Surefire L4, 120 lumens improved version

[Chao]

Chao, MrGman tested a E2DL in a lab sphere awhile back and it put out just over 200 actual lumens.
This light is a real powerhouse.

Go to the LED light section. The thread is stickied on the top with all his results.

Cool! I know that thread, just don't know when the E2DL data was updated in, see it now, thanks 1996alnl.

 

[Patriot]

Very nice review. It would be interesting to see the new L4 compared with the E2DL now. Is it safe to assume that the L4 is the only surefire light that's using the SCC LED? It seems that all the rest have been Cree based.

Outstanding beam quality imo. It's still reasonably floody and zero donut effect! :twothumbs

 

[1996alnl]

So as i understand it this newer L4 doesn't like single cell Li-on.
Too bad,i would of bought one if it was just as bright with a 17670 cell.

Anyone tried theirs with 16340's?

 

[boness]

Maybe I missed it ,But what is the run time

 

[Patriot]

Maybe I missed it ,But what is the run time

The detailed run-time graphs are in the first post.

 

[henry1960]

Two Hours.......:mecry:

 

[Bullzeyebill]

Very nice review. It would be interesting to see the new L4 compared with the E2DL now. Is it safe to assume that the L4 is the only surefire light that's using the SCC LED? It seems that all the rest have been Cree based.

Outstanding beam quality imo. It's still reasonably floody and zero donut effect! :twothumbs

All of the SF lights that use a reflector are now using the SCC LED. L5, C2L, 6PL, etc. That is except for the L7, L2, which use Lux V. Not sure about Kroma.

Bill

Bill

 

[:)>]

I checked mine against my Ra Clicky 140n and the L4 is maybe a tad brighter than the Ra 140 on burst... they look pretty darn close.

 

[270winchester]

ah screw you guys. Now I want a new L4.:thumbsdow

thanks a lot.

 

[Marlinaholic]

Yeah, no kidding 270, that's why I bought one from the poster right above you tonight! I need another surefire like a large 45 caliber hydra shok hole in the head :sigh: but who can resist? All my other Surefires are TIR, so I figured I "need" an L4 just to see what they are like.

 

[1996alnl]

Anyone know what the tailcap current measurement is from this new L4?

 

[seale_navy]

I think its the same.. with the z57 tailcap. Do u want the measurement of the z57?

 

[1996alnl]

I think its the same.. with the z57 tailcap. Do u want the measurement of the z57?

Sure,i just wanted to know if the electronics are the same as the LuxV version.

 

[Kiessling]

They can't be as the new L4 uses a buck driver and the old one a boost driver.

 

[easilyled]

In my opinion, putting an SSC-P4 in the L4 is a cop-out.

The original L4 was much brighter than other similar sized Surefire lights and the beam pattern was the much coveted,
floody "wall of light" which offered something usefully different.

This is because it had a Lux-V (quad-die) led in it compared to the single-die luxeons around at the time.

With the so-called "improved" version, the output and beam pattern are similar to a whole host of other lights
with this generation of led in it, like the E2DL, for example.

So its only "improved" because the present generation of led emitters are much more efficient than originally,
but not because of any innovation on the part of Surefire or any desire to recreate what set the L4 apart in the first place.

Surefire should have replaced the original lux-V with one of the new generation quad-die emitters instead of an SSC-P4.

This would have again resulted in a brighter than normal wall-of-light compared to the L4's contemporaries.

I've had my original L4 modded with a Cree MC-E by darkzero and love its utility (it has a McE2S in the tailcap to provide 2 levels).

 

[Bullzeyebill]

easilyled, :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Bill

 

[1996alnl]

Well i don't own the newer version L4 so i can't comment on it's beam,but those who own it say it's flawless.
I do own a couple SSC P4 lights so i have a pretty good idea what the new L4 is all about.
This P4 emitter from SSC is impressive,bright smooth and no rings or artifacts in the beam.
Having said that.
I agree with easilyled's comments above, as i decided to put a P7 in my older L4 and let me tell you it's a huge improvement over the LuxV.

Not to knock this new L4 but i think the smart (and cheaper) route for Surefire would of been to retain the original driver etc.. and drop in a MC-E or a P7.Yes i know it's underdriven..so what? It's still brighter and that means long runtimes.
I'm getting 90 min. of runtime with a AW17670 cell and it's much brighter than the LuxV AND i have a "wall of light",i mean a true wall of light.

 

[Marlinaholic]

I have a Milky MC-E Special Reserve L2 coming, so that might give me an idea of what "might have been" if Surefire had used an MC-E in their new L4. We'll see.

 

[Bullzeyebill]

I am going to have to reserve my opinion on the new L4 until I see one personally. I do know that the Seoul P4 used in the P6L throws a very wide beam, wider than the Lux V KL4. The smaller diameter of a KL4 reflector and the Seoul P4 should produce a very wide overall beam spread, and I suspect a very wide center beam. Apparently the transition between the center beam and spread is more pronounced.

Bill

 

[dcycleman]

I have a new 120lm version and it is the floodiest light I have, more than a pd30 or the sf e2ls new and old. thats not really saying much, but I find it very floody and from most of the people posting that have both new/old L4s they say its just as floody as the old model only with a brighter hotspot. I gotta say I like it a lot, I have a few lights and thats my chosen edc/bedside light. plus it just looks cool.