Princeton Tec vs. Mag 2d

Here's a comparison I posted over on CandlePowerForums. I had asked about a smallish but extremely bright Krypton light that cost less than the $90 Elektrolumens Blaster VI and the two that were most recommended were the Princeton Tec Surge and the Pelican M6. As an aside, the Surge is a quality plastic 8 AA light just a bit smaller than a typical 2D light whereas the Pelican is a 2 123 light that's just about as bright but doesn't run nearly as long and is just a bit larger than SureFire G2 and made of machined aluminum. These are roughly $40. The G2 Nitrolon with the P6 1lamp would also be a possible contender but only has a 20 minute runtime at 120 lumens and would be about $60 including the high output lamp.

Anyway, I called around looking for either the Surge or the M6 locally and the one I found was the Princeton Tec Surge. None of the sporting goods or hardware stores I called had them but several dive shops stock it as a common item.

This is an 8 AA driven single 8 watt halogen. Run time is listed as 3-5 hours. Weight is listed as 10.5 ounces. My scale shows it to be a hair over 13 oz when loaded with the eight Duracells provided with the light. Loading the batteries is accomplished in a manner to seen by my rookie eyes before. You unscrew the head/textured reflector assembly leaving the bulb and small board exposed. You then depress two opposing tabs which allows removal of a smallish plastic piece with the bulb and board mounted. You then remove the battery cage and load is directed. The tabs were quite difficult to depress the first two times. Then they seemed to get quite a bit easier. The only other minor complaint I have is with the switch. It is of the left to lock off, right to lock on... The may be good for diving or for gloved hands (as listed in the literature) but I would much prefer the rubber pushbutton method. Still, it is easily manipulated with one hand.

All loaded up, got home and did a quick test in our laundry/utility room. First impression? WAY WAY brighter than a 2D Mag. I know the Mags don't get a lot of respect around here except as donor bodies for modded lights but this light really puts the larger, heavier Mag to shame. With the Surge on a wall approx 8 feet away, turning the Mag on (focused as a spot), you could notice an added pattern, but it added only negligable light.

As it got darker, I did some photographing to try and compare images... very challenging. My camera just won't pick up lights on trees or outdoor stuff in general at any realistic distance but looking around outside was really eye-opening. Prior to this light, my brightest light was a Garrity 2D rubber light with xenon bulb. Looking across our property or up in the trees that surround our house... amazing amount of light for such a small package.

Inside, I did some on-wall comparisons. Measured distance was 74 inches - I know this is an unusual distance but it was an easily demarcated distance for me and should still be fine for these comparisons. The pictures were resized for convinience... not brightened or otherwise adjusted in any way.

The first comaprison has the Surge on the left and the 2D Mag on the right. Granted, these are wildly different beams with the Surge being much wider but notice the hot spot... still no comparison!



Next, the Surge compared to the Brinkmann Rubber 2D xenon. This is the light that is available from Walmart and comes with a similar but smaller 2 AA light. Other than the Surge, this is the brightest light I have. (Great value by the way... considerably brighter than the 2D Mag and a considerably tighter beam than the Garrity stainless 2D xenon light.) Still, absolutely no comparison.



Outside, in evening lighting, I did a similar comparison. The lights are 8" from the vertical beam. Again, Surge on the left, Mag 2D on the right. Sorry the uneven angles make it slightly disorienting.



Here is a picture of the roughly similarly-sized lights. The Surge is on the far left and the Mag roughly in the center is a 2D.