Surefire T1A - worth the price?

Sevorius said:
I think what Gnius is saying is that its a bad idea to actuate the Piston Drive underwater right? (I had suspected as much but never tested it myself) Actuating the piston causes the piston's O-ring to move which could let a small amount of water in, but this should not be a problem even if you are using it as a dive light because the SmartPD series of lights can also be turned on/off using the twisty function which will bypass that particular situation entirely. I wouldn't mind seeing Nitecore use a rubber seal over the piston button like clicky lights do for an added level of insurance though. 4sevens is coming out with their own series of lights soon called Quarks, and the specs and prices on them sound like a very good bargain.
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You describe ONE of the problems I've encountered. As you've pointed out, actuating the piston drive underwater causes a small amount of water to enter the light.

However, what bothers me a lot more, is the (even smaller) amount of water that enters the head assembly when submerged. This is not due to the piston drive, but rather to the lack of a lip against which the lens can be secured with an o-ring. As I've mentioned before, the floating lens is a design oversight. I've sent the diagram of the problem, and the explanation of why this cannot be solved without changing the design of the light to Nitecore, and was told they'd look into it.
 
Love Surefire. Excellent quality and people. Only problem is it's hard to find their lights in stock!

The T1A is a nice light, but I've got a couple more to grab before that one. I've never really been into keychain lights, but if I did get one, that'd be it.
 
i have a few nitecore lights, the ex10, d20, and an early ndi.

the ndi is easily the most reliable. brightness level always remains and the switch is simple.

the ex10 has given me some issues. it tends to switch brightness levels on its own, i then have to reset by toggling the switch. it does this especially when in the momentary on setting, but also when set to constant on (bezel tightened all the way). ive tried carrying it at work because of its size and brightness, but the reliability issue makes this unlikely.

my d20 also has the same issues with changing brightness settings, though not nearly as frequently. i have it set to constant on, and it has been very reliable.

my biggest complaint is with the clip. the screws are too small and they back out if not loctited in. also, if you're not careful, the heads are easy to strip with the provided hex key. ive replaced the screws on both my ex10 and d20 once each.

im convinced that fenix and nitecore are way ahead of surefire regarding led technology. it seems you can order a brand new nitecore, and within a couple weeks they have already upgraded the bulb or circuitry. pretty impressive, although like me, you end up with a bunch of similar lights.

i love my surefires, i own many. but until they can compete with fenix/nitecore's led's, ill probably stay away. especially since i can buy the latter for far less money and sort of "self beta test" w/o having dropped to much cash.

btw, i just ordered an nex r2. the bezel brightness adjustment should solve my issues with the changing settings. ill keep you folks posted when it arrives.
 
Might be picking up a SF E2D LED for a good price on the exchange. I've always wanted one, couldn't resist. Will definitely be picking up a Nitecore as well though, soon. Especially with all the good reports in this thread. Thanks everyone for the discussion.

And gnius, ah, so the problem is also with submersion as well. I'll keep this in mind :thumbup:.
 
coltsfan said:
Actually IMO Sure Fire is a way over hyped light, I have owned many,many flashlights over the years including 20+ surfire lights.....I think you would be better off and money in your pocket ordering something else, Fenix are very nice, many others out there cheaper and IMO better lights for the money.
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Why would you have bought and owned 20+ Surefires if you think they are way over hyped? Anything I think is overhyped wont get more than one purchase...?
 
I saw the Titan at Blade and have to admit that I was very impressed. That instant adjustability by twisting the head is friggin slick. I know that sounds like a lot of lights out there, so I will try to explain a bit further. When you twist the head, the light IMMEDIATELY changes brightness, so as you tighten the head, it gets brighter, and when you loosen the head, it gets dimmer. I'm sure there is a video on youtube that shows it better. They say it has something like 1000 levels of possible brightness.

The price is really tough to swallow though. The lumens it puts out are also not very impressive, especially considering that it has a lithium battery in there. I am not sure why they did not up the lumens, but I'm guessing they had heat issues with a light that small. I am working on becoming a dealer for them so maybe I can get one cheaper. :D

I think Surefire makes some really nice niche type lights, like the Kroma, X400, Aviator, etc., but like others have said, they just cannot keep up with the Asian companies in terms of regular flashlights. I will admit that the Vampire that Surefire has coming out with the dual white and infrared LED looks pretty awesome for military folks.

Regarding Nitecore, they do make some nice lights. The Defender Infinity is still one of my favorite lights and has one of the best interfaces out there, in my opinion. I also had the D10 and EX10 when the first came out, but immediately turned around and sold them. I did not like the UI and lack of a solid tactile feedback on the piston at all. I found the Liteflux LF5XT to be a better light in the metal button arena, but Liteflux makes what are easily the most complex lights out there if you want to get into programming them.
 
Wow Storl, good stuff. :thumbup: And I'll have to keep an eye on your site :)

And MorimotoM, that's a nice perk!

Picked up the SF E2DL off the exchange, really excited to get it. Fenix LD01 and a Nitecore are next :cool::D
 
storl said:
I saw the Titan at Blade and have to admit that I was very impressed. That instant adjustability by twisting the head is friggin slick. I know that sounds like a lot of lights out there, so I will try to explain a bit further. When you twist the head, the light IMMEDIATELY changes brightness, so as you tighten the head, it gets brighter, and when you loosen the head, it gets dimmer. I'm sure there is a video on youtube that shows it better. They say it has something like 1000 levels of possible brightness.
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That level of adjustability and UI is great, but there's absolutely no excuse why (aside from a few small custom shops light Gatlight) the flashlight industry hasn't been using it for years. For $3 you can get a switch that works just like that to replace a wall switch for a light in your house. The technology is not that complicated. They could have had dozens of flashlights like this years ago.

As we can reliably expect from Surefire, this light will be very high quality, very well made, will be reliable; and will be more expensive, larger, dimmer, and have shorter runtime than the Chinese competition.

And for those who think this T1A Titan is expensive, remember that this is a discount version of SF's original Titan, which was not as bright, and originally sold for $500, and after they sold out, one went for $1,000 on eBay.
 
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