Buying first Surefire. need opinions

[Numbers]

Gadget,
Can you help?
Which 2 stage (ohms rating) switch do you have on the KL4 (with the 2 cell body) and how many lumens do you estimate it puts out on low?

 

[Moorcroft]

If I can add my two pence worth into the discussion I would take the E2e everytime. It was my first serious light and it's the one I go for first every time I want an easy carry light with attitude.

There are so many options available,too, from the wide range of accessories.

So it's versatile and not one to become bored with.

 

[AlexSchira]

It's sitting next to my keyboard right now.
...it's the single greatest thing I've ever owned.
Don't tell my girlfriend that.
This thing lights up an entire house-wide basement, and that's without a beamshaper for flood enhancement. Hundred fifty foot spot beam, can't wait to test it in a dar field. The anodization can in fact saw through other flashlights. Just ask the remains of the cheapie I sacrificed just to prove this. This is the first item I've owned that doesn't become somewhat worn in the first day of generous use. It actually looks somewhat newer than when I took it out of the box because of a dust that had gotten in there. I understand the color isn't paint, but the actual anodization, which can vary by flashlight and even by individual component. My E2E looks somewhat darker than the others I've seen, more of a blue-gray then the dull green that seems to be standard. Still slightly green, but gray enough that I find it suits my personality quite well.
And...it's so tiny...I always imagined these things were compact, yes, but it's smaller than a Mini Mag, even. The more I just look at it, the more I realize how well it is designed. The scallops on the head so it can't be set down and left to burn out without warning. The larnyard ring on the clip. the texture on the clickie.
And the beam. The first perfect beam I've ever held in my hands. Whiter than the sun, much more portable, and now a permanent resident of my jeans pocket. My only regret, is how long it'll take to save up to upgrade this darling to a more powerful and longer lasting KL4 LED. But until then, this is more than I could ever ask for.

 

[Flakey]

let me get to you early. buy pila rechargeable batteries to put into that thing. save your self a FORTUNE. You wont understand how great having rechargables is until you have them. right now you have the mercedes of flashlights (not AMG though ... still need HOLA). Now driving that mercedes around with its 5.0L V8 is alot of fun and the best experience you have ever had in a car. the one place it hurts is at the gas station. you see $50 to fill up and it hurts. so your cruising on the freeway. and you think lets make a quick trip up to a hundred and twenty mph? but you stop yourself. no ... i dont want to waste a tank. ill just cruise. now imagine you have the same car with a gas tank that just fills itself up periodically. yeah ... that would ROCK! same thing with your light. you know that guilty feeling you have when you leave it on for more that a few seconds (i know you feel it) its the same reason you wont buy the high output assembly. 20 minutes at a time is probably more light than you will use in one day. but you dont want to waste those precious 123's. buy some pilas and light up EVERYTHING! just because you can. have this quesition in your mind at all times, "I wonder what that would look like ... if it were 65 lumens brighter?" lol! welcome to the surefire cult =)

 

[carrot]

It's sitting next to my keyboard right now.
...it's the single greatest thing I've ever owned.
Don't tell my girlfriend that.
This thing lights up an entire house-wide basement, and that's without a beamshaper for flood enhancement. Hundred fifty foot spot beam, can't wait to test it in a dar field. The anodization can in fact saw through other flashlights. Just ask the remains of the cheapie I sacrificed just to prove this. This is the first item I've owned that doesn't become somewhat worn in the first day of generous use. It actually looks somewhat newer than when I took it out of the box because of a dust that had gotten in there. I understand the color isn't paint, but the actual anodization, which can vary by flashlight and even by individual component. My E2E looks somewhat darker than the others I've seen, more of a blue-gray then the dull green that seems to be standard. Still slightly green, but gray enough that I find it suits my personality quite well.
And...it's so tiny...I always imagined these things were compact, yes, but it's smaller than a Mini Mag, even. The more I just look at it, the more I realize how well it is designed. The scallops on the head so it can't be set down and left to burn out without warning. The larnyard ring on the clip. the texture on the clickie.
And the beam. The first perfect beam I've ever held in my hands. Whiter than the sun, much more portable, and now a permanent resident of my jeans pocket. My only regret, is how long it'll take to save up to upgrade this darling to a more powerful and longer lasting KL4 LED. But until then, this is more than I could ever ask for.

Can we have a picture of the E2e with the remains of the poor victim flashlight?

 

[AlexSchira]

...that image is too disturbin...tink those Iraq beheading videos...that, and I was so frustrated at how long it took to saw through the switch mechanism I stomped the thing into splinters after I got it halved. Sorry...but some day...when another plastic cheapie betrays me, its master, I will make an example of it...

 

[GadgetTravel]

Gadget,
Can you help?
Which 2 stage (ohms rating) switch do you have on the KL4 (with the 2 cell body) and how many lumens do you estimate it puts out on low?

Sorry, wasnt ignoring you but looking for the order because I cant remember what it was for sure. Unfortunately I cant find it, I think it was on a mac notebook that had to get reformated by our IT people because it managed to get its operating system seriously gobsmacked. I think the first one I got was a 15 ohm and I decided it didnt knock it down enough so I got a 30 ohm as well. Im not sure I am good at estimating lumens. I end up putting the one I think is 15 ohm back on the 2 cell with KL4 and have the 30 ohm on a E1L that I travel with. The logic being that the 2 cell with KL4 is usually on the nightstand with several other lights and is running on Pilas so I dont really care as much about running out of juice. I carry the E1L at times so I am more concerned about low power on it. Sorry I cant help more.

There are some threads on the topic in the McGizmo section. Also, Lighthound who sells them and is great to deal with has beamshots of different resistance tailswitches on his website that I found quite useful to look at. Hope this helps.

 

[GadgetTravel]

let me get to you early. buy pila rechargeable batteries to put into that thing. save your self a FORTUNE. You wont understand how great having rechargables is until you have them. right now you have the mercedes of flashlights (not AMG though ... still need HOLA). Now driving that mercedes around with its 5.0L V8 is alot of fun and the best experience you have ever had in a car. the one place it hurts is at the gas station. you see $50 to fill up and it hurts. so your cruising on the freeway. and you think lets make a quick trip up to a hundred and twenty mph? but you stop yourself. no ... i dont want to waste a tank. ill just cruise. now imagine you have the same car with a gas tank that just fills itself up periodically. yeah ... that would ROCK! same thing with your light. you know that guilty feeling you have when you leave it on for more that a few seconds (i know you feel it) its the same reason you wont buy the high output assembly. 20 minutes at a time is probably more light than you will use in one day. but you dont want to waste those precious 123's. buy some pilas and light up EVERYTHING! just because you can. have this quesition in your mind at all times, "I wonder what that would look like ... if it were 65 lumens brighter?" lol! welcome to the surefire cult =)

Wait, can you use Pilas with an E2E incandescent? I know you can use them with the LED heads but I didnt know you could use them with incandescents.

 

[Flakey]

I know they work fine with 3 cell lights. might be a different story witth the 2 cell light but i dont see why. if not i know there are rechargeable options out there.

 

[Numbers]

Thanks Gadget-- all info is welcomed.
I think I can just order the tail cap with, lets say the 15 ohm because I think (I read somewhere) that the boards by themselves, ( say a 30 or 60 ohm) are only a few bucks and easily installed in the tail cap. I will confirm with Lighthound before I order.
Now I am going to look at the beamshots on that site.

 

[AlexSchira]

Question...
When the tailcap button is in the locked, constant on position, is a little rattling sound normal?

 

[CLHC]

I have a slight rattle with my SureFire M2 with the clickie and it isn't annoyingly bothersome to me. The rattle sounds like the batteries in the body and not from the tailcap. I have to find my SF.E2e to check and see if it has a rattle and humm. . .

 

[Lunarmodule]

Question...
When the tailcap button is in the locked, constant on position, is a little rattling sound normal?

AlexSchira,

You have struck upon one of my big nitpicks about my SF lights. The plastic componnts inside the clickie switch do rattle around, this is perfectly - unfortunately - normal and no cause for concern. At least its not so pronounced on the larger clickies (C/P/Z or M series) but its REALLY evident on my U2. It sounds like maracas if you shake it when its on, OK an exaggeration but it IS quite audible, NOT cell rattle. At least it only is an issue when the clickie is depressed, i.e. light ON.

 

[AlexSchira]

Still loving the E2E. Anodizing can still file my nails weeks after I bought it.
Now, here's the only issue. Surefire raised their prices a DAY after I got this thing. I currently have the two factory-issue 123s inside the light, and a two-pack the store threw in with it. Four 123s. That won't last me a week.
Some one mentioned protected Li-On cells for this thing. Anyone have any experience using rechargables in an E2E? As in stock incandescent, not the LED head. I'd love being able to use this thing worry-free, but I'm also worried the runtime will be cut back in case of a tight spot. Also...how does this thing compare to the Mag Charger? I read something recently where some one trashed Surefire, preaching that the Charger was the more 'American' route. Well...I love Mags, but I can't exactly carry a four cell nightstick of a light in the change pocket of my jeans. If the Li-ons really turn out decent, I may use it as a counterpoint to that guy's Mag-fondling and SF-shunning. Also. Can't help but notice the larnyard rings on the clip, very nice.
...Yet I don't own a larnyard...Yet.
Bu so far, I've managed to hold off buying another one out of pure impulse. But if I did...just metaphorically, what would be the ideal back-up to this gray-anodized darling? A 6P? Another E2E? E1L? A good old G2? This isn't for EDC, I mean I travel a bit and would like a second light in case a traveling companion needs a loaner or the Executive needs a tag team partner.
Also, my other half hasn't found out how much this thing costs. She called it 'cute', and I'm thinking of picking her up a E1E or something similar to keep her hands off mine.

 

[carrot]

You can get batteries elsewhere... Streamlight, Pentagonlight, Amondotech, and Batterystation all sell their own brands of CR123A. I use Amondotech, and I can't tell any difference between the performance of Amondotech Titanium vs Surefire.

In your shoes I'd probably get another E2e. That way you don't have to keep two different kinds of lamp assemblies around, though for a loaner light, I'd get the G2 since the Nitrolon body can take a lot of punishment and still come out looking pretty at the end of it all.

 

[Ty_Bower]

I noticed this thread a little late. I always thought the perfect starting Surefire collection would be an E1e, and L4, and an MN03 lamp. You'd get a one cell body, a two cell body, the low output lamp, the high output lamp, and the Lux V floodlight all in a set. You can mix and match pieces as needed (depending on the expected situation).

In your case, since you've already got the E2e, I might think about picking up a KL4 head and a Vital Gear FB1 body. Your local dealer ought to have the KL4 head, but you'll have to order the FB1 online.

 

[helios]

I say just go for it and get the Dominator 10X. Three hours at 60 lumens and 20 min at 500 lumens. I also have a Digilight NT9 that I got on Ebay for about $70. At 175 lumens its an awesome light in such a small package (35 min runtime). Good luck, you just can't go wrong with any Surefire product.

 

[cobra-ak]

I own a small collection of SureFire personal lights. E2L, L5, U2, both winelights (E2E and E1E) and a 6P, I also have a M3T but its hardly a personal light. Anyways my latest purchase was a E2L off of a tradeshow rep for 53 dollars last week. This light has blown me away, i had fiddled with one of these before and it didnt impress me but once I got it out in the dark I was very impressed. It doesnt have much spill as im used to coming from the L5, U2, etc. But whats really impressive is the throw and perfection of the beam. Its a very intense beam and the symmetry is perfect. I have become a big fan of the TIR lenses now. The flashlight feels good and light in your hands and the 6 hours of runtime really appealed to me coming from these other lights where your lucky to get a full hour out of a new set of batteries. Since I got this my other lights still have their purposesand get used but this is my EDC for now. I would highly recommend this or the E1L as a first Surefire light. Hope this helps.

Same here my E2L impressed me the brightness and the throw are awesome with the KL1. It is my favorite SF

 

[AlexSchira]

Well, a KL1 Head would give me the ability to mix and match. If I ever get deal on a E1 body, the KL1 on it would give me a nice little walking light that would fit my hat bill perfectly. But still, any word on how Li-ons would work with the stock E2E bulb? The idea of a rechargable and interchangable Surefire system just sounds too good to me.
...Also, wouldn't just getting an E1L give me the KL1 and the body? I imagine I'd need the lower output bulb to work with the one 123, though.

 

[GadgetTravel]

After getting an E2E I next got a KL4 head for it, then an E1L. You are right, that would give you the one cell body and the LED head. You would need the E1E bulb and you could then make a 1 cell incan an put the KL1 on the two cell body. The KL1 head will work with either one or two rechargeable R123s. The KL4 head will work with 1 rechargeable 123 and in the two cell body with a Pila or similar rechargeable battery. Two rechargeable 123s will damage the KL4.

Im currently using the E1L as is, with a diffuser and a two stage switch powered with a rechargeable 123. My KL4 head is on an E2E body with a two-stage tailswitch and a Pila for power. I have not used the incan head for months. It is sitting on my nightstand. I do use other incans though and I might be more likely to use the incan on the E series if it werent for that.