Question about Surefire LED lights

I would like to try a Surefire LED for everyday, home use.
Doesnt need to be high lumens, in fact, low output would be
better. Just something to use around the house.
I do not want one that uses hard to find, or expensive batteries
but it needs to be rugged and reliable and have a good run time.

I know there are alot of Surefire fans on the forum, so if you could
recommend a model for me, I would appreciate it.
Also, if you prefer their incan's, let me know.

I just want a really nice all-purpose Surefire.

PsychoBunny said:

I would like to try a Surefire LED for everyday, home use.
Doesnt need to be high lumens, in fact, low output would be
better. Just something to use around the house.
I do not want one that uses hard to find, or expensive batteries
but it needs to be rugged and reliable and have a good run time.

Click to expand...

Out of luck there. SF's only use CR123 cells.

Surefire doesn't exactly cater to the pajama pocket crowd if that is what you mean by around the house. And all Surefires, except the rechargeables, use CR123 batteries. My personal favorite, but some people think they are expensive and hard to get (which they are not). I would say a good starter Surefire for home use would be the L1, L2, or A2. However, new versions are supposed to be released this year so you may want to wait. One word of caution is that Surefire cancels and delays new product offerings quite often so you never know. A lot of people will recommend the E1B, which is a great light, but it always comes on in 80lm high mode.

Yep, surefire only uses CR123 batts. If you want potentially the most useful surefire light for around the house then get an E-series (E1B or E1L) and 20 or so batteries online for a buck a pop. They'll last you a year or more.

Marduke said:

Out of luck there. SF's only use CR123 cells.

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Yeap...

If you´re looking for low cost batteries, I would suggest an ICON ROGUE 1 light. It uses 1xAA battery.

brucec said:

Surefire doesn't exactly cater to the pajama pocket crowd if that is what you mean by around the house. And all Surefires, except the rechargeables, use CR123 batteries. My personal favorite, but some people think they are expensive and hard to get (which they are not). I would say a good starter Surefire for home use would be the L1, L2, or A2. However, new versions are supposed to be released this year so you may want to wait. One word of caution is that Surefire cancels and delays new product offerings quite often so you never know. A lot of people will recommend the E1B, which is a great light, but it always comes on in 80lm high mode.

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CR123A's are no problem, I have a bunch of em' and even my local
grocery store has them, so where I live, they are easy to find.

What I mean by "around the house" is just that, a all-purpose flashlight.
One you would use if there was a power failure, and your groping around
in the dark to find the Coleman lantern, that sort of thing.

I only have a few SF lights, to get a general impression of SF lights I believe that the L1 is a good light to start with.

The older generation of SF lights was the 6P and G2 lights, the are closer to a general flashlight and exist both in incan and led versions. The two lights are electrical the same (i.e. same batteries and same bulb), but mechanical very different, 6P is aluminum and G2 is plastic... sorry Nitrolon (A very good quality plastic).

If your buy one of these your get into the P60 game, i.e. bulb assembly, you can not buy a bulb for these lights, the bulb and reflector is on unit. You can get many different modules, both leds and incan types.

brucec said:

Surefire doesn't exactly cater to the pajama pocket crowd if that is what you mean by around the house. And all Surefires, except the rechargeables, use CR123 batteries. My personal favorite, but some people think they are expensive and hard to get (which they are not). I would say a good starter Surefire for home use would be the L1, L2, or A2. However, new versions are supposed to be released this year so you may want to wait. One word of caution is that Surefire cancels and delays new product offerings quite often so you never know. A lot of people will recommend the E1B, which is a great light, but it always comes on in 80lm high mode.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I was looking at the E1B on their website.
It looks like you can adjust it, but unlike the Nitecore, it doesn't
remember the last setting, so when you switch it on, it blinds you
in "torch" mode. Is that accurate?

Maybe Surelite is not a good candidate for "around the house" type
application? Maybe they are better suited for more tactile use?

I still want to try a Surefire, maybe I just have the wrong application
for what their flashlights are intended for?

Maybe I should just stick with my Nitecore D10 for general home use.
Only problem with the Nitecore is, if I put it in general use for the
family, it may get lost due to it's small size.

PsychoBunny said:

Yeah, I was looking at the E1B on their website.
It looks like you can adjust it, but unlike the Nitecore, it doesn't
remember the last setting, so when you switch it on, it blinds you
in "torch" mode. Is that accurate?

Click to expand...

I also have the E1B and you are correct, it always comes on in high mode.
I believe the reason for that is because it must be a backup for the main tactical lights and as a secondary function it can also be used at a low setting.

SF tries to design the best light for a specific purpose, not general purpose lights.

HKJ said:

SF tries to design the best light for a specific purpose, not general purpose lights.

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Okay, lets forget about the "general home use" idea, I still want
at least one Surefire in my collection.

Like I said before, I think I will just stick with the Nitecore D10 (for
now anyway) for home use, inspite of the small size and fear of it
getting lost.
Like I said, I have already sent the poor thing through the laundry!!

It's small size has some disadvantages too!

I guess I SHOULD have asked if there are any Surefire models that
are designed for regular home use. :sigh:
Looks like the answer is no!

Dunno, I think most of their 2 and 1 cell models fit that bill pretty well. The L1 and E1L specifically.

PsychoBunny said:

Okay, lets forget about the "general home use" idea, I still want
at least one Surefire in my collection.

Like I said before, I think I will just stick with the Nitecore D10 (for
now anyway) for home use, inspite of the small size and fear of it
getting lost.
Like I said, I have already sent the poor thing through the laundry!!

It's small size has some disadvantages too!

I guess I SHOULD have asked if there are any Surefire models that
are designed for regular home use. :sigh:
Looks like the answer is no!

Click to expand...

I still use my "old" L1 (lux3 ver.) for around the house/checking on the kids, ect. the low output is perfect for that.
- however I heard that you can switch the tailcap resistor, in the new ver. for a low output too.

PsychoBunny said:

I guess I SHOULD have asked if there are any Surefire models that are designed for regular home use. :sigh:
Looks like the answer is no!

Click to expand...

There are no rules that says Surefire is not meant for home use, but if you ask me, the quality of SF lights is beyond merely home use. But if you would like one SF anyway, E1B, E1L or L1 might be better choices.

On a personal note, I have a E2DL, used it indoors and outdoors. Love the hi beam, just don't look at the business end of the light like some of us do.

Don't buy a SF to start with. I mean that one SF is already expensive enough. Unless you have a loaded wallet. When I was about to order my SF light, I had focussed on the L2. Nice output, good runtimes. Two settings, low and high. I ordered it and immediately after started doubting. Changed the order. Got a U2 instead. Lower low and therefore longer runtimes. I am very happy that I did not buy the L2. But that is me.
What will you use the light for mostly? Inside the house and sometimes outside? Is a very low low enough for you? Will it be your EDC? Don't let others decide for you. Decide yourself. You know best what fits best. The advises here can help a lot to learn more about the differences between the lights and experiences that people have with their lights.

Curious what your choice will be....and why you made that choice.

iapyx

I would suggest a two-mode single-cell model for a good general purpose light. While I have a bunch of single-mode lights that I love, they are best for specific purposes, not general use.

I prefer the single-cell Surefires (if I can't use rechargeables) so I never need to wonder if two CR123's are going to conspire for evil and vent. If you always make sure to pair two equal-level identical model/quality/USA brand primaries, you'll most likely be fine with a 2-cell model, but I prefer rechargeables generally (which Surefires can't typically use without a drop-in lamp replacement), and single-cell for Surefires that I can't use rechargeables with.

So, what I'm leaning toward as suggestions for Surefires for general use are, depending on your preference for light levels and which mode is first up:

• E1B (80 lumens high then 5 lumens low ~ by pressure or click),
• E1L (3 lumens low then 45 lumens high ~ by pressure or click),
• L1 (10 lumens low then 65 lumens high ~ by pressure or twist)

A number of us have found that the L1 works well (and brighter) with a rechargeable, if desired. Haven't tried that in my E1B and don't have an E1L to test.

I tend to use my E1B much more than my L1 for two reasons:

• I prefer the lower low and the higher high that the E1B offers
• I prefer to click with the E1B rather than have to twist (L1) for constant-on

And I do like that the E1B can accept a wide variety of tailcap options, whereas the L1 cannot. With the Z68 tailcap, it tailstands, making the light even more versatile!

E1B w/Z68 tailcap


So I guess I've just narrowed my suggestions down to either the E1B or the E1L. If you find the lower levels more useful, the the E1L is a good way to go. If you prefer the higher levels, the E1B is great.


Lastly, as for what light I find even more useful and generally valuable than any of my Surefires? LiteFlux LF3XT. This light is simple, has a huge and infinitely variable output range, runs on CR123 or RCR123, has a very accurate (under load, even) built-in battery tester, a gorgeous smooth beam, higher high and lower low than any of the Surefires I mentioned, is simple to operate (though is programmable if you're into that sort of thing) and only costs about $65. LF3XT - a remarkable and exceptionally versatile, useful light. Here's the LF3XT on the left (next to my all time favorite budget light):

iapyx said:

Don't buy a SF to start with. I mean that one SF is already expensive enough. Unless you have a loaded wallet. When I was about to order my SF light, I had focussed on the L2. Nice output, good runtimes. Two settings, low and high. I ordered it and immediately after started doubting. Changed the order. Got a U2 instead. Lower low and therefore longer runtimes. I am very happy that I did not buy the L2. But that is me.
What will you use the light for mostly? Inside the house and sometimes outside? Is a very low low enough for you? Will it be your EDC? Don't let others decide for you. Decide yourself. You know best what fits best. The advises here can help a lot to learn more about the differences between the lights and experiences that people have with their lights.

Curious what your choice will be....and why you made that choice.

iapyx

Click to expand...

Guess what my first LED flashlight was? OK, it was the LedLenser V2 Triplex, but the first real one was the SF U2! :thumbsup:

In fact, if I look at it from the non-flashaholic side, it is the only light I would ever need. Perhaps the size is a disadvantage, so my second light was the SF L4. Pure flood, pocket size, unfortunately very hungry, the new version has a longer runtime, the U2 as well.

I only bought all the rest, beginning with some Fenix, later on, when I discovered that other brands also build great lights, but I wouldn't have needed them. A U2 and an L4 are enough if you have lots of CR123A around! lovecpf

If you want to have one SureFire in your collection that is a good power outage light, dependable with long runtime then get a G2L. 12 Hours and a decent amount of light. You will be happy with it and it is a reasonable price. Look at the Marketplace here on the forum and they run $40-$55.

The other light I would suggest as a collection piece is a E2DL. Two stage and the high stage is super bright, they rate it 120 lumens but it is more. Drawback is runtime of hour and half if you dont play with it. I run one with rechargeables and that saves some bucks

Good luck with your search

i wonder why nobody suggests a SF L4.

thats my light for around the house....spill.....not much throw.
but awesome quality, very small and light weight.

i would recommend a L4.

expensive though.

Of all the Surefires I have, and all the other lights I have, the only SF I carry anymore is the U2. Being it has 6 different outputs, I use the lowest 4 more than the 2 higher settings. Great light, albeit with a high price.

The other favorite is the Fenix P1D-CE. I would recommend this over a SF for just around the house use. None of the SFs can tailstand. The switch prevents that. The Fenix can be set down on its tail and light a room on low for a long time. Been there, Done that!

You may want to wait for the new A2L, it is one very sweet light. I played with one extensively at SHOT.