Surefire flashlight products compare quite favorably to the products of other makers. This statement would have evoked a fiery, explosive diatribe during the early 2000s from many members in this forum. In its halcyon days, the artifact-free superior "beam" of Surefire incandescent lamp assemblies housed in specialized, diminutive battery compartments that accommodated the CR123 lithium cell comprised a product that clearly eclipsed those behemoths offered by such stalwart makers as Streamlight and Maglite in terms of size-to weight-ratio. Surefire's marketing campaign in the early days was comprised of a visual comparison between the flawed, relatively anemic outputs of those large, duty flashlights that it was quick to denigrate as compared to the "flawless beam" of its stipled-reflectored P-series lamps. This was a very successful advertisement campaign that bolstered it sales much to the pleasure of Surefire's investors and the behest of those of the two stalwart makers.
Surefire then began to offer a bewildering plethora of variations if its base product line as fueled by the creative ideas of its chief designer and the enthusiasm created by the Surefire discussion forum that it ran concurrent to this forum up to about 2003. Surefire at that time, clearly, was at the top of the game.
As LED technology quickly developed and manufacturers with their innovative products soon deluged the market, Surefire, with purportedly heavy commitments to the law military and law enforcement sectors, found itself eclipsed on the commercial/consumer market; one in which it purportedly never intended to directly compete. Soon, its products began to lose much of the luster of cutting-edge technology it once had in the late 90s/early 2000s. Slow to offer consumer-targeted products, Surefire replied with the E-Series but still in incandescent lamps at a time when smaller, rapid-responding makers embraced high-power LED technology.
Today, Surefire's purported commitment to quality appears as anachronistic as those "Goliath"-esque makers it challenged in its days as a tiny, fledgling, "David"-like laser manufacturer in Fountain Valley, California. The company remains privately-held, still located in that quiet, Orange County suburb, and looking much like the established stalwart makers it once faced in its early days. Its comparatively small manufacturing facility is rich in the usage of state-of-the-art machinery but may remain distant in terms of output as compared to one of the other big manufacturers.
Surefire's use of integrating sphere light measuring techniques as a means to publish more scientific lumen values most certainly underscores its commitment to realistically characterizing its products in the military/LE market. This practice now largely undermines its consumer market edge as compared to the higher output values typically advertised by many makers competing in this crowded market.
The Surefire pocketable, illumination tool product line has undergone some recent revisions in the form of curtailment of its once-bewildering offerings. Although some remain, gone are some of the uniquely-designed "combat" models with their extreme machining lines that would seem more fit in the hands of an extraterrestrial being in a science fiction novel. Most current models seem to embody the plain, ordinary battery tube. Some models are now offered in lower-cost variants, in consumer colors, and in once "unheard-of" retail locations such as Lowes and Home Depot; marketing locales once dominated by the likes of the C, D, and AA models of Maglite.
Surefire flashlight products, where once it was the premier choice of enthusiasts, is now just one of the standard choices. Its uniqueness is in the conservatism of its lumen output, the within-series modularity of its components, the superior customer service, and the well-deserved reputation of reliability.
I have original models 6P, 9N, 9P, 6Z, and 12ZM somewhere in storage with a Maglite Magcharger and a Streamlight Ultrastinger. Although I have not purchased a new Surefire flashlight since the late 2001 acquisition of a Model M2 (now fitted with a LED module), I acquired the L6 in 2003 (now modded with a P4 LED). Both see "duty" in separate gun boxes and checked weekly for operation but neither would be the one that I grab when I need my firearm for defense. None of these Surefire models see regular usage. For me, there are other products by other makers that fit my current needs. Just as Maglite and Streamlight, Surefire flashlight products have come and gone in my current battery.
