Hi Tecstar1, welcome to CPF!
I have an L2, and I think it's a terrific light. What I like:
- really useful dual level: Low is bright enough for most of my uses. High really lights up a room
- both high and low level are regulated
- lovely flood type beam, the so-called "wall of light."
- reasonably compact size
- really an amazing general purpose light.
The size of the light is it's biggest negative to some. It's about the same size (slightly bigger) as a mini-maglite. (The 2 AA battery mag.) If you have one of those, it's an excellent approximation for the size of the L2. If you think a mini-mag is too large for your purposes, the L2 will definitely be too large.
I use mine all the time, and I don't have any real problems carrying with me most of the time. But there are certainly smaller lights. Only odd thing about the light is that it emits a high-pitched whine on it's low setting. I can barely hear this when the light is right next to my ear, so for me this is no problem - just odd.
The L4 is a very similar light. It's essentially an L2 with only the high-level output. It's a bit smaller because it lacks the dual level functionality. (Although you can buy an after-market tailcap for it from McGizmo that offers similar capability.)
Which one is best for you depends a lot on what you are going to be doing. I mostly walk around at night, so runtime is important to me. The L2 on low gives me lots of runtime, and enough light to see around, with a boost to high level if I really need to light things up. If you'll mainly use the light someplace with a lot of background light, and only use it intermittantly, the L4 might be the better choice, as it's smaller. Personally, I think the L4 is too bright for close-up work at night, but again, that totally depends on where you are and what you are doing.
Hope this helps.
