Surefire L1 or ARC LSH-P?

Hey guys, I've been reading and searching alot and still can't make up my mind, so i was hoping for a little extra input.
I want one of these two lights but can't decide. I don't want to wait till either LS4 or KL4 or something else comes out.

Which one is brighter? The LS or L1? or are they so close that it all depends on the luxeon that you get (i know ARC gaurentees a good one)? I have a Inretech AA on Lithiums and it is bright, about equal to my LW4000, but i want to make sure that the L1 or LS is infact brighter. I saw in another post someone had put the L1 head on an E1e body and it was half the lux as the LS or L1. So I am guessing that that setup (E1e+L1)would be equal to my Inretech on 3volts lithium, so L1 or LS is twice as bright.

Size doesn't really matter to me cause I won't be carrying it all the time. In fact the L1 might be better to hold in my big hands.

How is the regulation in the LS compare to that of the L1? I like how the L1 is ROCK steady for 4 hours.

Thanks alot--i love this place!
Remo

"L1 is ROCK steady for 4 hours"

No,it ain't.





LSH-P is brighter.

I've got both, and I'd recommend the ARC LSH-P. Mine is a little brighter and a little whiter than my L1. Much smaller too. IMHO the only advantage the L1 has is the option to have the dimmer setting.

-Keith

It is very close, but would depend on your priorities. The Surefire L1 has two power levels, and to me, that is a HUGE feature. If you're out there and don't need a lot of light, the ARC will force you to use a lot of power, thus leading to a shorter battery life. If you will be carrying a dim, long life light also, this is not a big deal, but the Surefire could be your only one.

I have found the link below to be a very handy reference for times like this; it might help you out a bit too.

Brock's LED Flashlight Page

The ARC is 30% lighter and has a bit tighter beam, but I don't know whether Brock's chart refers to the LSL or the LSH, so that could depend... The ARCc also seems to be more energy efficient. (they both have the same max brightness, but the ARC draws less juice producing it.)

Choosing between those two, I think I would probably go for the ARC, just based on my experience with the AAA that I have. It is just so well made and so compact at the same time.

If it were ME though, I would spent that amount of money differently. For the price of either of those flashlights, you can get a hell of a lot of nice less expensive lights. What would I get with the $100?

Streamlight LED ProPoly 4AA - $23 (good for probably 80% of what you will do)
ARC AAA - $26 (everyday carry)
3D or 3C Mag-lite - $20 (focusable, well made)
LEDCORP LED for Mag-Lite - $13 (to transform Mag-Lite into a long-life, all-around, rugged light)
Streamlight Clip-Mate - $15 (what CAN'T you do with this, besides spotlighting?)

Also, I'm not a big fan of lithium batteries, even if you can get them for reasonable prices, the availability vs. price is still not good. They force you to always be prepared by having more, or by being ready to spend big on them.

I've had 3 ARC LS's and haven't had a white one yet. My first 2 were "first" quality and 1 was a nasty green and the other was pink. The best one I had was a grey kit, it was the whitest, brightest and closest to white I had.
The only white LED's I've ever owned are my 2 MrBulk creations and they are both WHITE. I've not had any experience with SF LED products.

Even though I don't have the L1, I recommend the Arc LSH-P because of its brightness and pocketability, even though you said you didn't need it. My $.02,

Dan

another vote for the arc LSH-P here /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

freewheelin: were they all premium arcs?

Smaug, different people have different needs and/or wants. You are so correct, in that no single light fits all needs or situations.

I have 3 Arc LSes, and one of those is an LSH-S. This head is happily at home on the custom 2C pack I had Doug make. This solves the runtime problem, with cheap C cells. My SLS is my EDC light. Both the LSH-S and the SLS are white. My other LS, is a Cyan first. I have not had bad luck with the Arc LS.

I try to keep my collection within reason, but, the headlamp section is growing rather rapidly.

I sold my KL1 after getting my arc lsh-p, arc is much whiter. The KL1 was very purplish in color and not a real attractive hue. I personally think surefire doesn't care what light color they put out. This is my personal opinion of course.

LSHP!!!No doubt!!!