L4 vs U2 (one brighter than the other)?

Anyone here got both and can give me a review?
To my understanding, both lights are rated equal @100 lumens (U2 in the highest power setting).
Are they really identical? Is the beam pattern the same also? throw?

The benefit of the U2 is its variable power settings, but considering the price difference, I'd go for an L4, Fenix P1, and X5 (new). Having 3 seperate lights for the same price as the U2. I can place them in different bags, thus much more versatile. Anyone with me on this?

The U2 and L4 both use a 5watt Luxeon, and thus, will produce similar output, but their beam patterns are very different. The L4 is all flood, whereas the U2 is a balance of flood and throw. Due to the Luxeon Lottery, each unit will vary in terms of total output. My U2 is brighter than my L4. However, even a bright L4 won't seem so when compared to the U2, because the L4 beam is much more diffuse compared to the more focused hotspot on the U2. The U2 (if you can get a good one) is one of the best lights to be had, IMHO. It's considerably larger than the L4, but I find many uses for it.

Getting three lights in place of one is an enticing argument, but personally I wouldn't want to part with my U2 for any quantity or combination of alternatives. When you think about it the other way around, you are getting the features of several lights in a single package w/ the U2. Good throw, good spill, very bright, insanely long runtime, all available in one light.

my u2 is a lot brighter than the l4 i play with at our local dealer but the l4 is a hole lot smaller.

hope this helps

david

rollee said:

The benefit of the U2 is its variable power settings, but considering the price difference, I'd go for an L4, Fenix P1, and X5 (new). Having 3 seperate lights for the same price as the U2. I can place them in different bags, thus much more versatile.

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That's really the whole debate, isn't it. Either you want as much as possible in only one light, or you don't. If you don't need multiple power stages and a clicky tail cap, you don't need a U2.

I believe external switching is the main problem to solve in flashlight design. Single stage light = easy, multistage light with features x and y = hard. And as far as I'm concerned, the U2 has the best switching system on ANY light. I can imagine some improvements, but for the moment it's The Best A Man Can Get. (TM)

Did you mean L2 vs L4? I think the style of beam is similar between these two...not sure if one is brighter than the other.

Ken

benchmade_boy said:

my u2 is a lot brighter than the l4 i play with at our local dealer but the l4 is a hole lot smaller.

hope this helps

david

Click to expand...

The U2 is driven harder but even so I have a recent L4 that is just as bright as my U2 with a WWOS emitter.