SureFire Kroma

The Surefire Kroma is one of the worlds most technologically advanced lights to date. It features many highly advanced components and showcases Surefire's extensive R&D department. There is very little in common between this light and your average big-box torch.

Meat and Potatoes
The Surefire Kroma is best described as a higly variable 2-stage torch. High beam is always a 50 lumen white light focused with a high transmission collimator lens rather than a reflector. This results in a very smooth beam transitioning almost completely flawlessly between spot and spill. It is accessed by pressing the tailcap down completely, or by tightening the switch the same amount to achieve constant on.

The secondary beam, however, is where all the magic happens. A half push (or lesser twist for constant) of the tailcap brings you to the low level beam. This low level is independently selectable between:

• 1.4 lumen White
• .48 lumen Blue
• 3.4 lumen Blue
• .52 lumen Red
• 6.3 lumen Red

All of these options are accessible by use of the selector ring beneath the head of the light and thankfully, the High mode will turn on with a firm press of the button at any time, in any mode allowing you instant access to the most light this torch can produce.

This light is very well constructed and the array of 3mm LEDs around the lens in the head of the light actually makes it look almost like a piece of jewelry. That being said, this isn't a piece that has to be babied. This is still a solid tool meant to be used and it definitely gives that impression. The anodizing is extremely thick and will likely hold up to a load of abuse and still look fairly good.

Constructive Criticism
The strange thing about this light in my opinion is the fact that as advanced as it is, there is still plenty of room for improvement. Most of this likely stems from the very fact that it has so many features. Because of this, more is expected of it than other lights. Since it was designed to be an all encompassing utility light, more perfection is required to achieve this than if it had been designed with fewer features.

My biggest concern with this light is the level of the high beam. This light is still currently being touted as one of the top of the line lights in SureFire's arsenal, and yet the high beam utilizes an outpaced Luxeon III LED producing a meager 50 lumens. If this LED were to be upgraded to one of the offerings by Cree, Seoul Semiconductor, or OSRAM, and then driven a little harder (as those LED's are capable of) the output would benefit greatly from the change. 50 lumens out of a 2 cell light has grown to the point of feeling underpowered when, in my opinion, a Surefire light of this size should be kicking out upwards of three times that.

Speaking of size. I realize that this may be strictly my personal opinion and nothing more, but in my experience, the Kroma seemed to be one of the largest 2xCR123A lights I have seen. The only one I can remember surpassing it was the SureFire U2 Ultra. This creates a torch that is less prone to be slipped into a pocket and actually carried. As we all know, in an emergency, the only light that counts is the one you actually have with you.

One final note of concern was with the construction of the plastic pieces such as the selector ring. For a piece of this quality and price, I would expect this to be completely flawless, but I was assaulted with mold marks and inconsistencies that would generally only show up on significantly cheaper items.

Conclusions
This light is fantastic in concept and decent in execution, however I am loath to say that it lives up to it's price tag. Certainly this is a light I would be thrilled to have in my posession, but it's lack of power or efficiency due to surpassed LED technology gives me pause. I would say that if this light were updated with completely current technology, I would be able to rate it better, but in the mean time, I will personally pass.

All things being considered, it is still an excellent light, just don't expect it to blow people away in pure illumination drag racing power. The strength of the Kroma lies within it's versatility instead.

Fenix L2D

Fenix L2D

The Fenix L2D is the 2xAA version of the P2D. Electronically speaking the two lights are identical, just using the two 1.5v batteries to make up the correct voltage. This allows for use of a more common cell with much simpler manufacturing costs. In all, a very prudent use of resources making use of the available power supplies and creating 2 lights for little more than the price of one.


Meat and Potatoes
There is not much to say about this light that I have not already spoken of for the P2D. Most of this will sound very familiar. The biggest advantages that this light offers over the other is the fact that AA batteries are extremely commonplace worldwide and you will likely be able to find replacements nearly anywhere. Also notable is the fact that the light supports use of NiMH or other rechargeable 1.2v AA cells (no 3.6v Li-Ions please) bringing reusability and higher capacity to this already long running light.

This light carries with it a very civilized demeanor. It has the feel of a very quality light. It was surprising to me to pick up something that looked basically like a common 2xaa Incandescent and have such impressive output and variability. The construction felt very sturdy and did not really leave anything to be desired. Even the black anodizing was completely uniform in color from stem to stern. I actually have handled much pricier models that did not have this level of uniformity in their anodizing.

For output, this light puts out a very nicely balanced beam with few flaws. The unit I have tried doesn't even have much by way of the characteristic Cree dark ring that is the bane of white wall hunters around the globe even though it was a smooth reflectored model instead of the textured reflectors prevailent in the current lineup. There is just a nice transition between spot and spill. A lightly textured reflector would go that much further in advancing this beam to the point of pure beauty. I would say that this sample nearly rivals the beam brightness of my Pila GL2 with Cree emitter and is more than adapt at lighting up whatever you may run into on a daily basis.

The turbo mode is strictly full max power and the strobe function. The general use mode (accessed by loosening the head of the light slightly) consists of 3 lower levels of light and the SOS beacon. The lower levels do a good job filling in for the times that full blast is actually going to be a little too much. Sometimes when you are working close up or just navigating on a dark night, you don't need to have the power of the sun in your hand. These extra modes also allow you to stretch your runtime out to some fairly long periods for those times that you don't have extra batteries waiting for you.

This light offers a SOS and a "Tactical" strobe setting that are tucked away where you will not run across them the majority of the time. The instances where these will actually come in handy are likely to be few and far between, but it is kind of nice to know that they are there in that event.


Constructive Criticism
One area that I would focus on for possible improvements on this light is the anodizing. While it is uniform in appearance. it claims to be a hardy Type III anodizing that should then resist scratching and wear fairly well over time. In reality however I see quite a few of these that begin to develop a patina of wear on all the corners of the light before too many months of use go by.

The switch is something that I would like to mention as well. This light changes "sub-modes" (for lack of a better term) by a half click of the button. Enough to turn it off and back on in under half a second or so. I would like to see this switch get just a touch less sensitive. I have found a number of times where it accidentally finds it's way into another level without my intention, just because my thumb happens to be resting on the switch.

This light has one very annoying quality that begs for a makeover. When first switching the light on in low mode, it breifly flashes a full power blast before reigning it in to usable levels. This is particularly noticable when you are in a dark environment which is the very place you would be using the low mode in the first place. I would definitley like to see this addressed in the future.

Finally, another thing I would like to see is a slightly lower low for this light. The runtime is already superb, however since there is such a thorough range of levels, it would be nice to have this be really low enough to just get by when you need next to no light. I know the subsequent models with higher bin codes have merely swapped out the emmitter with more efficient versions so every time the turbo mode gets brighter (a good thing) the low mode does as well (less good).


Conclusions
Conclusively speaking, this light, while not the be-all, end-all in performance, is definitely a very usable piece with many good qualities. I have recommended this light to quite a number of people and several have taken me up on it and thanked me for it.


update: I have, since formulating this review, found out that Fenix has taken an approach of continual improvement in this series of lights and has introduced reverse polarity protection (preventing your light from frying itself if you mistakenly put the battery in backwards) and also reducing or removing the annoying bright flash of light when used in low mode. Kudos to you Fenix for taking the initiative to strive for a better light without making the general public wait for specific better models.

Fenix P2D

Fenix P2D

The Fenix P2D is the first single celled light powered by CR123A batteries that I have had the pleasure of using. Because of this light I have developed a real affinity for this compact style of powerhouse. One cell lights are no longer required to be viewed as simply pocketlights, useful only for merely locating a keyhole in the dark or reading a menu in a dimly lit restaurant. These lights show real capabilities in a variety of venues.

Meat and Potatoes
This light carries with it a very civilized demeanor. It has the feel of a very quality light. I was impressed from the get go on how compact this light was providing such impressive power from so small a package. The construction felt very sturdy and did not really leave anything to be desired. Even the black anodizing was completely uniform in color from stem to stern. I actually have handled much pricier models that did not have this level of uniformity in their anodizing.

For output, this light puts out a very nicely balanced beam with few flaws. The unit I have tried doesn't even have much by way of the characteristic Cree dark ring that is the bane of white wall hunters around the globe. There is just a nice transition between spot and spill. All this with a smooth reflector. A lightly textured reflector would go that much further in advancing this beam to the point of pure beauty. I would say that this sample nearly rivals the beam brightness of my Pila GL2 with Cree emitter and is more than adapt at lighting up whatever you may run into on a daily basis.

The extra bonus of having a good selection of other brightness levels is such a bonus that it almost isn't required to mention. This light is a good purchase already. The general use mode (accessed by loosening the head of the light slightly) consists of 3 lower levels of light to fill in for the times that full blast is actually going to be a little too much. Sometimes when you are working close up or just navigating on a dark night, you don't need to have the power of the sun in your hand. These extra modes also allow you to stretch your runtime out to some fairly long periods for those times that you don't have an extra battery waiting for you.

Lastly, this light offers a SOS and a "Tactical" strobe setting that are tucked away where you will not run across them the majority of the time. The instances where these will actually come in handy are likely to be few and far between, but it is kind of nice to know that they are there in that event.

Constructive Criticism
One area that I would focus on for possible improvements on this light is the anodizing. It claims to be a hardy Type III anodizing that should then resist scratching and wear fairly well over time. In reality however I see quite a few of these that begin to develop a patina of wear on all the corners of the light before too many months of use go by.

The switch is something that I would like to mention as well. This light changes "sub-modes" (for lack of a better term) by a half click of the button. Enough to turn it off and back on in under half a second or so. I would like to see this switch get just a touch less sensitive. I have found a number of times where it accidentally finds it's way into another level without my intention, just because my thumb happens to be resting on the switch.

This light has one very annoying quality that begs for a makeover. When first switching the light on in low mode, it breifly flashes a full power blast before reigning it in to usable levels. This is particularly noticable when you are in a dark environment which is the very place you would be using the low mode in the first place. I would definitley like to see this addressed in the future.

Finally, another thing I would like to see is a slightly lower low for this light. The runtime is already superb, however since there is such a thorough range of levels, it would be nice to have this be really low enough to just get by when you need next to no light. I know the subsequent models with higher bin codes have merely swapped out the emmitter with more efficient versions so every time the turbo mode gets brighter (a good thing) the low mode does as well (less good).

Conclusions
Conclusively speaking, this light, while not the be-all, end-all in performance, is definitely a very usable piece with many good qualities. I have recommended this light to quite a number of people and several have taken me up on it and thanked me for it.


update: I have, since formulating this review, found out that Fenix has taken an approach of continual improvement in this series of lights and has introduced reverse polarity protection (preventing your light from frying itself if you mistakenly put the battery in backwards) and also reducing or removing the annoying bright flash of light when used in low mode. Kudos to you Fenix for taking the initiative to strive for a better light without making the general public wait for specific better models.