In praise of 15 perfect lumens

A lot of us get excited about the brightest and the longest throw, myself included. Over the weekend, based on a thread or two here I bought a Surefire E1E. I almost expected to be disappointed. My last three purchases were an HDS U60 XRGT, Surefire A2 and Streamlight TL-3. They obviously have a lot more wallop than the E1E.

When I first turned it on, inside at night, I felt a little better. It has the same perfect beam as an E2E. But then I took it outside and was shocked. It really provides a nice light from my front porch to either end of my yard. Admittedly, I have a really small yard, but well, it is the one I need to light up. In fact it provided some light down to the end of the block. But for 20 or maybe 30 yards it provides a reasonable amount of light in that perfect beam pattern with the beautiful spill. I guess I either hadnt appreciated or had forgotten how useful even a relative small amount of lumens can be when the beam is that excellent. Great light, and so small it will fit about anywhere.

No. No. Nonononono. I had just made up my mind between the E1e vs the E1L... now I don't know...

carrot said:

No. No. Nonononono. I had just made up my mind between the E1e vs the E1L... now I don't know...

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I have an E1L too, I got it first in fact. I have a beam diffuser and a two stage on it. It is wonderful as well. You simply cant go wrong in my opinion in choosing between those two lights.

In fact if you buy either you can buy the other bezel (and bulb if you get the E1L initially) and try them both.

About 10 years ago I had a 6-volt light that was basically a SureFire 6P clone. It was too bright for the majority of my uses. I got a 3P (3-volt version of the 6P), which gave the perfect amount of light. I think it is pretty much the same thing as the E1E, so I can appreciate how well received the E1E is.

I'd get the BeamShaper too, with either the E1E or E1L.

Scott

GadgetTravel,

I remember reading your thread about the E1e last week. Glad to see you are happy with your decision to get one. Hope it continues to provide you with many bright nights to come.

Well done, enjoy your E1E.

I mentioned in the other thread that you had to physically LOOK at the E1E's 15 lumens beam to appreciate it. Comparing the lumens numbers on a chart does not do justice to this little light.

If you decide to convert it to an LED light, it is a simple matter of getting the KL1 (3watt) or KL4 (5watt) to replace the existing bezel.

By the way, is your E1E a Black or HA ?

The 25 lumen lamp in an E2e is pretty nice too, with 2 hours runtime.

I find the 15 lumen setting on my HDS just about perfect for most tasks as well.

I agree with y'all. I was shocked at how perfect the beam of the E1e is, and when you slap the head a VG FB1 it's so tiny you just shake your head and thrw it in you pcket....

firefly99 said:

Well done, enjoy your E1E.

I mentioned in the other thread that you had to physically LOOK at the E1E's 15 lumens beam to appreciate it. Comparing the lumens numbers on a chart does not do justice to this little light.

If you decide to convert it to an LED light, it is a simple matter of getting the KL1 (3watt) or KL4 (5watt) to replace the existing bezel.

By the way, is your E1E a Black or HA ?

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It is HA. I have other components in the E series that are also HA. I have an E1L and a KL4 head that I have on a two cell body. I have two stage tailcaps on both and run them on rechargeables, a 123 for the one cell and a Pila for the KL4 on the 2 cell body. I also have an E2E with the 65 lumen bulb. I do have a 25 lumen bulb as a backup in a spares carrier but I dont use it.

You are exactly right about having to see it. 15 lumens is one thing if it is in some weird pattern with spots and donuts in it. It is quite another if it is a perfect spot with nice spill. Im still a bit stunned at how useful the beam is. I may compare it to a 2D mag I just put fresh Duracels in. I suspect the E1E will win in terms of usefullness. And yes, the size is wonderful. The only problem is that I have so much crap in my pockets I cant find it sometime.

One other thing that inspired me to try it was using an Arc P. That is even less output and I was very surprised at its useability.

Hello GadgetTravel,

I purchased an E1E with the sole purpose of using it as a TW4 with an R-CR123 and a two stage tail cap. I used it like this for a while, then put the KL4 head back on my L4 and converted the E1E back to stock again.

I suddenly realized how wonderful this little light is. It has become a favorite of mine. I also get a lot of favorable comments from it when on camping trips.

Tom

An e1 gunmetal was my first surefire light and I carried it in my pocket everyday for 4 years. I think it is a very useful light for most tasks. It was very well worth the $42.00 I paid for it. I now carry HDS basic 42gt but the e1 is never far away. Clipped on a cap, it makes a good headlight too.

My very, very first post on CPF was about how the E1e with stock MN01 incandescent lamp blew away other lights rated "35 lumens" and above in a real power failure incident.....

More than 5000 posts later, my E1e now wears a KL1 head, but has never been replaced as one of my all time favorite lights. Surefire has a winner in this one and in my hands (and eyes), this is the one light that stood the test of time. It no longer serves duty as EDC keychain carry but it will forever have a place in my collection for the rest of eternity.

GadgetTravel,
Glad you like that E1E. It's a light I've looked at several times though I tend to drift over to the E1L and that's the light I'll probably add to my collection eventually. (after I get a Striker VG and that scary bright Wolf-Eyes M90X Rattlesnake).

Okay so I just mentioned two throw-monsters but you have a good point about 15 lumens. I've had my Night-Ops Gladius for a while now and I love having the full power on tap but honestly I use the light 80% of the time at a "comfortable" lower level. So at one point my wife and I are walking around and I notice that I have the Gladius set to pretty much the same level as her L2 on low (around 15 lumens). A few nights later I was doing something that needed light from two angles so I asked my wife to grab the gladius and point it where I needed...and noted that again I had set the level to nearly match default on my HDS EDC 60 (again, around 10 lumens).

Not a particularly earth shattering observation but I do find it interesting that between 10-20 lumens really does seem to be the sweet spot for the majority of my light use.

The E1e is probably my favorite small light. They are have a good runtime as well. My wife likes to keep one in her purse. I think I have five of them now.

I have to agree with those who find the SureFire E1e a "likeable" little incandescent torcher. No regrets whatsoever here. Then again, that's just me. :wave:

I've been considering getting that little bugger for a while now. May have to pick one up if I can find a good deal.

how would one attach the e1e to a keychain? if i could make it a keychian light i would probably buy one .... i have wanted an e1e forever now.......

The E1e is a cool little light, you don't always need tons of lumens to do the job. I have added an Aleph CR2 body to one of my E1e's to make it even smaller, and has been my EDC for a very long time now.

Chuck

KDOG3 said:

I've been considering getting that little bugger for a while now. May have to pick one up if I can find a good deal.

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I too have wanted an E1e ever since I got a chance to try one at my local sporting goods retailer. This thread pushed me over the edge yesterday.

KDOG3, I found a great deal on an E1e via greenLED's "CPF Specials" thread. I picked up an E1e in HA-III-BK (Black) from OpticsHQ.com. Just click on OpticsHQ's "details" link on the CPF Specials page and read the directions. After becoming an OpticsHQ member (and getting your membership fee back!), you'll be able to download a PDF file listing both OpticsHQ Member and CPF Member discounts for many SureFire flashlights and accessories. I almost got carried away and ordered an A2 as well but I decided not to incur the wrath of Mrs. CoffeeAchiever!

I'm looking forward to receiving my next SureFire. I completely agree with GadgetTravel, Fifteen "perfect lumens" is indeed a good thing!