Sold/Expired Surefire AA battery mods...possible?

Hello all, first post here. I have been drooling over Surefire lights for the longest time, but I refuse to buy a light that will not accept AA. Call me old fashioned. Anyway, I have two modded AA Maglites as my EDC, they are pretty nice, Opalec Newbeam mod, Kroll tailcap switches. But I recently stumbled upon a page detailing the accomplishments of one McGizmo, who had developed an adapter to utilize an ARC AA holder body to a surefire E2 head. Then I discovered the incredibly sad news that ARC had just *recently* gone out of business. So, I suppose what I am asking is, is it possible to get an adapter, an ARC, and do the mod? My needs are a flashlight that is durable, has a tailcap switch, uses AAs, and if at all possible, is compatible with the Surefire E series heads. Am I barking up the wrong tree? Please tell me my dream can indeed come true...

D-R

Welcome to CPF. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink2.gif Are you looking for something that has an LED head? You could always use a Surefire KL1 with an 2 123 size E series body and extender, or a Vitalgear FB3 body with 2AAs in it. If cost is a factor, the Vitalgear w/ KL1 is a nice light for a "reasonable" (at least relatively reasonable /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif) price.

-Mike

Be aware that KL1s don't run that well on 2AAs. They won't draw very much juice out of them. So you'd end up paying ~$40 for the KL1 and probably around $25 for the Arc LS 2AA tail. Then you still need to modify it to make it work. Not worth it.

Oh, and I think you mean McGizmo, not Mr Bulk. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Mark

Well, first of all, it was McGizmo. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Secondly, I really like the option of using AA, and for EDC I would probably use lithium AA or very high MaH Lithium Ion rechargeables. Only in an emergency would I need to use alkalines. An ideal from my perspective would be a sleeve and an extender for standard SF lights that would allow the use of both CR123A and AA. If someone made that, I would buy every single light SF made and sing their praises from the rooftops. As it is, logistics is more vital to me than having a SF that takes proprietary batteries. Is anyone doing mods like the one I described? Is it still possible to get ARC AA bodies? If someone was selling these components, I would plunk down the cash without a second thought. Same with a mod, money would be no object.

thanks,
D-R

Like Xrunner said, do a search for Vital Gear.
They make a body for the SureFire E-series that accepts either 2xAA or 3x123s.
Screws right on and has its own clickie switch in the tail.

Wow, I just found them. They look amazing! Better than a mod in my opinion. Will they fit any Exec series SF, or just the KL4? I would like the ability to mix and match, and I am sure with three CR123A, the standard Incandescent E1 and E2 heads will work. Any reliability issues with these? I have heard of problems with the clicky, regarding the leaf spring contacts. Are there any plans by the vendor to fix this, or has anyone found a way to modify it using a standard coil spring? This is really the only sticking point for me, I don't want something that is going to be less reliable than my current EDC.
This is probably one of the most exciting things I have seen in quite a while. Thanks for the help guys, I truly appreciate it.

D-R

They work with any "E" threaded light.
SureFire, Aleph, McLux....
Like you said, you just have to be sure to not over load the head you're using.

The original style was a twisty.
The clicky is the new style and there'a few threads out there on improving reliability.

A 1xAA will also work in an Aleph 1.5 and Balrog 1.5 body. You might look them up in the search page. Teh Aleph 1.5 body is available on the Shoppe's web sit. For a 2xAA a Balrog 3x123 should work also. May have a little rattle though.

mut