First surefire purchase

Hey guys. Just bought my first surefire. I've had two mini maglites with terralux tle-5ex dropins for a while. One had a niteize iq switch the other was normal. Had the urge for a new flashlight so I got a surefire 6px pro. I was wondering a few things. How is surefire as a company? Is the lens on the 6px pro durable enough to keep in my pocket without worrying about sand and stuff scratching it? Is it durable altogether? I got 2 extra sets of batteries also. Has anyone modded these?

Nice that you bought a Surefire, but I'm wary of they 6PX/G2X series... I would have recommended a C2 or Z2 with a nice LED drop in of some sort like a Malkoff M61 or one of those triple dealies that people seem to love so much...

It's a budget light but a higher end budget lol. Why are you iffy on this series?

I bought one for myself out of curiosity - a G2X Pro, and it had switching problems from the get go... then I got a 17670 stuck in it and just gave up... Chances are you got a good one, it's just that the whole experience kinda turned me off to them... I like old-school Surefire lights that you can actually disassemble by hand without the use of blow torches, strap wrenches, freezing and boiling. I'm not saying they're bad lights... I was just expecting more from Surefire... If you like your 6PX, you should consider getting a discontinued incan model next and dropping an LED module into it. A Malkoff in a Centurion is a beautiful thing...

Shao

The production of the switches just seems so amateurish in my opinion. I have many Surefire but I have never had any Surefire perform as bad as both the 6PX Pro and G2X Pro.

Bought a 6PX Pro first and after a few weeks into using it, it started developing issues with the switch. No problems when using the low mode, but when I tried to go to high and lock the switch down on high it would frequently jump back to low by the time I fully lock it down. Need to re-engage the switch a few times before I could lock it down on high. Contacted Surefire and they kindly shipped me another tail cap. I thought the replacement tail cap was ok but to my surprise when I place the 6PX Pro bezel down (when it's still on low output) it jumps to high the moment the head touches the table. Just a very very slight tap would cause it to switch mode.

Shortly before those problems started manifesting themselves, I had also purchased a G2X Pro. It worked flawlessly at first, but about 3 weeks ago it started showing the same switching issues I had faced with the 6PX Pro.

I was lucky I bought them during the time when the price was like almost half of what it costs today.

It may be Surefire's budget light, but I don't see why Surefire couldn't do a good job on the clicky mechanism. And I don't think I have seen any of such problems on my Chinese made lights. It's a real shame.

Nice that you bought a Surefire, but I'm wary of they 6PX/G2X series... I would have recommended a C2 or Z2 with a nice LED drop in of some sort like a Malkoff M61 or one of those triple dealies that people seem to love so much...

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Yep, the C2 is a real value at the closeout prices even with the added cost of an LED dropin and it does make the 6PX/G2X feel cheap in side by side comparison in my opinion. Perhaps a sign of the times with a lower quality build for a higher price, but at least SF has finally discovered the XP-G emitter.:thumbsup:

I was lucky I bought them during the time when the price was like almost half of what it costs today.

It may be Surefire's budget light, but I don't see why Surefire couldn't do a good job on the clicky mechanism. And I don't think I have seen any of such problems on my Chinese made lights. It's a real shame.

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I also got several of the 6PX/G2X lights at the 'introductory' prices and was initially quite enthusiastic. I chronicled my early batch switch problems here but I think the posts probably were lost in the CPF server crash last year. The clicky switch mechanism looks the same as in some other SF lights but perhaps something flexes and bounces the batteries off the no-spring positive connection. I've given some of these lights to friends and family, just hope they will work when needed. I agree, SF needs to do better if they are going to successfully compete with the ever improving Chinese lights at the low end of their product line.

How easily does the lens scratch?

SuzukiGS750EZ said:

How easily does the lens scratch?

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Does the 6PX use a lexan/poly window? If so, I believe a normal bezel removal tool can be used to remove the retaining ring to change the lens out...

I have no idea

Both the 6PX and G2X have plastic lenses and will scratch much more easily than the glass SF lenses from my experience. It has been pointed out that the plastic lenses may be more impact resistant and unless the scratches are really bad, it's a cosmetic issue but doesn't affect the output of the light significantly.

What are we talkin about in terms of scratchability? It will mainly be in my pocket. Maybe some lint, sand, wallet.

The lens on this light scratches very easily I scratched mine just by wiping it with a cloth, they really should have put a glass lens in this light because the plastic lens scratches far to easily.

The lens on this light scratches very easily I scratched mine just by wiping it with a cloth, they really should have put a glass lens in this light because the plastic lens scratches far to easily.

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I tossed a new 6PX in my backpack for a trip overseas a while back. I've got the usual assortment of cables, chargers and other geek stuff to fool with in case I have to sit in a transit or crew lounge without my luggage for a few hours. Something, maybe one of the electrical plugs scratched the lens of the 6PX. I tried to polish the lens a little but gave up. I put the light on my wife's desk in the kitchen, she uses it to spot wildlife in the back forty.

I know SureFires are 'illumination tools' and this is an economy model so I shouldn't overly obsess about the slightly flawed appearance of the barely used light. Of course, I also know that if I wax poetic about the awesome beauty of a SF light here on CPF, the amen chorus will rise up to join me.

After that, I tossed a SF C2-HA with the Nailbender dropin in my backpack and months later it still looks (and works) like new.

I've had problems with mine- G2 Pro. I sent it back to the factory. It had a lose connection somewhere. A good whack seemed to get it to come on most of the time. I was definitely not use to this sort of product out of surefire.

Is it possible to replace the lens in these Surefire lights with a glass one because mine is really badly scratched, I still can't understand why Surefire put plastic lenses in these lights, the plastic lens is just terrible.

My experience: My G2X Pro fits a 17670 battery and seems to prefer it; I get that same mode switching problem with higher voltages from two CR123 or RCR123. The switch works quite flawlessly with the lower voltage though. I had that bumping mode switch problem but a new tailcap from Surefire and a stretched out spring fixed it to a large extent. The plastic lens scratches very easily especially if you have dust/dirt on it and wipe it; best thing to do is to blow it with air to get all particles off and then use a microfibre. I dropped it from over a metre onto concrete and it still works perfectly, although the bezel has a big dent along with other dents from smaller drops. The bezel comes off with hot water and a sturdy removal tool, but I've had trouble finding a good solution to replace the lens and use an SS bezel; I've tried quite a few sizes of lenses and gaskets/orings and I can't get a good fit to ensure waterproofing (I can do it but it's not ideal and allows water ingress). My beam tint is a little green/warm on low which I actually prefer and a nice creamy white on high. If not for the terrible plastic lens/bezel assembly, it would be an almost perfect general use light.

I was originally thinking about buying a 6PX Pro, but from the look of the responses in this thread, I'm glad I got the LX2 instead. As far as I'm concerned, if you need to baby the light just to stop it from getting it's lens scratched, it fails as an $89+ light.

How much more does it cost to put a glass lens in a light vs plastic from a manufacturing point of view?

Where can i pick up a glass lens of the same size/thickness?

Yep to me it was an epic fail from Surefire to put plastic lenses in this series of lights, they are not cheap lights look at the Z2X it is over $100 and it has a plastic lens that scratches very easily.

I have owned cheap $30 lights and even they do not have plastic lenses in them.

SuzukiGS750EZ said:

Where can i pick up a glass lens of the same size/thickness?

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I would like to know this too and also how do you get the plastic lens out to replace it?