WHICH LIGHT TO GET

I am looking for a new light to carry daily, I am wondering which would be the best

3P E2 6P E1 G2 (surefire)
or of you have other suggestions for lights similar please tell me. (I already have every maglite.
PS how water proof are the surefires

1) My Suggestion from your list for a daily carry light?
The E2. It is amazing.
I carry mine practically everywhere (often when I have an M2 and/or E1 as well!) It is one of the lights I use the most.

I would suggest the D2 (with PocketClip) as a daily carry light unless you want a pouch for the 6P.

2) How waterproof are SureFires?

The ones you mention are all water resistant using quality o-ring seals. The most water-resistant of the SureFires you list is the 6P (new version) that has a fully waterproof double o-ring sealed LockOut TailCap switch, however, the Lexan Lens Bezel is not 'waterproof', rather very highly water-resistant. (basically, unless you get a certified version, there is a chance the lens seal will leak underwater)

The Millennium Series M2 & M3 are designed to be waterproof, as are the M3T, M4 & M6 with Pyrex Lenses. However certification is advised if the flashlight is required to be transported or used underwater.

The E2 is the natural choice from the list unless you need more light was higher water-resistance in which case I'd suggest a new 6P. The G2 is a very useful utility flashlight, but without a PocketClip, daily carry would require a pouch. If you get a 6P or G2, I suggest a Lanyard.

Does this help?

Al

My vote is for the E2 as well. It is approximately the same brightness as the other 6V SureFire lights (and the Scorpion for that matter), but lasts for about 15 more minutes per set of batteries, and it is noticeably smaller and lighter.

Bucky

Due to size/output/weight I'd put the E2 at the top of the list. This really is a light that you can carry anywhere without creating weird bulges in your britches. As for water resistance, I would/have used this light in the rain with no trouble and suspect it would survive a short dunking. If that's not good enough you will have to move up in size/cost. Happy Hunting...

Byron

What exactly is your need as far as this being a daily carry light, personal, LEO work, military?

I like carrying the E2 when I'm off-duty, but while on duty I carry a 6R, and would probably would carry a standard 6P if it didn't eat up batteries the way they do with my line of work. Plus lamp assemblies are a consideration depending on the requirements of the work. A standard P60 lamp is great with 65 lumens, but sometimes more light is needed, the high output P61 lamp at 120 lumens is an option.

dwolf

Thanks A lot I think I will get the E2, sounds like my best bet.

I would also add another vote for the E2. I have dunked the E2 to 2 feet without a problem, but it does leak at 10 feet. I used to carry the D2, then the M2, but I now carry the E2 for size reasons. It is a great little light.

I don't get it. You all suggest SureFire. Well i have visited surefire.com, and it amazes me that their flashlights have such a short burntime. 1 hour?!..give me a break! They are obviously very bright, but Lithium batteries are expensive, and i would go nuts thinking that i had to change batteries that often.

I just bought a Princeton Tec 40, which cost $15 from brightguy.com. I was amazed at the quality of the light from this inexpensive flashlight. The beam is *almost* as bright, and *almost* as white as my E2. The beam shape is very, very good as well: just like the E2, but not quite as perfectly round. No rings or dark spots, though. I think it's got to be about the best flashlight for the money I've ever seen. It uses PR base lamps, which are $5.40; compare that to Surefire lamps. It uses four AA cells, but is surprisingly compact. The only down side it has is that it requires both hands to turn on; you have to rotate the head, and it's a bit stiff, because it's waterproof to 2000 ft. But for the money, it's an amazing little light. There is no quoted burn time, but I'd guess around 4-5 hours. Oh yes: for the $15, it comes with new Duracell alkalines. This little light is going to get a lot of use this winter. I'll probably order several more, next time I need somehing form brightguy.com If you decide to get one, don't buy the 'longer burn time lamp': it's just too yellow. I figured it would be almost as white as the halogen lamp that comes in the light, just not as bright. But it's quite yellow, compared to the halogen lamp.

recercare, perhaps I can speak for all that getting some fresh lithium batteries after every hour of use is too durn expensive for casual applications. As far as burn time is concerned, unless you go with LED or arc-discharge lights(big money there too)you are going to have to pay for your high lumen output by changing batteries a lot. My solution to this dilemma, which has one disadvantage (below), is to put an MR11 bike light (TurboCat in my case) on a dummy handle, and power it with a set of (3 rechargeable)Hawker Cyclon sla batteries, worn on belt pack. This is the disadvantage: you must carry the belt pack and cable. But for longterm cost my God you can't beat it, and as for power and lumen output it rivals any Surefire I've seen, including beam even-ness. 4 what it's wurth...

Interesting suggestion Lightuser. A friend of mine, has strange ways of using his favorite light. He is completely in love with Niterider's Storm Helmet H.I.D. That's a headlamp, or maybe more a bicycle headlight. However, he uses it like a flashlight. He even made a plastic holder and glued it to the light's original body. He looks like a lunatic, and it all seems rather unpractical, ....but hey, does it matter?

Function over form...

Howdy all,

I think the reason everyone recommends the SureFire is that it offers an extremely bright and even beam and it's light. In addition, the build quality is very high as well.

I'm new to this forum, but it appears to me that many of the people who are members of this forum are employed in the public safety area, i.e., police, fire or EMS. That being said, it's important to remember that SureFire lights were developed for law enforcement use as a small, high-power light for use with a firearm. Most police officers use their lights in small bursts as they are searching for evidence or perpetrators. When they need a light with more run time, they usually use something along the lines of a Streamlight 20X.

At any rate, I carry a SureFire myself, primarily because it's bright, can be used easily with one hand and it's small. While the lithium batteries are expensive, they do have a long shelf life. As a result, I don't have to replace them very often. Just my two cents worth....

Best regards,

Lon

There is no other way to get that much light from so small a flashlight than to use the expensive lithiums, and have the short run time. If you need more time, you can always use one of the rechargeable models. Yes they are expensive, but other than a few cents per recharge, and bulbs there is no other cost. Even a 4 D cell Maglite will cost you a cost you about a $100 a year if you go through one set of batteries every two weeks. And it is much bigger than any Surefire, even the 10X.

There are lights that are the same size, but usually they aren't nearly as bright, lights with longer runtimes, but either not as bright, or much larger.