MacTech
Enlightened
I just got my L1 from Tacticalsupply.com today, my first SureFire TIR-equipped light, and it definitely caught me by surprise.....
I'm not a fan of optics, give me a nice reflector anyday, i love the balanced hotspot/spill produced by a reflector, other TIR equipped lights i've tried (tried an Inova X0 and T1) left me underwhelmed, so i wasn't looking forward to what i imagined was going to be an "all hotspot/no spill" beam profile from the L1, in fact, i had been planning to either do a reflector swap myself, or send it to Milkyspit to be modded......
for closeup work, yes, the SF TIR does project a very tight beam, too tight for close work, but at any distance past 5 feet, it actually puts out a reasonably good size spot of light, not as wide as a good reflector, but not unusable either
I tried mocking up an F04 with a Minimag anti-roll rubber bezel and a sanded clear Mag plastic lens, that greatly improved close-in usability, turning the spot-beamed TIR into a decent flooder, i may just have to pick up an F04 beamshaper (if i can't make my own by cutting down a Minimag antiroll bezel....)
Hmm, maybe i won't *have* to reflectorize the L1, as it throws *amazingly* well for a one cell light.....
i just wish it was a little shorter, heck, it's almost as long as my A2 Aviator, it;s not as pocketable as my E1e, but it *is* more hand-freindly, much like the A2, it's far more comfortable in hand than the E1e, which is just a hair too short for my meathooks
so, the SF TIR optic seems to be more useful than i thought it would be, with a F04, the L1 is almost the perfect pocket light (it just needs to be a little shorter)
I'm not a fan of optics, give me a nice reflector anyday, i love the balanced hotspot/spill produced by a reflector, other TIR equipped lights i've tried (tried an Inova X0 and T1) left me underwhelmed, so i wasn't looking forward to what i imagined was going to be an "all hotspot/no spill" beam profile from the L1, in fact, i had been planning to either do a reflector swap myself, or send it to Milkyspit to be modded......
for closeup work, yes, the SF TIR does project a very tight beam, too tight for close work, but at any distance past 5 feet, it actually puts out a reasonably good size spot of light, not as wide as a good reflector, but not unusable either
I tried mocking up an F04 with a Minimag anti-roll rubber bezel and a sanded clear Mag plastic lens, that greatly improved close-in usability, turning the spot-beamed TIR into a decent flooder, i may just have to pick up an F04 beamshaper (if i can't make my own by cutting down a Minimag antiroll bezel....)
Hmm, maybe i won't *have* to reflectorize the L1, as it throws *amazingly* well for a one cell light.....
i just wish it was a little shorter, heck, it's almost as long as my A2 Aviator, it;s not as pocketable as my E1e, but it *is* more hand-freindly, much like the A2, it's far more comfortable in hand than the E1e, which is just a hair too short for my meathooks
so, the SF TIR optic seems to be more useful than i thought it would be, with a F04, the L1 is almost the perfect pocket light (it just needs to be a little shorter)
