Surefire
Encyclopedia
SureFire, LLC. is a Fountain Valley, California
company whose primary products are flashlights, headlamps, weapon mounted lights
and laser sights. In addition, Surefire also manufactures knives, sound suppressors, Picatinny Rail
s and batteries. The company is a major supplier of flashlights to the U.S. Armed Forces
. Surefire products are also extensively used by federal, state and local law-enforcement agencies.
and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
with shotgun laser sights for use during the 1984 Summer Olympics
. Laser Products developed its first "SureFire" branded product — a handgun mounted light in 1985. Laser Products Corporation became SureFire, LLC in 2000. More recently, SureFire attained ISO9001:2000 certification in 2008.
models. Most of its flashlights are powered by lithium
CR123A batteries
that allow for compact size and low weight while offering high power output. These batteries offer a long shelf-life, but are more costly than other cell sizes. Some of the flashlights are available with rechargeable battery packs. In 2010, Surefire released the E2L AA, designed to operate on AA batteries, as does the Saint headlamp. Surefire also produces military weapon lights for mounting on handguns, rifles, sub-machine guns and shotguns. Surefire's Z2 CombatLight is standard issue to the FBI
and the Federal Air Marshal Service
, and their various handheld lights are a frequent choice of police, military, fire, and EMS personnel. Some models of handheld flashlights include an integrated "strike bezel", which can be implemented if using the light as a self defense weapon.
Surefire flashlights are made primarily of anodized aerospace aluminum alloy in various colors, other models are made of Nitrolon, a proprietary glass-filled polyamide nylon
plastic. The flashlights are weatherproof and have various accessories, including red (night), blue (blood trail), green (reading maps/charts) and infrared (night vision compatible) filters, beam diffusers, beam covers, lanyard
s, pouches/holsters and spare battery/bulb carriers. Some models use incandescent bulbs
, while others use LED
s with electronically controlled power regulation and adjustable brightness. The company uses Seoul Semiconductor
and Cree
XR-E LEDs in flashlights introduced in 2007. More recently, flashlights with a strobe function, used for signalling or to disorientate were introduced.
A more notable product is the SureFire M6 Guardian
, a flashlight with a 250 or 500 lumen
beam from a xenon
incandescent light bulb
. Surefire claims that this is bright enough to temporarily blind and disorient a person by impairing their night-adapted vision
. Fifteen M6 flashlights were used to illuminate the Stonehenge
for the June 2008 cover photo of National Geographic Magazine
. The New York Times referred to the M6 as being of the "design school that might be called Modern Militant, the most familiar example of which is the Hummer
." This was later used in SureFire's 2007 product catalogue.
In addition to flashlights, the company produces headlamps
, helmet mounted lights with an infra-red IFF
strobe and weapon-mounted lights
for various rifles and handguns. These weapon-mounted lights use a shock-absorbing assembly to protect the tungsten
filament bulb
from recoil
, alternatively shock-resistant LEDs
are used. Some models of handgun-mounted lights have an integrated laser sight.
A large weapon-light is also manufactured by Surefire; the HellFighter Weaponlight uses a 35 watt high intensity discharge (HID) bulb powered by a 12 volt car battery or by two 5595 military batteries. The bulb is shock-isolated, outputs about 3000 lumens and is mounted in a textured parabolic reflector
that provides a beam that is optimized for throw
, but also with additional spill light for peripheral illumination. It is bright enough to illuminate targets hundreds of yards away and is intended to be attached to a machine gun.
Surefire also produces Picatinny rail
forends, sound suppressors
, muzzle brake
s, flash suppressor
s, EarPro branded hearing protection and tactical communication earpieces, and Combat Utility knives. These knives combine some features of a multi-tool
with the blade of a combat knife
. In late 2010, Surefire introduced STANAG
compatible high capacity magazines with a capacity of 60 or 100 rounds.
Fountain Valley, California
Fountain Valley is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 55,313 at the 2010 census. A classic bedroom community, Fountain Valley is a middle-class residential area.- History :...
company whose primary products are flashlights, headlamps, weapon mounted lights
Tactical light
A tactical light is a flashlight used in conjunction with a firearm to aid low light target identification, allowing the marksman to simultaneously aim and illuminate the target. Tactical lights can be handheld or mounted to the weapon with the light beam parallel to the bore...
and laser sights. In addition, Surefire also manufactures knives, sound suppressors, Picatinny Rail
Picatinny rail
The Picatinny rail or MIL-STD-1913 rail or STANAG 2324 rail or a "Tactical Rail" is a bracket used on some firearms in order to provide a standardized mounting platform. A similar system is the Weaver rail mount.-Description:...
s and batteries. The company is a major supplier of flashlights to the U.S. Armed Forces
Military of the United States
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
. Surefire products are also extensively used by federal, state and local law-enforcement agencies.
History
John Matthews founded Newport Corporation in 1969, which specializes in industrial lasers. After Matthews developed a laser sight; he, Peter Hauk, and Ed Reynolds founded the spin-off company, Laser Products Corporation on October 17, 1979. In 1984, the company supplied the Los Angeles Police DepartmentLos Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is a local county law enforcement agency that serves Los Angeles County, California. It is the fourth largest local policing agency in the United States, with the New York City Police Department being the first. The second largest is the Chicago Police...
with shotgun laser sights for use during the 1984 Summer Olympics
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
. Laser Products developed its first "SureFire" branded product — a handgun mounted light in 1985. Laser Products Corporation became SureFire, LLC in 2000. More recently, SureFire attained ISO9001:2000 certification in 2008.
Flashlights
Surefire produces flashlights of widely varying sizes and power outputs from single-cell lights to a large 20-cell HIDHigh-intensity discharge lamp
High-intensity discharge lamps are a type of electrical lamp which produces light by means of an electric arc between tungsten electrodes housed inside a translucent or transparent fused quartz or fused alumina arc tube. This tube is filled with both gas and metal salts. The gas facilitates the...
models. Most of its flashlights are powered by lithium
Lithium
Lithium is a soft, silver-white metal that belongs to the alkali metal group of chemical elements. It is represented by the symbol Li, and it has the atomic number 3. Under standard conditions it is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly...
CR123A batteries
Battery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
that allow for compact size and low weight while offering high power output. These batteries offer a long shelf-life, but are more costly than other cell sizes. Some of the flashlights are available with rechargeable battery packs. In 2010, Surefire released the E2L AA, designed to operate on AA batteries, as does the Saint headlamp. Surefire also produces military weapon lights for mounting on handguns, rifles, sub-machine guns and shotguns. Surefire's Z2 CombatLight is standard issue to the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
and the Federal Air Marshal Service
Federal Air Marshal Service
The Federal Air Marshal Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the supervision of the Transportation Security Administration of the United States Department of Homeland Security...
, and their various handheld lights are a frequent choice of police, military, fire, and EMS personnel. Some models of handheld flashlights include an integrated "strike bezel", which can be implemented if using the light as a self defense weapon.
Surefire flashlights are made primarily of anodized aerospace aluminum alloy in various colors, other models are made of Nitrolon, a proprietary glass-filled polyamide nylon
Nylon
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...
plastic. The flashlights are weatherproof and have various accessories, including red (night), blue (blood trail), green (reading maps/charts) and infrared (night vision compatible) filters, beam diffusers, beam covers, lanyard
Lanyard
A lanyard is a rope or cord exclusively worn around the neck or wrist to carry something. Usually it is used where there is a risk of losing the object or to ensure it is visible at all times. Aboard a ship, it may refer to a piece of rigging used to secure objects...
s, pouches/holsters and spare battery/bulb carriers. Some models use incandescent bulbs
Incandescent light bulb
The incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe makes light by heating a metal filament wire to a high temperature until it glows. The hot filament is protected from air by a glass bulb that is filled with inert gas or evacuated. In a halogen lamp, a chemical process...
, while others use LED
Light-emitting diode
A light-emitting diode is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting...
s with electronically controlled power regulation and adjustable brightness. The company uses Seoul Semiconductor
Seoul Semiconductor
Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd is a Korean company manufacturing LED devices. The company is listed on KOSDAQ.In November 2006 Seoul Semiconductors announced it would be the first company to start selling in quantities LED light sources that can be plugged directly into 110 V or 230 V AC...
and Cree
Cree Inc.
Cree Inc. is a multinational manufacturer of semiconductor materials and devices, headquartered in Durham, North Carolina. Cree is noted for their improvements in light emitting diode technologies. Those improvements in lumens per watt suggest a time when LEDs will displace other lighting...
XR-E LEDs in flashlights introduced in 2007. More recently, flashlights with a strobe function, used for signalling or to disorientate were introduced.
A more notable product is the SureFire M6 Guardian
SureFire M6 Guardian
The SureFire M6 Guardian is a flashlight produced by SureFire, a company which produces tactical flashlights. It is relatively small with a Mil-Spec Type III anodized aluminum casing and has a 250 lumen beam from a xenon lamp. The flashlight has an integral shock-isolation system to withstand...
, a flashlight with a 250 or 500 lumen
Lumen (unit)
The lumen is the SI derived unit of luminous flux, a measure of the total "amount" of visible light emitted by a source. Luminous flux differs from power in that luminous flux measurements reflect the varying sensitivity of the human eye to different wavelengths of light, while radiant flux...
beam from a xenon
Xenon
Xenon is a chemical element with the symbol Xe and atomic number 54. The element name is pronounced or . A colorless, heavy, odorless noble gas, xenon occurs in the Earth's atmosphere in trace amounts...
incandescent light bulb
Incandescent light bulb
The incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe makes light by heating a metal filament wire to a high temperature until it glows. The hot filament is protected from air by a glass bulb that is filled with inert gas or evacuated. In a halogen lamp, a chemical process...
. Surefire claims that this is bright enough to temporarily blind and disorient a person by impairing their night-adapted vision
Adaptation (eye)
In ocular physiology, adaptation is the ability of the eye to adjust to various levels of darkness and light.-Efficacy:The human eye can function from very dark to very bright levels of light; its sensing capabilities reach across nine orders of magnitude. This means that the brightest and the...
. Fifteen M6 flashlights were used to illuminate the Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
for the June 2008 cover photo of National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic, formerly the National Geographic Magazine, is the official journal of the National Geographic Society. It published its first issue in 1888, just nine months after the Society itself was founded...
. The New York Times referred to the M6 as being of the "design school that might be called Modern Militant, the most familiar example of which is the Hummer
Hummer
Hummer was a brand of trucks and SUVs, first marketed in 1992 when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. In 1998, General Motors purchased the brand name and marketed three vehicles: the original Hummer H1, based on the Humvee; and the H2 and H3 models that were...
." This was later used in SureFire's 2007 product catalogue.
Other products
Headlamp (outdoor)
A headlamp is a light source affixed to the head for outdoor activities at night or in dark conditions such as caving, orienteering, hiking, backpacking, camping, mountaineering or mountain biking...
, helmet mounted lights with an infra-red IFF
Identification friend or foe
In telecommunications, identification, friend or foe is an identification system designed for command and control. It is a system that enables military and national interrogation systems to identify aircraft, vehicles, or forces as friendly and to determine their bearing and range from the...
strobe and weapon-mounted lights
Tactical light
A tactical light is a flashlight used in conjunction with a firearm to aid low light target identification, allowing the marksman to simultaneously aim and illuminate the target. Tactical lights can be handheld or mounted to the weapon with the light beam parallel to the bore...
for various rifles and handguns. These weapon-mounted lights use a shock-absorbing assembly to protect the tungsten
Tungsten
Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...
filament bulb
Incandescent light bulb
The incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe makes light by heating a metal filament wire to a high temperature until it glows. The hot filament is protected from air by a glass bulb that is filled with inert gas or evacuated. In a halogen lamp, a chemical process...
from recoil
Recoil
Recoil is the backward momentum of a gun when it is discharged. In technical terms, the recoil caused by the gun exactly balances the forward momentum of the projectile and exhaust gasses, according to Newton's third law...
, alternatively shock-resistant LEDs
Light-emitting diode
A light-emitting diode is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting...
are used. Some models of handgun-mounted lights have an integrated laser sight.
A large weapon-light is also manufactured by Surefire; the HellFighter Weaponlight uses a 35 watt high intensity discharge (HID) bulb powered by a 12 volt car battery or by two 5595 military batteries. The bulb is shock-isolated, outputs about 3000 lumens and is mounted in a textured parabolic reflector
Parabolic reflector
A parabolic reflector is a reflective device used to collect or project energy such as light, sound, or radio waves. Its shape is that of a circular paraboloid, that is, the surface generated by a parabola revolving around its axis...
that provides a beam that is optimized for throw
Throw (projector)
In film terminology, throw is the distance of a movie projector from the screen. It is the distance the image is thrown onto the screen, and it has a large effect on screen size....
, but also with additional spill light for peripheral illumination. It is bright enough to illuminate targets hundreds of yards away and is intended to be attached to a machine gun.
Surefire also produces Picatinny rail
Picatinny rail
The Picatinny rail or MIL-STD-1913 rail or STANAG 2324 rail or a "Tactical Rail" is a bracket used on some firearms in order to provide a standardized mounting platform. A similar system is the Weaver rail mount.-Description:...
forends, sound suppressors
Suppressor
A suppressor, sound suppressor, sound moderator, or silencer, is a device attached to or part of the barrel of a firearm which reduces the amount of noise and flash generated by firing the weapon....
, muzzle brake
Muzzle brake
Muzzle brakes and recoil compensators are devices that are fitted to the muzzle of a firearm or cannon to redirect propellant gases with the effect of countering both recoil of the gun and unwanted rising of the barrel during rapid fire...
s, flash suppressor
Flash suppressor
A flash suppressor, also known as a flash guard, flash eliminator, flash hider, or flash cone, is a device attached to the muzzle of a rifle or other gun that reduces the visible signature of the burning gases that exit the muzzle. This reduces the chances that the shooter will be blinded in dark...
s, EarPro branded hearing protection and tactical communication earpieces, and Combat Utility knives. These knives combine some features of a multi-tool
Multi-tool
A multi-tool is any one of a range of portable, versatile hand tools that combines several individual functions in a single unit...
with the blade of a combat knife
Combat knife
A combat knife is a fighting knife designed solely for military use and primarily intended for hand-to-hand or close combat fighting.Since the end of trench warfare, most military combat knives have been secondarily designed for utility use in addition to their original role as close-quarter combat...
. In late 2010, Surefire introduced STANAG
STANAG magazine
A STANAG magazine is a type of detachable firearm magazine proposed by NATO in October 1980. Shortly after NATO's acceptance of the 5.56x45mm NATO rifle cartridge, Draft Standardization Agreement 4179 was proposed in order to allow the military services of member nations easily to share rifle...
compatible high capacity magazines with a capacity of 60 or 100 rounds.