels good in hand,
Conservative lumen ratings(minimal out the front lumen)
and probably more.

Me+Light=Addiction said:

but I want to know what's so good about surefire before spending a totall of $180 or something for 2 lights...! Whitch is alot for me being 15 years old.

Thanks for the help fellow forumers

Click to expand...

With a Surefire you will still have a working functional light 30 years later. Quality lasts...
I have a couple form the early '90's that work as well as they did from day 1

Great engineering also, for example the 2-stage tactical twisty like on the L1 / L2, M3T, etc.

All very true! Quality is one of the most important things!

Thx everybody.

SF: Quality, engineering, R&D, well known reliability, designed to do a job, and do it well.

Others: bright, flashy modes, generally unproven long-term reliability. Designed to satisfy "bright!" etc. side of flashaholicism.

Of course, there are exceptions, but these are general guidelines as I understand them.

Obviously I can't speak for everyone, but I use both, and like both. But as others have said, there's a good history with SF, and lots of parts available. Just from examination, it appears that SF is more robust in construction. And let's face it, 220lm is usually more than necessary.

So, personally, I keep a SF on my shotgun, and a SF by my bed. But I keep a Fenix (or Olight) in my pocket. Fenix is durable enough that I feel comfortable with it day to day, and the size is better for EDC. But, to me, it's much more a "throw away" type of light. If it breaks or gets lost, I'm not quite as attatched to it as a SF. Plus, when push comes to shove, I'd rather have a SF for their reliability in any hazardous situation(even if it is just mental).

Finally, it seems that Fenix and SF just have different beam profiles. My P2d has a much tighter hot spot than my 6pL (yeah, I know, different flashlights), and I find most of the SF beams more user friendly.

to reinforce what gunner12 said, the surefire 6pl is not regulated output for 11 hours. it gets 2-3 hours on high output, which is still pretty good! I also think the 6p is a great d26 host! the design is simple and reliable. surefire lights can usually be found on e-bay for a reasonable price! often under $50 for a 6pl! :thumbsup:

I agree with mdinana.... If you want one of the finest lights made get the surefire. The cheaper made lights (fenix) are nice lights for the money but, the surefire will likely be handed down to your kids many years down the road.

surefire's lights are very durable and well designed

yes, you are also paying somewhat of a premium because they are a popular company who also sells their lights to police and the military. they are also made in the united states, which matters to some people (a lot of Americans think that the Chinese are either not people, or else in a huge capitalist battle with the US and so shouldnt be given any money).


the only reason i dont buy surefire lights is the CR123s, id rather buy lights that take common batteries. (though i do use all rechargables)

Surefire lights seem to follow the KISS principle. They are also extremely well made. Once you pick up a Surefire, you know it will last a long time.

You should try the 6P and get a Malkoff M60 dropin (or M60L if you want 4.5 hr runtime)!

Surefire is, in effect, an adjunct to the Military Industrial Complex, and as such price is of lesser concern than the performance and reliability.
Light weight performance demands the CR123A chemistry and obscenely accurate CNC machining design.
Since Uncle Sam is usually paying for it all anyway, so what? But civilians who wish to experience the engineering prowess produced when price is of a lesser concern than performance... ought to know better than complain about price! I mean, really, that's what it all comes down to. This is intended as military hardware - from the Military Industrial Complex - and that in itself is a major cool factor.
There should be a sticky explaining this to folks who haven't figured it out yet Military Industrial Complex items can't be cheap - by definition!

To my joy I can say I bought a Jetbeam!:twothumbs But I was disappointed by how hard it is to get a Surefire. I want the 6P Led pretty bad now but DAMN! Ebay never ships them to Holland, ALWAYS USA only >.< (LAME!!!:thumbsdow) And on the Surefire website you can't ship to Holland and on LAPD gears or something they do ship, but, cheapest shipping is a nice $70 >.<. How do they make up these prices for a flashligh!!! I will be spending double for a surefire if I buy one, while fenix lights are almost always shipped free everywhere... that's weird... I think the Surefire has to wait till I find a reliable company who cheaply sends the surefire's.:sigh:

Me+Light=Addiction said:

Hey guys,

I have been thinking, and I know Surefire is great quality etc. But so are my Fenix lights. And Surefire is expencife for like 80 lumen while fenix cheap is for 220 lumen... To understand the Surefire thing I am thinking of buying the 6P (I do have to say awesome runtime!) But I want your thoughs and/or experience with Surefire products, because most of you will have atleast 1 surefire I think.

I need a good EDC aswell so I will probably buy a Dereelight (the EDC version) but I want to know what's so good about surefire before spending a totall of $180 or something for 2 lights...! Whitch is alot for me being 15 years old.

Thanks for the help fellow forumers

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Instead of buying a 6p and an edc light for $180 get one Surefire E1L or E1B. That way you have your edc light and you can see what Surefire is all about.Not to mention that you will save between $30 to $50. If you want a 2 cell size light the E2L will fill your needs.

*Metlarules.

Same story,expensife import :shakehead