Surefire G2X Pro REVIEW

BugoutBoys

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Surefire G2X Pro

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Manufacturer specs

Output / Runtime -- White Light
High320.0lumens / 2.75 hours*
Low15.0lumens / 45.0 hours*
Tactical Runtime**2.5hours
Length5.20inches
Bezel Diameter1.25inches
Body Diameter1.00inches
Weight w/Batteries4.4ounces
Batteries2123A (included)


  • Virtually indestructible LED emitter regulated to maximize light output and runtime
  • Two output levels—high for maximum light, low for extended runtime
  • Precision micro-textured reflector creates smooth, optimized beam
  • Tough polycarbonate window resists impact
  • Tough Nitrolon® body, anodized aluminum bezel
  • Dual-output tailcap click switch—press for momentary-on low, click for constant-on low, return to off then press or click again for high
  • Weatherproof—O-ring and gasket sealed
  • Includes high-energy 123A batteries with 10-year shelf life


MSRP: ~$70




In the box

The G2X comes with several information cards as well as a card going over the No Hassle Lifetime Guarantee warranty that Surefire offers. Also included inside the light are two Surefire CR123A batteries.



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Appearance

The G2X is made primarily of very durable "Nitrolon" polymer. The bezel is Aircraft grade anodized aluminum with a powder coat to match the polymer. The color match is very well done and matches almost perfectly! My specific light is a Forest Green color. The feel of the G2X is amazing. It is very lightweight but feels much more durable than any other flashlight I own. The batteries do not rattle around at all and the whole thing feels virtually invincible with no moving parts whatsoever. There is only 1 button on the light (Tail clicky) Which is made from a very well textured rubber.

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There is no "knurling" on the body but there are indentations that help a little with grip. Most of the grip comes from the rubberized feel of the polymer body. There are anti-roll groves in the bezel that actually work very well and will completely prevent the light from rolling in most cases.
The finish is almost entirely matte and has no reflectivity to it.
The size of the G2X is just over 5 inches.
The front of the bezel has small black teeth that will help if you set the light down on the bezel when it's turned on. The light will show so that you know it's on.
The reflector is a textured Orange Peel (OP) and the LED is very well centered on my light.

There are also dual springs. One on the front and one on the back of the battery tube so that it can withstand more impact. Although it is not defined as a weapon light, I have seen many people shoot all sorts of firearms with this flashlight mounted and it has worked flawlessly.

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Comparison:

From left to right:
Olight S1R Baton, Nitecore MH20GT, Coleman MAX, Surefire G2X Pro, Nitecore P10, Klarus AR10, Nitecore MH27, Nitecore TM03

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User Interface

The G2X Pro has an extremely simple interface. The tail clicky does both momentary and full press "click." The first press will turn the light on at 15 lumens. Turn the light off and press the tail clicky again within a second and it will activate full 320 lumens output.



Physical Tests

As stated before, the G2X feels invincible. After several drop tests, there were still absolutely no flaws in function of the light. Surefire's specs indicate that the light is gasket and O-Ring sealed to be WEATHERPROOF; however, I did completely submerge mine in water as well as used it in the rain and it did perfect in all conditions.

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Beam pattern

The G2X has a very smooth beam. The hotspot is nice and bright but diffuses perfectly into the spill as a nice gradient. There are no harsh lines in the transition between throw and spill. The edge of the spill has 6 little indentations due to the bezel design but it is nothing that will be noticed at all in real world applications.
The G2X color tint on my sample is slightly warm. The ever so slight color tint has a bit of yellowish-green to it. The pictures are color graded on AppleRGB to be as close to what my eyes see as possible. In the presence of daylight, it looks white and in the presence of warm or fluorescent light, it looks like it is a cool tint. But in complete darkness it has a warmer temperature.

ISO 100, f/3.5, 1/60
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ISO 100, f/3.5, 1/800
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Personal Opinions

The Surefire G2X Pro is my very first Surefire light. I have been doing reviews for a while and have used lights from a large variety of manufacturers. This Surefire light is by far the most sturdily built and feels tougher than any of the other lights I own. I used to prefer 1" diameter lights all the way through with no increased size head; however, the G2X feels extremely comfortable to hold. The lightweight yet durable Nitrolon Polymer feels very tough. I could compare it to the texture of a Pelican case, with a slightly more grippy/rubber coated feel.

Recently I've been thinking about what is most important in a flashlight for me. Not what I like the most, but what is most useful in real world scenarios. The simplicity of the G2X is absolutely perfect in my mind. My previous EDC light was the Nitecore P12. It is loaded with features ranging from a battery voltage indicator, to output modes ranging from 1 lumen to 1,000 lumens with a side switch and tail click. I still love features like that, but once I used the G2X for the first time I was immediately sold.
Plus it is USA made which is always a plus in my book.

For the price of $70 or even less, you get a huge bang for your buck. The only negative things I can say about this flashlight are 1: that I don't like the color tint at all. I much prefer a cool tint because it is better for battery times and just a much more appealing color to look at. Other than that, I love the G2X and it has become my EDC light and firearm light. The 320 lumens on it seems brighter than most lights of the same rating and is more than enough for almost any task I would ever use it for.

2: The fact that it can not use an 18650 is a little saddening because I prefer 18650s to CR123s



PROS

Brightness
Throw
Flood
Good runtime and great runtime on low
Waterproof
shock resistant
compact
very simple UI
variety of body color options


CONS
Can't use 18650
Beam color tint



Bottom line, I would not hesitate to recommend this light. Whether you want it as an EDC light, Bug out Bag light, Weapon light, or nightstand light, it is an amazing buy.


EDIT:
New picture(s)

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martinaee

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What ya need are 16650s. I got two for mine. Keeppower is the brand I got. Remove the sticker though on the battery. They are really tight in my G2X so kind of gently twist and jiggle as you put it in. Then just shake gently with your palm under the opening for a while to get it out (you don't want the battery flying out). Yeah, they are tight in there, but work well.
 

BugoutBoys

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What ya need are 16650s. I got two for mine. Keeppower is the brand I got. Remove the sticker though on the battery. They are really tight in my G2X so kind of gently twist and jiggle as you put it in. Then just shake gently with your palm under the opening for a while to get it out (you don't want the battery flying out). Yeah, they are tight in there, but work well.

Do you have a noticeable loss in output? I like that idea if it works!
 

LED Monkey

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What is used as the path of electrical continuity from the tail cap to the head seeing that the body is made from "nitrolon" polymer, just wondering? And yes as mentioned by martinaee 16650 cell should work in the light. I use them in my Elzetta Bravo almost exclusively, just used them last night in the back yard and just let it run on high for a good amount of time.
Thanks for your review.
 

Swedpat

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Thanks for the review!

And congrats to a very nice light! I ordered this model in tan color last month. And I like the Nitrolon which provides pretty good hold. And I agree with martinaee: a Keeppower 16650 is an excellent choice for this light.
I did a runtime graph for G2ZX with great result(it should be the very same driver in G2X). Not regulated but still with a pretty stable output, hardly noticeable decline for the eyes.



 
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BugoutBoys

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What is used as the path of electrical continuity from the tail cap to the head seeing that the body is made from "nitrolon" polymer, just wondering? And yes as mentioned by martinaee 16650 cell should work in the light. I use them in my Elzetta Bravo almost exclusively, just used them last night in the back yard and just let it run on high for a good amount of time.
Thanks for your review.

The inside of the body has an aluminum lining on it!
 

BugoutBoys

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Thanks for the review!

And congrats to a very nice light! I ordered this model in tan color last month. And I like the Nitrolon which provides pretty good hold. And I agree with martinaee: a Keeppower 16650 is an excellent choice for this light.
I did a runtime graph for G2ZX with great result(it should be the very same driver in G2X). Not regulated but still with a pretty stable output, hardly noticeable decline for the eyes.



Awesome! Thank you so much! I'll have to pick up some 16650s
 

kj2

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Thanks for the review :)

Have a yellow G2X Pro and the LE version. My Pro does take the KP 16650 but my LE won't. Took off the sticker but it's still too tight.
 

martinaee

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Do you have a noticeable loss in output? I like that idea if it works!

I don't think so. I haven't used many CR123 primary cells in it, but it's basically like using an 18650. Surefire is annoying for not making most of their lights 18650 compatible until a few recently.

It's dumb since you know it's mainly to sell boat-loads of CR123s with the SF branding.
 

Swedpat

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Thanks for the review :)

Have a yellow G2X Pro and the LE version. My Pro does take the KP 16650 but my LE won't. Took off the sticker but it's still too tight.

That surprises me. I thought that 16650 fits in all CR123 lights. Actually 17670 does not fit in Surefire E-series but 16650 does(though it's difficult to see a size difference when I hold them side by side) . I think the LE version is a rare exception here!
 

bykfixer

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Good stuff.
Thanks.


My first SureFires were G2x Pros too.
Ended up liking the tan enough to buy 5.
A place at Amazon had 'em for $55. Black ones were $49 so I bought 3 of them after that buying all those tan ones.

I bought them for the low setting. I use one tan and one black one a lot. Well my wife scarf'd a tan one for lighting up her crafts. Rest stayed NIP.
We find the tint is ideal for still life object photography.
 
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BugoutBoys

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Good stuff.
Thanks.


My first SureFires were G2x Pros too.
Ended up liking the tan enough to buy 5.
A place at Amazon had 'em for $55. Black ones were $49 so I bought 3 of them after that buying all those tan ones.

I bought them for the low setting. I use one tan and one black one a lot. Well my wife scarf'd a tan one for lighting up her crafts. Rest stayed NIP.
We find the tint is ideal for still life object photography.

I like your signature! And I just ordered another black one. I wonder if Surefire can put a cool white LED in..? I might ask.
 

m4a1usr

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I wonder if Surefire can put a cool white LED in..? I might ask.

I wouldn't think they would touch that idea with a 10 foot pole due to warranty issues but it is certainly easy enough to do yourself or one of the various modders here on CPF. I modded both my 6PX and my Z2-S with new emitters (XPL's) and even a driver swap in the Z2-S. Much better lights IMO due to having a bit outdated emitters. But I have lost my warranty (as if that matters now).

I like your write up. Done very well. And if you ever decide you only want your G2X to be single mode (high only). Cut the thin long trace roughly at 12 O-clock. If you ever decide you'd like hi and lo again just resolder the gap you created. Just cut enough to break the circuit. Don't remove the entire trace.
 

BugoutBoys

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I wouldn't think they would touch that idea with a 10 foot pole due to warranty issues but it is certainly easy enough to do yourself or one of the various modders here on CPF. I modded both my 6PX and my Z2-S with new emitters (XPL's) and even a driver swap in the Z2-S. Much better lights IMO due to having a bit outdated emitters. But I have lost my warranty (as if that matters now).

I like your write up. Done very well. And if you ever decide you only want your G2X to be single mode (high only). Cut the thin long trace roughly at 12 O-clock. If you ever decide you'd like hi and lo again just resolder the gap you created. Just cut enough to break the circuit. Don't remove the entire trace.


I wouldnt think so but someone i talk to said they said they did it for him. He said that he told them that it had a nasty yellow tint and they replaced it with a perfect white tint no questions asked. I'll let you know if it works! **crosses fingers**

Thank you for the advice as well! I'm gonna shoot you a PM!
 
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Swedpat

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BugoutBoys,

Recently I've been thinking about what is most important in a flashlight for me. Not what I like the most, but what is most useful in real world scenarios. The simplicity of the G2X is absolutely perfect in my mind. My previous EDC light was the Nitecore P12. It is loaded with features ranging from a battery voltage indicator, to output modes ranging from 1 lumen to 1,000 lumens with a side switch and tail click. I used to love this and had no compromise whatsoever. Once I used the G2X for the first time I was immediately sold. So many flashlights now are designed with so many complex features and modes which are awesome to show off, or to white wall hunt but in real world scenarios, they just complicate things in my opinion which is something I didn't realize until I used this Surefire.

While it may be fun with advanced multimode super low to superbright models I really agree with these words. Sometimes I really want the simple. Not over powered lights demanding special high drain cells and still can't be runned for more than some minute due to over heating. The simple with no doubt about what mode is on which I often experience with multimode lights when the levels are pretty close.
Another thing: my G2X has a really cool tint, still decent in my eyes, though I prefer neutral tint. My G2ZX has a warmer tint however, around 4500K.
 

Dave D

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Last edited:

matt4350

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That surprises me. I thought that 16650 fits in all CR123 lights. Actually 17670 does not fit in Surefire E-series but 16650 does(though it's difficult to see a size difference when I hold them side by side) . I think the LE version is a rare exception here!

My LE version takes the Keeppower 16650, sticker still on. Slight twist sometimes is needed to get it in, but no issues.

As far as the tint goes, maybe look at getting the LE. I don't have the Pro version, but the beamshots I've seen seem to show the LE with a cooler tint.

These nitrolon lights are great, dead simple and feel robust. The OP has just sold me on getting the Pro model as well!
 

BugoutBoys

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BugoutBoys,



While it may be fun with advanced multimode super low to superbright models I really agree with these words. Sometimes I really want the simple.

Another thing: my G2X has a really cool tint, still decent in my eyes, though I prefer neutral tint. My G2ZX has a warmer tint however, around 4500K.

Yeah, I've definitely found a liking for simplicity now.
do you have the 200 lumen version? I've heard the XP-E is cooler white than the 320 lumen G2X
 
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