Originally posted by Narski18:
I have really just started to look into the higher end flashlights, and am wondering about the difference between SureFire and Streamlight. I have noticed most of the people who post here are pro-SureFire and I am just curious as to why, what makes it the better brand?
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">"Better" is a relative term. SureFire has placed itself in a premium niche in the market. It has publicly stated it is more of an engineering company that makes whiz-bang, leading-edge products than one which is concerned about price points.
"Better" to me means that for whatever product I see a need or want for that it meets a certain price/performance ratio. For a lot of things, you just can't even get what SureFire makes in another brand. So, that means SureFire has some relatively high prices because of lack of competition.
Are they worth it? If they've got what you need or want and no one else does, then I'd say yes. The quality of their product and the support after the fact is extremely high. I think that is part of the price point. You are paying for a lifetime warranty and the engineering of future products.
Are they worth it in areas where they have products with competition? That's where I start to change my tune. SureFire is usually the smallest and brightest light for a given product. But do you really need that, or is that a want? So that is where I'd ask what are you planning on doing with the light?
Could you make do with something a little larger or maybe a little heavier at half the price and 95% the quality? I think that is where StreamLight falls in sometimes. What about twice as bulky / heavy or 80% of the quality for 25% of the cost? I think Princeton Tec lights fall into that category sometimes.
For the person who wants a semi-specialized use light, I think StreamLight and Princeton Tec are excellent and lower cost alternatives sometimes.
But for bleeding edge technology or specialized lighting tasks, SureFire is damn hard to beat.
I have at least one of each above mentioned brands (and then some due to flash-a-holics disease!), and they all are worth the costs that I paid for them given they each fill a different role.
Probably my favorite light for the money is a Princeton Tec Surge. Its more an extremely bright general use and dive light than an everyday carry (EDC), but for $25, its a damn fine purchase! Given my needs for EDC lighting, you'll see me with a Photon II because I am a carpet dweller and something the size of a quarter can go with me anywhere. But if I know I might actually need to use a reasonable amount light for any given amount of time, my EDC will be an ARC LS. Given my relatively limited needs, I find that Nichia or Luxeon Star LEDs can fulfill 99% of them and I am huge on small size and light weight. YMMV!
