When the L1 first came out a few years ago, they were fairly well regarded for a single 5mm LED light. I had a few of them myself. Their output was EASILY superior to any other single 5mm LED lights I owned. They use 4 LR44 (AG13) button cells, so the LED is being fed 6V...but due to the pretty high internal resistance of button cells and the vf drop under load, the LED is being overdriven, but not enough to fry it. I still like the L1...it's a pretty neat little light that's STILL brighter than most other single 5mm LED lights, and it has a TRUE tactical clicky switch! However, keep in mind that with the very low capacity of button cells, the run-time will be NOWHERE near what Pelican advertises for it. If used intermittently, the cells will last a good while; but if used for any long durations, they will deplete QUICKLY! Roy did a run-time plot for the L1 a few years back, and I think it ran for less than an hour continuously before dropping to less than 50% output...and when it dropped, it dropped quick. In spite of that, I still like the L1. Like I said, I think it's a neat, handy little light. FWIW, I think you paid considerably too much for yours...but for what it is, I don't think you'll be disappointed!
PJD
