Healing Surge item powers?

[CapnZapp]

Like other powers, magic item powers are sometimes at-will powers, sometimes encounter powers, and sometimes daily powers. Magic item powers have two other categories as well: Healing surge powers are usable every time you spend a healing surge, and consumable powers appear in one-use magic items.

unerrataed PHB page 226 (my emphasis)

Healing Surge: You begin with one use of the power per day, like a daily power. You can renew this item’s power by taking a standard action to funnel your vitality into the item, spending a healing surge in the process. Spending a healing surge in this way doesn’t restore hit points, and this standard action is separate from the action required to activate the item’s power.

same page (again my emphasis)


Which is it? Do you

a) need to spend a surge each time you use, say, the "gain resist 10" power of Bloodcut Armor (PHB227)?
or
b) not need to spend a surge to use its power, but as it's a Daily you can't use it again that day, unless you spend a surge to "recharge" the daily?

While a) is the easy-to-remember, easy-to-use rule, I'll have to assume b) is the correct answer. Does this mean
1) then these "healing surge powers" work differently from how Potions work, no?
2) a level 1-10 character still can't use the power even if he or she uses a surge to recharge it, because he needs to wait for a milestone to get another daily item use?

Magic item dailies really are a horrible kludge! Again assuming b) is correct, wouldn't it be better to at least call these powers "Daily (Surge Recharged)" or something?

 

[Dalzig]

The first quote is a description. The second quote is the actual rules.

Healing Surge item != Daily. It says like a daily, not this is a daily. Healing Surge items are completely independent from daily magic item use limits. The only limit is the amount of Healing Surges you use to recharge them.

 

[jedrious]

Like other powers, magic item powers are sometimes at-will powers, sometimes encounter powers, and sometimes daily powers. Magic item powers have two other categories as well: Healing surge powers are usable every time you spend a healing surge, and consumable powers appear in one-use magic items.

General

Healing Surge: You begin with one use of the power per day, like a daily power. You can renew this item’s power by taking a standard action to funnel your vitality into the item, spending a healing surge in the process. Spending a healing surge in this way doesn’t restore hit points, and this standard action is separate from the action required to activate the item’s power.

Specifc


Both of your conclusions are actually incorrect

B is more correct, you start with a single use of the power, once it is activated you can recharge it with a standard action that costs you a healing surge, uses of the powerdo not count towards your daily magic item uses because they are not daily item powers, just like item encounter and at-will powers do not count towards that limit