<Insert Profanity Here> SureFire problem

dougo83

dougo83

Joined
Feb 28, 2008
Messages
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I just picked up a SureFire G2 a few weeks ago and have had nothing but good luck with it. However, it decided today to just stop working. Almost new light, new batteries and no light. I used it last night at work and it still had a fairly strong beam then. Rolled out of bed for my shift tonight and I get nothing. The bulb looks fine and shows no signs of being burned out. Any ideas as to what is wrong? Should I just send it to SureFire and have them warranty it out?

In the meantime, I will be carrying a little Coleman MAX "120 lumen" LED. Bright enough, but I have never been a fan of LED's.

ETA: I forgot to add that I swapped the batteries twice with no result. Since I just got the light, I am not about to drop $20 on a bulb that may or may not fix it. Off to SF it goes.
 
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Look over the bulb again, look over the batteries, if you have other batts, swap them and try it. If none of that works, send it back, it's not worth the continuing aggravation.
 
Do the obvious and change out the batteries, then the bulb, just to see if it makes a difference, then worry about warranty.
 
also be sure to recycle those lithium batteries ;)


but yea, the surefires are made to either be "on" or "off" it's not like they'll slowly fade as batteries wear out.

but either way, surefire has a pretty good reputation for their warranty. if you send it back i bet you'll get it back quick, and in working or new condition.
 
Ok...SureFire is sending out new lamps for me this week. I called them and, after trying a new bulb, new batteries, and bypassing the tailcap switch, they decided that I got a defective bulb. Hope it works. This is one helluva light for what I paid.
 
Well...SureFire wasn't sure what had happened, according to my e-mail, so they sent me both the bulb and tailcap gratis.
 
If something goes wrong they will take care of you. Why didn't you go for the LED version though?
 
Surefire incan lamps are NOT ment for long burn times, on off on off tactical type use is what they were designed for. IIRC 20 hours is the expected life for most of them and usually your lucky to get that.

I understand your reasons for not liking LED's but you should really look into malkoff warm tint drop-in's, IMO just as good as incan.
 
I've got a few different SF's and I really like them. My first was a G2 incan that has been through hell and back and is still going strong....
The only issue I had was like yours, it quit working. After replacing the lamp and batteries, I called SF. Come to find out they had a bad batch of tailcaps during a certain period. They sent out a new one, and it hasn't missed a lick...
You are correct, it is a lot of light for the money. The only light I have that I use more is my E2E, and thats just because of its easy to carry size.

Hope the new parts fix yours.
 
Josh K said:
If something goes wrong they will take care of you. Why didn't you go for the LED version though?
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For a couple of reasons. I have difficulty distinguishing what I am viewing under LED light. I know some are better than others, but it is an issue I have had. It is also very difficult to read when I am out and about under the blazing white light. Also, the light was the one that Whiskey River happened to have for sale in the Exchange.
 
knifenut1013 said:
Surefire incan lamps are NOT ment for long burn times, on off on off tactical type use is what they were designed for. IIRC 20 hours is the expected life for most of them and usually your lucky to get that.

I understand your reasons for not liking LED's but you should really look into malkoff warm tint drop-in's, IMO just as good as incan.
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I cannot really justify a $50-odd bulb for a $35 flashlight. It just doesn't seem to make good sense.
 
$50 is a small price to pay considering it will last you the rest of your life.
 
dougo83 said:
I cannot really justify a $50-odd bulb for a $35 flashlight. It just doesn't seem to make good sense.
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You can't think of your flashlight as the whole package. Yes, without it's separate parts it will not work, but the lamp is that bulb. For $50 on a Malkoff Devices bulb you're essentially getting a completely new flashlight, and it has more lumens, uses the batteries more efficiently, and because it's not filament driven like an incandescent bulb, it will last longer and withstand more.

It's an upgrade!
 
somber said:
You can't think of your flashlight as the whole package. Yes, without it's separate parts it will not work, but the lamp is that bulb. For $50 on a Malkoff Devices bulb you're essentially getting a completely new flashlight, and it has more lumens, uses the batteries more efficiently, and because it's not filament driven like an incandescent bulb, it will last longer and withstand more.

It's an upgrade!
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It definitely is an upgrade. You can even choose from different styles of beam.
At least you could before, I haven't been following torches very closely for awile
 
i havent a clue as to why your eyes dont like LED lite but i know once i got a good LED lite (ie several fenix's, a L2 and L4 SF to name a few) i would never buy another incan.

FWIW i have had a bulb go bad on my Z3 and i couldnt see anything at all wrong w/it but that was the problem, i dont know how long the incans are saupposed to last but my M2 still has the original bulb and i got it in '99 or so and a lot of batts have gone thru that thing lol, literally dozens.

imho LED is the way to go, better batt life, 110% more rugged, plenty bright (some of the old ones were not but the new ones are for sure) i dont see anything not to like but to each there own i suppose.

hey, do ya live in austin? i live in round rock FWIW........
 
No incan love? I use a G2 with the LF ES-9 bulb for a main flashlight and the quark 123 regular as a low output option/backup.
 
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