Cheap replacement batteries?

Steven Roos

Steven Roos

Joined
Jun 29, 2002
Messages
4,131
I have been considering getting a Surefire light, but where can I find cheap replacement batteries for it? What is the designation for the battery I'd need?

Also, what Surefire would you guy reccommend for carrying in a pocket? Where is a good place to order from?

Finally, would the Arc light be better for carrying all the time than a Surefire?
 
ok, well, i don't really know about where to find cheap batteries, but what you are looking for are 123a batterys, referred to as CR123's or SF123's or DL123's, depending on brand. The surefire you are looking for is the e2e, it's small enough for easy everyday carry and quite bright. the e1e is slightly smaller but only 1/4 the brightness so you would generally use led lights for that brightness level. some people really like it but the beam is quite tight.
anyways, the e2e puts out 60 lumens for 75 minutes and is a great first surefire. if you dont mind the extra bulk, a 6p or d2 is also a good first light, as you have all sorts of ways to customize it from there. one thing the e2e has or should have soon is the mn02 low output lamp assembly for less light and longer run times.

a good place to buy would be arizona gun runners or texas tactical supply or maybe lagger pro supply.

as far as the arc aaa goes, these two lights serve different needs, with drastically different brightness. in fact, these two lights are almost "standard issue" on candlepowerforums.com, and were you to search you would find a great number of threads on either of them. so basically what i'm saying is get them both so you don't have to waste the e2e or blind yourself on the way to the bathroom.

hope this wasn't too confusing, i wanted to give you a thorough look at both options. If you have questions, by all means post them. By the way, if you want more surefire specific information you can check out their message board at 186thousand.com and there are some great people over at candlepowerforums too. and i should warn you, be careful, once you get into surefire's or lights in general they can be just as addictive as knives and gear!

- Pete
 
I have to go with Pete on the E2/E2 Elite. I just got my first Surefire a couple of days ago from someone on the forums and I just love it (it's an E2). I probably would've taken the E2 Elite over the E2, but couldn't pass up this deal (I prefer the pyrex lens on the Elite). Don't really know about cheap batteries, but Expect to pay around 5 bucks per battery (123).

-Z
 
For general EDC (Every Day Carry), the E2e is my flashlight of choice without a doubt. I used to carry the E2, but the E2e has many improvements such as Pyrex Lens, Anti-roll Bezel style, a PocketClip that means the E2e stays where you clip it (especially good for clipping to your baseball cap for hands-free) It also features a LockOut TailCap so it won't activate unless you want it to.

If you're not going to buy SureFire SF123As, you can find CR123A batteries of various brands for $1.50 each if you buy in bulk (perhaps 40-50 at a time) these batteries will stay fresh for years, so you can have a store of them in a cool, dry box out of the sunlight.

The best place to find out more about SureFires is the SureFire Discussion Board: http://186thousand.com
And the best place to find out where to get cheap batteries is www.CandlePowerForums.com

Al
 
www.cheapbatteries.com carries the GE-Sanyo 123s for $2.50 for two, $2.00 for 12+, and $1.75 for 48+.

www.zreiss.com was selling the GE-Sanyos for $1.80 for 24+ a while ago, but you'll have to check with them directly, as their new website doesn't show pricing.

Keep an eye on eBay. There are often small batches of 123 lithiums that start out in the $1.00-1.25 range, and usually end up in the $1.50-2.00 range for each.

The Arc AAA is small enough to carry regularly on a keychain, so there's really no reason not to have one with you when you're out and about.

I also concur with the E2/E2e suggestion. Whether or not the advantages of the E2e are useful to you is going to be up to you and your own needs. The pyrex lens is more scratch resistant and is supposed to transmit a few more % of light. The lock out tail cap speaks for itself. If you're intending on carrying the light in a pouch or in a briefcase where it'll be more protected from accidental activation or dirt and other schmutz, then you can find some great deals on the E2s these days.
 
So, it seems pretty sure that the E2e is the best bet for the Surefire, and thanks for the info about the battery type. I'm just suprised how much they cost for how little runtime you get.

How many lumens is the photon? Someone mentioned the Surefire is 60 lumens. So how many times brighter than the photon is that? Is it a wider or tighter beam than the photon?

I get what you mean about the Arc light being a different market than the Surefire. In that case, how does the Arc compare to the Photon IIs? I already have two of the photons, should I bother getting an Arc?

Finally, if I could get a good deal on the Surefire batteries, would anyone be interested in a group buy? Could I post info about a group buy in For Sale Forum?
 
The Arc AAA and most single 5mm LED lights put out about 1.5 lumens, and the E2(e) is 60. So you can see there is quite a difference. The big difference between the Arc and the Photon is the Arc will maintain the brightness much longer, but then again the Arc is larger. A Photon is brighter for the first 15 min then again after about 5 hours when the Arc is totally dead the photon will still be glowing at about .1 lumen. The problem is that after about 30 min of use I had to change the batteries in my photons. If you only use the light for short bursts the Photon is fine. I have a bunch of info (size, brightness, power consumption...) on different lights on my sites if you need more info.
 
im2smrt4u, I'm a little intimidated giving advice to someone with a handle like yours ... :p ... but let me try.

I got Photon IIs and really liked them on my keychain, but when they began to dim, I tried to replace the batteries, and my age-befuddled fingertips weren't up to the task. Tiny parts spilled over the tabletop. Phuck the Photon.

The Arc uses one AAA battery. Simple to open up, replace the battery, and close. Tough aluminum barrel. Imperceptibly light on a keychain. The bezel turns on/off one handed. You won't be sorry you got one!

BTW, I got a secondhand E2 and I don't feel any need for the E2e, since I use it lightly enough. You don't even need a lockout tailcap if you rotate the cap a bit more than absolutely necessary when you put it away. The farther you back it off, the harder you have to push the button to light it. But if you have the few extra bucks, yes, go for the best!

I got Toshiba lithiums for mine from Botach Tactical at $30 for 20 batteries.
 
Okay, so this is how it is...

Photon:
Pros - Very small. Long life.
Cons - Not very bright. Expensive batteries.

Arc:
Pros - Very bright for its size. Cheap batteries.
Cons - Bigger than the photon.

Surefire:
Pros - Extremely bright.
Cons - Expensive light/batteries.

Maybe I'll sell my photons for an Arc and some money towards a Surefire. $60 is a lot of money for a flashlight, but I think my photon is pretty bright, and 40 times the power seems quite powerful!
 
well the only thing i can see there is that the photon starts out slightly brighter than the arc, but the point is that the arc gives you 5 to 6 hours of *bright* light, where as the photon give you like 5 minutes of really bright light, then gradually decreasing light after that. so after 10 minutes the arc is brighter.

also, if you want a light you're not planning on carrying everyday and longer runtime is important you can look into a surge, which is an eight aa flashlight that manages to maintain reasonable size. or you could look at other 2X123 flashlights, like the streamlight scorpion or the asp triad/taclite. for longer runtime and slightly less brightness try the underwater kinetics (uk) 2L. oh and also you might try a brinkman lx from walmart i believe, it's a little bulkier but only 20 bucks and will give you an idea of the brightness of the surefire. Of course then again "buy quality and only cry once" as someone else on the forums says.
Let us know what you decide to do.

- Pete
 
Originally posted by im2smrt4u

Surefire:
Pros - Extremely bright.
Cons - Expensive light/batteries.

Maybe I'll sell my photons for an Arc and some money towards a Surefire. $60 is a lot of money for a flashlight, but I think my photon is pretty bright, and 40 times the power seems quite powerful!
Click to expand...
Check this out.

Architect
Gold Member

Surefire E2

I have a Surefire E2, gunmetal grey
It is in excellent condition, pretty much like new. Has made only one camping trip.
Brand spankin' new Duracell Lithium batteries with maybe 15-20 seconds of run time.
I have the original box and instruction sheet.
$50 shipped.
__________________
"Chance favors the prepared mind" - Louis Pasteur
 
That one for sale is gone, but I'm bidding on one right now. :D

So far, the cheapest batteries I've seen are on ebay, but I'm not sure about their life...has anyone used these Tekcell batteries? How were they?
 
If runtime is a issue take a look at the Inova X5, its bright and has a 20 hour burn time.
 
The Inova X5 makes an interesting supplement to the E2. It's about the same size and it runs the same lithium 123 batteries. As an LED light, though, it runs cool and lasts longer than the Surefires. In fact, you can get about ten good hours runtime off batteries your E2 has depleted!
 
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