Water resistance

Hi, new guy here with a couple questions.

I've been looking for a flashlight to use for a variety of activities, including backpacking, canoeing, and general purpose use. I've tenatively settled on the 2x123 lithium as the size that would best suite me, and I'm having trouble narrowing it down. I like the Surefire G2 and E2e, but everything I've heard about the water resistance of the SFs is very hit and miss. I just can't justify spending $50 or more for a light that isn't rated to at least 12 ft. I've also come accross the Pelican M6, which has me intrigued because as a maker of dive lights, I'd think that pelican would at least make the M6 moderately water resistant. Does anyone have any information on the water resistance of the SFs, and the same plus general info on the M6?

Thanks in advance

A good 2 x 123 light to consider for general use and water resistance is the Underwater Kinetics 2L. Not quite as bright as the ones you mentioned, but runs longer and is lightweight and less expensive.

get a 2-cell surefire (non E-series) with a lexan bezel, and it should be pretty water proof, in my experience. i had a 6P and a C2 which i could take down to at least 2 metres without leaking (never got the chance to take them deeper). i've noticed its usually the pyrex bezels that are a little more finicky.

Where is size15s when you need him?

I think most all Surefire lights are suppose to be water resistant, they all have the required O-rings and gaskets [except some of the early L4's], but if you want it certified by Surefire you will have to pay extra to have them test it to your specification.

the problem is that some of the pyrex bezels leaked, even with all the seals in place. i've had no problems with the lexan bezels so far though.

I woulnt get a SF because its not the right type of light for your purposes. You can step up to a Princeton Tec Surge which will put out almost double the ammount of light compared to a 2 cell SureFire and get a 2-3 hour runtime. It also has a place to put a lanyard for you to attach to the canoe or yourself. When I had one, I used it as my primary fishing light. A month or two later, I ended it up with 2 Surges but gave them to a mechanic friend of mine who used it more than I did. In the next few weeks ill be replacing it with a UKE SL6. At a little bit over 200 lumens, it costs under $40. Since I wont be carrying that much, its a very good value.

Welcome to the CPF Hutch

I would consider run time on any of the above. When I go camping, it just doesn't take long to run some of these lights down. I personally us the Arc LSH-P. It may or may not have the throw that you need but it's small and very handy around the campground. Another consideration is that it will stand on end if you use the twisty.

There is already a post that addressed this, it should answer all questions.

Surefire Water Resistance

I'll have to agree with Lurker on the UKE 2L. I personally own one, and while not as bright as others in the same 2x123 category, but its still pretty impressive and has quite a decent throw. Apart from that, its made to be a backup diving light, and is advertised to be waterproof up to 200 feet I think. Its also very small and lightweight, battery burn time of approx 4 hours (as advertised)... Alternatively, Princeton Tec also makes some good diving lights, and they're worth taking a look at too.

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Stanley said:
I'll have to agree with Lurker on the UKE 2L.... battery burn time of approx 4 hours (as advertised)...

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Based on multiple runtests you might want to think in terms of 2.5-3.25hrs. 2.5hrs guaranteed decent brightness, usually get aroumnd 3 hrs, with last half hour usuable (if not very bright). I tested with several brands of 123s and found SF and Duracell Ultra gave the longest bright burn.

Great waterproof indestructible tiny little light. They seem to be putting #480 bulbs in many of them: very bright and long-throwing at the expense of beam diameter. In some ways I prefer the "old" lamps with their funky but highly practical wider, if slightly dimmer beams.

Brightnorm

Do you have pictures of both the old and new lamps? I got my 2L over a year ago and also got a spare lamp with it. Ive never had to change it out yet.

I use the UKE-2L as my "waterproof light".

The Surge in my opinion has a pathetic runtime. It starts off fine with a really bright, large spot. Leave it on for 20-30 minutes and you get the regular old used beam - sure it stay lit for a longer time but I don't like the light quality - not after one hour at any rate.

Al

I have 2 PT Surges sitting on the shelf for that reason. It uses 8 batteries and since it's not regulated it pretty much stinks after the initial brightness wears off.

And sure it puts out more light than a SF 2 cell, sheesh it's 4 times the size. It is waterproof though.

Some people have found that their Surge leaks - I believe there was a thread about this on CPF. I guess that every flashlight- even divelights have bad apples.

Al

UK makes very good water resistant lights. My SL4 went down 100 feet with me and it worked just fine. Ugly and cheap looking, but its never failed me underwater. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I think the UK 2L is pretty much King Waterproof of the 2 x 123A cell lights. It is nearly indistructable, small and lightweight. Even better, it's only 26 bucks.

The only downsides are that the beam is only so-so and it doesn't have a push button activation. It appears that the latter pretty much isn't possible with a dive light as the pressure will activate the "button".

It's my light of choice for the glove box and for emergency kits. You'll find one in my backpack when I'm hiking.

Thanks for all your help, guys. I'm going to do a little more research, but will probably go with the 2L for my first lithium and see how it goes.

FlashlightOCD, you mentioned something about SF certifying a particular light to a certain depth for a fee, could you give me some more details on this for future reference?

thanks again.

Size15s probably has better info on this than I do.

Their printed catalog indicates that they have a special version of the 6P [6PN-BK] that has been waterproof tested to U. S. Navy Specs. It cost $28 more than the standard 6P.

I thought I've read that they will certify almost any of their lights for a fee, but I can't find the source at the moment.

Al??

SureFire have the ability to certify most of their models although they may still be too busy to offer this service to general customers - I believe the best way to find this out is to talk to someboody in SureFire Tech Support.
The way it works is that SureFire take the flashlight off the shelf and test it on site. Dan @ TW said they add more lube which would sound reasonable.
SureFire offer mainly selected WeaponLights as waterproof versions such as the M971PN.

I doubt SureFires are used underwater by Operators - I think the waterproofing is required by those who need travel underwater with all their kit in the wet.

Al

I was looking at my new (old style) 6P today and this thread gave me some ideas...

There are 'extra grooves' at the head and tail so I went and bought some extra o-rings at Home Depot and now I have two o-rings at either end. That should make the seals at the head and tail a lot more water resistant.

But I was thinking that the switch would still pour in the H2O, so I figured I could cut the pinky finger off of a dishwashing glove and slide it over the end of the flashlight. I happened to have a pair of thick mil, industrial grade, black rubber gloves... so it's color coordinated with the black flashlight (fashion counts, right?). This forms a pretty good seal before and after the knurling on the tail switch that I think would remain pretty dang water resistant through quite a bit of use... and the rubber is thick enough to hold up very well. I trimmed the rubber so it just covers the tail switch, but one could run it down almost the whole flashlight for extra protection (but that would probably interfer with the twist on/constant on function). Basically it is a flashlight condom, which allows the tail switch to be freely depressed while maintaining good leak protection.

I think it ought to be good for at least 10' for extended periods while being used... I might have to give it a try next time I go swimming /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif It works great in the sink, but I'd like to see how it does when it's a few feet down.

Has anybody else tried anything like this?