Surefire LX2 is BACK!!

So, I recently checked the Surefire website and saw that the Surefire LX2 is back in production. Still produces 200 lumens on high and 15 lumens at high for $210 (which in my opinion is still a little high).

Hopefully, they will keep this in production and they are not doing this just to get rid of what is left in their factory.

That's really weird. Maybe they found some in the back room.

Nice flashlight though.

Whoa! I've been wanting one of those...

I hope the LX2 adopts new and more efficient LED like XP-L or XP-G2 with same current.

XR-E is too old LED.

+1. Would love an updated emitter. Love the UI! Hopefully it stays around.

Agree on updated emitter.

500/20 lumen would be nice.

I agree that this could be a really nice light with a more efficient emitter. The user interface is really optimal if you just need low and high, but need the correct mode every time.

shrike2222 said:

I hope the LX2 adopts new and more efficient LED like XP-L or XP-G2 with same current.

XR-E is too old LED.

Click to expand...

But I LIKE XR-E!

Out of all the lights that I own, XR-E's are the ones that lumen for lumen, optic for optic out-throw any of my other lights. The 15 lumen low mode on my LX2 does 98% of what I need it to, whereas the Oveready Triple XP-L E1E I have ends up going into medium mode more often than not.

Interesting. Glad to see its back. On one hand I'd like to see an update to the lx2, but on the other hand I like the form factor of the current lx2. The updated head would be larger yielding a less appealing form factor falling in lines with the EB2 d2dl ultra etc. Guess we'll see what they do with it.

FPSRelic said:

But I LIKE XR-E!

Out of all the lights that I own, XR-E's are the ones that lumen for lumen, optic for optic out-throw any of my other lights. The 15 lumen low mode on my LX2 does 98% of what I need it to, whereas the Oveready Triple XP-L E1E I have ends up going into medium mode more often than not.

Click to expand...

How about XR-E R2 EZ900. The same amount of lumens, but with more lux.

But was the LX2 ever really dropped from the product list?

For example, the A2L is still listed in the online catalog:

http://www.surefire.com/illumination/flashlights/a2-led-aviator.html

Who but a fool and the U.S. Government would buy an LED light for $305 in this day and age that only puts out 120 lumens for less than two hours on two expensive CR123A batteries? A family member who works for a famous federal law enforcement agency tells me that the IT department still has a maintenance contract for Pentium 4 computers running Windows 2000 (which is no longer supported, publically anyway).

Several other 'legacy' SureFires like the L4, U2 and Kroma Milspec are still on the current NSN list for government procurement:

http://www.surefire.com/nsn_ordering

+1 on updating the emitter; the most modern XR-E makes sense _since_ the LX2 optic isn't* really compatible with XP-G or XM-L emitters.

*: In the LX-2 optic:

• XP-G: mixed beam quality - what few reports there are on CPF have been fair to poor IIRC
• XM-L: excellent beam quality but very floody. An excellent upgrade but completely changes the light from a thrower to a flooder. For more details, check out the L1 modding threads by Pulstar. Some include beamshots in some of them. I have a couple of L1's with updated 5000K XM-L2's, and they are awesome - far better lights overall IMO and one hint of what this line could have become.

FPSRelic said:

But I LIKE XR-E!

Out of all the lights that I own, XR-E's are the ones that lumen for lumen, optic for optic out-throw any of my other lights. The 15 lumen low mode on my LX2 does 98% of what I need it to, whereas the Oveready Triple XP-L E1E I have ends up going into medium mode more often than not.

Click to expand...

Do you feel that it out-throws the XP-L HI, lumen for lumen?

Yes, I would say xre out throws xpl hi for first 200 lumens. I think the 200 lumen EB1 will out throw the lx2 though.

Is there a good source for neutral XR-E emitters?

Edit: Never mind, almost all bins found here are available on Digi-key.

Comparing a neutral XP-G2 to a neutral XR-E I don't see a huge difference.. (I'm not very good at interpreting this info though..)

XR-E

XP-G2

I have no complaints about my LX2 at all... if they were able to squeeze a little more runtime out of it I would be happy, but the interface lends itself to very brief bursts on high, so I don't have to change batteries all that often as is.

IMHO, currently best LED replacement is XP-G2. Broader beam profile with similar throw than XR-E, with output around 300 lumens. What's not to like? My LX2 and L1 both currently sport XP-G2's, but i wonder how XP-L HI would work in one

Just talked to surefire and they said the LX2 was never out of production, they just took it down from the website. The rep also said the reason it was brought back was a greater demand for the 2 stage tailcap.