Flashlights

[Jasongar8]

$450.00 way more than I want to spend on it

Ouch.

[56FordGuy]

Here's one for the 4th of July.

[Links2k]

Surefire E2D in my pocket everyday and Surefire X-300 on a pistol every night.

[56FordGuy]

Here's another one from my collection, to keep this thread going.

Surefire 12B 'Hurricane Light'. In the early days, before Surefire had their own label batteries, they had a deal with Duracell. They bought batteries from Duracell to sell with their lights, at a significantly cheaper price than the 4-5.00 apiece price that Duracell 123A batteries retailed for. They realized that battery cost was hurting their flashlight sales, but they were contractually unable to sell batteries without a flashlight.

Enter the 12B. This 'flashlight' came with 12 batteries, and retailed for about $30.00, if I recall properly. The stated purpose of the light was to drain the last little bit of energy out of the 123 batteries that came out of your flashlight, after they had become too weak to light the incandescent lamp. You simply removed brand new batteries from the 12B, and in their place you installed the 'dead' batteries from your flashlight. The Hurricane lamp ran the dead batteries completely down, while providing some slight form of light.

At a time when 12 Duracell batteries could cost $60.00 and up, the 12B was basically a way for Surefire to get replacement batteries for their flashlights on the market at a more reasonable price, while not violating their contractual obligation to only sell batteries with a flashlight.

[gregintenn]

I think my flashlight came from Wal Mart. Now you guys are leading me into something else I can endlessly spend money on. Shame on you.

[G27]

Big Fenix fan here and my favorite is probably the little LD01 I EDC on my keychain. Love that little light.

I do have a 4d Maglite with upgraded glass and an aftermarket LED drop in which is jaw dropping-ly bright, but it's kinda big...

[56FordGuy]

Now you guys are leading me into something else I can endlessly spend money on. Shame on you.

Just don't start collecting them, and you'll probably be okay.

[G27]

I think my flashlight came from Wal Mart. Now you guys are leading me into something else I can endlessly spend money on. Shame on you.

Whatever you do, do NOT go to candlepowerforums.com...

[56FordGuy]

Whatever you do, do NOT go to candlepowerforums.com...

Even if you do, avoid any thread involving a rare or uncommon light...

[MacGyver]

Just picked up a Surefire LX2 Lumamax. Hands down the best LED light out there in my opinion. 15 Lumen low, 200 Lumen high, Surefire build quality. Awesome light.

My daily carry is a Maratac AAA. 3 light levels, and only 20 grams without the battery. A great light for just a few bucks.

[56FordGuy]

This is a Laser Products, Surefire 3P. Surefire was originally Laser Products, and the early flashlights were engraved with both on the tailcap. The 3P was the early version of the E1E flashlight. They were the same diameter as the 6P, and only slightly shorter. For most consumers at the time, the extra length of the 6P was easily offset by the brighter light and additional runtime of the 6 volt 6P over the 3 volt 3P. As a result, the 3P was not a huge seller. The black 3P lights are not really rare, but slightly uncommon. They can usually be found without too much trouble.

However, colored 3Ps are far less common. Surefire made a limited run of a red 3P and a green 3P, rumor has it was a Christmas set. There are a few other colors out there, but none of them were ever produced in large numbers, even by 3P standards. The engraved Jeep light above though, is the only one I'm aware of. I'm not foolish enough to believe that Surefire custom anodized and engraved one single light to be sold at a Jeep Jamboree in the early 90's, but I do believe that it was probably a minimum batch as required by the anodizer. As you can see from various pictures throughout this thread, most Surefire lights do not have exact matching anodizing. That's because various parts come from different anodizing batches, and it's difficult if not impossible to have every batch of anodized parts come out exactly alike. The 3P above matches perfectly, which leads me to believe all the parts were anodized in the same batch, along with all the other red Jeep lights. For all I know, all the red 3Ps that exist engraved and otherwise, could've been done in that batch, and only a handful engraved for the Jeep Jamboree. I would imagine most of the lights sold at that event wound up being used by off roaders in their Jeep, and as a result have been damaged/ lost/ destroyed in the last 20 years. The average attendee at an off road Jeep event probably isn't the type to buy a flashlight and not really use it for it's intended purpose.

Pictured with the light are a Surefire 30th Anniversary hat/ lapel pin from the 2010 SHOT Show, and a Surefire Collector case beneath the light. The light didn't come with the same, but it makes for a good picture.

[Rightwinger]

You bought a light safe, not a gun safe!

[56FordGuy]

You bought a light safe, not a gun safe!

I can assure you, there was nothing light about moving that safe.

Edited July 22, 2010 by 56FordGuy

[56FordGuy]

A couple of more. E2E-CJ and C2-CJ.

[Rightwinger]

I think you should get all your lights outside one night and turn them on and see how many planes divert from Nashville to Bethpage.

[kb4ns]

I think you should get all your lights outside one night and turn them on and see how many planes divert from Nashville to Bethpage.

[56FordGuy]

Alright, here's another one.

This is a SureFire 6P. If you've been following along, you can see by the Laser Products markings on the tailcap that it's an older model. Another identifying mark on the 6P lights is the round bezel. Aside from the markings on the tailcap, current models have an anti- roll bezel. Older lights have a completely round body, such as this one.

The interesting thing about this light is not the tailcap marking, or the round body. It's the finish. This is a Type III, Hard Anodized SureFire 6P. The 6P was considered an 'entry level' SureFire, and as a result they were never offered for sale with a hard anodized finish. They were only offered with a Type II anodized finish, which is not as rugged, durable, or costly. I don't know the story on this one, unfortunately. I think there are two others that are out there, and both of them reside with the gentleman I purchased this one from. They could be prototypes escaped from SureFire (it really has happened), or they may have been a special order by one particular dealer. I really don't know, but in any case it's a very cool light.

[Rightwinger]

I now have a 6P, courtesy of our resident expert. I'm thinking I was in denial about my light addiction until I brought this one home. It led me to have it out for everyday use. I had the TLR-1 on the XD45 ready. I also have the Streamlight NF-1 Nightfighter in the Maxpedition so it's ready to go. So, what about those other lights. I started going through them and between the mini mags and the plain jane "grab a light" from Walmart for the kids, I have about 10 lights lying about the house. The kids lose them, I find them back.....familial recycling. I think I'll have to admit though, I like having the higher end lights. Mini-mags are what you hand the kids when they want to go outside at night and find crawdads in your back yard...A Surefire is to be kept close and at the ready, by someone who appreciates it. (Your supposed to be hearing that rising tide of music going to crescendo now). So unless you find it difficult to see and have light flash burns across exposed portions of your body from just "looking at" your collection, rock on light brothers, yes rock on ....

ow my freaking eyes! Quit that 56...people in Nashville are trying to sleep!

[MacGyver]

A Surefire is to be kept close and at the ready, by someone who appreciates it.

An acquaintance grabbed my LX2 the other evening and proceeded to look directly at it to see how bright it was. Call it the, "is this expensive light really brighter than my Mag-Lite?" test. I saw what he was about to do, and couldn't quite get the words out fast enough to stop him from experiencing the full 200 Lumen brightness at about 2 feet. I don't think he'll make that mistake twice.

[56FordGuy]

It's been almost two months since the last post on this thread.

A small shot of part of the collection, including a Surefire dealer banner. I have a couple of other lights I could post later.

[Sheepdog]

Here's another one from my collection, to keep this thread going.

Surefire 12B 'Hurricane Light'.

I wanted to buy one of those years ago, but put it off. When I finally had the spare cash, they no longer sold it. Wish they'd make them, again, because I really hate tossing my CR123s when they're no longer strong enough to give me full power on my SureFires.

[56FordGuy]

I wanted to buy one of those years ago, but put it off. When I finally had the spare cash, they no longer sold it. Wish they'd make them, again, because I really hate tossing my CR123s when they're no longer strong enough to give me full power on my SureFires.

They can still be found, but they're considered a 'collectible' light and run $60.00+ .

If you're taking the batteries out of incandescent lights, look into LEDs. When the batteries in most incan lights get low, they may still have enough power to run an LED light for a while. If the batteries you have are coming out of LED lights, then they probably won't have enough power to light the lamp of a 12B. If you're removing them from an LED, or even an incandescent light when it's very low, I would advise disposing of them. While it's usually limited to cheap, imported 123 batteries, 123 batteries can be over-discharged and fail, sometimes explosively.

[kb4ns]

While it's usually limited to cheap, imported 123 batteries, 123 batteries can be over-discharged and fail, sometimes explosively.

Holy poop! I didn't know that.

[56FordGuy]

Holy poop! I didn't know that.

It's not an everyday occurrence, and it's usually limited to cheap, no name import batteries. Common sense goes a long way toward safe usage, don't mix new and old batteries, and if the batteries die, be sure to turn off the light or remove the batteries from it. That said,

Cyclops Flashlight Explosion - CandlePowerForums

Ultrafire 18650 3000mA exploded - CandlePowerForums

123 Primary Lithium cell info/testing/links - CandlePowerForums

*Edit* I just want to note that this is not a flashlight issue, but a battery issue. If you simply read the link titles, you'll see that the first two specifically name import brand flashlights, while the third does not name any light in the title. If you open the third link and read through it, you'll find photos and details of a battery failure in a Surefire light. I just wanted to clarify that I'm referencing a specific type of battery and the risks involved in a battery failure, not just trying to 'run down' imported lights.

Edited October 3, 2010 by 56FordGuy

[willis68]

They can still be found, but they're considered a 'collectible' light and run $60.00+ .

If you're taking the batteries out of incandescent lights, look into LEDs. When the batteries in most incan lights get low, they may still have enough power to run an LED light for a while. If the batteries you have are coming out of LED lights, then they probably won't have enough power to light the lamp of a 12B. If you're removing them from an LED, or even an incandescent light when it's very low, I would advise disposing of them. While it's usually limited to cheap, imported 123 batteries, 123 batteries can be over-discharged and fail, sometimes explosively.

We use 123 Batteries for our Subsea torque tool counter displays, I have personally seen this happen 3 times, I sent pictures to my Bosses and they approved a Material requisition for Surefire 123 Batteries, I am no longer with that company but I always have fresh Surefire batteries in my Lights thanks to that!