User Panel
Posted: 3/29/2023 10:18:26 PM EDT
My first Surefire (Laser Products marked) light was the shit at 60 lumens!
First WML was an HK UTL that cost half as much as my USP 45. Lost my first 6Z (a ton of $ at the time) in a bar fight. $12 for 60 minute run time batteries, in the 90s. Now, looking for more TLR-1 WMLs at 300 lumens to not be blinded by the $10 more 1000 lumens HLs indoors. Yeah, I'm old... |
|
I remember that Glock used to have first-party WMLs that were dog crap by today's standards.
|
|
|
Lumens suck. It includes frequencies that humans cannot see.
Candelas measure what humans can see. |
|
Quoted: My first Surefire (Laser Products marked) light was the shit at 60 lumens! First WML was an HK UTL that cost half as much as my USP 45. Lost my first 6Z (a ton of $ at the time) in a bar fight. $12 for 60 minute run time batteries, in the 90s. Now, looking for more TLR-1 WMLs at 300 lumens to not be blinded by the $10 more 1000 lumens HLs indoors. Yeah, I'm old... View Quote 100 lumens was a dream. |
|
So much $ spent on new LED drop in modules and getting lights bored to take 18650s in the following years...
Still amazed that my Surefire lights beat my 3D Maglights at the time... |
|
Still have a 6z and a 9z. They’ve been converted to Malkoff, so better.
|
|
Double the lumens but still pretty dim.
I wish I would have kept one or two just for nostalgia Attached File |
|
Really it was less about the lumens than how much damage you can do with a 4D Maglite.
|
|
Quoted: Now, looking for more TLR-1 WMLs at 300 lumens to not be blinded by the $10 more 1000 lumens HLs indoors. View Quote https://www.ebay.com/itm/404222269933 |
|
|
I remember the E2D Executive Defender was like $150 for 90 lumens, back in 2007
|
|
SureFire G2 Nitrolon. I thought it was the shit. I've lost 2 of them they were great at the time. Junk by today's standards
|
|
I was at a Awerbuck shotgun class when a Surefire employee showed up with a bag full of pre production LED conversion lamps. He handed them out for free and asked up to swap out the lamps in our lights. They were not any brighter but sure improved battery life.
|
|
|
Remember this?
Night Ops Gladius - Multi-function LED Flashlight |
|
|
|
Surefire 9P was 100 lumens IIRC. Took 3 cells versus 2 in 6P permutations. Shortened runtime. 20 mins instead of 60.
Now that was a cool upgrade. Oh and the bulbs frequently burned out. there is something depressingly nostalgic about these old incans. The lost age of innocence. |
|
I remember taking my first handgun night shoot class with a 6Z, where Rogers and Harris technique were taught...
Am I an old fart? |
|
I still use a A2 “aviator”. Their first digital regulated light with a dual function tail cap
|
|
Quoted: My first Surefire (Laser Products marked) light was the shit at 60 lumens! First WML was an HK UTL that cost half as much as my USP 45. Lost my first 6Z (a ton of $ at the time) in a bar fight. $12 for 60 minute run time batteries, in the 90s. Now, looking for more TLR-1 WMLs at 300 lumens to not be blinded by the $10 more 1000 lumens HLs indoors. Yeah, I'm old... View Quote Remember when having a rechargeable Maglight with a halogen bulb was a status symbol? |
|
Quoted: I remember the E2D Executive Defender was like $150 for 90 lumens, back in 2007 View Quote I had one of those, still have it actually. I put a malkoff head on it, my wife uses it when she takes the dogs out at night. My edc light is a E2D LED (500 lumens I think) that I got during the infamous Black Friday “ALLTHELUMENS” sale. Also had a Z2, a 6P, and a G2 nitrolon First pistol light I carried at work was an insight M3, swapped the incan head out for a led. Had a surefire forend for my 870 at the time, that was an LED. Our gunsmith used to cut our 870 barrels to 14.5” because of the head of the flashlight on the surefire foreends protruded past the end of the barrel it’d blow the incandescent bulb when fired |
|
|
|
Surefire 6Z the pinnacle of small flashlights, circa 1996. I still have mine. It's fucking terrible and much brighter than the moonbeams we had in the Corps.
Attached File Attached File |
|
Yep
I still have my original 6P from the 90s Finally put a led head in it about 6 years ago |
|
Quoted: Double the lumens but still pretty dim. I wish I would have kept one or two just for nostalgia https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/132893/Surefire_png-2763482.JPG View Quote I have a couple of those. Malkoff makes an absolute bulletproof drop in LED conversion that bumps it from 120 lumen stock to a conservative 450 lumen LED. You’re not going to burn paint off something with it, but it brings it up to modern light levels. |
|
|
|
Yup.
One year I got my whole family Surefires.. Got E2E incan's for my parents, and G2 Incans for my sisters, all 60L. My moms is still on her original bulb. But my father has upgraded everyone to LED's over the years. |
|
Quoted: My first Surefire (Laser Products marked) light was the shit at 60 lumens! First WML was an HK UTL that cost half as much as my USP 45. Lost my first 6Z (a ton of $ at the time) in a bar fight. $12 for 60 minute run time batteries, in the 90s. Now, looking for more TLR-1 WMLs at 300 lumens to not be blinded by the $10 more 1000 lumens HLs indoors. Yeah, I'm old... View Quote I thought I was cock of the walk when I was the first guy on our department to get a 60 lumens light. Everyone wanted to see how bright is was. |
|
|
Quoted: Still have my 6P. It was amazing then. Not so much now. View Quote Same, I still have mine. Bought it before I deployed to Iraq and wore it on my belt the whole time. Don't use it anymore, but won't part with it for sentimental purposes. I remember my platoon sergeant back then was big on telling everyone, "don't run out and buy a bunch of gear for deployment". He saw one day I had that Surefire which I want to say was around $60 at the time and sighed like I wasted my money. When we arrived in Kuwait, it was nighttime and I remember the whole battalion's gear was unloaded and just spread out over a large area in the sand. We each had two duffles, a trunk, and a ruck. A lot of people were given these tiny POS keychain lights that they'd hang on the back of their lapel by the unit I guess; I never got one. But anyway everyone was running around this dim area with these tiny junk lights trying to find their names on the tags of all the luggage. People were yelling names out as they'd read them, it was fairly chaotic. I had tied some white flagging to my stuff so it stood out from everyone else's. I stood in one spot and lit up the whole field with that 6P, picked out all my pieces of gear instantly, while blinding a few people and hearing a lot of, "holy shit, what is that light?". Grabbed my stuff, and then people were coming up to me asking if I could light up different areas of the field to find their stuff. |
|
My first real weapon light was a Surefire M952. I think it was 125 lumens. My most recent light purchase has 10 times the lumens and probably 50 times the candela.
|
|
I still have my 6z lights. I dropped a Malkoff M61 in them and they now put out a serviceable 450 lumens. Damned good lights and very reliable.
|
|
I just ordered the Malkov 450 lumen drop in bulb. Thanks guys!
|
|
|
Still rocking an E2L outdoorsman as one of my house general purpose lights. This one is third gen, it was the first one after the 30L square beamed E2L outdoorsman.
"45" Lumens... Surefire lumens, so most tested 60+ lumens. 9hrs flat regulated too. Attached File |
|
Quoted: My first Surefire (Laser Products marked) light was the shit at 60 lumens! First WML was an HK UTL that cost half as much as my USP 45. Lost my first 6Z (a ton of $ at the time) in a bar fight. $12 for 60 minute run time batteries, in the 90s. Now, looking for more TLR-1 WMLs at 300 lumens to not be blinded by the $10 more 1000 lumens HLs indoors. Yeah, I'm old... View Quote When I got the upgrade to 90 lumens I thought I was living large. |
|
View Quote I had one of the BSA ones I bought at the trading post my first year at scout camp. Loved that thing until it broke two weeks later. Cheap piece of shit. |
|
Wait, I'm OLD? I had a 6P in a scope ring on my brand new M-4 back in the day.
|
|
Quoted: My first Surefire (Laser Products marked) light was the shit at 60 lumens! First WML was an HK UTL that cost half as much as my USP 45. Lost my first 6Z (a ton of $ at the time) in a bar fight. $12 for 60 minute run time batteries, in the 90s. Now, looking for more TLR-1 WMLs at 300 lumens to not be blinded by the $10 more 1000 lumens HLs indoors. Yeah, I'm old... View Quote Lol. Somewhere in the house, I still have Surefire's 1st ever foray into LEDs (IIRC); the KL1 LED module. 15 lumens Then again, I'm old enough to have carried the original Maglite Solitaire, when those first came out. By the time LED lights were common, I remember a joke on Candlepowerforums about the Solitaire, "Oh those. About as bright as a lit match, but with less runtime" |
|
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.