surefire quality question...

79mongoose · Dec 15, 2004

Hi guys, was wondering if you could help me with a question. Im considering a surefire executive elite...It puts out 15 lumes..is that bright enough for everyday chores? Im used to mag lights dd version and dont know how many they put out but they do the job. My question is this..hows the quality of a surefire...would you say its on par with a sebenza? I bought an aluminim flashlight like a surefire but was let down by its quality, it had metal shavings still on the threads...but then again it was only 15 bucks. Thanks in advance.

Minjin · Dec 15, 2004

Surefire quality is very high. That said, I wouldn't suggest an E1E for household chores. There are many far cheaper and better alternatives. Read the MANY flashlight threads just on this forum. If you want more info, candlepowerforums.com is where the buck stops.

Mark

ACMarina · Dec 15, 2004

If you're used to a 2D Maglite, hit one of the big flashlight shops online and buy an Everled for it. More brightness, same tough casing, with longer battery life. .

SIFU1A · Dec 15, 2004

imho the surefire E1e is plenty bright, about like a 2 cell maglite, i dont see why it wouldnt work fine for use around the home, probably a inova or longbow would be a little better (longer batt life for one) but they both are pretty high $$ also, really a streamlite twintask 2 123 cell would be great, thats what i use around my house, and they are about $35.

as far as quality and warranty goes SF is impeccable, cant beat them in that regard.

hamachikama · Dec 15, 2004

Just my .02 , but the surefire is probably the best light you can get. These days there are so many other companies in the market competing with Surefire, and their response to this fact seems to be that their only making their products better. That said, 15 lumens isnt too much for around the house work, but, I would suggest spending more, and getting an E2E, or an E2E Outdoorsman, if you think 60 lumens is too much light around the house. It'll come down to what you want to spend. You can get the Inova, or the Streamlight twin task, both of which are very good lights, for less. Surefires are designed for rugged use, and can withstand a good beating. My first Surefire was a 6P, I was in the Army, was Airborne, and it made every jump with me, in a pouch on my web gear, never had any problems.

Practical Use · Dec 15, 2004

Try a Surefire G2 - great light for the money - good for round the house.

thatmguy · Dec 15, 2004

+1 on the G2.

I wonder if your "around the house" needs may be better served by a less intense lighting system.

The Surefiures are great for illuminating the back yard or investigating "bumps in the night".

For around the house type stuff I would look into one of the LED offerings at Wally World. Some of them are pretty bright as well as being inexpensive.

I would still pick up a G2 though. If you have a Gander Mountain sporting goods store around, they have them on sale this week for $29.99.

I'd also compliment the G2 with an INOVA X5, maybe the X5T version. Good LED, good around the house amount of light, and, it will run on the 123 batteries that have already been used in your G2.....

TPU · Dec 15, 2004

I own Surefire lights: E1e, E2e, C2, M2, and M3. I originally purchased the C2, that was the only Surefire I planned to buy. but I can't stop, Oh God!. . . . .can someone help me. Surefire backs their products very well. An example: I purchased a turbo head for my M2, the bulb burnt out in just a couple minutes of operation (bulb price was about $15 or $20 bucks). I called them and explained the problem, and they sent me a replacement bulb at no charge. I like the LED heads for the E1e and E2e,(you can use the same LED head for the E1e or E2e) they are bright enough for me for night time use, and NEVER burn out.

ACMarina · Dec 16, 2004

That M Guy is right. If you shopped around you could maybe work your way into a G2 and an X5T for under $50. To me, unless I'm hunting in the house the G2 is too bright, and the X5T is just perfect for those low lighting flood opportunities.

If you wanted to drop a little more coin you could go for a little more in the surefire, maybe an X5T-HA if you can find it. Or an A2 Surefire Aviator

ZENGHOST · Dec 16, 2004

79mongoose said:
Hi guys, was wondering if you could help me with a question. Im considering a surefire executive elite...It puts out 15 lumes..is that bright enough for everyday chores?

What are "everyday chores?" Did you want to EDC the light, or just have it sitting in the house somewhere?

I just went walking around my house with my E1E and to me it's plenty bright--the only thing I have a problem with is that I'm 95% LED so I can't stand looking at incan lights--just not white enough for me. I think the E1E with KL1 is better for all around use as it has more flood. I like the L4 the best for an EDC light, but you can hardly argue with the G2 for its price and the amount of light it puts out, but I would prefer the E2E over the G2 just for it's smaller size and its ease of carry.

My question is this..hows the quality of a surefire...would you say its on par with a sebenza?

I wouldn't say that the Surefires are equal to Sebenza quality simply because the Sebenza's are custom (or at least semi-custom), while the Surefires are full production, but they are top quality flashlights, and possibly the best quality of all the current production flashlights.

I bought an aluminim flashlight like a surefire but was let down by its quality, it had metal shavings still on the threads...but then again it was only 15 bucks. Thanks in advance.

You cannot compare a Surefire to a $15 "aluminum flashlight like a Surefire." That's like comparing a $5 "knife like a Benchmade" to a real Benchmade.

ErikD · Dec 16, 2004

I recently got a Surefire E2e HA, and I am very impressed with the quality. It is a great light, very bright yet light and small enough to comfortably carry everyday.

As to if it is good for around the hous would really depend on what around the house use means. If it is just sitting around for occasional emergancy use, say a power outage, then I think they are great. Like I said they are plenty bright, but an even better point is that they use lithium batteries which can sit around longer without losing charge. If it is soimething that will be getting lots of use on a daily basis then it would really depend on your pocket. The down side to the lithium batteries is that they are pretty expensive.

With that in mind I find that mine works just fine for everyday tasks.