Anything this bright to satisfy my needs?

[LEDagent]

This is a Surefire 6p next to a Mag. And i know the E2 puts out the same lumens as the 6p. But i'm afraid that the battery and lamp longevity is not acceptable for hiking/camping ...CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG!
(BOY THATS A BRIGHT LIGHT!!!) My dad has a 6D Mag and when i was smaller i thought that was the brightest thing ever. Now i see this picture of a small A$$ light next to it blowing it away!


I'd like to have the output and size of an E2 but would like to know if there are any lights out there with longer battery and lamp life. If they are bigger than the E2 let me know about em anyway. But preferably i need something small.


.....Let me add this.
Now, after seeing the E2, i'm stumped on wheter or not i should get the Eternalight or E2. Essentially they both cast a wide uniform light with differences in battery life and of course light intensity. From what i heard from 3 reviews, The eternalight made a good "walkaround" light with an effective cast of about 25 ft. I know the E2 will be brighter and better but i don't think i can settle for 1.5 hours of use...compared to 50+ for the Eternalight.


....right now...there's a war going on in my head. DAMN THIS SITE!!!!
U GUYS MADE ME A FLASHLIGHT ADDICT. are there support groups for this type of problem???

 

[Joe Talmadge]

I feel the absolute best tradeoffs of brightness, runtime, weight, and durability/waterresistance goes to the UKE 2L. It's not quite as bright as the E2, but is very very bright. It's got a plastic body (read: very lightweight), it's thicker than the E2 but shorter. Like the E2, it runs on 2x123A batteries. The UKE can be used as a dive light, so it is waterproof. Despite being very bright, it can last much longer than an E2 on a set of batteries: 90 minutes versus 240 minutes.

It's very arguable that 240 minutes is still not enough battery life for a camping trip. As a result, I feel your general use camp light should actually move more towards the runtime and less towards brightness. The combination of an E2 or UKE 2L for occasional x-bright use, plus a 2AA mini Mag with the regular or x-bright Carley lamp, should take care of all your needs.

The Eternalite and E2 are such different lights that it's hard to see how you can be stuck between the two! The Eternalite has very very long runtime, but there's no comparing the light output between the Eternalite and E2 -- there's not in the same league, even remotely. If you're considering an Eternalite, I feel it would more appropriately replace the AA Maglite as your relatively dim but long-lasting light. If you want very bright light in camp, you still need to bring along 2L or E2.

Joe

 

[Gandalf]

I too, am a big fan of the UK 2L, it's the flashlight that I *always* carry with me. It's a good compromise between size, weight
and light output. Not as bright as a 6P, or E2, but about the same size, with fairly bright output, and about a 4 hr. runtime *Much* brighter than a 2 or 3 D cell Maglite. But it would make a poor primary flashlight for camping, dur to it's 4 hr runtime. Even a 2AA maglight is only going to give you around 5-6 hrs of run time. It's much cheaper to run than the UK2L, due to the lithium batteries. Given all of this, if I were to be packing for a camping trip, I'd want an LED flashlight, for general and 'inside the tent' use. The EternaLight is an excellent choice. I have one, (Ergo Marine model) and I consider it about the 'minimum' brightness for a truely useful LED flashlight that is going to be used out doors. Any small LED light will work for use inside your tent. But the Eternalight will light up a very good sized area outdoors, as well. None of the single LED flashlights really give enough light for that, IMHO. So if it were me, I'd carry the EternaLight for general illumination. Inside your tent, you can step somewhat own the output to a comfortable level. Then the UK2L for when you need a lot of light. I'd be sorely tempted to also carry a 2AA MiniMaglite, for 'in between' light needs. If the EternaLight is too expensive for you, the Lightwave 2000 wpould be a good, less espensive replacement. You'd have somewhat shorter battery life, and no ability to to adjust the light output, but it's less expensive than the EteranLight by quite a bit, and puts out about the same 'full power' output. Plan on an extra lamp for the UK 2L; fortunately, they are only about $6 to $7. If you have time, the least expensive source for an EternaLight is ebay. They go for $30 to $38 there, almost putting them in the same price catagory as the Lightwave. Unfortunately, someone with a very fast Internet connection can outbid you by $1 at the last second, so there is a bit of risk buying one on ebay, if you need it by a certain date. I don't know of a good price from one of the resellers; I haven't looked.
Perhaps other CPF members can suggest a more reliable source for an EternaLight at a good price. One last thing: in the unlikely event you run the Eternalight conpletely down, you do need a #0 Phillips screwdrive to replace the batteries. HTH.

 

[LEDagent]

GOOD point Joe. Why be content on having one flashlight satisfy my needs when i can have 2 or more to exceed it. Boy...there goes my paycheck...

But yah..i've heard alot of you FREAKS

lug around 3 or more when you are on your missions. I plan on doin that too. You see...complete brightness from one handheld is NOT necessary for me because i ALWAYS lug around my trusty LSI searchlight which provides continuous light for 35 minutes. The only problem is, is when you are on a "mission" in the darkness, you find yourself leaving it on for more than 35 minutes...because as you know, time flys when your having fun! AND the spotlight in a forrest helps with long range visibility BUT the TIGHT focus of the beam creates a scarier presence becasue you feel like your only "protection" is that 4 or 6 feet of illumination on the path. So what i need coupled with the Searchlight is a long lasting FLOOD light while i have the spotlight off. I only plan on having that spot on when i get scared or when i really need it (when i get scared

)

But joe i'll do some research on that other light u recomended.

 

[Brock]

Yup, for a longer runtime and still a small size and light weight, I would suggest the UKE 2L. I would guess it is about 30 lumens, 1/2 that of the E2, and more than bright enough for walking through woods at night. I use the 2L and 4AA diving all the time and like them a lot. I wish Surefire would finish the low power lamp (30 lumen) for the E2 giving it a 3 hour runtime comparable to the 2L, but a much nicer beam. For the price, water resistance and size/weight the 2L can't be beat.

 

[LEDagent]

HHMMMmmm....The UKE is only about 30 Lumens? Not that it isn't bright ...but it isn't the E2 @ 65 lumens.

....now, the 2L is tempting and all with its size and battery life AND light...but lets forget size, but still keep in mind brightness and battery life. Is there anything there that can match an E2 and maybe last as long as the 2L?

...i was researching the "Bright Guy's" UKE inventory, and the UKE SL4 has a bulb more than twice the wattage of the 2.1 Watt 2L. WITH similar burn times using 4 C size batteries. THey have a 6C cell version with an 8 watt lamp with 4-5 hour run time. BOY...so many options. Can any of u comment on the brightness of those - or recommend others to match the E2. AT A REASONABLE COST? NOTE that UKE's i've mentioned never exceed 40 dollars.

All these options are clouding my thinking process!!! hehe

 

[Brock]

I have the UKE SL6 and it is a bright light, only some of the big Surefires are brighter, but then again it is large and heavy. I also have the UKE 4 AA, it uses the same lamp as the 2L but runs longer and uses 4 standard AA cells. I haven't seen the SL4, the 4 C version, but if it is double the wattage of the 2L or about 4 watts it should be close to the E2's 5 watts.

 

[kb0rrg]

How important is weight to you?

 

[Gandalf]

SureFire E2 ve UK SL4
I just did a quick comparison of the light output of the E2 and UK SL4. To my eye, they look the same. The UK SL4 gives a longer reaching, tighter beam than the SureFire. It's also much, much larger. But burn time is around 5-6 hr, IIRC, for the SL4. It costs $28, and runs on standard C cells (4).
But lets face it: *anytime8 you are comparing a SureFire lithium to any other flashlight using 'conventional' batteries, it's basically an apples and oranges comparison.

I really think the UK 2L is a good buy for the money, light output, and size/weight. It's not a SureFire, to be sure, but then, what is? The UK2L costs $26, has a 5 hr burn time (funny... my older ones listed a 4 hr burn time..) and replacement lamps cost $6.50
All it needs to really compete with the SureFire is a tailswitch button....?