surefire kroma opinions

Hey guys I'm thinking of getting a kroma and it seems to be loaded with features. Does anyone own the version with blue and red secondary LEDs? If so what do you think of it?

I owned one for a couple of years, but I recently sold it. Just seemed outdated compared to other lights. Runtime is advertised at 50 Lumens for 1 Hour. :shrug:

I have one lets see now
-i dont like the two stage twisty, a clicky would be much better IMO.
-if i use it indoors the square beam of the main led bothers me a little,outside its not so visible
-18650 does not fit
-its a little too big for my EDC

+very nice build quality and feel
+some of the thinner 17650/16650 batteries fit and work fine
+enough power for EDC and a quite low low-mode
+the red and blue are very good for pitchblack darkness
+very versatile light overall


i got mine for about 130$ but thinking afterwards i wouldnt pay more than that mainly because i like my EDC light a bit smaller and with a clicky.
Hope this helped a little and welcome to CPF

I think that they are phenomenal lights, though I admittedly sold mine off. They really can't compete if you want the brightest light around, but they put out an entirely respectable and useful amount of light. They are best if you need a red or blue light, don't require an enormous amount of throw, and you don't want to carry multiple lights with you. If that describes your needs, there isn't a better option out there.

Based on my non-scientific experience, the last one I had put out far more than 50 Lumens, though I couldn't say how bright it was. It definitely wasn't more than 120 or so, which you can get from a single AA light these days.

I don´t know what loaded with features is supposed to mean. The Kroma has white, red and blue light in two stages, rotary ring and one of the best tailcaps (I really like the two stage twisties/momentaries). As with all Surefires it is well made and screames quality. You´ll just have the "wow, that´s a great light" feeling when you hold it in your hands without turning it on. BUT I never liked the beam shape of the coloured LEDs of the Kroma, the MILSPEC is even worse in my opinion. I never really used mine because of that. Nowadays I´d rather get one of those MC-E multicolour dropins offered on the marketplace.

Eric

One of my all time favorites. Mine is a mil spec I like the YG color a lot. I had the main LED replaced some time ago with an early XPG I really am thinking about getting one modded with an XPE2. I wish I could get the IR swapped out for UV.

If you have several needs and only want to carry one light this fits the bill nicely.

It is advertised with a much higher out put than mentioned above http://www.surefire.com/illumination/flashlights/kroma-sup-reg-sup-milspec.html

Eric when I said loaded with features I was just speaking of having 3 2 colored LEDs and a bright main beam all having a high and low setting and I don't know of any other light that has all this in one package but I'm new to the wide world of lights outside of surefire and fenix.

Thanks for the opinions to all the rest of you and thanks for the welcome vali

Now after doing some more looking I see that most online store descriptions of the kroma say 50 lumen max output for 1.5 hours but surefires specs say 130 lumens for 1.5 hours. Can anyone shed any light on this?

New one on me. The last time I checked it was only 50 lumens. They must have updated sometime. Anyone know when?

Mine had 50 lumens written on the box and when i ordered it i was conserned that it would be a bit dim but when i turned it on i found out what people mean by "Surefire lumens" i think its more closer to 100 than 50.

Tyler A said:

It is advertised with a much higher out put than mentioned above http://www.surefire.com/illumination/flashlights/kroma-sup-reg-sup-milspec.html

Eric when I said loaded with features I was just speaking of having 3 2 colored LEDs and a bright main beam all having a high and low setting and I don't know of any other light that has all this in one package but I'm new to the wide world of lights outside of surefire and fenix.

Thanks for the opinions to all the rest of you and thanks for the welcome vali

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Could it be that the milspec version has more lumens? Go figure

I believe that Surefire discontinued the regular Kroma and is only producing the Kroma Milspec, which got a bump in its lumen rating. I don't know whether there has been a change in the emitter used or when that change would have occurred.

The 50 Lumens Kroma Milspec and the 130 Lumens Kroma Milspec will have differend LEDs. The Beam spot of my old 50 Lumens Milspec is in the middle quare like. It is not a very nice beam at all if you illuminate a white wall. The 130 Lumens version (btw. in my Kroma Milspec Pack was a manual that stated 145 Lumens !? The light was bought ~2 Weeks ago!) has a very nice beam, not a square like spot. For a light with TIR Lens is is a really great almost homogen beam.

I always loved the Kroma Milspec, but the new version is really great, and much brighter than the old one.

WarriorOfLight said:

The 50 Lumens Kroma Milspec and the 130 Lumens Kroma Milspec will have differend LEDs. The Beam spot of my old 50 Lumens Milspec is in the middle quare like. It is not a very nice beam at all if you illuminate a white wall. The 130 Lumens version (btw. in my Kroma Milspec Pack was a manual that stated 145 Lumens !? The light was bought ~2 Weeks ago!) has a very nice beam, not a square like spot. For a light with TIR Lens is is a really great almost homogen beam.

I always loved the Kroma Milspec, but the new version is really great, and much brighter than the old one.

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What color secondary LEDs did you go with or does the new one come with red blue green and IR? Surefires website list them all on the mil spec and has no option to choose so I assumed it came with them all now

Tyler, you are right. When the Kromas were relreased it certainly was "loaded with features" but nowadays with more lights that have a selector ring and different modes it´s not that unique anymore. The 4sevens Quark RGB had white, red, green and blue in a much smaller package with more output and a much better beam for the coloures. But the UI was rather bugging and certainly not for the application Surefire´s Kroma is intended for. Nitecore just released their SRT7 light. It has an infinite brightness selector ring to choose from 0-960 lumens coming from a Cree XM-L2 LED as well as red, green and blue LEDs. It won´t have Surefire´s quality but won´t be bad either I´m pretty sure. Unfortunatelly Nitecore is known to give the user eaters eggs in the form of bugs with a lot of their lights. But I still ordered the SRT7 and I´m really curious how it turns out.

The MILSPCE always had the white main and red, blue, yellow/green and infrared secondary LEDs.

Eric

Eric, thanks for the info and insight. I googled the srt7 as well I may get one of those as well haha I'm going flashlight crazy, but I'm definitely going to get a kroma.

ETA one more question: who is CPFs go to surefire dealer? Would like to buy from someone who supports the forum.

Viper715 said:

I wish I could get the IR swapped out for UV.

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What's the advantage of UV over IR?

Personal preference. I would prefer the UV for checking IDs and such. I have other more powerful dedicated IR sources for NVG use.

Hadn't heard about the nitecore thanks for the heads up.

I use with my Kroma MILSPEC the primary white light and red and green also. The IR option does not have enough power for NV illumination, for this I have a SF Vampire.

Here you can find a few comparsion shots of an old and new Kroma MILSPEC :
http://www.messerforum.net/showthre...ire-Kroma-MILSPEC-quot-die-helle-Version-quot

The great thing with the KRoma MILSPEC is you will never run into the wrong mode by error. When you know the modes on the selctor ring you will know what to do for reg, blue, green ,Ir or white light. Most other multicolor light like the Quark RGB has strange UIs to get into the colors, ... the Kroma MILSPEC is straight forward to handle with an very easy UI.

WarriorOfLight said:

I use with my Kroma MILSPEC the primary white light and red and green also. The IR option does not have enough power for NV illumination

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That is strange...my Kroma mil-spec provides plenty of IR light for my PVS-14...lights things up very well...very, very bright. The M1 works great for that also...more throw than the Kroma, IIRC...haven't used them in a while...