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 Ruck
  
Location: Texas
Gender: Male
 |  | Surefire G2 Nitrolon review
< on 3/30/2006 9:15 AM >
|  | | | Okay, so I searched for Surefire and found a bunch of equipment lists, but no reviews. So here goes.
I recently purchased the Surefire G2 Nitrolon for $36. In case you don't know, it's a small, high-intensity flashlight. It's a hardcore plastic (definitely does not feel cheap and I'm quite certain it can stand up to a lot of abuse) and it combines all the quality Surefire is known for with an affordable price to make a truly great flashlight.
First, its size. This thing is small. Really small. The pictures make it look really big, but it's not. It fits in a pocket easily. In the size department it's awesome and its weight is negligable. Granted, for those of you who like to use your Maglites as possible impact weapons it won't function for that, but if you need a small, convenient package, it's the way to go.
Second, brightness. Wow. I'd heard about Surefire's brightness, but had never seen it until I bought the G2. It puts my 2D Maglite to shame. It has a pure, white light--to paraphrase Surefire themselves, "a perfect center spot of intense light surrounded by a smooth corona of softer light." What they don't tell you is that the "smooth corona of softer light" they refer to is still brighter and still shines farther than the two 2D Maglites I compared with it. Actually there was no comparison--the Maglites could simply not equal the brightness or distance of the G2.
Three, batteries. It uses lithium batteries, which are great for brightness, but suck for price. Order from the Surefire website--it's about $23 shipped for a box of 12, as opposed to 2 batteries for $10 at Wal-Mart. They're good for about hour with the regular lamp (65 lumens) and 20 minutes with the high intensity lamp (120 lumens). As such, always keep a pair, preferably two pair, of extra batteries with you.
Four, lamps. My lamp decided to stop working before my first battery change. The rep I spoke with on the phone said lamps were supposed to be good for around 30 battery changes, so go figure. Maybe I just got a lemon. (Either way, he's sending me a new lamp free of charge. Rock on!) It's definitely a good idea to keep a spare lamp with you. I don't think this is a frequent problem, given Surefire's reputation, but it does prove that occasionaly things do happen, and it's always a good idea to be prepared. Surefire makes a little battery/lamp holder. Not sure how big it is, but it might be a good investment to go along with the flashlight.
Five, customer service. Lamps are generally not covered under the warranty, but the guy I spoke with was really cool and felt that my lamp should have lasted longer than it did, so he's sending me a new one free of charge. (And like he said, the G2 is a very simple design, so problems are easy to diagnose--it'll be either the lamp or the batteries if something goes wrong.)
Six, price. The price is great. For some reason everyone I've told about the light freaked out when I said I paid $36 for it. Considering that around here Maglites range from $15-$25, I don't feel that the extra money or overall price is bad at all, especially when you consider how much brighter it is than the Maglites.
Seven, operation. It has a simple twist/click tailcap. Twist all the way tight and its constantly on. Loosen about a half to full turn and you can push the tailcap button for momentary illumination. Loosen another two full turns and the light is "locked out", meaning it won't accidentally come on and waste batteries (or burn a hole in anything--the lithium batteries burn hot!).
Overall opinion: awesome flashlight. It's very small, lightweight, resilient. The price isn't bad at all considering performance, and customer service, so far, has been great. Replacement parts are readily available, as are batteries, and the brightness and distance is beyond compare with the majority of flashlights out there. This is the cheapest flashlight Surefire makes, but it is certainly not "cheap". At this point I'm not sure why the hell anyone would buy one of the more expensive Surefire lights in this brightness range since the G2 seems to do everything its more costly brothers can do with no discernable drawbacks.
"For the listener, who listens in the snow, And, nothing himself, beholds Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is." ~Wallace Stevens |
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Pravus
Location: Chicago Area
Gender: Male
Now the two key words for tonight - "caution" and "flammable"...
| |  |  | Re: Surefire G2 Nitrolon review
<Reply # 1 on 3/30/2006 10:26 AM >
| | | | also for like $80 you can get the rechargeable upgrade kit.. which still comes out cheaper then any other of the surefires I think.. but in the long run it's not too shabby.. and as far as it not able to be used as a weapon, use it like you would a kubotan thing..
Live to Serve, Serve to Live.. |
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Ruck
Location: Texas
Gender: Male
| | Re: Surefire G2 Nitrolon review
<Reply # 2 on 3/30/2006 10:57 AM >
| | | | Posted by Pravus
also for like $80 you can get the rechargeable upgrade kit.. which still comes out cheaper then any other of the surefires I think.. but in the long run it's not too shabby.. and as far as it not able to be used as a weapon, use it like you would a kubotan thing..
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I believe you can get an LED head for it as well, but don't quote me on that.
"For the listener, who listens in the snow, And, nothing himself, beholds Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is." ~Wallace Stevens |
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Conundrum
    
Criticón
Location: GTA
Gender: Male
Now Entering The Bling Chamber
| | Re: Surefire G2 Nitrolon review
<Reply # 3 on 3/30/2006 3:54 PM >
| | | | I have a couple G2 Nitrolon Flash Lights, and I have to say I love them, They are small, and affordable, and if you look around you can find the surefire batteries at some stores for around $6 for the 2 of em. I have had mine for almost a year now and they are great. One word of warning, Make sure the light is off before putting it away, I put it in a holster for it, and came back an hour later to find the batteries dead, and nylon case it was in completely melted where the heat from the bulb hit it. Another word of warning, Do not use this light continuously, if you use it for over an hour (or more than one batterie change) and don't let it cool down, you risk melting the lens on the front due to heat.
All together its a well built flashlight, and for the cost its well worth it. If you want you can get the higher model, for about twice to three times the price, and all you get is a metal shell instead of the polymer this one is, and a twist lock, click on/off tailcap...
Conundrum...
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. Carpe Noctem
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Duncantx
Location: Tulsa, OK
Gender: Male
| | Re: Surefire G2 Nitrolon review
<Reply # 4 on 3/30/2006 6:01 PM >
| | | | Ive got one of those, but dont go to surefire for batteries, they are a rip off, and dont get just any CR123 batteries. Go to www.batterystation.com, you want good Lithium-Ions for high drain devices like this. its about half as much, and just as good as surefire's. dont get the rechargeable, its not worth it, but the LED is pretty good.
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Pravus
Location: Chicago Area
Gender: Male
Now the two key words for tonight - "caution" and "flammable"...
| | | | Re: Surefire G2 Nitrolon review
<Reply # 5 on 3/31/2006 12:21 AM >
| | | | If you converted it to LED wouldn't it basically destroy it's ability to throw almost completely? Thats one of the major selling points of a surefire.. I was looking through and the A2 Aviator looks pretty deece, it's got the incandescent bulb for insta-daylight then three LEDs for upclose work.. which looks deece because you can get it so it has red LEDs for good upclose work that won't araise much attention then the white bulb..
Live to Serve, Serve to Live.. |
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Duncantx
Location: Tulsa, OK
Gender: Male
| | Re: Surefire G2 Nitrolon review
<Reply # 6 on 3/31/2006 1:16 AM >
| | | | well, the led is good if you are concerned about the price of batteries.
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pyro
Location: Toronto
Gender: Male
| | Re: Surefire G2 Nitrolon review
<Reply # 7 on 3/31/2006 1:27 AM >
| | | | Posted by Pravus
If you converted it to LED wouldn't it basically destroy it's ability to throw almost completely? |
Depends on the depth of the reflector and the brightness of the LED. I have a Luxeon I light that can easily do 100 meters.
"[emo kids] are like homeless people with thier hand out only its pitty they want and not money." -boutdatlonestar |
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Mr. Kalashnikov
Location: St. Louis
Gender: Male
| | | Re: Surefire G2 Nitrolon review
<Reply # 8 on 4/2/2006 2:50 PM >
| | | | One of Surefire's main competitors is a company called Pelican.
They make a rechargeable light about the size of a 2-C flashlight that throws out 122 Lumens. It's enough to temporarily blind you. It runs $80 and came with a holster and both 110v and 12v (car) battery chargers. It was by far the only flashlight in our exploring group that can hit the other ends of the brewery cellars at the Falstaff plant. 2-D Maglights and even my Surefire M6 and G2 could only go about 1/2 that far.
Also, they make a light that is the same size as a Surefire M6 or G2 that has a 61-Lumen LED. This makes it as bright as a M6/G2 but it has much longer battery life.
Pelican products are every bit as nice as Surefire's. I love 'em both. Just keep plenty of 123s on hand.
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grit1
Location: University Campus - Minneapolis, MN
Gender: Male
Got Shear Line?
| | | Re: Surefire G2 Nitrolon review
<Reply # 9 on 4/4/2006 5:58 PM >
| | | | Surefire has been in the game for a long, long time and makes an excellent quality flashlight, and all of their products are good from what I've heard, read and seen.
Pellican is newer to the market but still has a lot of innovation to bring to the table. I own a few Pelican watertight cases and there's nothing that offers more protection for my cameras and my laptop, and if their flashlights are anything like their cases in build quality I would pay Pelican money for them.
I haven't gotten a chance to try it out yet, but I like the idea of Pelican's "Recoil LED" technology, where the LED is mounted on the outer element and shoots back into the reflector. They claim close to 100% transmission of the emitted light with very little loss, all very directional. Seems pretty cool.
Also Surefire sells CR123A batteries at a price much cheaper than in stores. They are closer to $2.50 a piece in quantity.
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blackhawk
This member has been banned. See the banlist for more information.
Location: Mission Control
UER newbie
| |  | Re: Surefire G2 Nitrolon review
<Reply # 10 on 4/4/2006 6:18 PM >
| | | | Too bad they don't use either AA, or AAA bats. Size is not enough an issue to warrant such a small expensive power source. . NiMH are great, and cost effective; no coin cell operated lights here. For memory backup, and small compact electronic devices coin bats are ok. If someone else was buying the bats I might bite.
Just when I thought I was out... they pulled me back in.
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SeeThirty
Location: Indialantic, Florida
Gender: Male
| |  |  | | Re: Surefire G2 Nitrolon review
<Reply # 11 on 4/4/2006 6:47 PM >
| | | | Pelican also makes the "Super Sabrelite", which uses a bulb, but regular batteries. This is a dive light, so it's pretty much weatherproof, and very reliable.
Pelican and Tek-Tite are both producers of good quality flashlights for dive environments. The reason I consider dive lights is because if they can withstand afew hundred feet depth of seawater, they'll be safe in pretty much any sewer or slimepit you can take them into, plus they tend to last several hours of use.
12/17/2007 (somewhere in AvChat)
[10:29:47] <Lexi> Personally I don't really like her music
[10:29:50] <Lexi> But goddamn [10:29:59] <Lexi> I'd lick her dry. |
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desmet
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.
| | | | Re: Surefire G2 Nitrolon review
<Reply # 12 on 4/4/2006 7:13 PM >
| | | | I have a Surefire L5 (LED) and it is just unbelievable. I don't think the LED is going to have much of a negative impact when you're talking about Surefire. I'm not necessarily a conasseur of flashlights but the thing is ridiculously bright, throws very far, lasts pretty well, etc.
I actually bought a E1E because the L5 was too bright for working with my camera of if I needed light that wouldn't bring security a-runnin. Both great flashlights and both ridiculously overpriced.
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dev
Passed away September 23rd, 2006.
| | Re: Surefire G2 Nitrolon review
<Reply # 13 on 4/4/2006 8:49 PM >
| | | | and for those that are into affordable lights...
the brinkmann maxfire LX is pretty much a clone of the surefire G2, and can be had for about $20 at target, including a pair of batteries.
just order the CR123A's off the internet, they can be found for as cheap as $1.50 or so for the panasonic yellows.
the build quality on the brinkmann was good enough where i had no problem taking it wading neck-deep in lake michigan at night. not that i suggest that you try to kill your flashlight with water, but it worked okay for me.
--dev
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grit1
Location: University Campus - Minneapolis, MN
Gender: Male
Got Shear Line?
| | | Re: Surefire G2 Nitrolon review
<Reply # 14 on 4/4/2006 9:04 PM >
| | | | Posted by dev
and for those that are into affordable lights...
the brinkmann maxfire LX is pretty much a clone of the surefire G2, and can be had for about $20 at target, including a pair of batteries.
just order the CR123A's off the internet, they can be found for as cheap as $1.50 or so for the panasonic yellows.
the build quality on the brinkmann was good enough where i had no problem taking it wading neck-deep in lake michigan at night. not that i suggest that you try to kill your flashlight with water, but it worked okay for me.
--dev
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I have that Brinkmann flashlight and love to use it for light painting. Bright, good color temperature and lasts longish for its brightness battery wise. Also cheap to replace - the batteries are practically worth more than the flashlight. ~G
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dev
Passed away September 23rd, 2006.
| | Re: Surefire G2 Nitrolon review
<Reply # 15 on 4/4/2006 9:11 PM >
| | | | Posted by grit1
I have that Brinkmann flashlight and love to use it for light painting. Bright, good color temperature and lasts longish for its brightness battery wise. Also cheap to replace - the batteries are practically worth more than the flashlight. ~G
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and if you wanna get all flashlight-geeky on it, it'll take surefire P60 lamps... which means that for $40 more, you can convert your $10 flashlight (that comes with $10 batteries) into a LED monster!
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Ruck
Location: Texas
Gender: Male
| | Re: Surefire G2 Nitrolon review
<Reply # 16 on 4/4/2006 10:13 PM >
| | | | and if you wanna get all flashlight-geeky on it, it'll take surefire P60 lamps... which means that for $40 more, you can convert your $10 flashlight (that comes with $10 batteries) into a LED monster!
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Actually, the P60 is $17 and the P61 is $25 on Surefire's website. Neither of them are LEDs.
"For the listener, who listens in the snow, And, nothing himself, beholds Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is." ~Wallace Stevens |
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dev
Passed away September 23rd, 2006.
| | Re: Surefire G2 Nitrolon review
<Reply # 17 on 4/4/2006 10:18 PM >
| | | | Posted by Zero Horizon
Actually, the P60 is $17 and the P61 is $25 on Surefire's website. Neither of them are LEDs.
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think a little harder.
the lamp that's already in the maxfire is basically the same as the P60. only it comes in the flashlight already. and the flashlight costs $17 with a pair of CR123A's.
i was talking about this, a P60 compatible LED drop-in:
http://www.flashli...ews/gp_p60lux3.htm
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Ruck
Location: Texas
Gender: Male
| | Re: Surefire G2 Nitrolon review
<Reply # 18 on 4/5/2006 5:35 AM >
| | | | No need to be rude about it. You mentioned the P60. How am I supposed to infer you were really talking about another lamp?
"For the listener, who listens in the snow, And, nothing himself, beholds Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is." ~Wallace Stevens |
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dev
Passed away September 23rd, 2006.
| | Re: Surefire G2 Nitrolon review
<Reply # 19 on 4/5/2006 5:40 AM >
| | | | Posted by Zero Horizon
No need to be rude about it. You mentioned the P60. How am I supposed to infer you were really talking about another lamp?
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the fact that stock P60 lamps aren't LED, nor cost over $30?
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