EDC + Surefire questions and musings

I have always carried a small LED general purpose light, in a front pocket, so I can get to it easily. ( Dorcy 1AAA - Nuwai .5 Watt AAA - Arc LSHP - Fenix P2D) I always wanted that light to have a momentary or clickie tailcap so I could operate it with one hand. In addition to this light, I have always carried the brightest light I could fit next to my wallet in my rear pocket for "tactical" purposes. (SF E1 - SF G2 - Fenix P3D - SF E2e - SF E2e with KX2C head) I always figured if I carried only one bright light, it would be too bright for most most of my needs and if I carried some sort of multi level LED for both tasks, I would never be quite sure where my battery level was. I thought it was very possible the battery could be at half strength or less, from general type use, when I needed it for "tactical" use. By having one light for each use, I always know my "tactical " light's batteries are at full strength. Wth a Fenix P2D as a general use light, it can serve as backup, on turbo, to my E2e w/KX2C head. I am constantly amazed at flashaholics who only carry one light. Two is one and one is none, especially when it comes to electronics and batteries.

Now for my SureFire question. If you carry a SureFire Backup and you use it for "tactical" purposes, if you press back on the momentary tailcap in less than 1.5 seconds then all you get is 5 lumens. This might be a heck of a surprise huh? Why in the heck did SF make this a dual brightness light? Why don't they make dual brightness an option? This seems like a real flaw in the light to me. This is why I won't buy one. I would love to hear some thoughts on this.

One last question. Why does SF not come out with a 3 volt lithium battery checker. It would save some surprises and should be a great seller.

ugrey said:

Now for my SureFire question. If you carry a SureFire Backup and you use it for "tactical" purposes, if you press back on the momentary tailcap in less than 1.5 seconds then all you get is 5 lumens. This might be a heck of a surprise huh? Why in the heck did SF make this a dual brightness light? Why don't they make dual brightness an option? This seems like a real flaw in the light to me. This is why I won't buy one. I would love to hear some thoughts on this.

Click to expand...

Its called a backup becuause its used as a backup light, shuold your primary one die. You dont want to carry two single mode lights do you, what if you have to read a map or something?? The 2 levels are very usefull imho.

Ive never had a problem with my backup, dual mode E2DL or any other multi mode lights.

There are other single mode lights you could get if you dont want to be caught with a low level of light in that life and death situation.

There needs to be variation, people want multi modes, some dont, thats why there are different lights to choose from.

Thats my 2 cents.

Good answer, but I see the Backup pushed to plain clothes officers and/or detectives, it seems, as their only light. I would not want to trust the Backup as my only light. I just don't like that switch. It would be an okay backup to a brighter single level SureFire but at 4 inches it seems kind of large.
Thanks for the answer.

ugrey said:

Now for my SureFire question. If you carry a SureFire Backup and you use it for "tactical" purposes, if you press back on the momentary tailcap in less than 1.5 seconds then all you get is 5 lumens. This might be a heck of a surprise huh? Why in the heck did SF make this a dual brightness light? Why don't they make dual brightness an option? This seems like a real flaw in the light to me. This is why I won't buy one. I would love to hear some thoughts on this.

Click to expand...

I'm with you all the way. I'm a big Surefire fan, but I think they made a mistake with this user interface for the E1B and the E2DL. The UI is fine for a utility light, but not for a tactical light. Maybe they should have consulted with their low light combat instructors.

That's why I ended up with a NiteCore Extreme as an off-duty light. When set on high, it won't switch to low inadvertently no matter how fast I tap the switch. Low setting requires a slight twist of the head, but this is not a problem because you seldom need low "right now" in a high-pucker situation.

When I want a smaller light, I use an E1e-BK body with the Extreme head. When I want something slightly larger, I use an E2e-BK body with a 17670 cell.

See? I can be a Surefire fan and still get the features I want!