SureFire L1 and E1L, help please.

man, i just joined as an active member here and already caught the flashlight buyers bug. i\'ve heard only good things about surefire lights and decided to check out their website. i\'m just a little confused about these 2 models. the L1 costs $135, giving 65 lumens for 1.5 hours. while the E1L costs $99, giving 45 lumens for 8.5 hours. looks to me like the E1L performs better but yet its cheaper. its 30% less bright but lasts like 5x longer. am i missing something? hope someone can help me decide which one to get, oh and i can\'t afford to get both. -chris

Hello Chris :welcome:.

I have an E1L and couldn't be happier with it. Like the L1, the E1L also has 2 brightness settings.

Just make sure you purchase from a US seller to save some $$$. Otherwise you'll be spending almost double what you need to when buying.

Both of these lights are great however the E1L serves my purposes better.

Start working some O/T to pay for your future lights !!

The heads that the L1 and E1L use are essentially the same except for electronics. They are both dual output light (the L1 is a 10/65 (low/High)) and the E1L is a 3/45). The E1L you cycle through the levels by clicking the tailcap. The L1 achieves it's dual levels in momentary modes (press lightly for 10 lumens, a little heavier for 65) and a rotational switch (twisty) that allows you to turn the light constant on low or high or lock out the light to prevent it from turning on during storage in a bag or luggage.

The L1 low at 10 lumens (equal to perhaps 12~15 lumen by some other companies) Is enough to do most tasks and last 16 hours.

The E1L low at 3 lumen (equal to perhaps...an old style Fenix E0 at 5 lumen) is not nearly as usefull. This forces you to overlumenate with high for most tasks...running the batt down faster.

In addition the L1 gives you a brighter high should you need to splat something with light...further away for a moment.

That my take on it....others want a low as low as possible...must have way better eyes than me...or they just want to play a game of how low can you go...for a night light? :thinking:

The E1L is the wrong shape and too short for my hands. I find it difficult to grip.
Something that may be a consideration for others as well.

Take a look at the Surefire E1B mate and :welcome:.

I would strongly agree with the recommendation of chaoss, and suggest that you consider the Surefire E1B.:twothumbs Go over to the reviews section and you'll find a good thread on the E1B started by RobertM here with lots of enthusiastic opinions.

The L1 was the first light I bought last fall, but it sits mostly unused in my car now because I am not fond at all of the pressure/twisty tailcap switch that it uses. I much prefer the clickie switch that is on the E1B, E1L, & others. That's just my opinion...you'll find just as many other members with the opposite viewpoint. The E1L does look like a nice light, but if the long runtime is not critical, the E1B is an amazing little piece of engineering.

Welcome :welcome:

Splunk_Au said:

while the E1L costs $99, giving 45 lumens for 8.5 hours. looks to me like the E1L performs better but yet its cheaper.

Click to expand...

Pretty sure the E1L will not output 45 lumens for 8.5 hours. Realistically half of that...about 4 hours.

FYI, the L1 head (bezel) has no electronics in it. It can be out on an E1e or E1L body to run direct drive off a CR123 for long run time or an RCR123 for more light.
The E1L has a driver in the head to run on one CR123 only and does not like RCR123. An E1L head will not work on an L1 body.

3 lumens works for a lot of situations for me and I often need less than that. The old L1 had a 1 lumen low that many people liked including me.

To highlight the obvious from just the few posts in this thread: These lights are very personal, and one man's favorite will be another man's POS.

A lot has to do with ergonomics and a light's features that fit an individual's purpose better than another individual's purpose.

For my part, I like and use my E1L more often than my L1 because my personal preference is for the smaller light which is obviously the opposite of Size15's preference.
Neither of us is "right" or "wrong"; we just have different preferences.
I also find that, for my "personal" purposes, the low of the E1L is more than enough most of the time, so in my case, I enjoy some pretty remarkable runtimes with it.

So while I know the original poster appreciates all comments and suggestions, be aware that, as they say, "Your mileage may vary".
Take everyone's comments as they are, but don't accept that another's preference will end up being your own.
I should know; a good handful of the lights I have were bought at someone else's suggestion, but once I actually used them, I found that I didn't like them much at all (even though they are fine lights in their own right).

Just a bunch of .02 worth of writings... and worth every penny.

I have both, and am very happy with both. That being said,the E1L is a hundred times more practical than the L1. It's considerably smaller, has way more run-time, and has two levels. Plus it's cheaper,and the difference in the 45-65 lumens ain't really that much.

The E1L fits my hands very well. I would have bought one sooner had it not been for a few comments from people who said an E1L was too small for them to hold comfortably so I hesitated to buy one.

It goes to show that people have different size hands and preferences.

I don't use the 3 lumen setting much and need the 45 lumen setting most of the time. That's why I appreciate the E1L's long runtime at its higher setting. An L1 wouldn't provide me enough runtime for my nightly outdoor activities nor fit in my shirt pocket nearly as well as the E1L.

A 3 or 10 lumen setting would light my path well enough in the immediate vicinity to see where I am walking. But, I much prefer a higher brightness to see animals at longer distances. I walk in a rural neighborhood with flat, open prairie and fields.

I'm sure the L1 is an excellent flashlight. The E1L's design just fits my needs better.

Blindasabat said:

FYI, the L1 head (bezel) has no electronics in it.

Click to expand...

really?!

:thinking:

Crenshaw

taepo, why would you say that the E1L would last only half that? i was reading the L1 review on light-reviews.com and the battery lasts right about 1.5 hours. just as advertised on the surefire website.

:welcome:

I have nothing to add since other members have provided you with more than adequate information.

I just wanted to say that you may want to check out CPFM. Recently, I've seen several L1 selling for about $90. I would have jumped on it if I hadn't gotten my SF E1B. Have fun and hang on to your wallet.

Crenshaw said:

really?!

:thinking:

Crenshaw

Click to expand...

is that a joke?

Crenshaw said:

really?!

:thinking:

Crenshaw

Click to expand...

Yes. The L1 electrics are in the body tube. Used to be a long 'coffin' style driver package in the old tube, now it is a smaller one that allowed SF to make the Cree L1 tube shorter.