Lost my L1

Hi all,

Had to tell my story to those of us who would truly understand the meaning of losing a valued light...

I'm an crimefighter/donut crusader up on the westcoast of the great white north.

We are supplied 1 Streamlight Polystinger plus charger (additional battery costs extra) as our duty light. For about 3 years, I lived in relatively peaceful bliss, using my stinger for car & house searches, lighting up rooftops, occasionally searching for criminals for contraband in places that are dark and scary and during one fateful meeting with a car thief in an unlit backyard where he had fled, I discovered the stingers benefits as an impact tool.

About 2 years ago, I became an LED addict: it started relatively innocently. I needed a knife and ended up researching for a good one on a popular forum (some of you will know which one). Naturally, after collecting a few knives of various sorts, one seller mentioned how he found some good deals on other forums, one of them being CPF non-light section...

Thinking nothing of it I found the CPF website and started reading... wrong move. Once I ordered my first Lumapower LED, I was hooked. I went from FlashCrazy's Coast mod to Fenix to Huntlight and on and on...

Anyways, since I've been on CPF I've tried out numerous LED lights in place of my trusty work SL incan- searching for the perfect light. I went through numerous lights. Recently I had settled on the EYJ U2 clone- its heavy duty, runs on 18650s, and has got pretty decent throw. As I've said before, its like that girl you date thats a solid 7 in every category...

Well, I changed sections and my new section requires plainclothes work so I wanted a smaller, concealable light. I had recently purchased the Surefire L1 Cree, tried it out and really liked it, both as an off and on-duty edc light. It was a suitable size, weight, runtime, had good throw & the Surefire reliability and quality. Just a fantastic light. Stupid me- I kept it in my pants pocket instead of a belt holster as I have a fair amount of stuff on my belt anyways....:sigh:

So, last night, I end up on foot chasing a car for a couple of blocks. Didnt think much of it until today where I realized my L1 was missing. It was one of those times where, you remember what you did the day before and you have that sinking feeling in your gut that its probably 90% gone. But ya gotta be sure so I checked the office area, my bag, the car. Nothing. Its lost. And I'm sick to my stomach for the rest of the day. (I resign myself to losing stuff at work - its the nature of the beast. But it still sucks when its a good light & relatively expensive to replace. And really, I'd rather give it away to a friend than lose it.)

Anyways- just had to tell people who'd understand.

Which brings me to my next dilemma: I recently bought a Milky modded 1st gen SF L1 from Valpo and am debating whether or not to use it at work.:shrug:

My attitude is: if I own it- its gotta be a user. That being said, I have a NovaTac modded by whc which I am loathe to bring to work for fear of the same thing happening as my L1. And maybe its better to use a relatively cheap DX light. (But just doesnt feel the same you know?)

I'll probably end up using my ML1 as my work light (albeit an expensive one) but will invest in a sturdy holster for it. Wont guarantee I wont lose it but at least its better than in the pocket....:thinking:

I'd use the Novatac at work and the ML1 for personal use. Novatac is replaceable, Old style ML1's are getting difficult to find. Even Milky has a hard time finding hosts since Surefire doesn't make em anymore. Sorry about your loss, I have quite a few lights and an L1 is one of my favs.

Sorry for your loss elt, I read these posts and go "Ugg!" funny I did the opposite, from here to the other forum! Them busse's sure do cost a lot! But there the best, like your good lights. Why gamble and take a chance (in your line of work) on cheapies that you know won't feel as good to use.

The holster sounds like a very good idea and as long as you remember to use it, you'll never be writing this kind of post again!
Good Luck and be safe out there.

I would ABSOLUTELY use the 120P or the milky instead of some knockoff crap. You're one of those people whose life could very well depend on your light. Your life is worth a lot more than $150.

Do not buy some knockoff, I say get a new L1 from marketplace or ebay and get a holster.

Or as mentioned use the Novatac on duty, since people say the Milky is rare.

Stay safe!

Dude.........don't do that, man.

The ML1 is too nice to lose. I would rather risk buying and losing a new Cree L1 than my ML1.

elt1 said:

I'll probably end up using my ML1 as my work light.

Click to expand...

Bill

Did you record the serial number? If so, we will keep an eye out for it.

I just ordered a SF 6PD from Battery junction and got a Maxpedition holster with it. Check them out. They look very well made. At the price of some of these lights it would be wise to invest in one that is solid.:twothumbs

Sorry to hear you lost your light. I am very protective of my Surefires. Like others have said....Do not use your Milky L1 for duty. I would not use mine for work. Either get another CREE L1 over at MarketPlace, or try to find something a little less expensive like a 6PD or G2, and then put the D26 Digital Q2 Cree LED 3.7-6V *2-Mode drop-in in it.

I bought my 5 year old son, who is a budding flashaholic an E1L a couple of weeks ago. He did not let that thing out of his sight. He even slept with it. He had his own Surefire like daddy's. Well, as 5 year olds will, they get distracted and put things down, and forget where they left them. Long story short....we have not been able to locate it for 2 days now. It almost feels like I lost a Surefire. He's pretty bummed out too, because he's now relegated back to the old 1x AA River Rock. :sigh:

bondr006 said:

I bought my 5 year old son, who is a budding flashaholic an E1L a couple of weeks ago. He did not let that thing out of his sight. He even slept with it. He had his own Surefire like daddy's. Well, as 5 year olds will, they get distracted and put things down, and forget where they left them. Long story short....we have not been able to locate it for 2 days now. It almost feels like I lost a Surefire. He's pretty bummed out too, because he's now relegated back to the old 1x AA River Rock. :sigh:

Click to expand...

Same thing happened to my 5yo, went camping and he lost his yellow G2L. I felt really bad for him, but thats how we learn responsibility. The little trinkets that I loved and lost have made me better able to keep up with the ones I love now.

Appreciate the comments, advice & opinions...:twothumbs

I'll most likely go with another L1 or the NovaTac. The only thing with the NovaTac is the runtime on high is fairly short and I've had it start dimming during longer searches.


We'll see how it goes!

I am sorry for your loss.

have you considered using a key retractor or a coiled pistol leash next time?

Hope your light gets replaced soon because a light is quite necessary for your own personal safety in your line of work. Good luck and God bless

Sorry for your loss. I lost my old L1 also about 3 years ago, too. It turns out my new puppy got a hold of it and dropped it in the woods in on our property.
I considered it lost. I stumbled on it a couple weeks later. Then I sold it about a year later. I bought it back when I found out the square bodies were hard to find, and I sent it to Milky.
I now have the ML1 (awesome)
Needless to say, I will try hard not to lose it. So, I would by a new L1 Cree for on the job, and keep the ML1 safe at home.

John

17-3, 83-18, 2-44

If you havent already, dont forget to deduct it on your tax return

Howdy elt1,
Sorry to hear that you lost your nice L1, that's a tough one. Having a lost an equally expensive light myself, and because I purchase my nice lights to be users, I decided to find a way to keep it from happening again.

I've been using this coil tether I got from greenLED for several weeks now, and this is probably one of the best accessories I can imagine for anybody that likes nice pocket lights. I just have a 1" keyring on the belt loop of all my pants, and that makes switching the light between pants a breeze, although the clip is big enough that I could probably just clip it to the belt loop without the keyring. Here is a line to greenLED's CPF thread and a few photos:

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=144507







In practical use, I find that this is a near perfect setup, as the coil lets the light sit deep in the pocket without getting in the way, and yet has enough extension to allow completely natural use of the light, and if you need to, it's easy to unclip the light at either end, although I've never needed to. BTW, as you can see, the clip attaches perfectly to the little hole on the NovaTac's pocket clip. Also, greenLED is a pleasure to work with.

Edit: The bottom photo shows the coil tether in it's relaxed, only slightly extended position. It easily extends past 2 feet.

Thanks for the heads up DerekDean!
I just sent greenLED a message...

I'm glad I could help. Be aware that you have all kinds of options as far as length, size and style of clips, etc. I've found the standard length to be perfect for my uses, but you couldn't comfortably stretch it all the way up over your head or anything.... but up to the top of your head, or out at full arms length at shoulder height is no problem with this length.

I also really like the small clip on one end for attaching to the light (which I tend to leave on the light) and that big honking clip on the other which gets the most use when going from pants to pants.

Anyway, I'm sure greenLED will take care of you, he is very conscientious about finding out what you really need.

Nice idea Derek Dean! I was thinking if he needed a safe version of that (so no one could pull him or if it were to get caught on something) he could set up a simple breakaway chain to a ring or hook setup;

Always a bummer to lose a faithful tool.

I'd vote for a new L1 Cree as the duty light, with a lanyard of some sort to keep it from slipping away.

ahh.. yeah.. Derek Dean's got this down pat..

but yeah.. i'd go with the Novatac other than some other dx light.

Plus, U bought the light to use, not for novelty purposes .. (or did you.. but guess thats just people like us CPF'rs).

The joy of using the NovaTac for a year or so then losing it.. would definitely beat having to use a substandard dx light.