Not the best news from Surefire...

As many of you other Surefire fans, I also emailed Surefire asking about a release date -- specifically for the LX2. I may be reading too much into this response, but this was just one sentence cut word for word from the email they sent me (the rest was just blah blah, thanks for your request, blah blah):

"The LX2 flashlight is currently in development and may be released later this year. Unfortunetly, we do not have an official date of release."

I don't mind the no official release date, but I just don't like the "may be released..." part.

<sigh>

Last summer we were talking about a spring release time for the new models-now we might have to wait until late fall!!!

Is it common for surefire to post an item on their catalog and not release it at all? I don't really follow up with their catalogs.

I like Surefire. I own a number of their products. Unfortunately it appears the company is slipping. They're not keeping up with the times, not offering the options high end flashlight users look for these days and they're not bringing their interesting new models to market. I've also noticed they've been needlessly shaving off chunks of aluminum from my favorite old models in an effort to make them weaker and uglier so even what they have been offering is less enticing. I'd like to get an M3 but they've given it this treatment too and instead of looking like a "Combat Light" it looks like it belongs in a flower arrangement.

GreyShark said:

I like Surefire. I own a number of their products. Unfortunately it appears the company is slipping. They're not keeping up with the times, not offering the options high end flashlight users look for these days and they're not bringing their interesting new models to market. I've also noticed they've been needlessly shaving off chunks of aluminum from my favorite old models in an effort to make them weaker and uglier so even what they have been offering is less enticing. I'd like to get an M3 but they've given it this treatment too and instead of looking like a "Combat Light" it looks like it belongs in a flower arrangement.

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I dunno, the E1B was a pretty new offering, and it seems nice and beefy... Also, the E2DL is another offering that is somewhat new, and seems to meet brightness specs of other new lights...

I won't be happy if they don't release at least a few of these lights this year, but I'll still stay with Surefire -- no one else has given me the same comfort level of reliability yet.

Taps foot while patiently waiting for the Titan T1A which I already paid for in full in January...... BatteryJunction still shows a January 2009 or may be later release date. Foot's not tired yet!

I really like SF's quality and construction but it wouldn't be the first time that they don't deliver, ie. UB2 Invictus and UA2 Optimus. :shakehead

But, as indicated in other threads and other posters, SF's primary business focus is devoted to the US military and PD's. If they deliver on a new offering that looks great, then that's fine. If they don't deliver, I'm not too concerned as there are other smaller manufacturer's and custom builders who will gladly take my money and who are more geared towards us Flashoholics.

DimmerD said:

Taps foot while patiently waiting for the Titan T1A which I already paid for in full in January...... BatteryJunction still shows a January 2009 or may be later release date. Foot's not tired yet!

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Ouch! I signed-up for the pre-order when they first announced it back in Feb. 2008(!) but I decided to go with a retailer who didn't require pre-payment. I hope they will eventually release the T1A but, after such a long wait, I'm not holding my breath.

As far as I can tell the E1B is really just a product improved E1L. That in and of itself is ok, I'm glad they're making improvements, but at the same time I'm not sure those incremental improvements were best marketed as a new model. I'm not a big E series fan in general, not because they're bad or anything but just because they generally don't meet my requirements as well as some of their larger offerings. That said I have been considering getting one of these two to clip on my hat.

The M2 got the shave treatment and managed to come out still looking ok and given the nature of its grip ring cut I doubt it lost any strength in the body either since the weakest points weren't effected. The old round belly style felt better in the hand though, at least to me, and the few milligrams of weight saved by squaring it off really isn't worth it. That happened long ago. More recently they've been whittling down the Millennium series weapon lights to a handful of splinters and anything bigger than the 6 volt light looks just awful. I really hope this trend reverses with the Scout Lights out now. If you want a lightweight weapon light then you'd get the Scout. Millennium series weapons lights are supposed to be heavy. The extra strength is what makes them interesting.

I don't want to drag this thread too far out into the left field but it would be nice to see them bring their best new designs to market and stop butchering their classics.

The one constant and consistant feedback SureFire gets from the field is "make it lighter!" The guys in the sandbox that have to hump a load of gear are the ones asking for the 'shaving' so I say give it to them! as long as the lights are still strong enough to survive when they use it. Beauty and form follows function.

GreyShark said:

The M2 got the shave treatment and managed to come out still looking ok and given the nature of its grip ring cut I doubt it lost any strength in the body either since the weakest points weren't effected. The old round belly style felt better in the hand though, at least to me, and the few milligrams of weight saved by squaring it off really isn't worth it. That happened long ago. More recently they've been whittling down the Millennium series weapon lights to a handful of splinters and anything bigger than the 6 volt light looks just awful. I really hope this trend reverses with the Scout Lights out now. If you want a lightweight weapon light then you'd get the Scout. Millennium series weapons lights are supposed to be heavy. The extra strength is what makes them interesting.

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They didn't save any weight on the M2 or M3. Whittling down the Millenium series also does very very little. There are no meaningful gains to be made here. The soldier's loadout is a topic for a whole nother discussion and lightening that load would mean addressing logistics and transport in a way that the establishment just won't. In the meantime the Scout Light is light. The E series is light. Surefire already makes lightweight versions of their lights. If you want lightweight get one of them. If Surefire wants to make even lighter lights then they should stop using aluminum and start using more plastic. Shaving a Millennium weapon light down to Scout Light size or a C series down to E series size is a pointless, fruitless exercise in futility.

I played with several of them (LX1 & LX2) at SHOT 2009. They are very nice lights and I like the body design. They looked and acted like finished product to me.

Well, I fired off a response asking if that meant they might not release it at all, and I got an immediate response within about an hour:

"There are no plans to discontinue/cease development of the LX2 Flashlight. We are still planning on having the product released later this year."

So, at least it's not sounding too bad!

As for the "shaving" of material, Blindasabat said it perfectly. Nothing more to say about that. Greyshark, plastic vs. aluminum is almost a non-issue. Look at the "competition" version of the X300 and compare weight. What we sacrifice in weight we more than make up in structural integrity.


Yes, sometimes it takes longer to release things than we initially anticipate but typically it is because we have an ever growing need to be perfect. Real men and women depend on our products every day.

Again, if anyone has questions you can always email me.

Stuart@surefire

Stuart@surefire said:

Yes, sometimes it takes longer to release things than we initially anticipate but typically it is because we have an ever growing need to be perfect.

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Kinda like the "Made in the USA" statement from the catalog?:nana:

Stuart@surefire said:

...Real men and women depend on our products every day.....

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Are you saying were not REAL men and women? Just because most of us don't use our lights to illuminate the next guy were trying to kill or to light up a dark hallway of a building that's on fire. Just because were sitting at home in our underwear in front of a computer screen playing with our flashlights and eating Cheetos doesn't make us real? Why is my Tan G2 turning orange?

Stuart@surefire said:

As for the "shaving" of material, Blindasabat said it perfectly. Nothing more to say about that. Greyshark, plastic vs. aluminum is almost a non-issue. Look at the "competition" version of the X300 and compare weight. What we sacrifice in weight we more than make up in structural integrity.


Yes, sometimes it takes longer to release things than we initially anticipate but typically it is because we have an ever growing need to be perfect. Real men and women depend on our products every day.

Again, if anyone has questions you can always email me.

Stuart@surefire

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Thank you Stuart for your insightful reply. Is the Saint still on track to be released before the summer?

And, maybe it's asking a bit much but is there an ETA for the A2L, AZ2, and M3LT yet?

Me ->:whoopin:<- SureFire

It reminds me the Invictus / Optimus release... (where? when?)

But I still smile to Surefire, because I loved that new silver Backup!

Stuart@surefire said:

As for the "shaving" of material, Blindasabat said it perfectly. Nothing more to say about that.

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Sure, and I'm not debating the reasons it's being done, I'm disputing the logic. The skinny lightweight weapon light already exists in the Scout. Shaving down a M951 when a Scout Light already exists doesn't make any sense. It defeats the entire purpose in having a 951 in the first place. You can even run a P60/P61/P60L in a Scout by using the LU60A. Need 9 or 12 volts? Add an extender. Need a turbo head? Then you're definitely not talking about lightweight.

Greyshark, plastic vs. aluminum is almost a non-issue. Look at the "competition" version of the X300 and compare weight. What we sacrifice in weight we more than make up in structural integrity.

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I have no problem with Nitrolon at all, I'm sorry you got that impression. It certainly has its uses and I'll probably pick up a G2 before too long. A Scout or Nitrolon weapon light makes a lot more sense than whittling down a Millennium series light.

Real men and women depend on our products every day.

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Yup. You'll find many here on CPF.

Stuart@surefire said:

Yes, sometimes it takes longer to release things than we initially anticipate but typically it is because we have an ever growing need to be perfect. Real men and women depend on our products every day.

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Stuart,

Thank you for participating! Please continue to participate.

To everyone else,

I didn't read this statement as a slight to anyone. I read it as an affirmation that Surefire understands the importance of the work that their target market does and an acknowledgement that their customers are real people that often have life and death on the line.

Words are so easily taken out of context especially when the communication is written; I think that is the case here.