I love my SureFire E2L!

LawKid

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Feb 3, 2007
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I briefly mentioned in my first thread here that I ultimately bought a SureFire E2L to hold me over until I can find an L4.

When I bought it, I was somewhat expecting to be disenchanted with anemic output, and just figured it would end up being a backup for whatever I ultimately buy and use for EDC. I couldn't have been more wrong! I really was not expecting much from it to be totally honest..... and I got much more than I expected.

First of all, it's output is more than adequate for everyday usage. Even at only 30 lumens, it is somehow oddly comparable in brightness to my Inova X03. How this is possible, I don't really know. While there is a difference in brightness between the two (30 lumens vs 82 lumens), in usage, the difference is small and really is not nearly as noticable than I had expected. In fact, out to a small distance of 7 yards or so, the difference becomes almost nonexistant. Again, how this is possible, I really don't know.... maybe it's due to optics, or maybe something else (I'm not anywhere close to understanding the inner-workings of these things as you all are - but I hope to learn more while here).

The tail-cap is handy, and I've found that being able to manually strobe using the temorary on feature is very useful, I just hope it's not bad for the flashlight. I do wish that the rubber was at least a little more tough, but so long as it holds up I'm fine. It does seem somewhat thin though.

So far I'm on the first set of batteries, which is great. The Inova goes through batteries like nuts. I did order 2 boxes of SureFire batteries just to have extras though (locally 123A's cost me $20 for 4 batteries - which is unbelievable - so I'll gladly pay $21 for 12). Note: RadioShack wants $9.99 for one battery!

The overall build of it is fantastic and it feels like a tough little mother of a beast.

Best of all, I can drop it in my side pocket and I don't even feel it there. What a relief. I hated carrying the X03.

All in all, I'm more than pleased and while it was a little pricey, I feel it was worth the coin (which is what I was asking in my first post). Best however, is that if this is 30 lumens from SureFire, I can't wait to see what the L4 is like when I buy one. I'll be sure of course to buy through a CPF-discount dealer now that I know about that.

Anyways, I just wanted to share how great this little flashlight is and how SureFire exceeded my expectations by a lot. :sold: :goodjob:
 

FAAbUlights

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Jan 7, 2007
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Congratulations on your new E2L. It is a great light. And yes, Surefire's lumen ratings are very modest. They don't inflate their numbers like many other manufacturers do wich is why their 30 lumes could be just as bright as another companies 60.

What kind of uses will you be using your light for and do you think you are still interested in a L4 after being so surprised by the E2L? The L4 is much more of a flood beam because it uses a reflector so it's application is different than lights that use a focusing lens. Just curious to see wich light would serve your applications better. Anyways, have fun with your new Surefire!
 

Lumatic

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Mar 23, 2006
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Houston, Texas
I've had the E1L (1 cell version of the E2L) for a little over a year and the only thing to ever go wrong was the clicky tailcap, which I took apart and fixed after Surefire sent me a free replacement. The compact size and diffuser make a very pocketable rechargeable light. As for the batteries, I buy from Lighthound. With 1 RCR 123 I can run 43-53 minutes per charge before the light goes out without warning.

Lighthound

http://www.lighthound.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=161
Rechargeable 123
http://www.lighthound.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1155
If your tailcap fails you can try my fix.
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/112476
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/138365
 

Strauss

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Aug 19, 2006
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Plattsburgh, NY
KDOG3 said:
Put the McR20 reflector in there from the sandwich shoppe, and you'll be even more impressed.

I agree, as well as topping it off with a nice quality UCL lens :) I use the exact set-up on my E2L and love it, HUGE improvement!!!!
 

NAW

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May 18, 2006
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TheEconomist said:
Best however, is that if this is 30 lumens from SureFire, I can't wait to see what the L4 is like when I buy one.

Well to give you an idea as to what to expect. Believe it or not the Surefire E2L will actually throw farther than the Surefire L4. But the L4 will be able to put out more light.

You can see in this comparison of the E2L Vs the L4 that the E2L can throw much farther, but the L4 puts out a bigger beam. So basically the E2L is a flashlight that can throw far and the L4 is a floodlight with not much throw.

http://flashlightreviews.com/reviews/surefire_kl1gen2.htm
 
Last edited:

jumpstat

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Dec 20, 2006
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2,418
Location
Ampang, Malaysia
Hi Economist,

Its good to hear you are happy with your E2L, I myself also have a KL1 head with a e2e body and z57 tailcap combi. It is a great lite for most purposes. Maybe rather than spending on primaries, you should look into rechargeables. There are a few cpfers selling rechargeables in the dealers section and getting them gives you guilt free lumens!!

Regards...
 

Dustin Liu

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Oct 14, 2005
Messages
182
The new 2007 surefire E2L is going to be 45 lumens for 18 hours. I think you should have waited.
 

LawKid

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Feb 3, 2007
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Dustin Liu said:
The new 2007 surefire E2L is going to be 45 lumens for 18 hours. I think you should have waited.

I may very well get one when it comes out. I've come to the realization that I want somewhere around 3-4 quality flashlights to have for emergencies as well as general usage.
 

LawKid

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Feb 3, 2007
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oh - also, as for the L4, I didn't realize it was more of a floodlight.

Which SureFire is a 100 lumen pin-spot style LED flashlight?
 

jonman007

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Feb 6, 2005
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TheEconomist said:
Which SureFire is a 100 lumen pin-spot style LED flashlight?

From my understanding there are none from surefire like that and there never will be. From what others have told me, surefire make lights for tactical situations i.e. lights which will light up a moderate amount of area at close ranges. Supposedly that is why the cree LEDs haven't been put into the U2 yet, because they found the beam produced was too narrow.
 

Art Vandelay

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Mar 13, 2006
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TheEconomist said:
oh - also, as for the L4, I didn't realize it was more of a floodlight.

Which SureFire is a 100 lumen pin-spot style LED flashlight?

It's far from a hundred lumens but I think the E2L is the closest thing to a pin-spot style LED flashlight. Surefire lights are normally more of a flood light than a spotlight.
 
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