Yep, they are. But lots of the old ones are still in the supply chain.

-john

Well, I can't comment personally on the Scorpion, but I have a Twintask TL-1 on order for edc. I"ll post the result of the evaluation when I get it in.

What I will say is taht I know some guys who carry the Scorpion, rather than a Surefire in the very-bright incandecent catagory. they've been out in the same weather I've been in with my G2, and they work fine.

I have a couple of Scorpions, and they are similar in brightness to the same catagory SF lights (G2, 6P).

Some people like the rubber grip and some do not. The upside of the grip is that it you get a very secure and conformatble grip. The downside is that it is harder to pull out of a (tighish) pocket or sheath. Personally I like it. The G2 on the other hand isn't rubbery, but does have some texture to it and isn't slippery. The non black colors (yellow in particular) do collect dirt stains.

The clickie style tailcap works very easily and is nice to use. It isn't built as well as the SF tailcaps, so hard use might damage it.

It is possible to accidently active the light in your pocket. And if you do, you can melt the lens (and you'll say "ouch, that's hot!"). I assume it is possible to melt the lens on the G2 as well and the old style w/o the lockout tailcap would not have anything to prevent this. Of course, since it is momentary activation on the G2, it is less likely to be on long enough to melt the lens. Of course since the button sticks out, you are more likely to activate it here and there.

The rubber sheath can get damaged / cut up in some cases. Most typically this would be a "compression" type cut at the tail end. Basically drop it on it's tail and the metal in the light can cut the rubber. Dogs also like to chew up the Scorpion. :-O SL has a warantee, but my attempts to get them just to sell me a replacement rubber sleeve were unsuccessful.

The rubber is part of the water resistance, so if it is cut, the water resitance is compromised. However, the Scorpion design is inherently only splash restaint IMO and cannot easily be made waterrproof. OTOH, the (old style) G2 tailcap isn't waterproof at all.

The real problem with the Scorpion however is the lamp assembly. It uses a bi-pin lamp, and it is possible to dislodge it by dropping it, or in storage if it moves around. The problem is bad because 1) the light doesn't work when you need it, and 2) because the light falls into the head assembly which is sealed and has a "rubber" seal at the opening. It becomes a long exercise with needle nose pliers or tweezers to shake the bulb around until you can snag a leg of the bulb and coax it out. The little rubber thingy at the entrance which provides shock issolation and retention really works against you in this case. The G2 on the other hand has an integrated lamp assembly and this isn't a problem.

All in all, the (old style) G2 and the Scorpion are very comprable. I'd give a slight nod to the G2 only because of the lamp retention issue which is a serious design flaw IMO and can leave you w/o light, w/o notice at any time. The old G2 has a serious design flaw in that it's tailcap is in no way waterproof and the button falls out when you are changing the battery, but those are more managable issues.

The new style G2 lockout tailcap is supposed to be waterproof and not have any parts that fall out. In that regard, I think it is clear the new style G2 is much better than the Scorpion and for about the same price.

Cheers,

-john

Part of the point of the Orb Raw is that it's tiny. Under 2 inches long and less than an inch wide. It weighs 30g. It's a keyring light that puts out 100 lumen. I certainly wouldn't have it as my only, or main, torch, but I think it might be small enough to carry in addition to a main torch. Two torches rather than one torch with two brightness levels.

I don't know. As I say, I bought it as a toy rather than a survival light. I recently bought a Surefire L1 which I did intend as a suvival light, but I'm disappointed with it, so I'm casting around for alternatives.

How are the Streamlight TwinTasks? I don't have one, but I see they have a single CR123A cell xenon/LED unit for around $21. Looks small, and you have the LED backup in case your xenon doesn't work, maybe because you dropped the light and jarred the bulb.

http://www.brightguy.com/detail_int.php?Sku=STR51004

There is a two-cell model as well, bigger and brighter (and longer runtime) if you want that tradeoff.

I have a Twin Tasklight 1L and there is nothing really wrong with it, but is seems awful big for what it is. Maybe this is less noticable in the 2L version (don't have).

-john

but the surefire lamp assembly is pretty expensive and you don't get much time out of that bulb at $17 a pop? Is it worth this kind of investment?

They are well reviewed but I think even the 1x123A is much too bulky for pocket carrry. For camping/backpack use, the 2L or 3AA look great. I really like hybrid lights though, and someday I'm looking forward to getting a Surefire Aviator, which may be the best of the lot, particularly if they end up shortening the tailcap.

The Bulbs last for a while in my experience. I've got an A2 that I have had for a good year now (the longest of my Xenon Surefires) and that is still on its original bulb. I used it quite often when I did stage work. I actually let someone borrow it and they left it on for the whole show (3 hours) until the only thing still lit was the LEDs because of lack of battery power. The thing it kills is batteries, it goes through those 123s like water. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

With normal, intermittant use, you will likely rarely burn out a bulb. I think you'll feel the bite of buying batteries long before you worry about lamp assemblies.

BTW, you should be buying batteries online in bulks of at least 12 to get reasonable prices. Best prices around $1 ea. for less known brands, worst case $18 for 12 (Streamlight: very reliable, good performance). Prices prior to shipping.

-john