True Stories

We were heading out to a rural village on the Tibetan Plateau (altitude approximately 14,000 feet) in our Chinese jeep to conduct some village doctor training. By nightfall, still several hours from our destination, the alternator died. So we were forced to cut the lights and drive by starlight (it was a moonless night) in order to conserve enough battery power to run the sparkplugs. As the road wound through a tortuous mountain pass, we slowed to a snail's pace. While the driver struggled to see the way up ahead, I pulled out my SureFire L1 Digital LumaMax® and we all breathed a sigh of relief. We could easily see the winding curves of the dirt road as we descended to the valley floor. That LumaMax was the only thing that got us safely down from that mountain pass!

Rex C.
Niles, MI

One summer, about a year ago, I was visiting my mother in Mexico. When I was planning the trip, I had to decide whether to take my SureFire 8NX Nitrolon® Commander® or my 6P™ Original. I opted for my 6P retrofitted with the 120- lumen bulb because, if I needed it, it would only be in an emergency. Well, I couldn't have been more correct.

While in Mexico there was a fierce storm and, as often happens, the electricity was knocked out. One night we were sitting around the dinner table enjoying the thunder storm by candlelight when we heard screams of horror coming from the street. I went out to investigate, but not before I grabbed my 6P with two extra batteries taped to it. I got to the scene to find several people looking down a hole in the ground. A little boy had fallen down into the hole, which was about twelve feet deep and three feet wide. It had been dug for a light pole earlier in the day. The hole was filling with water.

Everyone had these cheap emergency flashlights until I showed up with this high-tech flashlight that really illuminated the inside of the hole. We were able to calm down the agitated boy, lower a heavy gage rope, then pull him out after about 30 minutes. I'll have you know that my flashlight was the only source of light needed to affect the rescue. There were about 10 flashlights there, and the only time they were used after I got there was when I switched "123" batteries after about 15 minutes of continuous use. It was a great use of those batteries, and I was very proud to have used a great tool, my SureFire 6P. I'll always remember how much it helped.

Alex L.
LaVerne, CA

I love to travel in the national parks of Thailand. I buy a lot of camping goods. I’ve been using my beloved SureFire 6P Original model for a year now. It is very compact and convenient to put in my bag everywhere I go.

My original intention for purchasing the 6P was as an attachment for my handgun, but I find it is good for traveling too.

Sakchai T.
Roi-Ed, Thailand

I am a crew member with a major airline and fly internationally. A few months ago, I was flying and laying over in Cali, Colombia. The Colombian people are some of the friendliest in the world, but it can also be a very dangerous place, as most people are aware.

One evening, we were picked up at the airport by our contracted van, and we began making our way to the hotel. Everyone cringed when we discovered, to the surprise of the driver, that we had run out of gas! It was late, and we didn't want to be sitting ducks in a van pulled off the dark road, so I pulled out my U2 Ultra and, like a row of nocturnal ducks, we headed down the road to the nearest phone.

The light from my U2 on full power made our walk safer, and instead of dread, the experience took on a comical aspect. The rest of the crew had taken out their two-AA-cell flashlights the FAA requires crews to carry, but they quickly put them away with disgust and embarrassment. Anyway, we made it to the hotel safely, and the experienced quickly assuaged any doubt I had about spending almost $300 for a flashlight.

Nothing even remotely compares to these lights for power and reliability.

Kevin S.
Sunrise, FL

On Christmas of 2005, I met my neighbor’s son — he was going to Costa Rica with his girlfriend, who studies snakes. He was curious about the flashlight in my hands; I was holding a U2 Ultra. I said, “Sorry, you can’t have my U2, but I can lend you my E1L Outdoorsman with SC3 spares carrier.”

Two weeks later, I ran into his dad, and he said, “Wait ‘til you hear the story of Scott’s trip.” It seems they took a walk at night with a guide and some tourist to look at the wildlife. The guide’s light went out, and Scott, with his SureFire, saved the day. Without it they may’ve stepped on some serious poisonous snakes and spiders. Scott later told me he had all of the young ladies holding onto him because he was the only one with a light. In his own words: “This light is a babe magnet!”

He has since purchased an E1L for himself — I wanted mine back. Right on, SureFire.

Thierry L.
Fort Bragg, CA

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

My December 29, 2005 trip to Phnom Penh, Cambodia for my wedding was phenomenal. The marriage was performed outside on a beautiful, moonless night. Unfortunately, after the wedding, one of our wedding guests had an accident when their motorbike plunged into a canal nearby. Two people were injured, but to add insult to injury, one of the victims also lost her bracelet.

One of the passengers asked me if he could use my SureFire L4 Lumamax™ to search for the lost bracelet. He was amazed by the brightness of the L4. He said that, as soon as he turned on the flashlight, the powerful L4 reflected off the bracelet, making it look like it was floating on the water.

Now I have more love for my L4, and I’m looking forward to investing in an M6® Guardian®. (Hopefully without end up in the divorce court.)

Anthony P.
Saint Paul, MN

When I had to spend a few weeks in a small farming town in the Philippines, my M3 Combatlight® was the first thing I packed. Partly because I knew there would be no streetlights, but mainly for its defense capabilities. I have to say, I never knew that a good torch would be so useful.

When my wife didn't want to walk along the beach at night because she wasn't sure who might be lurking in the dark, out came the M3 to light up the beach and reassure her. When a ride through the country on a tricycle (a motorcycle & sidecar used as a taxi) got a bit dangerous due to a weak headlight on the bike, out popped the M3 to get us home safely. Shining a weaker torch on the rocks caused all the crabs to run and hide, but under the glare of the M3 they didn't move, and soon wound up in the cooking pot.

I'm not sure whether the few times I shined it at approaching men helped to change the minds of some who may have otherwise thought about mugging me, but looking at the surprise on their faces when we passed, it may well have. I can say without a doubt, however, that the M3 did save me from injury. Walking back to the house one night, a wild dog started towards us, barking with its fangs bared. I managed to pull the M3 from my pocket just in time, and when I shined it at the dog, now too close for comfort, he just stopped dead in his tracks and stared into the light. After a few seconds he turned and walked away, shaking his head to clear his vision.

I can honestly tell you that now I will never go on holiday, or even walk around an unknown area at night, without my M3 resting in my pocket.

Jay R.
Ashford, Middlesex UK

As a U.S. military dependent currently living in Germany, I've had the opportunity to travel to more than 17 countries in 4 Continents in the past couple of years. Over the course of these travels, my Surefire Z2, has proven to be an invaluable resource. Whether lighting up darkened tunnels in the Pyramids of Egypt, navigating through the streets of Rome, or sailing the canals of Venice, my Surefire has proven to be a durable and faithful tool. Traveling the world has been an amazing experience that's been enriched because the Surefire has been at my side. My Surefire has endured over 80,000 miles of travel (equivalent to more than THREE times around the Earth) and all the wear and tear that comes with it. Even through all this travel, I have yet to come upon any problems whatsoever with your product. Thank you for all of the time and effort that you put into your products. It makes everything from travelling the world, to walking the dog, all the more easy and enjoyable.

Ken L.
Germany

Great Bait for Fishermen I just recently got back from vacationing in Spain with my family. Well one night we all decided to have a picnic on the beach in Valencia. We watched the sunset and my wife, father, and sister decided to go check out the surf. It being dark I handed my father my E1L Outdoorsman to navigate by. My mother and I watched them slowly make their way to the surf (which was easy because we could see the E1L's beam).

As they were standing there a group of Spanish fishermen totally went wild over the light. My sister came running back and said they wanted to know what kind of light it was and where they could get one! Well, they wouldn't give the light back until they had SureFire's website address! So you may be getting a lot of inquires about your products from southern Spain soon!

Kelly M.
Sacramento, CA

I'm a pastor from Kentucky and am part of team of people who go to Botswana, Africa, for evangelistic purposes. My most recent trip was my fifth time to Botswana, and each trip has taught me the importance of being prepared for the living conditions encountered in Africa. One essential in Africa is a good light source, as the villages where I am assigned have no electricity or other modern conveniences that we take for granted in the States.

Luckily, I've never encountered any four-legged threats on any of my trips, but the treat of poisonous snakes is very real, as the area that I travel has a high concentration of puff adders, cobras, and black mambas. It's very comforting to be able to "light up the night" as I walk back in the evening from the tent where services are held nightly. During one evening service, I even used my SureFire to light up the Bible for the kids seated around me to follow along as the scriptures were read

I just want to say that you guys make the finest lighting products on the face of the planet.

Pastor Kenny D.
Berea, KY