Red Surefire L1

[aggiegrads]

Does anybody here have experience with this light? Are the runtimes and beam properties similar to the white L1s? Are the currents/runtimes/voltages similar?

 

[BSCOTT1504]

I wasn't aware that Surefire ever made an L1 with red led. Has the light been modded?:thinking:

 

[tussery]

I wasn't aware that Surefire ever made an L1 with red led. Has the light been modded?:thinking:

Yeah they make a Red, Green, and Blue L1 with the Lux III. The Cree L1 lights will only come in Red and White at this point.

 

[defusion]

it's the new ones that aren't out yet should be forthcoming in the next few weeks, as they say it will be out in small batches early july.
nobody knows!

edit; i guess i was wrong, see post above.

 

[BSCOTT1504]

Yeah they make a Red, Green, and Blue L1 with the Lux III. The Cree L1 lights will only come in Red and White at this point.

What was I thinking?! It's right there in the 06 catalog..Green, blue, and red...:duh2:

 

[EV_007]

I just picked one up. It is very bright for a red LED. Brightest red LED i've ever owned. This is the non-CREE version I think. The low level is plenty bright and the high level is brighter than a red filter over m E2E. The beam profile is narrower than the reflector LAs, but useful none the less.

 

[aggiegrads]

I just picked one up. It is very bright for a red LED. Brightest red LED i've ever owned. This is the non-CREE version I think. The low level is plenty bright and the high level is brighter than a red filter over m E2E. The beam profile is narrower than the reflector LAs, but useful none the less.

What kind of runtimes do you get? If you have a white L1, how do they compare?

 

[EV_007]

I haven't had a chance to do a full battery drain on it yet, still on same one. I do not own the white L1 so I can't really compare it.

I have a L1 CREE ordered and will do a review with plenty of images and beamshots.

Here's some of my muti-colored dual level LEDs on low setting.

 

[StainlessSteel]

EV_007

I have a HUGE favor to ask you. Would you please, do some inside beamshots with the L1 red, on both low and High?

I already own an Inova X5 red, and i LOVE IT. It is my favorite indoor light, and I was thinking about getting the L1 in red... but there is no way to "see before i buy."

if you can't, then that's cool. thank you.

 

[EV_007]

EV_007

I have a HUGE favor to ask you. Would you please, do some inside beamshots with the L1 red, on both low and High?

I already own an Inova X5 red, and i LOVE IT. It is my favorite indoor light, and I was thinking about getting the L1 in red... but there is no way to "see before i buy."

if you can't, then that's cool. thank you.

Here you go.

The beam is a bit squarish, due to the TIR. The gradation is a lot smoother to the naked eye. The camera and my LCD monitor make it look less smooth than it really is. The center is not orange or yellow, it is very bright red, again, the camera's limits in capturing the dynamic range.

It is not a flood light, but more of a concentrated spot with very little side spill. It is very bright compared to my Kroma on high, which is more of a flood. Hope this helps.

 

[greenlight]

Is there an update for 07 for this model? Or is it the same lux1?

 

[EV_007]

Mine is the current non-CREE version. I'm assuming they are using the CREE for their other colors in the L1, I'm not 100 percent on this.

 

[StainlessSteel]

Thank you very very much.

This is the Inova X5 RED, at 9 feet, in a pitch black room, with white walls, and a new battery. The circle on the wall is a Clay Pidgeon, I used it for scale.

(this thread is becoming the ultimate "RED LED Thread")

 

[aggiegrads]

Mine is the current non-CREE version. I'm assuming they are using the CREE for their other colors in the L1, I'm not 100 percent on this.

This is my main concern and my reason for starting this thread. If they go with Cree, I'm worried that a 10 lumen low is way too high and the 60 lumen high would be useless. Who on earth needs 60+ lumens when they are trying to preserve their night vision?

I also like the runtime of my white L1, and would expect the same runtimes from the red L1.

 

[EV_007]

A bright red light may not look as bright outdoors as it would wall hunting indoors. Red is dim as it is, and a good throwing bright red may not be all that bad, especially when in the forest where browns an greens can swallow the light of a red LED.

Besides, it should not attract many bugs due to its red glow.

Hey, nice beam profile ya got there.

 

[PoliceScannerMan]

Animals mostly cant see a red light at night. So it would be a good light to use not to disturb the wildlife. :naughty:

 

[aggiegrads]

A bright red light may not look as bright outdoors as it would wall hunting indoors. Red is dim as it is, and a good throwing bright red may not be all that bad, especially when in the forest where browns an greens can swallow the light of a red LED.

Animals mostly cant see a red light at night. So it would be a good light to use not to disturb the wildlife.

Both excellent points. I also agree about the bug thing.

I guess my question has more to do with Surefire's marketing strategy than anything. If they use a Cree for the red version of the L1, they are changing a low/bright red light with excellent runtimes to a medium/ultrabright red light with much lower runtimes. It would seem to me that the vast number of red light users would prefer the lower modes of the current generation over the Cree version. I guess I shouldn't question Surefire's strategies until we actually confirm that they are going to use a red Cree, but their website seems to indicate that they are. The current L1 is a welcome departure from the popular "brighter is better" philosophy.

I picked up a red Lux III L1 yesterday from Optics HQ, and am planning on doing a comparison with the white L1. I'll report my observations here; so far I am impressed. This is an extremely useful light for indoor use, especially with the F04 beamshaper.