True Stories

In September of 2000, I had the unfortunate tragedy of losing my first wife to cancer after a two-year struggle. She was only 47 at the time, and we had a 13-year-old son together. I am a law enforcement officer, and at the time I was still in a squad, working three shifts. Needless to say, it was difficult to find ways to assure my son that he was safe when I left the house.

One thing I did to help reassure him was give him my SureFire C2 Centurion to keep on his bedside nightstand the nights I was at work throughout the night. I explained to him that these were the best tools for law-enforcement officers in dark places and in low-light conditions. I also explained the tactical advantages of an intense white light when searching for things that go bump in the night.

Well, he's had that light for six yeas now, and now he's 19. Wherever he goes, so does his C2. I can't get it back now, and I don't plan to ask for it; I've moved on to another SureFire light for duty. Certainly a flashlight could never replace his mom, but I know that it provided a sense of self protection and perhaps even a sense of control during a period when life seemed so out of control for him. The C2 will likely remain with him the rest of his life, and to this day I still find it at his bedside every night.

For me, Surefire will always remain more than an illumination tool. It's more like a family thing. Thanks for providing me with just the right tool at just the right moment.

Lt. Ernie H.
Westminster, MD

It was Halloween, and my wife, my daughter, and I were out trick-or-treating. At a house next to a dark, desolate field, the homeowners told us that someone in the field was shooting a BB gun at the children walking by - one child had even been hit in the chest.

I had my SureFire C2 Centurion® with me, and I was angry at the thought of someone shooting at innocent children, so I charged into the dark field and promptly illuminated the punk, who ran off, petrified. If it weren't for my SureFire, he would've stayed hidden and continued his rampage, and a kid could've been seriously injured, but my SureFire saved the night. You've got a customer for life.

Mark S.
Sacrament, CA

I've carried my SureFire C2 Centurion® every day for over six years now while working as a flight paramedic. It's always by my side, usually in a pocket of my flight suit. I've used it to check for ice on the wings of our plane, for emergency lighting while providing care to a patient inside a smashed vehicle, to guide aircraft in to pick us up from remote scenes, and it has proven invaluable in the back of dark planes, helping to get IVs--sometimes by trans-illuminating the whole hand--into the hands of sick children. The lithium batteries work great--even in the so extreme cold of our northern winters.

I see no need to ever buy another brand of flashlight. My SureFire has to be the best there is.

Simon M.
Thunder Bay, Ontario

I'm a U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technician currently deployed to Iraq and have an incredible testimonial to tell regarding the strength, durability, and life-saving value of my SureFire C2 Centurion flashlight.

My team and I were once again called out to investigate a possible Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in the middle of the night. Due to the engulfing darkness surrounding us that night, we were only able to get halfway to the object when it became apparent the lights we had on the robot would not be sufficient. We were quickly losing visibility and didn’t want to accidentally ditch our robot in the canal we were paralleling. We drove the robot back to our truck and formulated our next plan of attack.

At this point we had several options. We could make another attempt to drive the robot down to the object with the inherent danger of losing a $150,000 robot in the canal. I had an idea I thought just might work. What if I took my SureFire flashlight, which was many times brighter than the lights that came with the robot, and merely taped it atop the camera? This could possibly light up enough of the area to get the robot downrange and keep a human life out of harm’s way.

I took the controls of the robot and guided it back down towards the package, this time having no problem cutting through the darkness, keeping the robot out of the canal, and finding our dangerous target. I remotely opened the top flap of the box and saw the explosive cargo it held and the remote firing device sitting on top of it.

That was all she wrote. The next thing I heard was a loud detonation, just as I felt the blast wave and saw the screen go blue on the robot’s console.

What our team leader found, once he got down to the site, defied any logic and completely confounded all who were there. The robot was gone, there was nothing more than a few random pieces of plastic lying around the site; that was to be expected, it was right on top of the device when it detonated. What surprised us all was the fact that my SureFire C2 Centurion flashlight was sitting about 15 feet from the detonation site almost completely unharmed (I have pictures to prove it!). The glass on the front of the flashlight was shattered and it needs a new bulb, but that was the extent of the damage.

If I hadn’t carried that flashlight and used it for an otherwise unintended purpose, we would have had to send one of my fellow soldiers down range to investigate the package. We now know that would have been the last thing he ever would have done. The sheer practicality of the flashlight enabled us to use a robot that otherwise would have been useless, and in turn saved a man’s life. That, in and of itself, makes the flashlight an invaluable tool that I will never be caught without. The fact that it can withstand a large detonation from about 2 feet away just enhances its overall attractiveness.

Philip C.
Camp Victory, Iraq

I'm a 24-year-old Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia, living at the most remote site in the country, deep in the Chokweland bush of Northwest Province. The natives call me "Tuuta," which means "giant bush rat." My primary assignment is teaching aquaculture but I try to help in every way I can: business/agriculture/forestry/AIDS/nutrition workshops, starting a nutrition center and a library, establishing a condom distribution center, and teaching a daily Hung-Gar style Kung Fu class. Anyway, I just wanted to take a little time to compliment you and thank you for making such fine lights-and to give you a story or two you might want to use on your website.

My SureFire C2 Centurion® is one of the single most useful and crucial tools I've got out here in the land of no electricity, where I'm incredibly isolated, and where things can, and often do, go unexpectedly wrong. I awoke around midnight one night to the sound of one of the many village drunks screaming like a lunatic in Chokwe outside of my mud-brick, grass-thatched, dirt-floored Chokwe hut. I got out of bed and went outside, my "luponga" (machete) in one hand and my C2 in the other. I gave him a blast from my C2 right in the eyes, and he screamed, stumbling, and shielding his eye as he ran away, shouting: "Don't light me!" in perfect English. Doubt he ever even saw my "luponga."

Another time, I sat on a bus (named "Here Comes the Lion") going from Solwezi to my village. Twenty-two hours and nine breakdowns later, at 2 a.m., the bus completely gave out 30 kilometers from my village. I'd run out of water, and the 160 crowded passengers (approximately 60 could have reasonably fit on Here Comes the Lion) were all getting a mysterious cough, one after the other. After it was announced that we'd be sleeping alongside the dirt road, in the rainy season, it looked like a mob situation was brewing.

I made the decision that walking the 30 km home with my 40 lbs. of supplies was by far the safest, most reasonable option, so, C2 in hand, I took off "pa maulu" (on foot), everyone protesting that I shouldn't go — until I showed them my C2, which threw light a lot further than "Here Comes the Lion's" headlights. Then they all went, "Ooooohhhh." I walked alone through 30 km of rural Zambia, my C2 lighting the way and keeping the wild dogs following me, growling all the while, at a reasonable distance. One blast of the C2 turned them away whenever they got too close for comfort. I also shined it on some obnoxious monkeys screaming at me from the game management area-the C2 shut them up good and fast. Six hours later, I was safely home, thanks to my C2.

Zambia is home to many deadly snakes, including the infamous black mamba. My C2 is an essential snake-spotting device whenever I'm walking the bush paths at night. It's done a great job of keeping me from stepping on the critters and has defused many a potentially deadly-snake situation.

The Type III Mil-Spec anodizing on my C2 is amazing-I've abused that light like nothing else, and it still looks and works exactly like it did the day I got it. I have a lot of fun signaling/illuminating distant Chokwe friends and neighbors at night. The first couple times I surprised them with my C2, people shouted "motorcar!" and fled, thinking my bright light was a pair of approaching headlights.

Anyway, thanks for making such a great, useful tool I can be proud to carry, and know that you're making one Peace Corps volunteers life in Zambia much safer and easier. Your light is helping me to get a lot of good work done out here. My only regret is that I didn't bring an extra SureFire flashlight with me.

Thanks again!

Jason C. (Tuuta)
Mufumbwe, Zambia

I am an aircraft maintainer in the U.S. Air Force, and in 2003 I deployed to the Middle East for the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom. One of the items I took with me, which I still keep with me to this day, was one of your C2 Centurion® flashlights. It proved to be the best tool I've ever carried. I used it for everything that I did at night, from finding my way around my tent, to fixing aircraft when our supply of issued flashlights began to run out.

The C2 proved how durable it was one night, when I was repairing an aircraft that was only a short time away from flying a vital mission. While making my repairs, I accidentally dropped the light down the crew entry hatch of the aircraft. The light fell fifteen feet onto solid concrete and landed squarely on its head. I climbed down from the aircraft expecting the lens to be busted and the bulb blown, but to my surprise, it was still on, and the only damage was a tiny scratch on its side. I picked it up and was able to continue my work without missing a beat.

I am currently back in the Middle East, on my seventh rotation, and I am still carrying my most valuable piece of equipment-my SureFire C2.

Justin W.
Wichita, KS