Surefire L1 UI Question

Sorry for all the SF questions recently, but I'm having a hard time trying to narrow down my choice for my first Surefire torch. One of my options is the current version of the L1, but I'm not sure about the UI, and I'd be very grateful if someone could clarify for me. If I've understood correctly, you click gently for momentary low, or press harder for momentary high. In order to get constant low or high, you have to twist the tail cap. Have I got it right? I tried looking on YouTube in case there was a video showing how it works, but no luck .

Many thanks,

Dave.

Sounds like you have it. It's a 2-stage switch so you press in and it comes on in low, press in farther and it goes to high. The press being momentary. If you tighten the tailcap you will engage constant on in low, tighten it more and it will switch to high.

digitaldave said:

you click gently for momentary low, or press harder for momentary high


Dave.

Click to expand...

Just about right, but the L1 tailcap isn't a clicky

Regards,
Tempest

The L1 is my favorite light out there. The L1 Cree is very bright, well built and proportioned properly for carry and use.

The UI is very, very simple. Press lightly for momentary on low brightness, press a little harder for momentary on high brightness. Turn the tailcap a little for constant on low, and turn a little more for constant on high.
If you are on constant low, you can press the tailcap to temporarily go on high.

Very simple and foolproof.

Thanks .

Sounds like the L1 is not for me then, having to click then twist seems a bit awkward to me. I suspect I'd be happier with the E1L/E2L UI, which, if I've understood that correctly, is click once for low, click off then on again for high.

Dave.

Illumination said:

The L1 is my favorite light out there. The L1 Cree is very bright, well built and proportioned properly for carry and use.

The UI is very, very simple. Press lightly for temporary on low brightness, press a little harder for temporary on high brightness. Turn the tailcap a little for permanent on low, and turn a little more for permanent on high.
If you are on permanent low, you can press the tailcap to temporarily go on high.

Very simple and foolproof.

Click to expand...

Interesting... to get constant on, do you have to press then twist, or is it just a twist?

You don't have to press (doesn't click) then twist. You just twist it on, twist more if you want high.

If you end up getting one I'd recommend the Surefire F04 diffuser, it's like $12 and makes the L1 much better for close range tasks.

Thanks for clearing that up. I was sure that I had it wrong intitially, it just seemed a bit too awkward considering so many people say they love the simple UI of the L1 .

From what has been said, it does indeed seem that it has a very simple and intuitive UI, so I might look at this over the E1L.

Dave.

The pressing and the twisting work independently of each other. The pressing is a momentary switch, hold for on, release for off. The twist it a constant on. And using either one twist or press harder and it gets brighter. As soon as you have one in your hand it's immediately simple.

As long as you don't require the ability to "click", the L1 UI is really quite ingenious and very user friendly. In a lot of ways it is easier to use than a lights that click from off to high to low to off like the E1L.

The L1 also is quite a bit brighter than the E1L, though obviously at the expense of runtime.

Illumination said:

...
The L1 also is quite a bit brighter than the E1L, though obviously at the expense of runtime.

Click to expand...

I would say the L1 is a little brighter than the E1L (65 vs 45 lumens) but the L1 runtime at 65 lumens is a lot shorter than the E1L at 45 lumens (perhaps one quarter to a third as long).

what i really love about the L1's UI, is that the mode switching is not dependent on the Circuitry in the front of the body, its just a Resistor in the back.

Crenshaw

The L1 has one of the simplest UI you can find! And I think the 2 levels are juste useful for most uses.

WadeF said:

You don't have to press (doesn't click) then twist. You just twist it on, twist more if you want high.

If you end up getting one I'd recommend the Surefire F04 diffuser, it's like $12 and makes the L1 much better for close range tasks.

Click to expand...

Or if you are cheap a plastic cap from bottled water works too. Only some brands will fit, I just found one last night that snaps on perfectly and completely remove the hotspot.

digitaldave said:

Thanks for clearing that up. I was sure that I had it wrong intitially, it just seemed a bit too awkward considering so many people say they love the simple UI of the L1 .

From what has been said, it does indeed seem that it has a very simple and intuitive UI, so I might look at this over the E1L.

Dave.

Click to expand...

The other great thing about the L1's switch is the reliability. Clicky switches, in general, are far less reliable than a twisty switch. SF had some issues with their earlier clickies that seem to have been taken care of but virtually no clicky will be as reliable as a twist switch. I'm eagerly awaiting a twisty switch for my SF E1B that I ordered. Every time I click that light on I cringe because I know that I just reduced the switches life by a click...............................

alibaba

I'm eagerly awaiting a twisty switch for my SF E1B that I ordered.

Click to expand...

Were can u get a twisty switch for the E1B cause I would be very interested in the E1B with a Twisty.

Is the twist action easy (or even possible) to do one handed?

digitaldave said:

Is the twist action easy (or even possible) to do one handed?

Click to expand...

I find it real easy to rotate the Z62 two-stage push button pressure switch LockOut TailCap. I just rotated it using my thumb and forefinger. Hardly have to modify my normal grip on the flashlight.

Al

Size15's said:

I find it real easy to rotate the Z62 two-stage push button pressure switch LockOut TailCap. I just rotated it using my thumb and forefinger. Hardly have to modify my normal grip on the flashlight.

Al

Click to expand...

Thanks . You guys are making it really hard to resist getting an L1. I'm still looking at the E1L as well though. I know the UI is different to the L1, but it's not too far from the Fenix L1d I currently have, plus the run times look very tempting. I think I need to draw this thread to a close, since my original question has been answered, and start looking for E1L vs L1 info...

Dave.

digitaldave said:

I think I need to ... start looking for E1L vs L1 info...

Click to expand...

The E1L sucks - too small - it's form and proportions are all wrong. I feel it's ergonomically poor, especially compared to the L1.
(that's my opinion based on my use of both)