Anyone gone snorkeling with a Surefire?

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Looking at going snorkeling / swimming in the San Marcos river (in San Marcos, TX) with a Surefire L2. And while they said it was waterproof, I would just like to make sure...

 

[bleeb]

hmmm surefires are expensive.

 

[sunase]

Hrm, their web page says "O-ring sealed, weatherproof" and doesn't even mention a depth. I'd give it 10 minutes of snorkeling, tops. I've had flashlights that explicitly claimed waterproof that couldn't handle snorkeling and these guys aren't even going that far. Really need to get one designed for diving/prolonged swims.

 

[ruffilb]

Originally posted by: sunase
Hrm, their web page says "O-ring sealed, weatherproof" and doesn't even mention a depth. I'd give it 10 minutes of snorkeling, tops. I've had flashlights that explicitly claimed waterproof that couldn't handle snorkeling and these guys aren't even going that far. Really need to get one designed for diving/prolonged swims.

Yea, unless it says "Waterproof," I wouldn't take it underwater.

Proceed with caution.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Yeah... It has some stuff on their website about it, but I'd rather not risk a $175 flashlight, even though it would be absolutely wonderful for snorkeling...

 

[Dessert Tears]

Originally posted by: Fullmetal Chocobo
Looking at going snorkeling / swimming in the San Marcos river (in San Marcos, TX) with a Surefire L2. And while they said it was waterproof, I would just like to make sure...

Surefires have O-ring construction that is quite waterproof when properly lubricated. I believe that they're constructed so that water pressure increases the effective pressure in the seals by forcing the parts harder against the O-rings. IIRC from reading CPF, they're perfectly fine for snorkeling depths. They're not appropriate for diving depths because the water pressure pushes the push-button switch on constantly.

Edited to add link:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=99449&highlight=water

The "Aleph" lights mentioned can be interchanged with Surefire E-series parts and should have comparable performance, except for possibly at the lens interface.

If you have an L2 already, it should be okay, but I would research it a little more. If you're looking to buy a new light, you should go with a dedicated dive light.

 

[BW86]

The Surefire L2 is waterproof to 33 feet.
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[Dessert Tears]

Originally posted by: BW86
The Surefire L2 is waterproof to 33 feet.
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The waterproof depth is probably an old estimate. My guess is that Surefire removed it from its product literature/advertising because it wasn't having tests run at certification laboratories. I consulted an E1e/E2e Owner Handbook dated 2001, and the exact wording is "Water Resistant O-Ring Sealed", matching the current wording on the Surefire website. Of course, the anecdotal evidence shows that their actual maximum depth is greater than 10 meters.

However, there are some definite problems with the information on the site you linked. Both the Features and Specifications for the L2 have been copied from the L1 page and incompletely modified. The most obvious error is that the L2 is listed as a 1-battery light.