About a month ago I received a few old-style L1's, and low and behold, one of them had a high dome emitter in it! I think it was a 1W, not LuxIII though... I don't think the LuxIII made its way into the L1 until this latest version (the one with the head similar in appearance to a KL4).
Overall, this is what I've seen as far as evolution of the L1 flashlight (not to be confused with the KL1 head)...
L1 Gen1: Low dome with NX05 optic. May have come in both scalloped and smooth bezel versions... not sure on that. The gen1 lights did NOT come with a lanyard, nor did they come with the lanyard attachment point on the tailswitch. (Both were added-cost options.)
L1 Gen2: Low dome 1W Luxeon with NX05 optic. Scalloped bezel. Came with lanyard and attachment point on tailcap.
L1 Gen3: High dome 1W Luxeon with NX05 optic. Scalloped bezel. Came with lanyard and attachment point on tailcap.
L1 Gen4: High dome Luxeon III with proprietary TIROS (sp.?) optic, in a head that looks similar to the KL4. Scalloped bezel. Comes with lanyard and attachment point on tailcap.
IMHO the most versatile L1 flashlight is the older gen1/gen2/gen3 version, which is a little shorter and more elegant looking than the gen4... but they do need some modifications to unlock their potential. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif With a gen1 or gen2, I typically replace the low dome with a high dome Luxeon III emitter, and replace the NX05 optic with an SO17XA reflector. With the gen3, the Luxeon III is optional since the stock light already contains a high dome emitter, and it's usually a pretty decent one, at least from what I've seen... so all that's needed is the SO17XA reflector.
Sometimes I also cut a circle of textured WriteRight to affix over the lens for a little smoother falloff of light from hotspot outward into the sidespill.
The result isn't the smallest 1x123 light, nor the longest-running, nor the brightest... but somehow there's a synergistic effect in which the whole is much more than the individual parts. In all honesty, I've considered selling my modded L1 a few times now, but each time I take it off the shelf and fire it up, I realize it's a keeper. It's one of those lights that just works, and does its job quietly, in the background, so you end up taking it for granted and don't even appreciate what an excellent tool it is (the modded version at least) until you contemplate life without it! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif
Beyond all this, I consider the L1 switch to be the best dual brightness tailswitch available right now (no disrespect meant to our esteemed CPF modding community, whose creations are also EXCELLENT)... the ergonomics are absolutely phenomenal!
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
