Solarforce L2i Review

Here it is , the Solarforce L2i .

Reverse tail clicky , 3xAAA Format .
Mine came with a single mode Low voltage Pill .

Now you can run , 1xAA , 3xAAA , CR123A , 14500 , 18500 or any other battery from 1.5v to 4.2v that you can stuff in there .



The 3xAAA carrier seems to be of very high quality , and I have nothing negative to report .



Typical Solarforce quality overall , and Im very pleased with it .
Anyhow , some performance figures :

1xAA Performance Single Mode Pill

Rechargeables

MP2800mAh 2.03A / 3900Lux
Ultracell 2500mAh 1.9A / 3900Lux
Inca 2000mAh 1.7A / 3720Lux
Sony 2000mAh 1.83A / 3240Lux
Eveready 1.77A / 3320Lux
Tevion 2500mAh 1.75A / 3200Lux

Non rechargeable

Eveready General Purpose 0.9A / 1810Lux
Ultracharge 0.9A / 1830Lux
Varta High Energy 1.9A / 3700Lux
Duracell Alkaline 2.05A / 3600Lux
Coles Alkaline 2.1A / 4000Lux

3xAAA

Duracell 0.98A / 8900Lux

AW RCR123A 0.89A / 9000Lux

Since I own the 3 mode low voltage pill , lets give that a try as well .

3 Mode Low Voltage Pill

1xAA Rechargeable

Ultracell - Hi 1.6A / 3700Lux - Med 0.75A / 1600Lux - Lo 0.19A / 370Lux
MP - Hi 1.7A / 3700Lux - Med 0.78A / 1670Lux - Lo 0.19A / 360Lux
Eveready - Hi 1.3A / 3300Lux - Med 0.58A / 1490Lux - Lo 0.15A / 330Lux
Sony - Hi 1.43A / 3000Lux - Med 0.66A / 1420Lux - Lo 0.16A / 300Lux

Non rechargeable

Ultracharge - Hi 0.67A / 1600Lux - Med 0.32A / 770Lux - Lo 0.09A / 170Lux
Eveready GP - Hi 0.7A / 1700Lux - Med 0.33A / 790Lux - Lo 0.1A / 180Lux
Varta - Hi 1.59A / 3400Lux - Med 0.69A / 1510Lux - Lo 0.18A / 330Lux
Coles Alkaline - Hi 1.68A / 4000Lux - Med 0.76A / 1750Lux - Lo 0.18A / 380Lux
Duracell Alkaline - Hi 1.53A / 3300Lux - Med 0.72A / 1500Lux - Lo 0.18A / 340Lux

3xAAA

Duracell - Hi 0.83A / 9000Lux - Med 0.36A / 3890Lux - Lo 0.09A / 890Lux
Ultracell - Hi 0.96A / 9600Lux - Med 0.41A / 4000Lux - Lo 0.09A / 920Lux

AW RCR123A - Hi 0.88A / 9600Lux - Med 0.38A / 4000Lux - Lo 0.09A / 920Lux


Ive been playing with the light for a few days now and I must admit that I do like it very much . It just has to be one of the better 3xAAA format lights available , and it is very easily adaptable to other batteries .

Ive run RCR123A with my own home made battery adapter , 1xAA with a spacer , as well as 3xAAA . And there is really nothing negative to report , its all good .

If your looking for a Survival/Multi battery capable light , then you really need to take a look at the Solarforce L2i , I would highly recommend the low voltage multi mode drop in , but if simplicity is what you need , then the single mode low voltage pill will not disappoint .
Now if you must know , 10,000Lux is around 200Lumens , so feel free to do a little math .
:laughing:

Great review here.

Well done! :thumbsup:

Any chance of a C cell or 26500 fitting? I'm guessing it's just a bit too narrow, but am curious. The 3XAAA must be over 20mm diameter. 23mm? 24mm?

As near as I can tell , 24mm .

A 18500 would be the rechargeable of choice , possibly .

Navin_R_Johnson said:

Any chance of a C cell or 26500 fitting? I'm guessing it's just a bit too narrow, but am curious. The 3XAAA must be over 20mm diameter. 23mm? 24mm?

Click to expand...

Interesting. :thinking:

I had not thought about it..

Appears to be the best $24 I ever spent. Typing by ceiling bounce now.:twothumbs

Looks like a good option for those that refuse to use lithium ion.
I gave up on 3xAAA lights a long time ago. The run time is never good enough and the battery carriers eventually fall apart. How is the run time on nimh rechargables? Eneloops would be my choice of battery for a light like that. I remember geting pathetic run times on primarys in 3xAAA lights.

Would anybody know if 2 AAs would fit into a regular L2 if the CR123A/16340 extension tube is added?

Yes! I have a L2 with a 1xCR123 extension, and I use it with either 2xAA or 3xCR123 just by changing batteries and dropin module. When I use it with 2xAA, I wrap the AAs in 3/8-inch plastic flex tubing to keep them from rattling around inside...

Here's a photo:

sabre7 said:

Would anybody know if 2 AAs would fit into a regular L2 if the CR123A/16340 extension tube is added?

Click to expand...

sabre7 said:

Would anybody know if 2 AAs would fit into a regular L2 if the CR123A/16340 extension tube is added?

Click to expand...

Just tested it for you and yes it fits. Never thought to test this before but now I know I have a 2AA format availible

Excellent! I thought it might work, thanks for the fast answers!!

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/3200247#post3200247

Check this thread ...

I have several L2's set up for 2xAA option .

You can use , CR123A extension on L2 , or 18650 extension on L2M to allow your light to run on 2xAA . + Make sure your Pill/Driver can handle low voltage .



Far left are 2 L2's in 2xAA format as is the 4th from the left .

Nice collection! Being able to use 2AAs seems like a good option to have. Now I just need to order a CR123A/16340 extension tube.

Is there any kind of a sleeve that one could use to make the different batteries fit a little tighter to cut down on the rattle? It would also center the batteries inside the tube much better. This L2i is a nice host. I have 2 of them. Very versatile.

Does 4 Sevens make a silicone tube to take up the looseness of the cr123's?