E1E or E1L

rony

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Oct 31, 2005
Messages
2
Anyone know which of these two flashlights would have the best beam for viewing things at distance. Approximately what distance in feet could I expect to be able to view things clearly with these flashlights. I plan to use the light for backpacking and spoting animals ( bears) in the night. Are there any other 4.0 OZ or lighter flashlights that I should be considering. Thanks

Ron Y
 

matrixshaman

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 17, 2005
Messages
3,410
Location
Outside the Matrix
E1L is a great throwing light with a tight spot for a 1 cell LED light. I don't own an E1E so I can't say how that is but it actually has less lumens than the E1L and I'm guessing a bit more sidespill. But being an incandescent with a reflector they tend to throw fairly well. I'd still go with the E1L as it's LED and will never burn out and likely better runtime.
 

timauton

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 24, 2005
Messages
10
I've got an E1, which is basically the same as an E1e I believe. I've not done a side-by-sdie comparison with the E1L, but I belive the E1L has a more diffuse beam and therefore less throw. The throw of the E1(e) is impressive for such a small light, but the hotspot is pretty tight and the total ammount of light isn't amazing. In terms of feet it's hard to quantify the throw, it depends on ambient light, your level of dark adaptation and how good your eyes are. In a suburban garden I find my E1 useful out to 100' or so. In a dark forest it may be more. With the stress of a huge predator that may fancy you for dinner nearby it could well be a lot less. Brightness is comparable to a 2D cell maglite. Not impressive compared to the only slightly larger and heavier E2e, E2L and other 2x CR123 lights. I'd want a bit more light to run through a forest with, though it's fine for walking.

Sticking with Surefire, the G2 is half the money, 4x as bright, not much larger and only a touch over your weight budget at 4.1oz. You could spend the $35 saved on a long-running LED headlamp or flashlight for general use and keep the G2 with its expensive batteries and 1 hour runtime handy for when you really need it. For real luxury, the A2 gives you a long-running walking-about LED light and very bright incandescent light in one compact package. It aint cheap though.
 

cratz2

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 6, 2003
Messages
3,947
Location
Central IN
What kind of budget would you be comfortable with? Is $100 the cap or could you swing two or three times that if you could get something considerably better?

Also, you know the one cell light and 4 oz cap is going to be pretty limiting, right? If you would consider a 2 cell light, you could get a lot better runtime.

Don't know the exact weight, or if the 1.1 hour runtime would be enough for your uses, but the Streamlight Strion has unbelievable throw for such a small light. For quite a bit more money, an Aleph 3 on at least two cells would be pretty impressive as well.

To the original question, the E1L or KL1 on on one cell should give better throw than the E1e.
 

cratz2

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 6, 2003
Messages
3,947
Location
Central IN
Or... a KL3 head on a 2 cell body would make a nice throwing light with decent runtime. The Inova T3 and XO3 would be two other more modestly priced lights with very respectable throw and runtime.
 

rony

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Oct 31, 2005
Messages
2
Throw and weight are more important to me than cost. When considering weight i also factor in one set of extra batteries, when backpacking every oz counts!
 

asdalton

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 12, 2002
Messages
1,722
Location
Northeast Oklahoma
rony said:
Throw and weight are more important to me than cost. When considering weight i also factor in one set of extra batteries, when backpacking every oz counts!

It all comes down to what combination of brightness, size, and battery life you are looking for. (Be forewarned that you can't maximize all three.) The Surefire G2 is relatively lightweight and puts out a lot more light than either the E1e or the E1L. The problem is that the G2 takes twice as many batteries as those other two lights and will burn through a set twice as fast. Still, it would be a good choice for a small, high-powered flashlight--so long as you also carry another flashlight that doesn't burn through batteries so quickly.

Between the E1e and the E1L, I would easily go with the E1L. The E1L has more light output and throw than the E1e, and it will run for at least as long.
 

cy

Flashaholic
Joined
Dec 20, 2003
Messages
8,186
Location
USA
forget the E1L (low output) and go with a KL4 head on E1E body w/R123 li-ion and two stage switch
 

GadgetTravel

Enlightened
Joined
May 18, 2005
Messages
642
cy said:
forget the E1L (low output) and go with a KL4 head on E1E body w/R123 li-ion and two stage switch

I was comparing the two a few days ago just by eye with no testing equipment and I think the KL1 head will out throw the KL4 head. Not anywhere near as much light from the KL1, but more throw. This impression seems consistent with the review of the L4 and the KL1 head on either an E1E or E2E body. I was pretty surprised to see it, but I think it is accurate. Given the longer run time with the KL1 if he really wants throw it seems that the KL1 is the best bet in a small Surefire. Ive grown to really like the KL1.
 

kelmo

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 27, 2004
Messages
3,092
Location
Sacramento
Hey Ron,

I have an E1L, or actually I assembled it from parts I purchased on the advice of a fellow CPF member, "arewethereyetdad," before SF started selling them as a complete unit. It is a great light. When it is pitch black the throw is amazing. Easily 100 feet. The hotspot is so intense when your eyes are dark adjusted the glare off the trail within 10 feet will actually hurt! The light dims down fairly quickly when it falls out of regulation (about 20 minutes). It is my workhorse when space and weight are mission critical considerations. The E2L outputs about 15% more light and runs about twice as long in regulation.

BTW, get a lanyard! Both are very small and easy to drop.

Kelmo
 

asdalton

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 12, 2002
Messages
1,722
Location
Northeast Oklahoma
There's something wrong with your KL1 if it's only getting 20 minutes in regulation. That would be more typical of running the KL4/E1e combination.
 

kelmo

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 27, 2004
Messages
3,092
Location
Sacramento
asdalton,

The light runs in regulation over an hour. Its when it falls out of regulation it dims out pretty fast. Thats where I got the 20 minute figure.

kelmo
 

jar3ds

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 12, 2005
Messages
1,988
Location
USA
i think the KL1 head with the diffusion filter is an amazing combo... you really don't even need a dual output tail switch... i love the click-on ability of my E1L... i have throw if i take the beamshaper off.. and i have awesome soft white light for my close work...

it doesn't seem to get as hot as a TW4.... with a 1 protected li-ion rechargeable i get about 35min of output... that stays at full output the whole entire time and then just goes out really quickly... its consistant since a normal 123 has 1300mAh and the li-ion single 123 is usally 750mAh... if i want to get longer battery life out of it, i put in a normal 123 i get 1 hour and 15min... if i still expect that i need longer runtime... i put on my 2x123 body... and then if i need even more i'll buy a 3x123 body... :)

i think your incandescent will be best if you don't care if you need to change a bulb every once and a while and you are going to be using your light for medium range... but you want something that will never burn out, has better throw and is better at close range with a diffusion filter... uses rechargeable's and has better runtime... get the KL1 head
 

Sean

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Messages
2,971
Location
IL, near St. Louis MO
Between the two I like the E1L better. Brighter with a larger hot-spot. Both have very good throw. Run-time on mine with a single lithium cell is about 80 minutes before it drops down very dim. An HDS EDC U85 is smaller, brighter and out-throws the E1L, but they won't be available again until next year. An HDS U60 or Basic 60 should out-thorw the E1L as well, they cost about The basic 60 is about $150 and it goes up from there.
 
Last edited:
Top