jayhackett03 said:
www.flashlightreviews.com
look at their runtime charts, you'll see what happens.
FYI, when lithium powered flashlights are used normally (on/off on/off, etc, as opposed to being left on for the whole runtime test) they will die instantly when their batteries are dead, not really a warning.
While I agree that there is less of a warning, it has been my experience that there is still a considerable warning. My own E2e actually is run this way year round. Since I got my A2 my E2e took on the post of "Kitchen Light" and it sits in a convenient place in the kitchen and I grab it whenever I need to see the water level in the coffee maker reservoir, or into a dark undercounter cupboard, or when I need to go down into the basement to mess with the furnace, and so on. So it gets used for 30 seconds or a minute or two, then returned to its post. And it lasts a
long time this way. But even given this kind of useage, I still know many minutes of runtime in advance of the true death of the batteries.
*****
A fairly long time ago now, I grew dissatisfied with my Firefly LED light as an EDC (before that was an Arc LSH-S) because . . . well, never mind, that's irrelevant. Point is, I wanted an
incan EDC. And I had wanted an E2e ever since I first heard of it way back in 2000. So I posted a thread called
E2e owners inside please and there's some informative posts in there. Also, well before that, I was thinking of getting a SF A2 and posted a thread called
Thinking of getting a SF A2. Opinions? and there is also a lot of talk in that thread about the E2e (and why the A2 is to be prefered).
It all depends on your situation, of course, and no overall statement like "The A2 is better" can be made. However, for most situations, for most people, the A2 is probably a better choice. Don't get me wrong! I love the E2e. It is a masterpiece of flashlight design and execution.
However, I found two main problems with the E2e as my EDC:
1. Never sure about when to change the batteries. It was humorous, actually. I'd use it, and go "hmm. Yes. It's definitely yellow now. Time to put in new batteries for sure." Then I'd install two new 123's . . . and . . . I couldn't really tell the difference. So, I'd put the old ones back in. Then other times, I'd figure I was still OK (having learned my lesson, of course), then find I was actually near the last 10 or 20 minutes of runtime at the start of a situation where I was going to need some kind of light for longer. Of course, back then, there were no lumens factory lamps for use with two R123's! But there was the MN02, which I think I should have gone for right away. A lot less light but a lot more runtime.
and
2. It was actually too short for pocket carry. Funny, huh? But, yes indeed, it would fall over sideways and get jammed into the bottom of my pants pocket. This was a major annoyance after a while and I never figured out a good way to avoid it (I don't carry a wallet).
So, the A2 actually has just enough extra length to stay upright in my pocket, and I always know when to change the batteries. At some point, the incan clearly stops working at full regulation, and I drop in two new 123's. But even if I were in a critical situation when that happened, the LED's would still have many hours of life available from the 25 percent full 123's.
So, if the pocket carry thing is not an issue, and if you don't care about the dual mode thing, then the E2e is maybe the better choice. Also, the E2e beam is aesthetically more pleasing, but it does have less throw. There are a bunch of reasons why someone might chose one over the other, but for me personally, the A2 is a far better fit to my EDC requirements than the E2e.
The E2e is still a helluva light, though! And I love having one around. I actually have a balrog body on my E2e--so, no clip whatsoever, not even any place where the clip could be installed. Smooth and round throughout. It's a perfectly lovely little light.
Hope that helped.
