Versatile Light

When SureFire unveiled the Guardian at the shoot house event last year, I didn't really pay it much attention. The dual lamp setup seemed gimmicky, and it wasn't tacticool at all. The sample light arrived at the house and got set aside and ignored...until I decided to bring it along on my house-sitting trip to New Hampshire earlier this year.

Spending a week or so alone in a big house on a few acres way out in the woods completely changed my opinion of this light. Between the two lamps, each with three brightness settings, there wasn't a lighting chore it couldn't handle.

The larger lamp assembly is the traditional SureFire reflector you've come to know and love. It outputs 900, 250, or 15 lumens, depending on how many times you push the activation button in quick succession. The nine hundred lumen beam easily illuminated even the farthest corners of the property without stepping off the porch; it has a lot of throw.

The smaller lamp assembly uses SureFire's newer MaxVision reflector. This throws a wider, more even beam that lacks the intensely bright center hot spot. Again, it has three illumination levels that you step through by poking the button one, two, or three times. The brightest is a full 1000 lumens, stepping down through 300 to a minimum 15 lumen setting excellent for nighttime navigating to the loo without using full aircraft landing light power.

Between the lenses is the photocell that controls SureFire's "Intellibeam" technology, that dims the light based on reflection, so that if you hit a reflective surface with the full 900 or 1000 lumens, the light will throttle itself back.

The body is a solid-feeling polycarbonate shell, the halves of which are welded together for water resistance. There's a metal inset panel on the the side opposite the buttons that serves as a radiator. Between the buttons is a tiny LED that serves as a "gas gauge" for the rechargeable batteries.

The shape of the light makes it easy to turn on to the desired setting and then set it down to use as a work light.

It charges via a USB-C port, which features a rubber cover for weather resistance. It can also be used as a battery pack to charge small devices, if necessary.

It's right on the outside limit of what I'd want to carry in my jeans pocket, but really not any more difficult than my usual EDCL2-T.

If I could change anything, it would be to put a different shape or texture to the two buttons. It's hard to put your thumb on the wrong one, but a little added insurance wouldn't hurt.

Anyway, my opinion on the thing has changed from "gimmicky" to "actually rather versatile and useful". It's better than my EDCL2-T at pretty much any flashlight chore that doesn't involve simultaneously holding a pistol.
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