Surefire L2 drew attention!

22hornet

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Joined
Sep 15, 2006
Messages
740
Location
Province of Antwerp / Belgium
Hello,

A flashaholic story I would like to share.
Some sundays ago me and my wife went to visit the "fortress of Breendonk" a 19th century heavy fortress to protect the city of Antwerp. During the second world war, it saw use as a concentration camp. Two elder people I know personally spent some time there and, luckily, survived.

While we were visiting the dark fortress on a dark and grey sunday, it was difficult to see very well - at least to see all the details - in the dark corridors and very dimly lit rooms. That day my wife was carrying "a different handbag" and only had her ARC AAA CS on her. (her other bag contains 2 McKinleys - red and white - and a Fenix L2P.

So, she pulled out the ARC, only to find out that it wasn't enough light for the task. That day I was carrying my Surefire L2 (with rechargeable 3.0v cells) and she took it from me. Immediately everything around us was sufficiently lit (low mode) or either, brightly lit (high mode). The L2 truly remains a peerless light for lighting up rooms because of it's terrific flood.

That day there were not many visitors in the fortress. But a man who was walking close to us with his wife said: "thats good" and nodded his head. Thanks to my wife (I was using my ARC AAA DS which was a bit dim for "fortress illumination" that other couple suddenly could see a whole lot more, making their tour more interesting. They kept pace with us and were happy when we lit up unlit dark corridors. A few minutes later, another couple, one of the few as there were few visitors, started walking with us as well. These people regularly asked my wife to shine in this or another direction, allowing them to see things that would otherwise have remained in the dark.

It was an interesting day for this flashaholic :D. Because these old fortresses and concentration camps remind me of a past that must not be forgotten. And my wife made the tour even better.

Kind regards,
Joris
 

Rossymeister

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May 4, 2008
Messages
872
Location
U.S.A.
Good To See That Both Of You Were Prepared!

These Are The Stories That Make CPF Interesting.

-Aaron
 

tvodrd

*Flashaholic* ,
Joined
Dec 13, 2002
Messages
4,987
Location
Hawthorne, NV
Cool, joris! (I have a K-Hornet chamber reamer somewhere for a retirement project. :) )

Larry
 

22hornet

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Joined
Sep 15, 2006
Messages
740
Location
Province of Antwerp / Belgium
Hello,

The Surefire L2 was actually one of my first flashlights I bought since knowing CPF in september 2006.
I do not carry it all that often. Mostly (belt carry) I carry a Fenix L2D or an L2P.
I love/hate the light. It's output is magnificent, very useful for entering buildings. The "wall of light" remains impressive. Build quality is also excellent.

What I do not like are the battery tube and the working voltage.
I can only use 3.0v rechargeables after having them "skinned" from their outer foil. runtime on high is 20 minutes.
They should make the battery tube larger to accept commercial rechargeable cells and adjust the working voltage so it can be run on 2 3.7v cells without problems.

Kind regards,
Joris
 

MikeSalt

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 10, 2007
Messages
1,948
Location
Stoke On Trent, Staffordshire, UK
It is always good to have a flashlight handy when someone else really needs one. When I was in a cave last year, I had a Mag 2D ROP on my hands. Really lit up the cave, and lit up people's faces.
 

sims2k

Enlightened
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Messages
391
Location
Northwest Ohio
Very nice flashlight story indeed. I always keep my Surefire L2 in my laptop bag which goes pretty much wherever I go day or night. I keep L2DCE, RC-A3, and Surefire 6P with an 5 mode R2 dropin in my pockets everyday.
 

Tempest UK

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 15, 2006
Messages
1,692
Location
England
Nice story :eek:

I only recently picked up and L2, so I wouldn't say it was dead technology just yet.

Regards,
Tempest
 

22hornet

Enlightened
Joined
Sep 15, 2006
Messages
740
Location
Province of Antwerp / Belgium
It never ceases to amaze me that I am always the only one who carries a flashlight. It comes in handy nearly daily.
Even in the nineties I always carried a Minimag 2AAA.

Joris
 

EV_007

Enlightened
Joined
Mar 4, 2006
Messages
924
Location
Over there -- >
The L2 still remains one of my favorite floody lights. Especially great for lighting close to mid range areas indoors.

A lot of the newer CREEs do not have the wide, smooth flood of this "classic" light.
 

Wattnot

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Jan 4, 2008
Messages
975
Location
Lake Norman, NC
Hmmmm. I need a little help here. Okay . . I never hear much about the L2. This thread is the most I've heard about it yet. You always hear about the L4, especially where flood is concerned.

So I just went to the Surefire website and I'm confused about the differences. Yes, the L2 has a low/high and it's a little bigger, but what I'm confused about is this: they're both rated 100 lumens and they both take two cells but the L2 has a 60 min runtime listed on high where the L4 has 2.5 hours listed.

Could someone explain that?

Thanks!:grin2:
 

Nathan

Enlightened
Joined
Sep 5, 2006
Messages
348
Location
CA, USA
The KL4, which is the LED head on the L4 and M600A Scout Light, puts out 100 lumens for 1 hour (regulated), followed by 1.5 hours of lower output.
I don't know much about the L2, or what the 60 minutes translates into as far a regulated/lower output. Maybe someone who has one can chime in.

I just noticed the KL4 is no longer listed on SF.com. It was there a few days ago. It's the end of an era.
 
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