Sometimes I think we need a new category on CG. Something like “Excessive gadgets” or “Completely over the top gadgets”. Take this torch from Surefire as an example. I guess we should consider this as a glimpse into the world of “highly specialized tools to do a specific job” because they’re not going to sell any to Joe public. The name should give a clue – they call it “The Beast II” and they want a cool £3,500 for it (that’s $7,000 at today’s exchange rate). So what makes it so special?
Light. Lots and lots of light. The quoted figure of 2000 lumens is hard to visualize but it’s the sort of power level you see used on aircraft landing lights or home cinema projectors.
It’ll give you that for 1.5 hours too which is nice until you realise that it takes 20 batteries to do it. They aren’t your common or garden batteries either – no, these are the silly high-power lithium jobs. At a bargain basement discounted internet cost of $1 per battery that’s a running cost of $0.22/minute.
The torch is also built to be nearly indestructible and if you really have a need for that sort of extreme illumination you can find it at Shop4Torches.co.uk