Surefire Titan AAA (300 lumens?!?)

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MatthewSB

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Feb 1, 2013
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Anyone see that Surefire is about to release their AAA powered Titan, two of them actually?

There's a 125 lumen version for $60 and a 300 lumen version for $100. Both are designed to run on alkaline, lithium, or rechargeable batteries. Runtimes and modes are still up in the air, they keep changing the spec's, but I'm excited. These cost more than the imported AAA LED lights, but I don't have to worry about busting the lens from being smushed against my keys in my pocket all day, SF's warranty service is incredibly convenient and fast.
 
300 lumens from a 1.2-1.5v AAA? I'm skeptical, but if it's real, I'm getting one.
 
Planterz said:
300 lumens from a 1.2-1.5v AAA? I'm skeptical, but if it's real, I'm getting one.
Click to expand...

I'm skeptical as well, but Surefire has traditionally been conservative in their lumens ratings.

I read that the body is made of brass and nickel plated, something about they needed more conductivity to draw enough juice fast enough to maintain the 300 lumens.
 
From:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?396151-*NEW*-Surefire-Titan-A-%281*AAA-15-125-lumen%29

2 versions:
Titan a, - 125 lumens 30 minutes, 15 lumens 45 hrs*
Titan +, - 300 lumens ? minutes, 15 lumens 2 hrs

[video=youtube;9pPoYh1Nfo0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pPoYh1Nfo0&Videofeature=player_detailpage#t=185[/video]
Titans showed at 3:05

Seems like a silly light to me. Unnecessarily high high at the expense of a short low. The 300 lumen max can't possibly last long before being force to step down by battery drain and heat issues. Personally I'd grab a light with a more powerful cell if I needed something that bright.

*I am suspicious about this number but gave it as presented in the source... 4.5 hrs @ 15 lumens would be more believable.
 
Last edited:
sideways said:
*I am suspicious about this number but gave it as presented in the source... 4.5 hrs @ 15 lumens would be more believable.
Click to expand...

I think I read a revised number for the low mode of 10 hours from a lithium cell. It's confusing because these are supposed to be supplied with rechargeable cells, but they don't always specify which numbers are for which cells, runtime will vary greatly going from lithium to NiMH to leaky alkaline.

I'm getting both versions, I'll end up leaving them clicked to low mode but I like the idea of a 15 lumen light that has the option of getting crazy bright if needed. 15-40 lumens is perfect for 99% of my needs, and an AAA light with a tiny diameter and a pocket clip should be very pocketable. I dig my EB1T, but end up using the 5 lumen low mode 99% of the time and rarely find a need for a 200 lumen blast of light so it's hard to justify such a large diameter light in my pocket.

This will easily replace my Streamlight MicroStream that I've been using on and off for the last year or more. It's been a great light, but the high mode and Surefire warranty will be a huge step up.
 
In case anyone is interested, the 125 lumen version is in stock in some places and shipping now.

They updated the output for the Titan-A (15/125 lumen) to 17 hours on low mode with a lithium battery, not bad at all.
 
Pass for me. I very rarely use the 130 lumen setting on my light. 300 with a short burn time is not really interesting to me. They really should do something like a 60 lumen high and a power saving mode of 10 lumens or less. High output isn't what a AAA light is for IMO. They should concentrate on extending the burn time and not increasing the power output. Cool but not practical as an EDC for what I need a light for. I like surefire a lot but none of their lights work for me.
 
Does anyone know if the 300lm model will work with a 10440. It would be very interesting if it would.
 
Got my Titan-A. It's very small, same size as most other AAA pocketlights. Twist once for 15 lumen low mode, twist off and turn back on again for the 125 lumen high mode. Tint is very slightly yellowish, just a little bit "warm" which is what I prefer.

The most noticeable thing about this light is the reflector - it is extremely floody. Playing around in the storage garage, it is extremely easy to get around with the 15 lumen setting, peripheral vision is great. Actually, not sure that I'll ever really use the 125 lumen high mode, but it's nice to know it's there if I do need it.

The Titan-A is on my keychain, where it will remain. It'll be interesting to see how the finish holds up. I'm looking forward to giving the 300 lumen version a try, they should be out any day now...
 
MatthewSB said:
I'm skeptical as well, but Surefire has traditionally been conservative in their lumens ratings.

I read that the body is made of brass and nickel plated, something about they needed more conductivity to draw enough juice fast enough to maintain the 300 lumens.
Click to expand...

No offense, but nickel plated brass has absolutely no conductivity benefits over aluminum at the tiny currents used in this light. A 16 GA aluminum wire is more than conductive enough, so an aluminum body would be too. Brass was probably used for mass, to improve the feel of heft/quality.
 
I'm also skeptical about 300 lumens. Even assuming a generous 90 lumens per watt efficacy on the LED and driver circuit, from a 1.6V battery, that works out to over 2 amps of current, and even more as the cell discharges and the voltage drops. I doubt a AAA battery can source anywhere near that much.
 
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