Surefire E2DL vs Novatac 120P minireview and beamshots

slvoid

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Just got my surefire E2DL in today. It's a lot smaller than I thought. Here's what it looks like compared to the novatac 120p and a sharpie marker.

dsc0013am5.jpg


The knurling is a lot deeper and sharper than the novatac, which leads to a much grippier feeling.

The tactical switch is a little softer with less knurling than the novatac tactical switch and is easier to press. The momentary on the novatac activates when the button is actually pressed in. The momentary in the surefire turns on about halfway through the button press, there's no feedback, it just turns on. However, when you press it all the way in, it feels more like a switch has turned on rather than a button being pressed.

The batteries are a lot easier to replace because the surefire doesn't have a spring floating around the battery like the novatac. The threads are also a lot more coarse (spaced further apart), making it smoother to turn and also harder to cross thread.

The clip however, is surprisingly smaller (shorter) than the novatac's by about 1/4".

Instead of an orange peel reflector like the novatac, the surefire has an optical lens inside that's maybe 1-2mm wider in diameter to throw a beam of light forward.

It's not exactly a laser beam of light but what it does is concentrate MOST of the light into a central spot that's approx 5 degrees while keeping a small cone of side spill that's approx 30 degrees.

Here's what it looks like against my door at around 3ft.

Novatac @ .33lm
120p33lmde0.jpg


Novatac @ 5lm
120p5lmtf1.jpg


Novatac @ 60lm
120p60lmzr2.jpg


Novatac @ 120lm
120p120lmvo7.jpg


Surefire @ 5lm
e2dl5lmtu7.jpg


Surefire @ 120lm
e2dl120lmxg5.jpg


The hotspot is much tighter and more intense in the surefire than the novatac. I haven't had a chance to test it outside yet but it seems to out throw the novatac by about 2-2.5 times. However, it still leaves enough of a side spill to see by. Runnning the light at 5lm is a joy and I'm glad they had this mode in there in case I got caught with the surefire as my only light.

UPDATE:
This shows a better beam shot of the novatac vs E2DL both churning away with at least 120 lumens out of the lamp. It's 30ft across my living room. You can probably tell which one's which.

novatacbt2.jpg

e2dlsn0.jpg
 
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Federal LG

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Great comparison! Thanks for posting it.

The E2DL will be my next light! :sssh:
 

slvoid

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I'm actually convinced that while the Novatacs may be pretty spot on, the Surefire ratings are way under spec.

All the photos are locked at f3.5 1/100s and the surefire at 120 lumens looks way brighter than the novatac, even the spill seems to be a bit brighter.
 

cdosrun

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Sep 22, 2006
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...
The batteries are a lot easier to replace because the surefire doesn't have a spring floating around the battery like the novatac....

If this bothers you, the simplest non-destructive way of dealing with it is to just expand the outer diameter the spring a tiny amount in the middle, it was the very first thing I did with my Novatac and, after using it for a year, the spring has never dropped out but it looks identical to stock.

Thank you for the beamshots, I really like the look of the E2DL. Despite being the most expensive torch I own, I think the Novatac is the least 'showy', it doesn't really impress people with its output and I often think it is dim compared to some of the others but it has an incredibly practical output which is easy to under-rate.

Andrew
 

seattlite

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Great review! I also have both lights and did an outside shot of the 2 lights several months ago. For those that are interested, below are the phtos. Photo's taken with a Canon XTI everything locked, and both lights are using recharegables.

E2DL
IMG_2249_E2DL.jpg


Novatac 120P
IMG_2250_Novatac_120P.jpg
 

bfodnes

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Great pics and since i have a E2DL but not a novatac I can only say-

The E2DL does what it is designed to do... if its dark,,, you dont want that light in your eye for sure.

The night would be ruined .... lol.... for damn sure...
 

EV_007

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Over there -- >
I'm still amazed at how tight and intense the E2DL's beam is. Nice shots. Pictures are truly worth a thousands words.

We can talk til blue in the face about lumen rating and beam characteristics, but the photo requires no explanation,
 

mega_lumens

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Jul 31, 2005
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Great review! I also have both lights and did an outside shot of the 2 lights several months ago. For those that are interested, below are the phtos. Photo's taken with a Canon XTI everything locked, and both lights are using recharegables.

What a great review. I'm starting to like this light. The hotspot is pure perfection and the side spill is not bad at all in the pics. I'm not sure why people question the side spill of E2DL.

What rechargeables do you use in your E2DL and what's the max time on the highest output? Can the E2DL run on a 17670?
 

seattlite

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What a great review. I'm starting to like this light. The hotspot is pure perfection and the side spill is not bad at all in the pics. I'm not sure why people question the side spill of E2DL.

What rechargeables do you use in your E2DL and what's the max time on the highest output? Can the E2DL run on a 17670?

I'm using 3.7v RCR123's from AW, Lighthound and Deal Extreme. 1xRCR123 will work, but output is around 80L. I don't have an 17670 so I'm uncertain whether it will fit in the tube. I'm also unsure about max time on highest output on 2xRCR123's....I just know its DANG bright.
 
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