zven
Enlightened
I got my SureFire G2L about a month ago and have since been using it for everyday lighting tasks. My L1 CREE is on my person far more often, due to size and the pocket clip (which I clip to my belt), but the G2L nevertheless makes it into my pocket, as its size really isn't unreasonable.
Body
(And yes, you can disregard this section if you're familiar with the G2). This is probably stating the well-known, but the G2L feels good in the hand, being the perfect size to hold and handle. The Nitrolon material has a great feel to it, and is definitely more more pleasant than its peers in situations where metal lights would be scorching hot (like for sitting in the sun) or painfully cold. The grid and matte texture seem like they'd be good in slippery conditions, though the "SureFire" text can be a little rough on the hand, depending on how it's being held (though probably no more so than aggressive forms of knurling). The only significant downside I can find to the body is the lack of the six-sided anti-roll section on the head. Other than that, this light is ergonomically stellar.
Tailcap
Took me a short while to get used to the switching mechanism (I've traditionally only used a Mag 3D, or occasionally 2AA). But the LOTC twisty has definitely grown on me, and I probably like it nearly as much as the Mag clickies I'm used to. In any case, I ordered a Z59 clicky tailcap to go along with this, and I know there are other threads that discuss this more thoroughly, but I did indeed get a defective one. It stopped clicking reliably within about 50 clicks after first use. E-mailed SureFire and they said they'd send a new one, so I'm just waiting on that.
P60L
For all my life I, like so many others, have been a faithful user of MagLites. So just this summer I decided I'd jump into some higher quality, brighter stuff, and ordered myself a G2L, G3 and L1 CREE. So coming from the Mag 3D, I was definitely impressed with the beam of the P60L. I was quite impressed with the brightness, though having read these forums for a little while now, I realize there are much brighter ones out there (confirmed by my subsequent use of the G3).
In any case, I've come to realize that the P60L is not a "bright" light. That is, brightness is not the lamp's primary purpose like it is for, say, the P91 or MN21. In my use of the P60L, I've come to the conclusion that it's just about the perfect "all-around" or "compromise" light. The brightness is significant enough that it can impress, and light up nearly anything you need it to, and simultaneously gives you fabulous runtime. I guess what I'd say for brightness comes down to the P60L being fabulously bright for close-to-medium range tasks in total dark, and is rather dim for distance lighting, or use in situations with lots of ambient light.
So I guess that brings me to throw. This is another example of the lamp's compromise. The beam has a tight, smooth hotspot with decent intensity, and a lot of bright, wide spill. In fact, if it weren't for the small hotspot, I'd almost think that this light was intended for flood use, as the spill is so bright and useful. But the hotspot comes in very handy, and can serve to highlight whatever you need it to. However, its throw isn't spectacular. I don't have a huge space I can test in right now, but from memory I'd say it is pretty useful within about 30-50 yards. For anything beyond that, I'd say that you'll want to get a light specifically designed for throw, even the relatively dim Mag 3D.
As for runtime, the P60L is very satisfactory. The "all-around" nature of the lamp, in addition to the excellent runtime would probably make the G2L, 6PL, etc., a perfect backup light for LEOs. But for the normal civilian user, I'd say that this lamp makes for a perfect emergency light. Very satisfying brightness certainly plays a part in this, but really it's the runtime that makes this light great for throwing in an emergency kit and not thinking about it until the power goes out or what have you. I'd say that SureFire's advertised 12 hours (in the G2 body) of useful light is about right. The posts here saying that the G2L starts out at 80 lumens, followed by about three hours at ~65 lumens, then drops out of regulation are about right. The 80 lumens peak really doesn't last for very long, and the following 65 lumen stage does last for a bit upwards of three hours. Well, I guess at this point I should say that my runtime test used Tenergy 3V CR123A primaries. I'm not sure how these rate compared to SF cells, or other well-known good-performers like Duracell, but at some point I'll run a test to compare the Tenergy primaries with Panasonic primaries. Anyway, on the Tenergy cells the light dropped to 50% brightness at about 4 hours, and from about 5.5 hours 'til the end of the useful light period, the G2L kept a diminishing yet stable light level that I'd estimate at an average of maybe 10 lumens. Now, 10 lumens is not a brightness that I'd want to try to use where there's a fair amount of ambient light, but in emergency situations with NO light, I think it's more than enough to get along.
Oh, and just a quick word on tint. This lamp definitely appears blue to the eye. Now, I don't have a whole lot of experience with LED lights, but I'd venture a guess that the blue of this light is a lot less distinct than LEDs of past years. I guess to be more specific, I'd say that the blue tint is definitely perceptible in about any circumstances, but after initial activation, it becomes a lot less noticeable, and all you really see is the whiteness of the beam. I say whiteness both in the sense that it's not a truly ugly blue, and also in that I was impressed at how well the lamp renders colors. Not that I have a whole lot of experience with this (or any beamshots to back me up) but I was expecting significant distortion of colors, but I really don't notice any with this lamp.
Well, I guess that's probably enough of my rambling. On to a beamshot and runtime graph. So to start out easy, here's the whitewall beamshot, taken with both the light and camera about 1 meter away from the wall; Canon Powershot A710 IS, 1/8 sec exposure, f2.8, focus set to about 1 m, ISO 80, and whitebalance set to sunlight:
I kind of feel bad for only supplying a whitewall beamshot, as I'm rather a believer in not hunting white walls, and rather just seeing how a light performs in the real world. Well, I'll try and take some pictures of both the beam and the whole flashlight and post them here at some point.
Anyway, now for the runtime graph. Okay, before you look at this thing, I want to say that this is a VERY informal graph. For starters, I have no light meter or professional light measurement technology. I was curious about the brightness of the flashlight over time, and I didn't trust my own eyes to judge that brightness, so I used another tool: my digital camera. All my data points (beamshots) were taken under the conditions listed for the above beamshot (1/8 exposure, ISO 80, etc.). I then put all the shots on my computer and used the Histograms function to compare relative brightness (I used the "mean" value that Photoshop gave me). I originally had the intention to do my graph with lumens as the y-axis units, but this proved impossible by my method, as the camera didn't capture the entire beam, and therefore it couldn't pick up all the light used for spill. I was going to use these "mean" values to compare the full brightness of the G2L with my L1 high and low beams, which I'm fairly confident are consistent with SureFire's lumens ratings. However, since the beam profiles are too different for the lights, I could only do % brightness over time. I tried to take my shots about every half hour, though I perhaps should have done more, at least for the high output period of the light. Among my possible sources for error are: distance between the tripod and wall (I had to temporarily remove the tripod from the testing room a few times), light seeping in from the crack under the door (I thought this was negligible, but who knows), arbitrary jpeg compression issues affecting Photoshop's perception of brightness, and questionable relation between Photoshop and real-world brightness. And I'm sure there are things I'm forgetting, but you get the idea.
So again, here's my rag-tag, get-the-general-idea runtime graph, run on 2x Tenergy CR123A primary cells:
Max output for brief moments, followed by regulation at ~65 lumens for 3+ hours, 50% brightness reached at about 4 hours, and useful light >7 lumens until about 9.5 hours.
Summary of the G2L
- Good brightness for 3-4 hours
- About 8 hours of 10 lumens of light, to serve well in emergency situations like blackouts. But if you're putting this light in an emergency kit, stick at least one extra set of batteries in there in case you do end up needing to go back to full brightness after the high output has given out
- Tight hotspot with very wide spill
- Good for throw within probably 50 yards; excellent for flood work despite having a concentrated hotspot (could get in the way for tasks like reading in the dark)
- Perfect beam: no rings, artifacts or other irregularities
- Perfect light for backup or emergency use
Well, I hope this review proves useful for at least someone out there, and/or has some interesting info/data for others who don't necessarily need a review. Please feel free to shoot me more questions to enhance my review of the light, or question my runtime methods, etc. etc.
Cheers!
Body
(And yes, you can disregard this section if you're familiar with the G2). This is probably stating the well-known, but the G2L feels good in the hand, being the perfect size to hold and handle. The Nitrolon material has a great feel to it, and is definitely more more pleasant than its peers in situations where metal lights would be scorching hot (like for sitting in the sun) or painfully cold. The grid and matte texture seem like they'd be good in slippery conditions, though the "SureFire" text can be a little rough on the hand, depending on how it's being held (though probably no more so than aggressive forms of knurling). The only significant downside I can find to the body is the lack of the six-sided anti-roll section on the head. Other than that, this light is ergonomically stellar.
Tailcap
Took me a short while to get used to the switching mechanism (I've traditionally only used a Mag 3D, or occasionally 2AA). But the LOTC twisty has definitely grown on me, and I probably like it nearly as much as the Mag clickies I'm used to. In any case, I ordered a Z59 clicky tailcap to go along with this, and I know there are other threads that discuss this more thoroughly, but I did indeed get a defective one. It stopped clicking reliably within about 50 clicks after first use. E-mailed SureFire and they said they'd send a new one, so I'm just waiting on that.
P60L
For all my life I, like so many others, have been a faithful user of MagLites. So just this summer I decided I'd jump into some higher quality, brighter stuff, and ordered myself a G2L, G3 and L1 CREE. So coming from the Mag 3D, I was definitely impressed with the beam of the P60L. I was quite impressed with the brightness, though having read these forums for a little while now, I realize there are much brighter ones out there (confirmed by my subsequent use of the G3).
In any case, I've come to realize that the P60L is not a "bright" light. That is, brightness is not the lamp's primary purpose like it is for, say, the P91 or MN21. In my use of the P60L, I've come to the conclusion that it's just about the perfect "all-around" or "compromise" light. The brightness is significant enough that it can impress, and light up nearly anything you need it to, and simultaneously gives you fabulous runtime. I guess what I'd say for brightness comes down to the P60L being fabulously bright for close-to-medium range tasks in total dark, and is rather dim for distance lighting, or use in situations with lots of ambient light.
So I guess that brings me to throw. This is another example of the lamp's compromise. The beam has a tight, smooth hotspot with decent intensity, and a lot of bright, wide spill. In fact, if it weren't for the small hotspot, I'd almost think that this light was intended for flood use, as the spill is so bright and useful. But the hotspot comes in very handy, and can serve to highlight whatever you need it to. However, its throw isn't spectacular. I don't have a huge space I can test in right now, but from memory I'd say it is pretty useful within about 30-50 yards. For anything beyond that, I'd say that you'll want to get a light specifically designed for throw, even the relatively dim Mag 3D.
As for runtime, the P60L is very satisfactory. The "all-around" nature of the lamp, in addition to the excellent runtime would probably make the G2L, 6PL, etc., a perfect backup light for LEOs. But for the normal civilian user, I'd say that this lamp makes for a perfect emergency light. Very satisfying brightness certainly plays a part in this, but really it's the runtime that makes this light great for throwing in an emergency kit and not thinking about it until the power goes out or what have you. I'd say that SureFire's advertised 12 hours (in the G2 body) of useful light is about right. The posts here saying that the G2L starts out at 80 lumens, followed by about three hours at ~65 lumens, then drops out of regulation are about right. The 80 lumens peak really doesn't last for very long, and the following 65 lumen stage does last for a bit upwards of three hours. Well, I guess at this point I should say that my runtime test used Tenergy 3V CR123A primaries. I'm not sure how these rate compared to SF cells, or other well-known good-performers like Duracell, but at some point I'll run a test to compare the Tenergy primaries with Panasonic primaries. Anyway, on the Tenergy cells the light dropped to 50% brightness at about 4 hours, and from about 5.5 hours 'til the end of the useful light period, the G2L kept a diminishing yet stable light level that I'd estimate at an average of maybe 10 lumens. Now, 10 lumens is not a brightness that I'd want to try to use where there's a fair amount of ambient light, but in emergency situations with NO light, I think it's more than enough to get along.
Oh, and just a quick word on tint. This lamp definitely appears blue to the eye. Now, I don't have a whole lot of experience with LED lights, but I'd venture a guess that the blue of this light is a lot less distinct than LEDs of past years. I guess to be more specific, I'd say that the blue tint is definitely perceptible in about any circumstances, but after initial activation, it becomes a lot less noticeable, and all you really see is the whiteness of the beam. I say whiteness both in the sense that it's not a truly ugly blue, and also in that I was impressed at how well the lamp renders colors. Not that I have a whole lot of experience with this (or any beamshots to back me up) but I was expecting significant distortion of colors, but I really don't notice any with this lamp.
Well, I guess that's probably enough of my rambling. On to a beamshot and runtime graph. So to start out easy, here's the whitewall beamshot, taken with both the light and camera about 1 meter away from the wall; Canon Powershot A710 IS, 1/8 sec exposure, f2.8, focus set to about 1 m, ISO 80, and whitebalance set to sunlight:
I kind of feel bad for only supplying a whitewall beamshot, as I'm rather a believer in not hunting white walls, and rather just seeing how a light performs in the real world. Well, I'll try and take some pictures of both the beam and the whole flashlight and post them here at some point.
Anyway, now for the runtime graph. Okay, before you look at this thing, I want to say that this is a VERY informal graph. For starters, I have no light meter or professional light measurement technology. I was curious about the brightness of the flashlight over time, and I didn't trust my own eyes to judge that brightness, so I used another tool: my digital camera. All my data points (beamshots) were taken under the conditions listed for the above beamshot (1/8 exposure, ISO 80, etc.). I then put all the shots on my computer and used the Histograms function to compare relative brightness (I used the "mean" value that Photoshop gave me). I originally had the intention to do my graph with lumens as the y-axis units, but this proved impossible by my method, as the camera didn't capture the entire beam, and therefore it couldn't pick up all the light used for spill. I was going to use these "mean" values to compare the full brightness of the G2L with my L1 high and low beams, which I'm fairly confident are consistent with SureFire's lumens ratings. However, since the beam profiles are too different for the lights, I could only do % brightness over time. I tried to take my shots about every half hour, though I perhaps should have done more, at least for the high output period of the light. Among my possible sources for error are: distance between the tripod and wall (I had to temporarily remove the tripod from the testing room a few times), light seeping in from the crack under the door (I thought this was negligible, but who knows), arbitrary jpeg compression issues affecting Photoshop's perception of brightness, and questionable relation between Photoshop and real-world brightness. And I'm sure there are things I'm forgetting, but you get the idea.
So again, here's my rag-tag, get-the-general-idea runtime graph, run on 2x Tenergy CR123A primary cells:
Max output for brief moments, followed by regulation at ~65 lumens for 3+ hours, 50% brightness reached at about 4 hours, and useful light >7 lumens until about 9.5 hours.
Summary of the G2L
- Good brightness for 3-4 hours
- About 8 hours of 10 lumens of light, to serve well in emergency situations like blackouts. But if you're putting this light in an emergency kit, stick at least one extra set of batteries in there in case you do end up needing to go back to full brightness after the high output has given out
- Tight hotspot with very wide spill
- Good for throw within probably 50 yards; excellent for flood work despite having a concentrated hotspot (could get in the way for tasks like reading in the dark)
- Perfect beam: no rings, artifacts or other irregularities
- Perfect light for backup or emergency use
Well, I hope this review proves useful for at least someone out there, and/or has some interesting info/data for others who don't necessarily need a review. Please feel free to shoot me more questions to enhance my review of the light, or question my runtime methods, etc. etc.
Cheers!
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