True Stories

While supervising a job in the oilfields overseas, things started going wrong with the cement mixer. I climbed on top to help, when one of the hoses busted, knocking the tank light off. So I pulled out my SureFire A2 Aviator® to illuminate the mixer while we worked on the problem.

After we fixed the problem with the mixer, one of the employees asked to see my flashlight so he could keep an eye on the level of slurry in the tank. When I handed him my light, he dropped it into the slurry. I had to laugh because I knew the slurry was being pumped into the oil well, and all I could think about was how dark it is 11,000 feet underground and how my Aviator would be lighting up the bottom of the well. The next day, an operator came in, holding my flashlight - it was scratched to hell and dinged up, with bits of hard cement still on it. The operator told me that when they flushed the lines he saw it on the edge of the pit. I turned it on, but it didn't work, so I changed the batteries and, sure enough, it fired right up!

That was two years ago. That same flashlight is still working and goes with me on every job - I just don't let anyone borrow it anymore.

Shannon S.
Duncan, OK

I own two different SureFire lights--a 9AN Commander® and an E2E Executive Elite®. As a truck driver, I use both almost every day. I was working around my truck one night, and while hooking up to a new trailer, I set my 9AN down on the catwalk of my tractor, right behind the cab. As I was finishing up, another driver walked over and started talking to me, and I went over to his truck to lend him a hand. I got back into my truck and started to drive away, when I realized I didn't have my Commander! I jumped out of the truck to discover it had off the catwalk, rolled under the truck, and was now under the second set of drive tires, supporting approximately 33,000 pounds of weight! Amazingly, all it did to my light was put a few scratches on the body.

I still use my 9AN every day and haven't had a single problem with it since that night -- it even still has the original lamp in it. Now I'll never go anywhere without a SureFire flashlight on me. I've since bought an E1E for the glove box of my wife's car, and I'm getting another one for my mother and sister. Thanks, SureFire.

David P.
Utica, MI

I'm an animal control officer, and recently I responded to a call at 2:00 am for an aggressive pit bull. I apprehended the dog with the help of m 9P® Original flashlight, which I always carry with me.

Placing the light on the back of my tailgate so I had a hand free to put the dog in my truck, I forgot to grab my light before backing out. I heard a crunch and saw something black in the driveway. When I saw it was my SureFire, I instantly thought of my wife strangling me, because she'd said I was crazy for spending so much on a flashlight. I picked up the flashlight and pressed the button, and, to my amazement, it lit up! It has a few scratches, but let me tell you, I have never seen anything as durable and built with as much quality as these SureFires. Not to mention how bright the lights are.

Thanks, SureFire, for keeping me out of the doghouse for a few nights.

Wes S.
Albemarle, NC

The durability of my SureFire E2E Executive Elite® was tested in a harsh civilian circumstance during a recent camping trip. My E2E was resting comfortably on my lap; I forgot it was even there while enjoying the warmth of our fire. I stood up to refill my cup with beer and unknowingly launched my E2E directly into a pile of red-hot embers.

I returned to my camp chair, fresh beer in hand, and rejoined the conversation. After a few minutes, I gazed into the fire and saw my SureFire in the embers. Without thinking, I grabbed for my E2E. Its hot metal surface seared the tips of my fingers, so I plunged my hand, my SureFire still in it, into the ice-cold cup of beer in my camp chair's cup holder. My SureFire remained fully submerged for about 20 minutes while we attended to my burnt fingers.

When we finally pulled out my E2E, it was unaffected. There was no visible damage or operational dysfunction. In fact, it works today as great as the day I opened it. I'm looking forward to even better night visibility on our next camping trip, now that I've also obtained a new L2 LumaMax®. Thanks, SureFire.

Ted W.
Portland, OR

I recently found my father's 6P® Original® after he thought he lost it eight years ago. I was helping him move from one house to another and was tasked with moving all the heavy, bulky items from underneath his deck on the backside of the house. I was emptying a big storm-runoff barrel with about 55 gallons of water inside. After it had been tipped over and emptied, I looked inside the drum, and on the bottom was Dad's 6P. It was covered in eight years of mud, sludge and some really nasty water.

I pulled it out, not expecting it to work, and was surprised with a shot of bright light to my eyes. I opened up the light and found, to my disbelief, not one speck of rust or a single drop of water—after eight years!

Thank you, SureFire, for making such an amazing product capable of lasting underwater for nearly a decade. You guys rock!

James W.
Burke, VA

I have a Harley Davidson 1200 custom Sportster, and one night I was out for a ride when my headlight went out. Luckily I had my Surefire E2L Outdoorsman with me. I was using it to light my way down the highway when, suddenly, I dropped it at 65 mph.

I pulled over and found it, and it was still on. I couldn't believe it got dropped onto hard pavement at that speed and it was still on. The impact barely scratched the body of the light, but it broke the metal clip. So I called SureFire the next day, and they sent me a replacement clip for free.

SureFire makes the strongest, most powerful flashlight I've ever seen.

Arthur G.
Lewisville, TX

I am truly impressed with the durability of SureFire flashlights. The other day I was running a 262B CAT loader and ran over my G2® Nitrolon® with a KL3 LED head on it. I picked the light out of the cat's tracks, knocked the dirt off, and hit the switch. It worked perfectly.

Thanks for making such durable, bright flashlights.

Mike T.
Woodleaf, NC

I carry my Surefire E2E Elite® in my back pocket day and night. One summer afternoon, I was getting into the passenger seat of a friend's convertible. No sooner had my pants hit the seat than my friend launched into a tire-squealing donut-style left turn. My door was still open, my seatbelt was off, and the top was down—there was nothing to grab hold of!

I was sling-shot out, screaming the whole way, onto the hard blacktop. My weight landed on my Surefire E2E, and I eventually slid to a complete stop. My cell phone was crushed and my sunglasses were history, but my flashlight was fine. It took me nearly two months to re-grow all the skin I lost, but the hard-anodized finish on that flashlight hardly got a scratch.

Thanks for making such a durable product.

Steve D.
Memphis, TN

My infantry company is serving its second tour in Iraq, and this tour is all about SureFires. If we don't have them on our weapons, they're in our in our pockets.

One night, while rolling out on a mission, I was using my SureFire 6P® out a hatch of my vehicle, when I dropped it and watched the 15-ton vehicle behind us run it over. Thinking for sure it was done, I got out and picked it up. Amazingly, all the vehicle did was turn it off. It still worked just fine.

Brian Y.
Fort Lewis, WA

We were on a track built for training trucking students on how to park in reverse. After I landed a perfect 45-degree parking in the DOT box, I jumped out of the truck to turn it over to the next student. As I got out, one of the other students pulled me aside and pointed out my M2 Centurion in the dirt. To my amazement, my M2 survived all 38,000 lbs. from each axle running it. The only damage was a few scratches from the rocks. Even the pocket clip survived with only minor damage.

Keep up the terrific work, Surefire. Truck drivers and men and women in the armed forces trust their lives to these perfect illumination tools.

Orion W.
La Mesa, CA

I recently attended a regional police department's shooting match (as a civilian vendor), which was conducted at night in order to demonstrate the application of weapon-mounted tactical lights.

I purchased my SureFire X200® after hearing from a trainer from a different law-enforcement agency about how all the "other" lights usually failed during his classes, and how the X200 had been the only dependable model. So, when I heard that the officers at the match I would be attending had almost exclusively purchased, shall we say, "off brands" of lights, I mentally said, "uh oh." I didn't have the heart to tell them that they probably bought a bunch of junk, so I just gently offered the use of my X200 to any officer at the match who didn't already have a light or just wanted to try it.

At the match, true to their ill-reputation, every single weapon-mounted light except for the two X200's in attendance croaked. If the switches didn't break, the filaments in the bulbs did. Twice, I watched an "off brand" light literally fly off the gun while an officer was shooting, forcing the officer to transition to a handheld light. I literally lost count of all the weapon malfunctions that seemed to be induced by the "off brand" tactical lights. By the end of the match, the non-SureFire lights weren't even regarded as decent flashlights. I disassembled one of the Brand-X lights that broke, and the engineering was absolutely laughable. The bulb was not shock-isolated; it was simply a cheap, dime-store flashlight bulb that fit into a two-prong socket. No wonder it didn't last 20 rounds.

Several officers borrowed my X200 to shoot the match. The light worked perfectly and there were no weapons malfunctions. Then I mounted the X200 on my G19 and shot the match for fun after all the officers had finished. Not a single jam. The X200 ran perfectly of course - and the light from the X200 was just as bright as before the match. (By the way, for anyone who regards a weapons-mounted light as "too expensive," don't forget to deduct the $75 to $100 that one won't be spending on night sights. Tritium lights are a thing of the past.) In short, I'm absolutely tickled with the reliability and performance of my X200, as were many of the officers at the match. I just heard today that they put X200's on order. My X200 certainly wasn't the cheapest light I could have bought, but I'm very happy I only had to spend the money once.

Eric W.
Airway Heights, WA

I’m in an Army EOD unit in West Virginia, and while setting up for the last shot of the day, the darkness began to creep in. I finished priming my shots and headed up-range to grab my trusty SureFire 6P™ Original with a high-output P61 bulb. I chose this light because when the fog sets in here it’s about as thick as peanut butter. So I grabbed my 6P, fired it up, and headed back downrange to see where my initiators were.

I got to the range to find my 2 initiators yelling, "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" I hear “pop…pop” and see smoke, so I drop my 6P and beat feet back up-range to the demo bunker. While I’m in the bunker waiting for a blast, I realized that I don’t have my 6P on me, but it’s way too late to go back downrange. Suddenly, a thunderous blast hit, and I saw a flicker of light about 400 meters from where the blast went off. When it was all clear, I walked towards where I saw the flicker and found my 6P lying on the ground. It looked like it was hit by rocks and frag, but when I picked it up and turned it on it fired right up and worked just fine.

SureFire flashlights are truly the finest that money can buy.

Eric Z.
Albany, NY

I was doing my wash when I noticed, through the splashing suds, the random appearance of a light source through the washing machine window. Now I have a sparkling clean SureFire E1E that works as good as before it went through the wash cycle. Can't ask for much more.

Sid F.
San Mateo, CA

Last December, during an ice storm, I lost my SureFire 6P® in my yard while setting up a generator. Under the circumstances, I had to leave it behind (something I normally would never do). I finally found it in early April, when I ran it over with my lawnmower. I picked it up, turned it on, and to my surprise it functioned as well as it had four months earlier.

This light had been frozen, thawed, frozen again, rained on, left to the elements for months, and then run over with a riding lawnmower. This is proof of the incredible durability of SureFires and has certainly won me over. Thanks, Surefire.

Alan F.
Lexington, KY

I returned home from a trail ride to find that my home was burning. Three fire departments did what they could, but the cause was lost. I lost almost everything I owned.

A couple weeks later I went into my burned home. I went into the room where the fire had started and used a shovel to dig through the rubble where I knew my duty gear would be. Approximately six feet from where the fire had started I found my SureFire 6P® Original and turned it on. It worked just fine and is still on my duty belt and on patrol with me every day.

Thanks for making an excellent product.

Thad W.
Summersville, MO

One of my hobbies is caving, and I always carry a bright handheld light in addition to my headlamp. I've tried multiple types and brands, but none lasted more than one or two trips before the mud, dirt, water, or impacts (they get dropped) involved in caving got the better of them. Until I discovered SureFire, that is. Since then, my C2 Centurion® has been in five different caves on multiple occasions over the past three years, and it has never once given me a problem.

On our last trip we went into a cave called "Mud Cave," and it's called that for a reason. This time I took my 6P® Defender® with me, outfitted with its P61 120-lumen ultra high-output lamp assembly, plus some extra batteries in an SC1 spares carrier. The mud in this cave is incredibly slick and thick, and after slipping and falling several times, both me and my Defender were completely covered in mud. On the way out, I stop at a pool of water to wash off my light, but the mud was so caked on that wiping it off in the water only got some of the mud off. One of my buddies said to me, "Dude, your flashlight is toast." I explained to him that it was a Surefire and would be just fine. When I got home, the only way for me get all the mud off was to let the light soak in water for two days. After drying off the outside, I opened it up to discover that it was completely spotless and dry inside. And when I put it back together, it shined as brightly as the day I first got it.

Now, I'm not one who needs convincing how great your products are, but after that incident, even I was completely amazed. SureFire makes the best flashlights on the planet. Keep up the great job, and keep making us say "WOW."

Beau B.
Sallisaw, OK

During one of many training exercises in northern Norway, I dropped my Z2 CombatLight® while exiting a CV90 (the Norwegian equivalent of a Bradley) vehicle. The light had been tied to my combat vest, so by the time I noticed it was missing, it was long gone. Later that year at the same training area, during the spring, one of my buddies asked me, "Didn't you drop a flashlight this winter?" as he pointed at a shiny black tube protruding up from the ground—in the tracks from our tank. It was, in fact, my Z2. Just imagine the quantity of tanks that must've driven over that little light!

I brought it back to the barracks and changed the battery, and it worked just fine. You guys do quality engineering. Thanks, SureFire.

Michael N.
Sandefjord, Norway

I work in an electroplating factory, where I inspect the plating units to make sure everything is working properly. One day one of the machines got stuck, so I pulled out my handy G2® Nitrolon® to take a look at its gears, and I discovered that it had a loose chain. So I set my G2 on the walkway and went in to fix the darn thing.

When I climbed out, I noticed that my G2 had disappeared from the spot where I left it. I asked the foremen if anyone had taken it as a joke, but he said no, so I pulled out my SureFire E2E Executive backup light and started searching for my G2. It didn't take me long to discover my G2 lying like a distressed submarine at the bottom of a tank of sulfuric acid. My heart sank—What could be worse than seeing a fine piece of equipment drowning in a highly corrosive chemical bath?

A few hours later, we managed to retrieve the poor thing, and after flushing it thoroughly with water to remove the acid, I grabbed my flashlight and pressed the tailcap. My G2 responded by emitting a brilliant beam of light! Everyone on the scenes was stunned at how the tiny G2 had survived for hours submerged in industrial-grade sulfuric acid. Thanks for not cutting corners, SureFire.

W.S. Poon
Shatin, Hong Kong

Last week my buddy and I went fishing at the Black River up in the mountains of New Mexico. Man, we were slaying 'em. So, anyway, once we caught our limit, we headed back to the truck, but on the way, I saw something at the bottom of the river, so I bent down to pick it up. Much to my surprise, it was a SureFire E2D Defender! I'd never even heard of SureFire until then. Well, even though the flashlight was covered with moss, it still worked. Now it's the brightest flashlight I own, and I'm thinking about getting another one.

Alex E. El Paso, TX

Good thing my SureFire C3 Centurion® flashlight is as hard as diamonds. After subduing a subject on a drug raid with the SRT team, another team member and I were securing a suspect. He began to get a little squirrely, so I placed my C3 on the hood of a cruiser to help the guy into a pair of bracelets. Afterwards, unbeknownst to me, my C3 rolled off the hood of the cruiser and landed on the ground, where the cruiser ran over it. I picked up my light, clicked the tailcap a few times, and smiled broadly when it worked good as new.

We hit three more houses that night, and my C3 never failed me. What a light.

Craig K.
Yorkville, OH

I just wanted to write and say how incredibly impressed I am with your products—the E2D LED Defender®, to be specific. We have been having some pretty crazy weather up here in Washington State, and after a big snowstorm, my beloved E2DL fell out of my pocket while I was in a parking lot, without my knowledge. The snow was about a foot deep at that point and only got heavier as the days passed. I didn't notice it was gone until later that evening, and given the size of the parking lot, I thought I'd never find it.

If it isn't testament enough that I returned to the parking lot almost every day, to search and kick up snow, finally, after two weeks, I finally found it. The light was frozen in a small block of ice and had clearly been run over by a car, as it was beat up pretty bad. I broke up the ice, picked it up, and turned it on. It powered up like it was brand new!

The structure and function of this light were clearly designed to be bulletproof. I wouldn't give up on this light, and it clearly wouldn't give up on me. Thanks for an awesome light.

AJ T.
Seattle, WA

A couple of years back, when the SureFire L4 LumaMax® first came out, I got one of the first ones produced. I carried it every day for probably a year, and it endured countless drops onto concrete, dunks in water, and overall general rough treatment. Eventually, I gave the light to a friend of mine, as he didn't have a good flashlight of his own.

Well, one beautiful fall day, my friend and I were out on a hike in a wildlife preserve near where I live. We both really enjoyed the hike; however, upon our return to our vehicles, my friend noticed that the L4 I'd given him was missing. He was pretty distraught, but there wasn't much we could do—it was getting dark, and we'd walked over five miles of trails, way too much to search after dark—so he resigned himself to the loss. A few months later, my dad and I decided to go on the same hike at the same wildlife preserve. We jokingly told my friend that we'd keep an eye out for his L4, knowing there was virtually no chance we'd find it. Well, about an hour into the hike my dad said, "Look," and there, stuck in the mud, was my friends L4. I picked it up out of the mud and clicked it on, and it worked! That light had survived over a foot of snow, repeated freezing and thawing, and over two months in the elements, with no adverse effects.

I ended up trading my buddy another light for this L4, and I still carry it every day on my duty belt. Thanks for making such reliable products.

Micah L.
Homer, NE

I was dispatched to a 459 audible (residential burglary alarm). I got out of my unit and ran across a busy neighborhood street to assist my partner. When I reached down to pull out my SureFire Z2 LED CombatLight®, I realized it was gone—it had fallen out of my duty holster as I ran across the roadway. Unfortunately, because of the danger, I couldn't go back to look for it, so I continued inside the house and performed a building search with my weapon-mounted SureFire X300® LED WeaponLight.

We finished our check of the residence (the alarm was unfounded), and as we started walking back across the roadway, my partner saw Z2 LED lying in the number-two traffic lane. Just as he noticed it, a huge SUV drove right over it. I was crushed because I thought my Z2 was crushed—I'd just bought it a month ago. When I walked over to inspect it, I was amazed to see that it was perfectly fine and still worked like new. I'm so glad I spent the extra bucks to buy a SureFire flashlight, because they're tough as nails and able to withstand even the most severe punishment.

Officer Mike S.
Aliso Viejo, CA

I'm contracted at a local nightclub as an I.T. Manager/Surveillance Director, and my best investment has been the Backup®. I am constantly asked by security guards, bartenders, and police officers that I come in contact with, after they see my little light, what type of flashlight I use. I've dropped it from various heights (accidentally) about thirty times. This light should have been called "The Survivor." It has been submerged in the pool, accidentally run over by my 3,500-pound sedan, even found tumbling in the washer with the pants. Without fail, every time I use it, IT WORKS. I am a very happy customer with the Backup from SureFire.

Eric R.
Miami, FL