Whats the difference???

I am looking at buying my first LED only flashlight and have narrowed down between either a Surefire L1 or L4. What are the differences between them?

What I am looking to do here is get a light that will give me increased run time (batt) while providing enough light to operate in the scenario of the "power is out at home for several hours". Possibly looking for more of a flood light versus a spot. I would like to keep the cost down under 200.00 so the U2 is out, plus I have heard several negative comments in regards to that particular light. My only stipulation other then the cost is that I stay with Surefire for this one.

Any thoughs and or opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance-

Drew

The current L1 is a spotlight -- squarish spot with little sidespill. It features two stages (low and high). Overall output is only 22 lumens, but appears high due to the focusing.

The L4 is a floodlight. It produces an insane amount of light (at least 65 lumens). But it's floody. The L1 reaches farther, but the L4 lights up the whole room. It produced a real wall-of-light experience. Standard L4 only has one stage, but 2-stage tailcaps are there (not from Surefire, though). The L2 has the same beam and similar (slightly higher) output with a 2 stage tailcap, but it has different body than the L4 (it's fairly long).

Very different lights. Runtime of the L4 is only in the one-hour range on high. If you need it for extended hours, I would recommend either the L1 (spot) or L2 (flood, which I prefer for usage during power outages), or get a 2-stage tailcap (which are quite pricey, L4+2-stage is more expensive than L2 which is more expensive than L1). All should still be well below $200.

The U2 is a great light. Love mine. Best combination of throw and spill I know. Don't let the negative comments here fool you. Most of them re. donut hole and tint seem to be coming from extremely picky people, most of which agree that those things do not hinder the use of the U2 in practical applications. And Surefire warranty is helpful for all technical problems (though you need sometimes some patience).

Check out the OpticsHQ deal on the dealers forums (there's a sticky thread) there), before you decide. Lighthound has also good prices.

For your scenario I would have gone for an L2. Hours and hours on Lo and light up EVERYTHING (especially if you are indoors) on High.

OK so lets say for the time being that I go with a L4. Are the 2 stage tail caps reliable? Are they safe for the light, in other words not some gimmicky thing that kinda works but may blow your 175.00 lamp up? Is the aftermarket 2 stage tail cap as dependable as the stock SF tailcap? Would the 2 stage cap allow for longer run times due to having a LOW as well as the standard 65 lumen high setting? How much and where can I go see one on the WWW? I like the idea of the L4 being able to "light up a room", but to beable to tone it down with a low setting to conserve batts. is even sweeter...

Conversly, I have no idea what the 22 lumens from the L1 would look like or if it is enough to operate in a darkend room. Is that 22 lumens from the L1 on high or low setting? Do I really need as much light as the L4 will put out to beable to move around in a room durring power outage?

I dont like the length of the L2. Something about that setup that bothers me, not sure what it is though....

Thanks for all the help so far!
-Drew

drew78 said:

I am looking at buying my first LED only flashlight and have narrowed down between either a Surefire L1 or L4. What are the differences between them?

What I am looking to do here is get a light that will give me increased run time (batt) while providing enough light to operate in the scenario of the "power is out at home for several hours". Possibly looking for more of a flood light versus a spot. I would like to keep the cost down under 200.00 so the U2 is out, plus I have heard several negative comments in regards to that particular light. My only stipulation other then the cost is that I stay with Surefire for this one.

Click to expand...

:thinking: The thing is, the L1 matches your runtime scenario, but doesn't match your flood beam requirement. You could mod the L1 to a reflector, or get an L2. An alternative would be to get an L4 and buy a McGizmo two-stage switch from The Shoppe (an L2 would be cheaper off the box, although it's a tad longer than the L4 if you're concerned about size at all).

:laughing: you were posting as I was typing. The Mc2Es is very reliable. Here's the Aleph page on The Sandwich Shoppe. Contact Wayne with questions, or read the Aleph FAQ on the McGizmo forum. Runtime and output will depend on the resistor value you choose (higher resistor= lower light= longer runtime). Which value to choose is a personal choice, as some people need more light than others to perform the same task.

Hi Drew, I don't have the L4 or L2, but I do have two of the McGizmo two way switches and I can tell you that I love them, the quality imo is that of SF products. I have the switch on a E2E. Lighthound.com has them. He can advise you what ohm to order, the lower the # the brighter on low. The L-4 with two way switch would make a dandy edc. Good luck!

I recommend you check out the Surefire A2 & L2.

For whatever reason, I have the L1, L2, and L4.

The L4 beam is very similar to the L2 on high. Yes, the L2 is longer, but I don't find it objectionable. I think two stages are quite necessary. The big high power beam is great when you need it. But, if you try to use high to read or write something close up you practically go blind!

The L1 is a cool little light. Although some people don't like them, the optics make that 22 lumens go a long way. The beam is square, which really makes no difference, but it 'looks funny' to some. Low power is pretty dim, but during a power failure it would be just right for closeup work.

My personal favorite is the L2. The low beam is plenty of light for most uses, and no so bright as to interfere with reading and writing. High is MASSIVE.

Both the L2 and L4 are less than "ideal" for a lot of outdoor use where you need throw, but 95% of my use is indoors, so it's not a big deal to me.

I don't have the aftermarket 2-stage cap for the L4. However, there is a thread from a few weeks ago that described how to dissassemble the L4 tailcap and put in a resistor to make the stock cap a twistie with a two-stage clickie. You might want to search for that and read it.

Hope some of this helps.

Oh, BTW, I'm loving my L1 more and more. The squarish beam is only noticeable indoors and at close range. Once you're outside and using it in the "real world" it makes no difference and throws quite well. Also, while indoors, the walls provide enough "bounce-back" while on high that you can see well outside the hotspot without a problem.

In contrast to magic79, I find the low level "almost right", a tad too bright if anything. See, I told you, people have different light needs and preferences - *your* use and preference will be the final word. :laughing:

I'd go for the L4. McGizmo is one of the legendary CPF modders, so I'd trust a Surefire with his tailcap as much as a stock Surefire. (That's to say, a LOT.)

You don't have any LED lights? I suggest you order a Surefire right away, and then order a Fenix L1P to go with it.

Drew 78,

There are so many variables and so many options that you have to consider (and probably a bunch more lights you will buy).

I will just say that I have both L4 and KL1 but on a 2 cell body. As you know the lights serve different purposes but if I could only have ONE, or wanted to start with one and buy something else later (which is exactly what I did)there is no question in my mind that the L4 is most definitely the light to have vs any configuration of the KL1 head. For me it's not even close nor is it a fair comparison; I think the L4 does a better job at what it was designed for than the KL1 does at what it was designed for. The KL4 is just a nicer package (perfect beam) than the KL1 -- it should be it cost's more.

the kl1 has NO SIDESPILL, but good throw, the l4 has NO THROW but good spill. I dont like that surefire doesnt make a combination of the 2.... unless you want an incad or a U2 ( $250 )

-David

Cheapo,
Agreed!

Been giving this a LOT of thought and let me pose the quesiton this way...


Lets say my 'arsenal' consists of an E2e, G2, and A2, PLUS either the L1 or L4. Which one of those 2 would round out my collection better? And I was also trying to better define my usages for this light. Like I had initially stated, I was looking for a light that gave a good compromise between light output and usable runtime for general use, power outages, and walks at night (along the street, not wooded hikes in the middle of the night). Does the L4 have so much light spill that it would be useless on a lower setting (with a 2 stage tailcap) outdoors? I know it can light up a room on high, but I dont need to perfrom surgery to complete the types of tasks that I would need to with a more general light source. I know that my E2e gives enough bounce back in a room when aimed at the ceiling but thats at 65 lumens, so I wonder how the L1 would do in the same instance.
Sorry to be so 'pesky' I just dont have enought experience with these amazing little things to have a handle on what these ratings mean in real life. I can manage pretty well in the dark, so I dont think I would need a TON of light to do much. I think I am leaning more towards the L1 as of now, maybe get an U2 later...?

Any more thoughts or comments?

Thanks again-

Drew
Edited to change E2 to 'U2'

From reading your posts I think you just need to buy a U2 now. You will end up doing that anyway. I own a U2 but I still love the L4. It is the perfect light to EDC and it puts out an amazing amount of light for it's size. Then buy an E1 body and some rechargeables!!

greenLED said:

In contrast to magic79, I find the low level "almost right", a tad too bright if anything. See, I told you, people have different light needs and preferences - *your* use and preference will be the final word. :laughing:

Click to expand...

Just wait until you get older!!

I used to laugh at my dad all the time because I'd ask him to read something and he'd say "let me get some light". Heck, I could practically read it in the dark!

I laugh no more!

The L1 is a great little light though. As soon as I got mine, the E1E was GONE!

magic79-

Does your L1 look like the one on Surefires webpage? Reason I ask is that I was reading the review of the L1 on the "flashlight review" website and the picture of the L1 on that site showed the L1 with a bezel module much like the KL1 and it was dated 2005. So is that the current look, or does it look like the L1 on Surefires page? I will say that the pic on the flashlight review page looks a lot 'cooler' due to the scaloping along the bezel. Cant imagine why they would go away from that design. It just makes since, in case you set your light down lens first and its on, you would notice it. Thanks in advance-

Drew

The new ones have the KL1 look-alike bezels. I actually prefer the look of the old one to the new one, but that's my opinion. But the L1 is a "spot" light as opposed to a "flood"...

As said before --
L1 -- spot, two stage
L2 -- flood, two stage
L4 -- flood
U2 -- mixed

I wouldn't be too quick to rule out the U2 (if you can afford it) -- there may be problems when you buy it at first, but given a few weeks and Surefire will take care of you. I'm sure that the number of these problems is grossly exaggerated, anyway. What you describe wanting pretty much describes the U2... A lot of CPFers love this light.