Can I get some thoughts on the SF 9AN please

Hey guys:

I am interested in this particular SF light but have had a hard time finding info and reviews on it...

Any thoughts opinions reviews pictures etc would be greatly helpful...

Thanks,
Firebladz.

somebody must have this light or something?
it seems like such a cool light but doesn't seem very popular at all?

I had two, now just one. I think it has a good hotspot on hi the low beam is useless to me. I have not found a suitable cell replacement so I use the SF B90's. If you plan on using it daily or almost daily it is a good light. In the event you charge it up and let it sit several days the cell will discharge and will need to be charged before use. There is a Turbo head made for it however I do not have one. Hope that helps abit.
Topper

The 9AN is a rechargeable "dutylight".

I have two 9AN's and one 9N.
I have a KT3 TurboHead for the 9AN (Black HA).
I have a T3 TurboHead for the 9N.

The 9AN produces a solid beam of really quite impressive quality in my experience. It's got a LockOut TailCap which I've found really useful.
It can also accept a TailCap lanyard ring which I've also found really useful.

It's quite a heavy, solid flashlight - it's got a good 'heft' to it. You know where you are with it I think.

What is your intended/expected application?
I am not sure I would buy a 9AN over an 8NX even though the beam of the 9AN is much better. The 8NX is more practical, more compact and light-weight. Nitrolon is better able to handle drops etc in my experience.





I don't have any experience carrying the 9AN as a dutylight since I'm not an LEO nor require a flashlight in a similar way.

Al

The main purpose / use for my flashlight is walking my dog at night, sometimes in unlit / wooded areas...
Emergencies / black outs, camping / hiking, traveling, in car, etc, etc...

I don't require one for work but I am pretty bloody tired of cheapo flashlights that never seem to come through for you when you need them the most!

I was considering the 9AN because it's rechargable and has duel light output however with more searching I think I might be leaning towards the U2 ultra...

I was thinking rechargable to help avoid buying batteries all the time...

however I dunno if the U2 ultra will be bright enough?
I know LED lights have a different look, feel and strength about them than incandesent?

Firebladz.

I was going to suggest the U2 because it can be powered by either SF123A's or aftermarket rechargeable options.

But, I'd use my 10X for all the things you mention except the "camping / hiking, traveling, in car" which I would suggest the U2 is better suited for.

The 10X has both the power and runtime options to make a real difference for use outdoors.

Al

I am a LEO (Dept of the Army Police) an I carry either a 9AN or a 8NX the NX has a bit less brightness (110 lumens) but for what you want either would work.

Size15's said:

I was going to suggest the U2 because it can be powered by either SF123A's or aftermarket rechargeable options.

But, I'd use my 10X for all the things you mention except the "camping / hiking, traveling, in car" which I would suggest the U2 is better suited for.

The 10X has both the power and runtime options to make a real difference for use outdoors.

Al

Click to expand...

Thats why I was thiniking the 9AN would be good because of the 20 lumens for 2 hours and the 140 lumens for 40 minutes...
I also like the fact that it has duel bulbs just incase one fails...

But I have some concerns about the B90 battery packs as I have heard some bad things about them...
I am also curious to what there specs are and what to expect from them as far as how many recharges, how long will them stay charged at idle etc, etc...

Firebladz.

There is no need to be concerned about the B90 battery sticks now-a-days.
SureFire did have really big problems but that was resolved.

The low beam of the 9AN is really a source of light for writing notes under, rather than a "beam". The "beam" quality is terrible but I don't think that's the point. The point is to be able to have the 9AN under your arm whilst you write a traffic ticket without blinding yourself!
(the style of the 9AN's body/TailCap means it's pretty good for holding under your arm)

I've got a 9AN Lamp Assembly with a Blue LED instead of the low beam lamp. It's much better. I seriously doubt SureFire will be changing the low beam lamp to an LED but if I was into modding I would certainly do that.

Size15 is the low beam at least more powerful than an AA minimag with fresh batteries?
Cause thats what I'm using now to walk my dog at night and I just need something with a bit more output than that...
But I do require a bigger more powerful output of light for other things and thats why I thought the 9AN would be great but not if the low beam is useless?

Thanks,
Firebladz.

I fully agree with everything what Al wrote. I love the 9N, especially the 9NT. The 9AN is a great light with lots of improvements compared to the 9N.

In my opinion, while the lowbeam is of terrible abolute non-SF standard quality, it still is useful for closeup work and even navigation. Yet I most of the time use the highbeam as the whole thing is rechargeable and thus nearly guiltfree lumens. If you want a large, rechargeable incandescent light with two variable outputs from SureFire, which is sort of "pocketable", the 9AN might be the way to go. The battery/charger troubles have long been solved, no worries on this side either. Still it is a true duty light for regular use, nothing to charge up and let sit around for months.

If the lowbeam is compareable to a MiniMag AA? Don't know, don't own a functioning MiniMag! :green:

I don't own a "minimag" (2AA?) either. Never understood the point of it.
I skipped Maglite and went for Pelican's 4AA (StealthLite) before I found SureFire's 12PM.

Al

You can adjust the beam on a Mag. The 9AN on low is most like a Mini Mag on flood setting you cannot adjust it AFAIK but the Hi beam is real nice.
I truly like the high beam on the 9AN low beam I do not use.
Topper

I have the older 9N and like it a lot. Good for around 50 meters with a little ambient light, maybe a hundred or so without any.
The low beam is pretty bad. It's not as bright as the AA Minimag when the mini is focused. It's enough that you can write or see the ground a couple feet in front of you. Maybe if you had the mini on flood it would be about the same.

Al,
I don't suppose that there's any chance the KT3 will fit onto the older 9N is there?

No, unfortunatly the KT3 will not fit the 9N. But then the T3 has a completely different beam characteristics than the KT3, using the KT3 on 9N isn't as much fun as hunting down a T3 and using that one (eventhough if it gets more and more difficult) . The T3 throws a laswersword like beam, truly impressive. :rock:

I really like my 9an. The low setting is not that great but it still puts out enough light to see where you are going in a totally dark house. The high setting does have a nice spot. I wanted something rechargable to use all the time instead having to keep buying boxes of cr123 for my G2Z, C3 & M4 for daily use. I also liked the dual output so if I need to do something that requires low light I can use that instead of running on high & depleting the batteries unnessasarily!

K-T said:

No, unfortunatly the KT3 will not fit the 9N. But then the T3 has a completely different beam characteristics than the KT3, using the KT3 on 9N isn't as much fun as hunting down a T3 and using that one (eventhough if it gets more and more difficult) . The T3 throws a laswersword like beam, truly impressive. :rock:

Click to expand...

The KT3 is for the 9AN only.
The T3 is for the 9N only.

I managed to find a T3 for sale (several years ago) and then after getting my grubby mits on it went in search of a 9N for it.

The 9AN-BK came with the KT3-BK straight from SureFire.
The difference between the T3 and KT3 beams was at first a bit disappointing. Like KT, the T3's beam is a "laswersword like beam" and truely impressive.
The KT3 on the otherhand projects an even more "solid" beam than the 9AN. Rather than concentrating it per se, it makes it more powerful. It's a bit hard to explain and I have the ability to shine the KT3 beam next to that of a standard 9AN!

I would get a KT3 for a 9AN and carry it in an "M6" pouch from SOE or BlackHawk as my duty rechargeable if I wasn't allowed to carry a 10X [if I required a duty flashlight for my job]

Al

Size15's said:

The KT3 is for the 9AN only.
The T3 is for the 9N only....

Click to expand...

It seemed that I didn't make my point as clear as I wanted it to be. What I tried to say was even if the KT3 would fit, I would suggest to better hunt down a T3 and use that instead of the KT3 as it is more impressive.

Thanks a ton for the help guys...
But I think the SF U2 might be more suited to me...
I need the use of some lower beam settings and using 140 lumens for a lot of the things I need would just be overkill I think...
I just hope the throw of the U2 is good enough for when I need a litle power...

Thanks again,
Firebladz.

oh ya not to mention the 9AN is not as pocketable and the bulb cost $34 to replace from SF...
But I swear if I lose the U2 due to it's small size I'm gonna freak!
I still can't find my other stretch LED that has up and disapeared on me and if I remember correctly I only paid around $10-15 for that one...

Firebladz.