Need Help to increase Lumens

First off - I did not see a section to introduce myself. If this is not the right section, forgive me.

Secondly - I have done quite a bit of searching on this site for answers to my questions, but have figured out that there's a lot going on here that I don't know much about. So I'm posting my question. Please don't tell me to use the search option.

My problem - I am a Lumen whore....and I know next to nothing about how to get more.

I'm a big SF fan. I every day carry a SF E2E. At work I carry a Z2. When I'm working days, I use the standard lamp. When I'm working nights I use the high-output lamp.

A while back, I lost my E2E. In search of more Lumens, I bought an L4. I was disappointed in it, as the throw wasn't far enough, and color just wasn't the same. As a result, I bought a new E2E....Speaking of LED's, I also use a Streamlight TLR1 at work, and have been impressed with the throw. Color doesn't seem too bad either.

Anyway, I know there are upgrades to the Z2, and possibly the E2E. What are they? What kind of light are they putting out? How long do they run? I've read about problems with heat - what should I look out for? What are the downsides?

Is there a FAQ explaining Cree's, M60's, and SolarForce Q5's?

Also, is there a SF LED, or any other brand light that is comparable to the TLR?

I thank you in advance for any advice you can help me with. I'm want to make a more educated purchase, instead of throwing money at add-ons and upgrades that really won't do what I want.

Drew

For 200+ LED lumens you could try the Malkoff M60 Q5 in a SF that can take a P60 style drop-in. It can run of two CR123's, or two 3.7v lithium ions.

http://www.malkoffdevices.com

The M60 uses a Cree XR-E Q5 LED behind an optic that produces an intense hot spot for throw, which is surrounded by bright and very wide spill.

For your E2E member here Koala with Yclo (an aussie member at that) makes an LED drop in or www.lumensfactory.com make higher output incandescent lamps.

If you are a true lumens whore and wish to stay within the SureFire family of lights, then (outside of the Beast) the M4, or M6 would be your best bet options. Else, a Dereelight module for the Z2 would fit the bill for throw.

Understood, regarding the M4 or M6, but neither works as well for every day carry. I realize I didn't state that in my original post. I'm trying to see what I can do with the lights I carry...or similar packages.

I checked out the Lumens Factory website, but didn't see a guide for what lamp would work with what I have....I did look at the specifications page, but it didn't really help. As I said, this gets a bit overwhelming as I am coming to all of this with little background. I need something like "use the X lamp in the E2E - it provides Y amount of lumens, for Z amount of time."

The Malkoff M60 Q5 sounds like a good deal. No modifications required Only question there is how long do they run?

Follow up question - it seems other companies have been able to get more light for more time than SF. Why doesn't SF, and similar companies, use this technology?

Lastly, I am not married to SF and am willing to try another similar platform.

Thanks for the input.

Drew

The Welcome Mat contains a lot of useful information.

If for some odd reason you have a C/D Maglite, you can probably turn those into 1000+ lumen lights.

Or you can go for a HID light. Polarion seems to be a great company. 8% off coupon at Fenix Store is "CPF8".

Surefire seems to want a good balance of output and runtime. They also test their lights so it might take a while for something to get to the market.

The M60 should run 1.5-2 hours according to the page.

:welcome:

E2E: Install a LumensFactory EO-E2R lamp and use a pair of protected rechargeable 3.7V RCR123s.

Z2: install a MalkOff M60 and run it on either primary CR123s or 3.7V RCR123s.

Those are about your brightest simple easy to obtain options for those lights.

Other options to make the E1E brighter exist, like running it on 3.7V cells and obtaining a E2E bi-pin socket (sometimes available over in BST, I think FiveMega makes them once and awhile,) and running a bulb from a Streamlight TL-3 in it it.

Purchase this drop in for your Z2. http://www.malkoffdevices.com/shop2...s_id=7&zenid=tdqtonkib9mku03uglq2obcddr5nt0ms

In the coupon section type cpf and you will receive 5% off your order. This LED is nice because it will last for over 4 times as long as the high output for your Z2 you are using now and it's noticably brighter to boot.

Besides the solutions already mentioned, for the E-series you may consider an OpticsHQ E2 replacement head:

http://www.opticshq.com/page/Optics/PROD/Surefire-Accessories/FL-TLS-TX2

There are several CPF reviews for this product. IMO, the beam quality is very good -- bright, smooth, good color, good balance between throw and spill.

Another approach which will provide you with many options is to use an E2C adapter (mates the E-series body to a 6P-series bezel) and then a 6P-compatible bezel. Then use any number of P60 LED drop-ins. The main downside with this approach is that the end result is a little larger than if you stuck with the OpticsHQ E2 replacement head (though perhaps not drastically larger). The upside is that you have a huge number of LED drop-in options.

You can get an E2C black adapter here (HA natural appears to be sold out).

The E2C approach may also be slightly less expensive than the OpticsHQ approach, depending on which LED drop-in you get (about $80 for the OpticsHQ E2 head excluding any CPF discounts vs $27 for the E2C adapter, say $15-$20 for a 6P bezel, and $10-$15 for a Chinese drop-in, more for something premium like a Malkoff).

My E2C is very nice -- clean finish, smooth threads, perfect fit. I have a G2 bezel on an E1 body, with a DX6090 drop-in. My G2 bezel is one of the old ones that uses a retaining ring. I unscrewed the ring and replaced the Lexan window with a AR-coated UCL window.