low beam run time on L2?

[leukos]

Thanks to those of you who have done run time graphs for the high beam on the new surefire l2. I was wondering if anyone who has it yet could do a run time graph on the low beam. I figure that will be the beam most owners will use most of the time. What other lights does its output compare with? Thanks.

 

[357]

Yes, I'd like to see low-beam level run times as well. That is the mode I will use probably 99% of the time on my L2s.

 

[McGizmo]

The low beam is great for close (ambient light present) to medium range (low to no ambient light) in my opinion. The famous "wall of light" that many like from the KL4 has now been tamed so that you can use it in illuminating closser targets without being overwhelmed by too many photons. SInce the 5W in a small diameter reflector is more of a flood beam where I personally have felt a 1W was sufficient, the L2 now provides a fully regulated and very eficient beam in such a pattern and level of output with the additional bonus of an overdrive or high beam when the need arrises.

I agree that those who likely come to really like and use the L2 extensively will be of the camp where the low level will be the default and not the high level. If more distant targets are what you are usually aiming at, I think other tools will be preferred.

 

[leukos]

Thanks. I posted this without doing my homework. Here is a link to flashlight fan for a runtime graph of the L2 low beam. Looks like about 10 hrs before it reaches 50%.
web page

 

[kj]

You also missed a link I posted in the Review forum /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[357]

Now that is nice. 10 hours of flat runtime on low.

Plenty of tuntime, IMO.

 

[The_LED_Museum]

I started a battery runtime analysis of the L2's low beam at 12:14pm PDT today.
My original post is right here if anybody is interested.
When my battery discharge analysis machine poops out a chart, I'll post it.

 

[The_LED_Museum]

It is now 7:47pm PDT, and the L2 is still showing a perfectly flat and level line on the screen.

 

[357]

[ QUOTE ]
The_LED_Museum said:
It is now 7:47pm PDT, and the L2 is still showing a perfectly flat and level line on the screen.

[/ QUOTE ]

Nice! Thats 7 hours and counting...

 

[The_LED_Museum]

The test is still running...it's now 9:57pm PDT.
Looks like I won't terminate the test until sometime tomorrow morning. Unless it suddenly poops out within the next 15 or 20 minutes, anyway.

 

[357]

Wow, approaching 10 hours of constant regulation at 15 lumens. The Arc LS only gets 2 hours at 15 lumens (the Arc LS only has one battery, but still I find the regulation of the L2 on low impressive--thats 5 hours per battery for the L2 vs 2 hours per battery for the Arc LS).

If you use the low beam for most tasks, it will save batteries AND allow long bulb life since its underdriven relative to what the 5 watt is rated at.

 

[The_LED_Museum]

The test is still running, as of 8:53am PDT.
But I'll be stopping it shortly, since the L2 is now producing 2% to 3% of its "like-new" value.
What the heck...might as well stop it now. It's about half the brightness of an Arc AAA.
Stopping test...ending program...rebooting to Windows...dropping to DOS...changing directory to where the .ME1 file exists...typing BATPLOT L2-3.ME1...hitting "PrtScn" then hitting "ESC"...exiting back to Windows...opening MS-Paint...hitting CTRL-V...saving as "L2-3.GIF"...retrieving it over the network...cropping & saving...uploading...there, done. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
It's now 9:09am PDT, so that didn't take too long. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

It's hard to tell exactly where the regulation ends. It runs for just over 12 1/2 hours to the 50% intensity point.

 

[leukos]

Thanks, Craig, for the run-time graph and all your work in the name of science!!! I appreciate all you guys who do reviews and make it easier (sometimes harder /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif) to decide which flashlights to buy!
Thanks.