Owner of several Surefires

Hey, getting oriented on this forum. Been an avid Surefire user for about 5 years now. Have about 6 G2s, split just about even between the incandescents and LEDs. Also just bought a C2 off a friend of mine in nice shape. Took me a little bit to get used to the LED color, still trying to get up to speed on the differences in LEDs available. From what I can tell, the options are busting wide open with LEDs just about like horsepower performance for vehicles. Ask the question of how bright can I make my light and the response is "How much money you got?"

The G2s seem to be a great companion that always works when I need them. I use them in my pistol backs and have three in service on AR15 carbines. I know there are better lights available for that purpose, but the G2s seem to be inexpensive and reliable and most importantly, lightweight. I lost a Streamlight Polytac on duty at a call one night. That still hurts my feelings.

One other light I was given by my wife surprised me in it's function and reliability. For Christmas last year, she bought a Coleman LED (I believe it is a Cree?) AAA light with blue and red light selector. It has been flawless and bright for a small light. Has anyone else used one of these? It came from Walmart for about 28 bucks.

I have a gaggle of G2s around the house and garage. They range from dim to bright. I find them indispensable for working on various projects around the house. Check the Malkoff site for a dropin. Gene sells great LED modules.

G2 makes poor host for high-powered drop-ins due to lack of heat dissipation capability. Malkoff makes several drop-ins that will be suitable. Check out M61L and M61LL.

C2, on the other hand, is one of the best hosts you can get your hands on.

Here is what I did to my C2-BK;


- Cryos cooling bezel for maximum heatsinking
- Xeno ST05 for situations where verbal communications do not work
- Triad tail to provide tail-standing and increased anti-rolling
- Stainless steel belt clip for secure carrying on either my pocket or belt
- McClicky softpress for easy activation and ability to handle high-powered drop-ins

I currently have a Solarforce LC-XPG 1-mode, which will be replaced with an XM-L T6 NW driven at 4.2A built by vinhnguyen54. That drop-in will give me about 800 OTF lumens.

I really love my G2 FYL. That almost neon yellow of the nitrolon body is just awesome. It feels solid and no matter how you abuse it, it still looks great. The only problem is that it really is a poor conductor of heat, so only low powered drop-ins with this one, but the side benefit is that you get great runtimes. The C2 however is a "sky's the limit" host. Look for a thread called "I'm a C2-ha addict". Many many posts on customized C2 lights. It was the thread that solidified my addiction to flashlights.

Just remember if you go with a high powered drop-in, be sure to wrap it in aluminum foil to allow for the best thermal conduction to the body, or you could drastically shorten the life of the led.

:welcome:

Why do some of my G2s have aluminum bezels, and others have poly bezels? I can understand the aluminum is a better heat dissipator, but when did Surefire make the change?

eng208 said:

Why do some of my G2s have aluminum bezels, and others have poly bezels? I can understand the aluminum is a better heat dissipator, but when did Surefire make the change?

Click to expand...

If it was a G2 with an incandescent bulb, then the head was nitrolon since the P60 pill didn't need to have good heat transfer. The G2Ls have led p60s and that needs to have heatsinking. If it was to sit inside of the nitrolon head and body, the heat would buildup after prolonged use and it would shorten the life of the led significantly.

That makes sense. Thanks for the explanation.