SureFire KL4 Cree MC-E Boom Mod

Another KL4 MC-E to add to the archives. This one was inspired by the one & only DaFABRICATA using a Boom reflector. :thumbsup:
Thanks to nailbender for supplying these & giving me the oportunity to play with them. :thumbsup:


-SureFire KL4
-Cree MC-E M bin WC
-LEDIL Boom MC-S (10deg) reflector
-Stock driver

Hope the owner enjoys! :wave:

EDIT: Beamshots below in post #9

Very nice Will, that looks sweet...:twothumbs

Nice work.

How would you compare the beam for this mod to the other mod you posted for the KL1 SSC P4 SOB 1000? How is the Boom reflector vs stock reflector in terms of beam quality for an MC-E?

Also, I either have bad luck or wrong technique or both. I have an old KL4 that I just can't open (actually, same difficulty with an old Gladius too -- boiled in a bag, chilled in the freezer, strap wrenches, heavy rubber sheets and Channel Locks -- none of it worked). Suggestions? These are right-handed threads I hope.

Awesome work Will :twothumbs

Will

:twothumbs


I want one!

That reflector is georgeous.
Nice work.

Benny

Will, these are coming out better and better....!!

I too wanna know what the beamprofile and such looks like...
Is it more throw..?
Does the boom act like an insane sputter...?

I cannot believe how clean you solder...!
I gotta ask if if it takes either very long time to do or if it`s like one of those things that when you`ve "got it" and it takes NO-time...?


Thanks for sharing...!

Justin Case said:

Also, I either have bad luck or wrong technique or both. I have an old KL4 that I just can't open (actually, same difficulty with an old Gladius too -- boiled in a bag, chilled in the freezer, strap wrenches, heavy rubber sheets and Channel Locks -- none of it worked). Suggestions? These are right-handed threads I hope.

Click to expand...

Some just don`t pop...
The last mod I made I actualy had to use two heads to get one....
i had to cut tha bottom section and use the other one as a spare parts...

Liquid welding is something SF knows all to good.......:duh2:

Looks fantastic DZ.

Whoever the new owner is, he is certainly lucky to be the beneficiary of such expertise.

Very nice mod again Will! :twothumbs
The Boom reflector looks really nice.
I'm anxious to hear about the beam.
BTW where's the glow epoxy... ... :nana: ... :wave:

I suck with a camera so bare with my crappy beamshots.

Unfortunately I only have one completed KL4 MC-E in my possession at the moment which is this one with the Boom. I do however have two other KL4s that are ready to accept a MC-E so I can post some type of comparison.

Top: Stock, Left: Boom, Right: Sputtered (as always excuse the dust )



I locked the exposure setting to try to show how bright they are compared to each other (I think that's how you do it? ) but they are not consistent?

Beamshots are taken at 10 ft. so keep in mind the floodier beams will appear considerably dimmer. MC-E is always on the left & completely stock L4 is always on the right.

Boom reflector:


Stock sputtered reflector :


Stock reflector:




Low exposure:

Boom reflector:


Stock sputtered reflector:


Stock reflector:




Pics at 3 ft. low exposure:

Boom:


Sputtered:


Stock:


L4:



Boom reflector gives a large hotspot with no void at all. In my experiences MC-Es don't focus well with many of the small current reflectors avaialble. I'm surprised how well it perform for such a small size reflector. I thought it was going to be much floodier seeing all the faucets in the reflector. It's hard to catch the void with the stock reflector on camera. It's very faint but is noticeable & probably not really noticeable when using the light as intended. Even the L4 donut doesn't appear as bad as my eyes really sees it.

I guess it would be a toss up between the stock reflector & sputtered. I personally hate artifacts in the beam even if it is slight. A slight void bothers me just as bad as an off center emitter but that's just another one of the psycological problems I have. Since these aren't throwers I think I would choose the sputtered over stock. Although the camera shows the sputtered to be a tad bit less brighter than the stock to my eye I can't tell the difference other than beam profile.

I'm very happy with the Boom reflector & would like to use it more if I do more MC-E mods. I just wish they were round & I don't understand why LEDIL made them with the hexagon shape? :thinking:

Nice clean work Will!

Very nice indeed :kewlpics:

OOOoo...


Beam shots too Yummy.


This thread is just getting better :thumbsup:





Thank you for sharing as always.

I'll come clean and admit to being the new owner since this superbly modded head arrived today.

Just like Will says, it gives a very nice smooth beam that is like a giant hotspot or a very bright flood (depending on your viewpoint)

Like all Will's mods that I have requisitioned, this is once again pristine and impeccable. :twothumbs

Working off one 17670 li-ion in an L4 body with a 2-stage tailcap with McE2S, there is a nice difference between low and high levels
so that both are very useful in different circumstances.

The high beam appears to be very bright. Just how bright, I'll find out much later when night-time approaches in the UK.

In fact, the buzz that I just derived out of turning it on, was reminiscent of the day when I received the standard L4 originally when 100 lumens was such a lot of light for an led flashlight back then.

I'm presuming that there's 400-500 lumens coming out of this little monster now though.

Seems a pity that Surefire haven't decided to make this upgrade for the L4 instead of replacing the LuxV with an SSC P4.

To my mind, this mod keeps the original beam characteristic and spectacular output relative to other led lights that marked the L4 out at the time.

Awsome! Thank you very much for the feedback Daniel. :twothumbs :wave:

Will, are you still doing this mod?

RyanA said:

Will, are you still doing this mod?

Click to expand...

Yes I can still do these. Send me an email to addy in my profile any time if interested & I will schedule you in.

Cheers