Flashlight Review: Surefire C2 Centurion vs Tigerlight T-100

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drjoker
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Flashlight Review: Surefire C2 Centurion vs Tigerlight T-100

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Surefire C2 Centurion
Advantages; lightweight, small, concealable, bright beam with wide dispersion, solid metal construction, belt clip, and made in the USA (correct me if I'm wrong and it is made in China, it says Surefire USA on my flashlight, but it does not say made in USA, so I'm not sure if it is made in the USA).
Disadvantages; yellow light that is only bright in the middle of the dispersion, lighting is uneven, no pepper spray.

Tigerlight T-100
Advantages; pepper spray, bright beam with even lighting.
Disadvantages; big, heavy, not concealable, small beam dispersion, some plastic parts, no belt clip, and made in China.

These two tactical flashlights are totally different animals and would be used in a different manner tactically in order to maximize effectiveness. Surefire is small and concealable. It is discrete and is an ordinary flashlight so it is non-threatening. The solid construction will allow you to use it as a blunt weapon if deadly force is not warranted. However, the disadvantage is that using a blunt weapon in hand-to-hand confrontation is pretty dangerous. Distance from the perp is your friend. I have used the Surefire for almost a decade and it has NEVER failed me. I am still on the original light bulb (knock wood). It is a quality tactical light with solid American construction that I can count on.

The Tigerlights's LED light is superior to the incandescent Surefire C2 Centurion. The Surefire makes a torso sized cone of light at 5 ft that is extremely bright yellow in the center but much dimmer over 90% of the lighted area. The Tigerlight's LED light makes a head sized cone of light at 5 ft that is 90% as bright as the extremely bright center of the Surefire's lighted area, but the entire lighted area is equally bright, not just the center.

The Tigerlight, is big, heavy and cannot be concealed. Once you show it, it looks threatening. My wife asked, "Hey, is it a stun gun?" It looks like a stun gun or Taser, not a flashlight. It is mostly metal, but has some plastic parts. It has no belt clip nor holster, so you have to find pretty big pockets for it. Although it seems to be of high quality, it is made in China, so who knows how durable it is? The plastic parts include the lens/cover for the LED light elements. This is a critical part that should be recessed in a metal housing. It should not be an exposed plastic housing. The advantage of the Tigerlight is that the lighting pattern is even. It is slightly less bright than the Surefire in the middle, but the lighting pattern is more bright than the Surefire over the entire pattern. The light is also white while the Surefire has yellow light. I like the Tigerlight's light pattern better. The Tigerlight also use a LED lighting element and has 4 LEDs. 1 ultra bright one for tactical lighting, and 3 less bright ones for general non-tactical lighting. Although there are LED Surefires now, my Surefire is an incandescent lightbulb model as I bought it almost a decade ago. LED lights use less electricity but are just as bright, so your flashlight will stay bright longer. The Tigerlight's main advantage is the integral pepper spray. With the pepper spray, you have a non-lethal option that you can use without giving up a free hand to draw a gun, if necessary. This is because the pepper spray and tactical light are in one package.

Even though I like the Surefire more because it is all American, I'm going to use the Tigerlight more after I make a custom leather holster for it because it has no belt clip like the Surefire. This is because of the nonlethal pepper spray option. There are just some situations where lethal force is illegal/immoral/unwise. If so, then what are you going to do if all you have is a lethal weapon? Police carry lethal as well as non-lethal force options, why shouldn't we do so, too? I mean, I certainly don't want to end up like Harold Fish: http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... arold+fish . Harold Fish fired warning shots to scare away some attacking dogs and the dog's owner charged at Mr. Fish. If Mr. Fish did not shoot the attacker, then the attacker would've stolen Fish's gun and killed him. It is more complicated than this, but basically, Harold Fish shot an apparantly unarmed man and even though it was unavoidable, he is still doing jail time. If only Harold Fish had a Tigerlight.... My only complaint is that I wish that the Tigerlight's company would manufacture their lights here in the USA instead of manufacturing them in China. I can understand it if their light were $5, but since the light costs $100.00, the profit margin should be high enough to manufacture them in the USA. Corporate greed at work....

So my conclusion is... I recommend the Tigerlight over the Surefire, by a very narrow margin.

:patriot: :txflag: :fire

P.S. Even though the Tigerlight wins by a narrow margin, I still like the Surefire better. Furthermore, the superiority of the LED lighting of the Tigerlight is negated with the Surefire NRA Defender, which is a high tech LED light, just like the Tigerlight. I just didn't review the NRA Defender because I do not own one. It also has multiple lighting modes (bright short acting tactical and dim general purpose long lasting lighting). Furthermore, the Surefire Defender donates 10% of your purchase to the NRA and it has a scalloped edge on both ends to maximize its potential as a blunt force defense tool. Finally, I think that the Surefire is made in the USA (correct me if I'm wrong).

Also, having a tactical light that is not attached to the weapon will allow you to light up stuff (and people) without pointing a deadly weapon at the objects of your illumination.

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