Need a 3lumen low, 60(+)lumen high, tail operated light.

[sindrulf]

I had a milkyspit modified Surefire L1, and it was perfect. However I lost it in Afghanistan and I now need a new one.

Requirements:

-Smaller than the old Surefire L1
-Two intensities only, 2-3 low (for reading maps at night) and 60+ high
-Tail switch L1 style: Press lightly for low beam, press harder for high beam.

As you can see, no flashlight in surefires enormous lineage suits my modest demands!
Do you know of any lights that do?

 

[flip]

If it wasn't for your switch requirement, a Novatac would probably work well for you.

 

[paulr]

The light you want is pricey but unsurpassed:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=219071

The low mode is somewhat more than 3 lumens but will be far superior to the L1 for map reading because of its wide even flood. The actual intensity on the map will be lower or comparable. There are some comparison photos against the L1 if you scroll down in the review, where you can see what I mean.

There is also always the SF A2, though it's a bit bigger, with that incan high beam...

 

[Gazerbeam]

sindrulf, here are two lights you might want to research. The NITECORE

NDI & JET-I PRO V3.0 are both AA powered. The NDI has 2 settings, high

& user defined from 3 lumens to 190 lumens. The clicky cuts it off & on,

turning the head changes the modes. The JET-I has 3 user defined

settings from 3 lumens to 240 lumens. The clicky cuts it off & on and sets

the modes, no twisting. Links below. Sorry to here you lost your milkyspit. :sick2:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=184939

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=234520

 

[sindrulf]

flip:
Thanks for the tip, but as you said, the switch was not what i required. Those lights also had to much light settings to choose from.

paulr:
I read the review, but i did not find exactly how the light operates. How do you activate the different light settings?
I am a little sceptical about using three nichia diodes. I had such a set up in my surefire A2 long ago, and I think the beamshot was rather messy with 3 rings of high intensity. Also, isn't that type of diodes a little outdated since the old surefire A2 also used them? I liked the piston mechanism and titanium body and all the other features however.

Gazerbeam:
those flashlights seemed promising, but the user interface is too complicated and there is too much light settings.

All I want is a simple as possible two stage flashlight. Maybe another milkyspit is the only option?

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

What's wrong with the current SureFire L1??

 

[Flying Turtle]

While it's probably not as robust as you'd like the LiteFlux LF3XT can be set up to perform almost exactly as you want. It can be programmed to be a two mode light with whatever low you need and a high somewhere around 100 lumens. The switching would not be exactly what you want, but it's close. A light tap for low, press/hold for momentary high, or double click for high. And if you want more virtually every bell and whistle is available through programming.

Geoff

 

[sindrulf]

Outdoors fanatic:
10 lumens low beam is to high for reading a map in the night and it is considered exercising bad light discipline. Good light/sound/thermal-discipline is imperative if you want to be undetected from foe.

Flying Turtle:
Thanks for the tip! I'll research when I have got the time.

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

If you're in the Military and don't want to be detected by foe during a mission, then why use a regular flashlight in the first place? In most modern Military forces, soldiers use night vision devices/Infrared illumination. And just for your information, I have the E1L, E2L, L1, E2DL and I compared them... I see no difference in brightness between 3 lumens VS L1's 10 lumens, however, the E2DL's 5 lumens are considerably brighter them all. With your naked eyes, you won't see a difference. TIR optics produce a tight beam pattern with similar throw and intensity no matter how many lumens are behind it. Only when you hit the high mode you'll be able to a see a big difference. Don't be too hung up on numbers.

 

[BentHeadTX]

I hear Surefire is coming out with an AA powered light (woohoo!)

It is supposed to have a 3 lumen low and a 80 lumen high, sounds like what you want.

 

[sindrulf]

Outdoors Fanatic:
Thanks for an informative reply. In accordance to surefire.com, the L1 also has a TIR lens. Is it that E2DL has a tighter focus? Maybe the new LX1 would be something?

And yes we do have full night time capabilities here in Norway also. Check out http://www.simrad-optronics.no/ for our national supplier.

BentHeadTX:
Do you have anymore info? That sounds like a perfect match!

 

[BentHeadTX]

Outdoors Fanatic:
Thanks for an informative reply. In accordance to surefire.com, the L1 also has a TIR lens. Is it that E2DL has a tighter focus? Maybe the new LX1 would be something?

And yes we do have full night time capabilities here in Norway also. Check out http://www.simrad-optronics.no/ for our national supplier.

BentHeadTX:
Do you have anymore info? That sounds like a perfect match!

Surefire showed the E2L-AA at the SHOT show, it runs on 2AA and has a clip. Finally, a light from Surefire that runs on the Eneloop AAs that everything I carry into the woods runs on. Not sure when it will be available but it should be very soon. Since it is "only" 80 lumens (I'm assuming out the front as with all Surefires) it should be able to get 1.5 hours out of a set of alkalines in a pinch?

 

[paulr]

paulr:
I read the review, but i did not find exactly how the light operates. How do you activate the different light settings?

It's like the L1 and A2: press for low, press harder for high. That's what you were looking for, I thought. You can also lock either setting by twisting the bezel. If you lock to low, then you can activate high momentarily any time you want by pressing the button. That is good for walking around at night and occasionally wanting to look at something that requires more reach.

I am a little sceptical about using three nichia diodes. I had such a set up in my surefire A2 long ago, and I think the beamshot was rather messy with 3 rings of high intensity. Also, isn't that type of diodes a little outdated since the old surefire A2 also used them? I liked the piston mechanism and titanium body and all the other features however.

The diode setup is similar to the A2, but the diodes are better (LED technology has improved since the A2 was first built). I haven't compared beams against the A2 and don't have an LS20 myself (I don't care much about the central throw beam, so I have a Sundrop and had a PD Mule for a while) but LS20 beam photos I've seen seem to show relative freedom from hot spots. There was also a larger model (LS 27) that uses six diodes.

If you do a forum search for "lunasol" you can find a lot more discussion of these lights.

 

[hyperloop]

thought about your requirements and couldnt think of any light that fit them (especially the switch).

Jetbeams are great lights but have more modes than you want with the exception of the Jet III M and M1X (too big). The number of light levels isnt daunting, it ramps up so you choose the light level u want so perhaps 3 modes isnt too bad, the disadvantage i see would be having to advance through all the modes to get back to minimum (advertised as 2 lumens) which might be fatal in a combat situation.

Alternatively, you can, from minimum, do a 1/2 press to advance to the next mode then shut OFF the light to reset it to minimum instead of advancing to the 3rd mode which can be a bit cumbersome.

The Jet III M however, is a 2 mode light but unfortunately, mode switching is activated by loosening or tightening the head. With the head tightened, output is on max (225 lumens i believe) and when loosened, it's programmable (it's really pretty easy to program) and you could set it on minimum 2 lumens and if you need max, just tighten the head. If you're going to use max, why not have 225 instead of 80? :D

If worst comes to worst, you may just need to get another milkyspit (sorry to hear you lost yours, losing lights really sucks) cos i really can't think of any light that has a switch like what you describe except surefire's LX2 and the low is above what you're asking for.