Advice on General Purpose Light -Surefire A2 or L2

Hi,

Okay, I need some advice - I've spend a few hours (yes, hours) reading through the posts here, and people seem very knowledgeable (maybe too knowledgeable...kinda scary).

I need a general purpose light for around the house, backyard, for emergencies and also when travelling. It would also be nice if it had a 'cool' factor - I have a thing for ecsoteric gadgets (eg A2 is, by my definition, 'cool' hehehe).

At the moment, I'm looking at the Surefire L2, and the Surefire A2 - the A2 looks pretty cool, and it would be perfect (at least I think so, although as I said, I'm rather new to flashaholica *grin*), if the incan. was brighter, like say 100 lumens. Is there any way to mod it, or something?

The L2 is ok - except even at the 100 lumens, I'm worried that the throw and power won't be as good as if it was an incand. Plus, the dual-modes of the A2 is cool.

Also, are the Led's on the A2 easily interchangeable (the different leds are part of the coolness for me - maybe I'm weird /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif) - what colour would you recommend?

This is my first flashlight (well, yes, I have a Mag, but I don't think that counts) - I'm hoping it'll be the last (or at least my wallet is), but I have a feeling not...*sigh*.

Also, the Surefire U2 is totally cool - but $270? Definitely out of my budget.

Thanks,
Victor

Hi Victor and welcome!

The A2 will throw, probably more than the L2. Both are two-stage lights. I'd pick the A2 over the L2 because you get two types of beam: a soft flood that is more than enough light to navigate a dark house and a long throwing bright and regulated incandescent beam. The L2 uses a LuxV luxeon emitter to produce a semi-flood "wall" of light. That LuxV is severly under driven in "low" mode and slightly overdriven in "high" mode. It won't punch out as far as an A2's incadescent beam but for medium range illumination it really puts out a lot of light.

So, the only downsides to the A2 are the cost of replacing the bulb (which won't be very often) and perhaps the fact that the high beam will just stop working once the batteries have been drained to a certain point. This is one of the few production regulated incadescent flashlights which puts it at the top of my "cool" chart.

The only downsides to the L2 are the single beam shape (which may not be an issue depending on how you want to use the light) and the fact that it won't throw as far as the A2.

Another option is the Aleph series of lights ( http://secure3.dnsaction.com/~anlighte/shop/product_info.php?cPath=43&products_id=434&osCsid=faaab7421a6a8613c14d448287a9a406 ). These give you the best of both worlds AND they are even more exclusive than the SureFire lights!

Jon

You're gonna find that more any surefire led light that is over 60 lumens will outthrow the a2.

If you're looking to buy just one light. I'd give SERIOUS consideration to the L4. It is very bright and very small. But, as you find that you are using it more and more, it will run on rechargeable cells. Neither the l2 nor the a2 will do that.

The a2 will go through 2 123 cells in about 45 minutes. I don't know how long the l2 will last on a set, but it is not likely over an hour or so.

L4 has cool factor from the outside looks. Another cool factor is how bright it is for the size.

L4 lights are usually available around here new for about $130 or so.

The L2 on high won't last as long as the A2's incandescent.

FWIW, my L4 doens't come close to matching the throw of my Gen4 KL1 or my E2e. The A2 is supposed to be equivalent to or better than the E2e with respect to throw, so I don't see how an L2 will beat it given that it shares reflectors with the L4. The L5 might be a different story but then you're giving up both size and two-stage operation.

Victor, if you're in the market for a high-quality two-stage light you owe it to yourself to at least read up on the Aleph lights. The Alpeh 2x123 with Lux3 and two-stage switch should out-throw both the L2 and A2 plus there's a battery-saving low mode that you'll probably use 90% of the time. And, the Sandwich Shoppe has them marked down to $161 right now!

Jon

I have both and I don't think you can go wrong with either the A2 or L2.

If you get the A2, I recommend that you get it with white LEDs. White LEDs are generally much more useful.

Both are fine but I suggest you wait and read a few more hours worth of posts here at CPF. Both of these lights are pretty pricy. Some might, but I would not suggest anyone buy them as their first light.

You may find something even more "special"

hey my first light is an m6 lol

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aussielextsy said:
hey my first light is an m6 lol

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LOL, well if you can afford it! But where do you go from there? The M6 was my fourth Surefire (6P>9P>E2>M6).

GregR

Re: Advice on General Purpose Light -Surefire A2 o

My first good incandescent light was also an M6. A Pelican M6. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Re: Advice on General Purpose Light -Surefire A2 o

well i was planning the beast next actually lol

Re: Advice on General Purpose Light -Surefire A2 o

Victor,

Check out my thread "Thinking of getting an A2. Opinions?". Some really good info in there from people who have owned or do own an A2 and how it compares to other lights.

I don't have any experience with the L2, but let me tell you about my feelings for the A2: in my opinion, it is the single most impressive, useful, and well designed and cool and ergonomically correct, and thrilling light ever made. Yes, this is serious hyperbole, I know, and people will certainly take issue with it. It's partly an emotional response and I am biased towards incandescent light, so keep those things in mind.

But I just think the world of this light. 50 lumens may not sound like much, but those are 50 perfectly white and brilliant tightly focused lumens. They go a LONG, LONG way, both literally and figuratively.

And the LED "low beam" is perfect for making your way to the bathroom at night or walking in the fields and so on, all without ruining your nightvision too badly.

If I had to choose only one light, the A2 would be it.

I plan to write a detail review on the A2 at some point in the future, if you haven't already decided by then.

Oh, and the LED's can be replaced or changed out in the A2, but I'm not sure if you can buy just a set of red LED's (for example) from SureFire or not.

[ QUOTE ]
Victor_Hooi said:
Hi,

Okay, I need some advice - I've spend a few hours (yes, hours) reading through the posts here, and people seem very knowledgeable (maybe too knowledgeable...kinda scary).

>> hehe, LMAO-- Victor, 'kinda scary'; I think there are some CPF members who live on these forums almost 24/7! Many spend hundreds of hours per month here /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif <<

I need a general purpose light for around the house, backyard, for emergencies and also when travelling. It would also be nice if it had a 'cool' factor - I have a thing for ecsoteric gadgets (eg A2 is, by my definition, 'cool' hehehe).

At the moment, I'm looking at the Surefire L2, and the Surefire A2 - the A2 looks pretty cool, and it would be perfect (at least I think so, although as I said, I'm rather new to flashaholica *grin*), if the incan. was brighter, like say 100 lumens. Is there any way to mod it, or something?

The L2 is ok - except even at the 100 lumens, I'm worried that the throw and power won't be as good as if it was an incand. Plus, the dual-modes of the A2 is cool.

>> Here's a nice long thread by js, that js forgot to link to (just kidding js, j/k); the infamous TigerLight mod maniac of uber lumens output, his opinions about the A2. Oh heck, I'll just bump that thread to the top (BTTT) cause I have another question about this over-priced light. Thinking of getting a SF A2. Opinions?

A2 is kind of a strange animal, output for the rather expensive ($20+ ouch!) incandescent bulb module; dont' drop this light on concrete of an airport runway when looking at the tail of a 747 , it is even less bright than the low output module of the SF E2e! Wow, that's pretty sucky for a 2 x 123 light. Since I know js loves hundreds of lumens, I'm not sure why he accepts 50 lumens, doesn't make any sense to me. IMHO, the A2 is over-rated/over-priced; 1st thing I would do to it, if someone gave one to me as a gift is solder/pot into the lamp module, a bulb of doulbe the output...but I'm not sure what the exact voltage the Wille Hunt regulator regulates at, and what the limitation is the the amount of current it would handle without burning up! But others argue the regulated output means you get the same level of 50lumens for the entire capacity of the batteries, it never dims. yeah, but 50lumens??? $20 Brinkman Maxfire 2 x123 Lithium battery flashlight does that! You can find some A2's on the B/S/T forum for less than the SF's official high $185 price. I would agree with what Turbodog is telling you about the L4, good advice. Do some more reading on this /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif <<

Also, are the Led's on the A2 easily interchangeable (the different leds are part of the coolness for me - maybe I'm weird /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif) - what colour would you recommend?

> Not that I'm aware off, you need to buy one color of each LED at $185; unless someone like js can show us how it is done? swap out higher outputing LED's, how to up the current or is this also regulated by the Willie Hunt regulator???, etc :0! <

This is my first flashlight (well, yes, I have a Mag, but I don't think that counts) - I'm hoping it'll be the last (or at least my wallet is), but I have a feeling not...*sigh*.

>> LED's and small, nearly pocket sized Lithium primary or rechargeable lights are nice; but the lowly M*gCharger for $80, can be modified for $10 to put a kickarse 500lumen bulb in it that will out throw and flood any of the smaller lights you buy. Do search on MC60 or CPF member Ginseng (aka 'Ican Master') for lots of uber high power M*glite mods /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif <<

Also, the Surefire U2 is totally cool - but $270? Definitely out of my budget.

>> IMHO, if you've got the $185 for the low powered A2, you could do better with the Alpeh and I thought I saw where one of those models was $139, designed by CPF LED' modder extraordinaire McGizmo. Better still, and IMHO the 'ne plus utra' , is Mr. Bulk's LionHeart, the current state of the art in LED's--- and more of a non-production collector's piece too. Way cool, same price as SF U2. It will take you weeks to read through the super long threads on the LionHeart /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif. turbodog is on that list for the CPF Special Edition Lionheart.

Hurry if you want one of the special (higher priced but part of the money supports CPF's) edition CPF LionHearts, as they are almost sold out. Wish it was more affordable---the one high-dollar light I wish I had(besides a axial filament version of Ginseng's stealth version of his Aurora M*gD-cell mod, or similarly mystical 'JA Special' /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif ), I couldn't even come up with the $230 for the regular LionHeart /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif You can try your luck with the occassional CPF supporting raffles, to get some of these collector item 'gems'.

Hurry! MR Bulk CPF SE LionHearts are almost gone!! The SF A2 and U2 are both too rich for my blood.

Welcome aboard and be prepared to go /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/broke.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif, and go to here for updates/impatient venting, when CPF goes offline due to buggy forum software/traffic levels the servers cannot handle CPF Lifeline Forum<<

Thanks,
Victor

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Re: Advice on General Purpose Light -Surefire A2 o

Hi,

Thanks to all for your replies - I checked just now, and saw "10 replies" - yikes, you guys are fast /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif.

As suggested, I've been reading up on the Aleph series (Aleph System in a Nutshell, Aleph Series - Impact). From what I understand, they're very high-quality LED-based lights created by McGizmo, right?

I was originally aiming for a Led/incand system such as the A2 - will the Alepha 1 have as much brightness and throw as the incand. light on the A2? (sorry for my ignorance on this.)

Alternatively, is there any way to increase the power of the incand. on the A2 from 50 lumens? (or am I being silly - is 50 lumens a lot already?)

Finally, how many lumens does the Aleph 1 with DB917 produce? (According to Surefire, the A2 produces 3 lumens when using the LEDs, and 50 lumens using the incand.)

If I go for the A2, I think I might go for the red led colour (well, with any other colour, I would be going for the coolness factor - with red, I have an excuse, to protect my nv, although I think white would actually be more useful..*sigh*, so many decisions - thanks for helping out guys)

The Aleph seems very nice - he doesn't make dual LED/incand's by any chance, does he?

Bye,
Victor

Re: Advice on General Purpose Light -Surefire A2 o

I have both. If it just around the house and car etc., I would go for the L2. If I want to see my cat high in a tree during a cat fight, I'd rather have the A2. My A2 on high has a much brighter hot spot than my L2 on high, though the spill is probably not as bright. If I was going to go for a walk I would probably like the L2 because it has a nice wide beam and on low is brighter than the A2 on low. I prefer the A2 around the house at night or in the car when reading maps or using a gps or radio. Just the right brightness and doesn't blind my wife, which is real important as she is the one doing the driving!

If you think I'm waffling on you, I am. I like them both, recommend both. And if I could only have one I really don't think it would matter which one that was. The only place I really ever prefered one over the other is when I went to a show cave and there the incan of the A2 powered through the ambient lighting to show me some more detail and color in the rock that the LED can't quite get to. I now just take a G2 for caves, it has a bigger hot spot.

The A2 has better throw on high and nice flood on low, the L2 has a better flood on both levels.

You really can't go wrong with either one.

Re: Advice on General Purpose Light -Surefire A2 o

*cough*buy both*cough*

Re: Advice on General Purpose Light -Surefire A2 o

Turbodog said:
If you're looking to buy just one light. I'd give SERIOUS consideration to the L4. It is very bright and very small. But, as you find that you are using it more and more, it will run on rechargeable cells. Neither the l2 nor the a2 will do that.

I agree the L4 makes a great light when used with rechargeable cells. I have both the A2 and the L2. I find that I like the L2 better than my A2. If the L2 could use rechargeable cells it would be a winner hands down.

Re: Advice on General Purpose Light -Surefire A2 o

I own a L4 , an A2 , and an L2 . If I was going to go LED only , L4 with a McGizmo 2 stage aftermarket switch . I'ts a bit shorter than the L2 , and a bit less pricey . On balance I'd rather have the A2 . It has much nicer throw and hotspot than the L2 or L4 . Either way you cant go wrong . Dont overlook the L1 , i'ts a nice EDC .

Re: Advice on General Purpose Light -Surefire A2 o

Victor, you have to decide what you want your light to do; beyond being cool, of course.

I was wooed by the allure of LEDs but found out something that redcar alluded to in his post; most LEDs just don't cut it when incan ambient light is around. That includes the L$ and L2. I had an L4 with two-speed tail cap, and thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread; until the night I used it for real and it was simply blown away by my partner's issue Stinger. I have gone back to incan for serious work, but I have several LEDs for around the house.

Basically, no one light will do it all. But the A2 comes the closest out of all the various lights I have tried. Its what I EDC now, and IU'm not even looking at other lights any more.

One day I'll get Don (McGizmo) to make me an Aleph, just to have it if for no other reason. But for now, I'm sticking with production lights.

And don't be suckered into the "guilt free lumens"/rechargeable 123-type battery argument. Check out the prices and bewildering array of choices there; and everything needs its own specific charger, from what I've seen. Fine for an enthusiast; but if you're looking for a working light at reasonable cost...

123 batteries can be bought for $15 a dozen. If that's too steep, get some sort of AA light and be happy... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Re: Advice on General Purpose Light -Surefire A2 o

[ QUOTE ]
Steve C said:
Victor, you have to decide what you want your light to do; beyond being cool, of course.

I was wooed by the allure of LEDs but found out something that redcar alluded to in his post; most LEDs just don't cut it when incan ambient light is around. That includes the L$ and L2. I had an L4 with two-speed tail cap, and thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread; until the night I used it for real and it was simply blown away by my partner's issue Stinger. I have gone back to incan for serious work, but I have several LEDs for around the house.

Basically, no one light will do it all. But the A2 comes the closest out of all the various lights I have tried. Its what I EDC now, and IU'm not even looking at other lights any more.

One day I'll get Don (McGizmo) to make me an Aleph, just to have it if for no other reason. But for now, I'm sticking with production lights.

And don't be suckered into the "guilt free lumens"/rechargeable 123-type battery argument. Check out the prices and bewildering array of choices there; and everything needs its own specific charger, from what I've seen. Fine for an enthusiast; but if you're looking for a working light at reasonable cost...

123 batteries can be bought for $15 a dozen. If that's too steep, get some sort of AA light and be happy... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

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Excellent point. I find that a dozen 123's go a LONG way in my EDC (A2 currently, and E2e before that). But even longer in the A2 because up until the very point where it falls out of regulation, the incan is every bit as bright as with fresh batteries, and the LEDs are always there for emergency or backup light. So I put in fresh 123s only when the incan will no longer regulate, and, as I said, I find that a dozen goes a nice long time without me having to put up with a lower CCT. It's worth so much. The brightness/whiteness is worth more to me than total runtime or sheer output.

Not that the other lights mentioned aren't nice! Of course they are!

OK. Enough said.