Associate Online Shooting Editor Paul Rackley visited SureFire’s headquarters in Orange County, Calif., to check out their products and manufacturing processes.
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SureFire
For more than 30 years, SureFire has been creating high-tech illumination devices. They just weren’t always called SureFire.
The Terminator
SureFire, then known as Laser Products Corp., produced the gunlaser carried by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the iconic film “Terminator.”
Quality Materials
Every quality product begins with quality materials. Here is an aluminum stock before being loaded into the CNC (computer numerically controlled) machines.
LX2 LumaMax
Today, SureFire is best known for its high-quality flashlights.
Machining
CNC machines produce the tightest tolerances possible.
Machined Bracket
When parts drop out of the CNC machine, they resemble the finished product. Here is a bracket for the X400 Weapon light.
Metal Shavings
Waste shaving are sent to the recycler to be turned into other products.
Ready for Electronics
A machined tube for an X400 LED Weapon Light before heading to the assembly line to receive its electronics.
X400 LED Weapon Light
The X400 LED is a 110-lumen light with a laser aiming device.
Tight Tolerances
Every SureFire product is CNC machined with the tightest tolerances possible in their Orange County, Calif. plants.
Integrating Sphere
All SureFire lights are tested using an Integrating Sphere.
Almost Done
Nearly complete L1 LumaMax flashlight.
L1 LumaMax Flashlight
This compact 65-lumens flashlight features a virtually indestructible power-regulated LED emitter that provides more illumination than most D-cell flashlights.
A2 LED Aviator
This compact 120-lumen flashlight weighs only 4.3 ounces and will run for two hours at max output.
V2 Vampire
The V2 Vampire produces both white and infrared light without the need of an IR filter. Weighing 5.6 ounces, the V2 has a max white light output of 100 lumens and 95 lumens in infrared mode.
Going Out
Finished products ready to ship.
Saint Minimus LED Headlamp
A smaller version of the Saint LED Headlamp, the Saint Minimus runs on a single 123A battery and weighs only 3.3 ounces while producing 100 lumens at max output.