thermal guy
Flashaholic
this is SF first 18350 right?
SureFire EDC1-DFT and EDC2-DFT
- Thread starter Dave D
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knucklegary
Flashlight Enthusiast
^ My money is burning a hole in my pocket..
Good info Byk!
Good info Byk!
rwolfenstein
Enlightened
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2017
- Messages
- 562
I just hope that the batteries that Surefire uses are the ones with the charging port on them so you can charge on the go.
Eh, if not Streamlight does rwolf. Elzetta has RCR's and AA's like that also.
rwolfenstein
Enlightened
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2017
- Messages
- 562
I've never heard of Elzetta... but they have interesting items
Just found a SureFire 18650 that has a micro usb charging port. Battery Junction lists them in stock.
3500mAh vs Streamlight 2600mAh.
Both are made overseas.
3500mAh vs Streamlight 2600mAh.
Both are made overseas.
Which is interesting because in the PX and BX shops I've been in recently, nary a Surefire is to be seen. The shelves are dominated by Streamlight and Nite Ize, with a smattering of smaller offerings.
Back in 06, the Army PX had an entire section of nothing but Surefire handheld flashlights.
Elzetta is a weirdly kept industry secret. I don't know why they aren't more widely known; they made a splash using one of their early model of flashlights to hammer a nail into a 2x4.
Unfortunately, they moved into using their own engines - I would have liked to pick up a 2 cell Elzetta Bravo with subdued head for military use.
aznsx
Flashlight Enthusiast
I find that interesting, and have no idea how to explain it. I do use some number of SL products to be sure though, so I'd probably be OK with it personally, although I'd still like to have some SF options. I still find it strange however, and would like to know what precipitated the change you've seen.
There are a number of possibilities - it could be as simple as a decision by the AAFES folks.
On the other hand, Surefire was also slow to adopt LEDs - back when I was headed to Iraq in 06, an E-6 was extolling the virtues of the Surefire 6P incandescent. Specifically, he told me about the time a HMMWV ran over his, and still worked just fine.
From an E-4's perspective, that was awesome *but* a 30 ~ 60 minute run time for an $80 light, which also required pretty expensive CR123s to kept fed wasn't an attractive proposition. Compare that to some of even the rough first gen flashlights, which ran for hours on far cheaper AAs or AAAs. All of which made it a hard sell to lower enlisted. I ended up buying a C2 for emergencies, and my go-to lights were some Inova and Gerber LED flashlights.
Fast-forward, Surefire seems to have stepped back from handheld flashlight market with the exception of one or two new offerings; by comparison, Streamlight has a much broader base of offerings. And the Nite Ize acquisition of Inova gave them an inroad into the budget light market.
Streamlights sell better than SureFire because the price tag is lower. It's that simple.
The large manufacturers often require a small store owner to buy a bunch of product so instead of buying a dozen lights at a time they would have to buy a dozen boxes…of each model minimum order. That's one reason.
Name recognition is another. The rookie crowd often have never heard of SureFire and when they see how much they cost, again they respond "can you show me that Streamlight?" It's a Kimber vs Taurus type thing. Rookies often can't afford a Kimber or a SureFire so they choose something with a decent reputation that costs less.
Couple that with the fact nearly everybody who wants an LED flashlight in 2020+ has one. So sales of LED flashlights have plummeted in recent years. Again SureFire product sits on the shelf due to being seen as "behind the times" by many so they choose that new upgraded Streamlight product when replacing an aging LED light.
SureFire will be ok. Their slice of the consumer market has never been very big. Nor will it ever be. But they will probably always be one of the choices of lighting tool for the folks who go after the big fish in the criminal world or have the most dangerous roles in law enforcement where failure is not an option.
SureFire once had huge contracts they no longer have. And unlike us flashlight hobbyists, the SureFire market is largely made up of people who use a light they were issued long ago year after year, replacing parts on the light like a cracked button boot. They have a couple of flashlights and that's it. One for the car, one for the work shop, one for work. Maybe a dedicated weapon light as well. Maybe not. I know cops who still use their old 6P flashlights. That and the Streamlight SL-20 incan. They say "eh, I'll get an LED light some day"……
I have neighbors who see me testing flashlights in my back yard at times who'll say "can you change the bulb in my flashlight please?" and bring out an old 2D Maglite. I bought a dealer sized Maglite repair kit one year in order to rebuild their old flashlights and give them a triple a minimag LED to keep nearby. Now most of them have a really modern cellular phone. lol.
The large manufacturers often require a small store owner to buy a bunch of product so instead of buying a dozen lights at a time they would have to buy a dozen boxes…of each model minimum order. That's one reason.
Name recognition is another. The rookie crowd often have never heard of SureFire and when they see how much they cost, again they respond "can you show me that Streamlight?" It's a Kimber vs Taurus type thing. Rookies often can't afford a Kimber or a SureFire so they choose something with a decent reputation that costs less.
Couple that with the fact nearly everybody who wants an LED flashlight in 2020+ has one. So sales of LED flashlights have plummeted in recent years. Again SureFire product sits on the shelf due to being seen as "behind the times" by many so they choose that new upgraded Streamlight product when replacing an aging LED light.
SureFire will be ok. Their slice of the consumer market has never been very big. Nor will it ever be. But they will probably always be one of the choices of lighting tool for the folks who go after the big fish in the criminal world or have the most dangerous roles in law enforcement where failure is not an option.
SureFire once had huge contracts they no longer have. And unlike us flashlight hobbyists, the SureFire market is largely made up of people who use a light they were issued long ago year after year, replacing parts on the light like a cracked button boot. They have a couple of flashlights and that's it. One for the car, one for the work shop, one for work. Maybe a dedicated weapon light as well. Maybe not. I know cops who still use their old 6P flashlights. That and the Streamlight SL-20 incan. They say "eh, I'll get an LED light some day"……
I have neighbors who see me testing flashlights in my back yard at times who'll say "can you change the bulb in my flashlight please?" and bring out an old 2D Maglite. I bought a dealer sized Maglite repair kit one year in order to rebuild their old flashlights and give them a triple a minimag LED to keep nearby. Now most of them have a really modern cellular phone. lol.
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kerneldrop
Flashlight Enthusiast
Surefire are purpose built for 1%er hard users like me. For the rest of you there's Hanks
FPSRelic
Enlightened
I'm an every day kind of guy and I prefer lights that have throw over flood. I EDC either an L1 or an EDCL1-T which both use the tactical 2 position tailcap switch, and I love it.
The reason I like throwier lights like these is that I use my flaslight as a tool to either light up objects at a distance or in crawl spaces, or to light up dark recesses in bright rooms. If I need a floody light all I have to do is turn on the light switch in the room, or use the light on my mobile phone (which I never use). I've tried floodier lights that people say I should prefer for an EDC and I've always been left wanting that throwy beam again - I have a triple XLP 3000 lumen creamer that sits in a box.
The reason I like the tactical switch is even though I find the low mode on a throwy light does 89% of what I need it to do, I can still get to high mode just as fast and easy as low mode - there's no stuffing around with clicking switches with or without memory or whatever. It just works.
Just my 2 cents.
stuart
Newly Enlightened
I haven't been excited about anything or bought any significant lights in several years. This one excites me. Been using the EDC l1t with an Efest 16340 almost exclusively for a few years now. I too am hoping for a gas pedal but would settle for a twist head for high/low. The defender style 2 stage (comes on high) would be a step backwards for me. Carried all of the versions of the Backup for many years but blinding myself and having to double tap for low (which was 99% of the time) was annoying. I look forward to having an "official" rechargeable as opposed to my "unofficial" rechargeable. My preference would be: 1. Gas pedal. 2. Twisty like the tactician (which isn't remotely tactical in my opinion unless you leave it on high. 3. 2 Stage tail, comes on low. (also not tactical). 4. Defender style comes on high (also not tactical). My definition of flashlight tactical means simple/intuitive/foolproof/stress proof. This doesn't mean that its limited to L.E./Military. I think all benefit from a simple intuitive interface. Curious to see if the awesome candela is going to be like the almost un-usable (in daily use) Malkoff E2 Hyper. If so I would still probably buy one because of the low option as well as the fun factor. As it stands, for me, the EDC 1lt is the current king. Excited for the new one, but not holding my breath.
FridgeRaider93
Newly Enlightened
I think the new Cloud Defensive MCH may blow this out the water... 18650 or 18350. Duel or single output. EDC (more floody beam) or high candela. I was excited about the Surefire Turbos but maybe not so much now after hearing about the new Cloud Defensive.
loydski228
Newly Enlightened
I have the new cloud defensive MCH and I'm impressed with it I have the high candela and one of the EDC on order can't wait to get that! I will be getting the new surefire and looking forward to comparing them. I would like to get a modlite to see how that compares also.
sgt253
Enlightened
@loydski29: How can one go about ordering/obtaining the MCH? Cloud Defensive's website says to check back; they're not available yet there. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Is that another one of those lights that isnt as good as a malkoff for double the price?
FPSRelic
Enlightened
I'd be onto that but for the clicky switch it uses. I prefer the tactical 2 position tailcap switch the EDC1/2-DFT has.
