Surefire L4 5W released!

[IlluminatingBikr]

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Size15s said:
Yes.

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Care to share them? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif

 

[treek13]

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Spectre said:
Al:
Do you now any specs about the L4/KL4?

Bjorn

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Size15s said:
Yes.

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Makes you wonder why people say that British humor is a bit dry, huh?

Pat

 

[Badbeams3]

Alright Al...spill the beans. What does this do? Why should we buy this light? Multi power level? It`s bright...ok, we all know that...what else? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/twak.gif Talk or we`ll make you say ten nice things about Mag lights! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif AND NO...you cannot choose death /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Size15's]

You know what it does!
There were proto-types of it at SS2003...
It's a 5W Luxeon powered by two SF123As.
It's designed to be attached to the E2/E2e only.
For runtime/output, I'll leave that to people who do that sort of thing but I believe SureFire are rating it as 60-65Lu/65min although the LED light colour makes it appear brighter and the regulated momentary use make the runtime appear longer.
It then gives you a lower output for a while and then even lower for ages.
To be honest, once a SureFire isn't giving it's best I swap to new batteries.

Why should you buy this light?
I don't think I'm the best person to give an opinion on that as I'll buy most things from SureFire.
But I will say that it's a regulated 5W LED and perhaps that should be enough reason for a flashaholic?! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Al /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Badbeams3]

Thanks! I guess I was hoping they would have come up with a high/low switch for long batt life when high brightness isn`t needed. 65 lumens...isn`t that about what a regular E-2 puts out? Not bad for a led...but the run time sounds similar. I guess one benifit is the bulb life. And perhaps, being regulated it stays brighter longer than a standard E-2. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Brock]

What Al said.

 

[geepondy]

Right, without the tailswitch and the body, I would assume it would be considerably cheaper.

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Size15s said:

I don't know about "considerably cheaper" for just the KL4 since the Z57 is a Clickie and the Z48/Z49 aren't cheap. This is a caution against building yourself an expectation of a significantly cheaper price for the KL4 on it's own. I do not know what the price for the KL4 or Z57 will be.

Al

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[Size15's]

SureFire release the KL1 which is a 1W bezel for the E Series.
SureFire release the L1 which is a 1W Luxeon with two-stage switching for two output choice.

SureFire release the KL4 which is a 5W bezel for the E2/E2e.

It would be reasonable to assume that 5W Luxeon may be be made also featuring two-stage switching. If I was a betting man I'd put my money on it being called the L2.
In reality, this "L2" has no production plan or expected release date.

In reality people that have seen the KL4 I have say that the KL4 is much brighter and puts out more light then the P60/MN03/P90 at close range. The colour of the light means it is far more visually stunning.

Al

 

[Skyline]

Hmm, an L2 would be interesting. I must admit I'm the type that "goes for the turbo". If I had a theoretical L2, I'd probably skip right past "low" mode and shoot for "high" mode 99% of the time. I guess this is why I've already placed an order for the L4.

When I use my 10X, I'm always tempted to use all 500++ lumens at once. I have poor self control. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Flashlightboy]

I called SF asking if the KL4 was available now that the light is. The exact answer was, "I have no information available on that item."

Bummer.

 

[Size15's]

Perhaps SureFire are offering the L4 as a way to get two new parts at once in a cost effective package?
I guess I'm cautioning against assuming that the KL4 on it's own will be significantly less then the L4.
The KL4 hasn't been released as an individual part yet so no information about pricing or release date etc has been given.

Al

 

[Skyline]

Al,

This is exactly what I was thinking. I do not own an E2e, so I had expected to purchase an E2e and the KL4 / Z57 when they come out. With the L4, I see it as an easy way of obtaining all the parts that aren't available individually.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Soo... what's a good holster for the L4? One of the Ripoffs models? Surefire doesn't have an E2 holster available right?

 

[brightnorm]

Has SureFire created a custom reflector for the KL4? Or a more efficient, tighter focusing optic? If not the beam with likely be a very bright flood with modest throw and possible central void either subtle or not so subtle.

If this is true then I'm not sure how it would be superior to the very fine 5W/KL1 mod created for me by CM. His work was really perfect; no marks of any kind and a very bright almost pure white beam which literally illuminates an entire room.

If this light was slightly brighter and as tightly focused as the E2E/MN03 I believe it could replace it.

It will be interesting to see how/if the KL4 outperforms this light.

Brightnorm

 

[Darell]

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Size15s said:
In reality people that have seen the KL4 I have say that the KL4 is much brighter and puts out more light then the P60/MN03/P90 at close range. The colour of the light means it is far more visually stunning.


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Hey Al -

This sounds suspiciously like you now have a *positive* attitude toward LEDs. What gives, Mr. Incandescent? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Size15's]

Only to the 5W Luxeon.
1W Luxeons aren't bright enough for me.
I heard about 5W Luxeons about the same time I heard about 5W Luxeons - so for me personally, the 1W has been a stop-gap technology testbed.
The fun starts at 5W!

The KL4 does not have the reach of the E2e - the 5W Luxeon source is too large to get a tight beam from this diameter reflector.

I don't need long throw from my EDC light though.

The KL4 is basically the same as the KL1 in dimensions (certainly length). The Z57 Clickie takes a few more millimetres.

Al

 

[Darell]

Yeah, yeah. No need to apologize. We LED freaks forgive you. Sort of.

There is nothing stop-gap about the 1W though. Certainly the 1W was required to make today's 5W. But I'd call that more of a stepping stone than a stop-gap measure. LED tech is advancing so fast that I don't know how long the 5W will be king. At least as we know it today. Reflectored LEDs are a couple of months old now - they can only get better. Probably WAY better. This is a fun ride, and the L4 is a HUGE chunk off of the tip of this particular iceburg.

OK, stop me here before I go off rambling about something completely off-topic. I just couldn't pass up the chance at a jab to Mr. Traditional. Carry on.

 

[Size15's]

There is always something better in the pipe...

Al

 

[MicroE]

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Darell said:
"...LED tech is advancing so fast that I don't know how long the 5W will be king...."

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Based upon the amount of heat generated by these LEDs and the size of the source I'm going to venture that we will be stuck in the Land of 5 Watters for quite some time.

If Luxeon crams 8 chips inside a new package it will kill itself with the heat. Also, another 4 chips will double the emitting area. The emitter size is already a major problem when it comes to designing the optics.

They might get around the size problem by increasing the area of each chip, but the heat is gonna be a killer.

Now I'm off to the dealer's corner to check out Howard's stock.......

 

[Badbeams3]

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Size15s said:
the 1W has been a stop-gap technology testbed.
The fun starts at 5W

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Well I agree somewhat. But for many who like a long run time the 5 watt (without dimming features) stops the fun. At least with 123 batts. 4 "c" batts would put the fun back in it (at least as an option). I would like to EDC this light and for that the 123 batts are fine. But often I just want to play with the light at home...goofing off (mostly what I do with more powerfull lights). But I guess Surefire has built their lights around the 123 batt and isn`t going to change now. So is Arc. Perhaps these companies use 123`s knowing that the use of these batts will discourage heavy use of the lights and there by reduce warranty issues...I don`t know. Maybe Streamlight or Dorcy will come out with a quality regulated 5 watt LS meant more for the general public...giving them other, more common batt options but with a lower prices and shorter warranties.

 

[Darell]

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MicroE said:
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Darell said:
"...LED tech is advancing so fast that I don't know how long the 5W will be king...."

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Based upon the amount of heat generated by these LEDs and the size of the source I'm going to venture that we will be stuck in the Land of 5 Watters for quite some time.


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I can't see my post now, but I certainly intended to temper that comment with "in its current form." The 5W emitters of today should be quite dim compared to more efficient units of the future. Grab yourself a 5mm 20mA LED produced just a few years ago, and you'll see what I'm getting at.

** Edit: What I said was "At least as we know them today." **