Fry's Electronics SureFire Battery Hilarity

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Treylis

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So I was strolling around in the Tempe Fry's Electronics, which I now frequent because a while back they took down their "no weapons" sign. I'm going with my brother, who's looking for some thermal paste and other computer components, and I decide to check to see if they have any SureFires. Look around, nope. A bunch of Maglites and LED lights, though.

I need some spare batteries, so I decide to check the battery section, where I do see SF batteries... selling for the princely sum of a 2-pack for 8 bucks.

You can buy 'em in a 12-pack for 15 bucks off of the SureFire website.

I did notice, however, that apparently some people had been buying them, due to the fact that they weren't fully stocked. I'm guessing that whoever's in charge of setting the prices on those things has been spending too much time at a pawnshop, and this was a similar case of "some idiots will buy these no matter how costly they are".

Has anyone else ever seen anything ridiculously overpriced like that? I was greatly tempted to chat with an employee about it, but my brother had already gotten his gear and wanted to go.
 
That's not an unusual retail price. I've seen higher. The Surefire web site is a great deal that they put together so people wouldn't be turned off from buying their flashlights.
 
Surefire 4 sure

The only batteries I will use in my three Surefire lites Z2 M2 M3 are the ones sold by Surefire. There designed to not short out and explode inside your light. This has happened with other Li batterie brands.
 
Yeah, those batteries go for around $2 a pop in the low volumes places.

People that go through them know that you get them via mail-order or bulk purchases where you can get them for around $1 a piece.

I was travelling in China once, and if you have travelled there, you know that there are shops where you still do haggling over prices. I was able to get the guy to go down to 10 RMB (i think that was around $1.25) a piece.
 
You want a real laugh? Look for a replacement cell for a Ni-Cad "sub c" cell like goes in flashlights, cordless drills, etc. They sell them for about $8 for ONE cell.

Then look at the "7.2V" electric car battery packs they sell for about $15: that battery pack has SIX of the sub-c cells in it and they usually include a battery charger to boot for the price.

Unbelievable.
 
"Has anyone else ever seen anything ridiculously overpriced like that?"

Yes, more ridiculous in fact. I once paid something like $20 for three batteries at a chain drug store down the street from the station I was working at. Now of course I keep a box of Surefire batteries in my locker. I have gone through four this week.
 
Speaking of batteries, you can save a bundle on batteries for your gear by buying "professional" or "industrial" batteries. Duracell doesn't sell them to individual consumers and discourages their wholesalers from selling them to the public. But you can still find them on eBay. ;) Search for "procell" or "energizer industrial".
 
I've seen those batteries in many places for $5.99 each or higher. Surefire definitely seems to have the best deal around.
 
"What are you doing to go through so many?"

I work as a firefighter/paramedic. I use my light every night I work. Sometimes I might use it for 1/2 hour or more at a time. I actually carry two Surefire lights with me all the time (at work). I have a G2 on my belt and an E1 Executive with the LED head in my pocket.
I actually burned through two of those four batteries installing a performance chip in my pickup. I jammed my G2 into a crevice under the dash and left it on the whole time I worked on the project. That took care of the batteries in one fell swoop.
 
444,

Have you looked in to the rechargeable Surefires? I don't use a light everyday so they don't make sense for me, but you sound like the perfect case.
 
No, I have never looked at the rechargables. I am already too deep into the regular lights at this point. I have something like four Surefire flashlights along with a dedicated foreend weapon light on one of my 870s and a 900 series light on one of my AR15s. So, I am buying the batteries anyway. Another thing about the rechargables is that when my light burns out, I want to get it back up and running immediately. I don't want to have to allow it time to charge. As it stands now I can simply replace the batteries and keep on going.
I don't normally go through a lot of batteries. It just depends on what I am doing. Like most people, 90% of the time I just turn the light on for a few seconds to see what I need to see and shut it off. Although there are times where I need to leave it on for an extended period of time which really burns though the batteries. The other night we had to cut the exterior wall of a house out using power saws and some hand tools. I ended up standing there holding my flashlight on for about 1/2 hour. But, this is not something I do every day. Usually if I am going to be doing something like that myself I clip my E1 Executive on the bill of my hat so I have both hands free. As I mentioned previously, this light has the LED head which is much easier on batteries. It is also a single cell light. Even with the single cell it provides more light than a standard flashlight.
 
I want to get it back up and running immediately. I don't want to have to allow it time to charge. As it stands now I can simply replace the batteries and keep on going.
Click to expand...

That's why you buy multiple battery packs. When one goes out you put a freshly charged pack in while the other starts charging. This is a must for any product that requires recharging but over the long run I feel it tends to be the best option and it will eventually save you money.

brad cook
 
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