Layman’s Flashlight Reviews

Surefire A2 Aviator

The Surefire A2 Aviator is Surefire’s only hybrid LED/Xenon flashlight, and their only light with a digitally regulated Xenon main beam. This light was one of their flagship models and is one of the reasons Surefire is so well known today.

Surefire A2 Aviator

Meat and Potatoes

The Surefire A2 Aviator employs one of my favorite Surefire inventions. The 2 stage momentary tailcap switch is, in my opinion, one of the greatest achievements of this spectacular company. There is very little that can be simpler to grasp than press harder to get more light. This simple concept is what makes this light such a joy to use. Once you turn this light on, there is no need to adjust your grip in the slightest in order to have access to full power. The basic twist for constant on settings are also very easy to use, even single handedly.

The A2 utilizes a trio of 5mm LEDs in quite a few choices of colors. I’ve had the occasion over the last couple years to spend a little time with several of the colors, but I believe that the white LEDs are the most useful. The advertized 3 lumen output seems to me to be far understated. I have found the light level of the white LEDs to be more than adequate for a large number of around the house and even outdoor tasks.  In the dark with adjusted vision, the secondary beam produces a beautiful flood profile allowing the immediate area to be illuminated with little to no hotspot washing out your vision.

The main Xenon beam also seems to suffer the affliction of being underrated. It is advertised as a mere 50 lumens, however I would be surprised know that was actually the top end of it’s performance. The Aviator competes with other lights sporting somewhat more impressive numbers. This is, however, as much a testament to Surefire’s routinely understated marketing department as it is to this particular light.

This torch also provides one extremely useful feature, it’s rock solid construction. When you pick up the Aviator, you know instantly that you have a quality light in your hand. Every facet of this light exudes quality of materials and workmanship.  The machine work is exquisite and Surefire’s attention to detail is unparalleled in this light.

While this light may be a touch larger than I like in an “Every Day Carry” type of setting, it does make a fantastic go-to light for around the house or around the woods at night. The two levels of light are fantastically useful for many nighttime tasks. The Aviator proves itself to be a specialized tool that does it’s job well.

Surefire A2 Aviator

Constructive Criticism

While the A2 has many excellent qualities, no light is perfect. Even though I suspect that the 50 lumen output is misleading to the power of the beam, the incandescent Xenon light is incapable of truly matching output with a quality current generation LED when it comes to sheer power and efficiency. I know that many die-hard incandescent enthusiasts will be shuddering at that statement, however I think the time may have come for Surefire to find some high color rendition LED to replace the Xenon lamp assembly in these lights.

Also of concern when it comes to an incandescent light is the relative fragility of the light bulb filament. The main beam of the Aviator is most unfortunately susceptable to damage from shock or merely outliving it’s relatively short life expectancy. The A2’s “Soft Start” power regulation does wonders to increase that life span, but even still there is a likelyhood that eventually you will find yourself shelling out the price of a replacement lamp assembly.

One interesting note that I discovered is that, though the white secondary LEDs produce a beautiful, nearly flawless beam, the colored LEDs do not fare quite as well. Where the white beam has a beautifully smooth wide spread of light, the colors tend to produce a trio of noticeable interlocked rings from their oddly reflected spill beams. This inferior beam can be quite distracting in almost any circumstance.  I’m not sure what method Surefire could employ to alleviate this, but I know that some users have taken to aftermarket sanding of the LED’s domes to diffuse the light better.  This should not be necessary in a light of this caliber.

Even if you choose to overlook the shortcomings of an incandescent lamp in favor of it’s color rendition and warmth, you still end up having to deal with it’s relative inefficiency. If Surefire were to offer any sort of rechargeable option for this light it would go a long way. As it stands, you currently are limited to around an hour of high beam usage before you are forced to drop in another set of CR123A cells. The highly efficient 5mm LED low beam will continue to run even beyond the point where the main beam fails to light, however you will be deprived of your high output for some time if you choose to run a set of batteries into the ground. Careful usage will prolong that hour, making it seemingly lastlonger, but your burn time is still limited no matter how you look at it.

Surefire A2 Aviator

Conclusions

The Surefire A2 Aviator is a mainstay in the world of flashlights. It is one of the lights that opened my eyes several years ago to the world of high quality illumination tools. Many incandescent enthusiasts consider it to be about the pinnacle of that genre and would love nothing better than for it to never be changed. Over my use of this light I have found it extremely hard to put down and am now genuinely seeing the appeal of glowing tungsten as a source of light. I still personally find this light to be ripe for a makeover, but If you are looking for incandescent specifically, you can do little better.

The Brinkmann Maxfire LX is the first flashlight that I ever picked up that opened my world beyond the concept that a 2D Maglight was the best there was. I’m not knocking that light, because even if it is nothing else it was a fantastic vehicle to prove to people that a flashlight can be made sturdily and not just be a piece of cheap plastic. However, the Brinkman illuminated my concept of what a flashlight should really be far beyond what I had ever seen previously.

Meat and Potatoes

I am forced to admit that a Brinkmann Maxfire LX is likely not going to be considered as a high end flashlight by anyone and likely this review is a completely moot point with today’s amazing lights (some of which are reviewed here on this site), but for what it’s worth I found this light to be amazingly well constructed for such a simple design. This light uses a xenon bulb and 2 CR123A batteries to produce a very large quantity of smooth bright white light that is very comparable to much more expensive lights. This light proved to be easily as bright if not brighter than the fleet of Surefire G2’s (P60 lamp assemblies rated at 65 Lumens) that my company used at the time. Yet with a purchase price in the sub $20 range including batteries and sometimes a holster, this light became affordable to nearly anyone. I am very fond of the rubber grip that encases the barrel and also a band around the head of the light, because it ends up being nearly impossible to drop. There is nothing slippery about this light at all, yet it is incredibly comfortable.

The switch is where this light really stands out. It is a standard momentary click switch that has just about the best feel of any light I have used to this day. It is stiff enough to not get accidentally activated and yet smooth enough to never feel like it is an effort to use. This is a switch that I have recommended several other manufacturers to look at when designing their lights since it is, in my opinion, pretty much the cream of the crop.

Constructive Criticism

There are a couple of things that I would do better with this light. The biggest of which (to me) is the fact that it really seemed to take some effort to make sure that the light bulb was perfectly centered in the reflector. This may not seem like a big deal, but when it got even a little out of the middle the beam of the light seemed to deform into a bit of a lopsided blob rather than a perfect circle. The good news was that if you got it placed correctly it would pretty much stay there no matter what you did.

Secondly, the tailcap for this light had a set of very fine threads that caused a high likelihood of getting them cross threaded when changing the batteries. Of course, with the chance of shifting the bulb out of center if you unscrewed the head, this meant that you would almost be guaranteed to use the tailcap to change batteries. It’s not something that ever became a make it or break it deal with me, but something I had to consciously watch out for none the less.

Conclusions

This light seems to have really opened the door for me and therefor has a very special place in my heart. However, I don’t really think that is the only reason that I like it so much. I believe this light is really an outstanding value for the level of quality it gives you at such a reasonable price. Since it’s initial usage I have found a generic brand LED drop in that fits the head and runs beautifully giving me a significantly longer runtime off from a set of batteries. I have not forgotten this light in the passage of time, now it resides in my vehicle as a always present backup/emergency light. That is one of the best things about lithium batteries, their ability to hold a charge for the duration of their 10 year shelf life. I never need to worry about being left in the dark now.

All being said, for the <$20 range that this light generally shows up in, I have to definitely give this light a recommendation. This goes especially for someone who is stuck with the same old lights that have been the “norm” for so many years. This light will illuminate a whole new world for you.