the L1 uses a low dome luxeon, so it'll have tint variations in the beam and it has more of a flood-type beam. the arc LSH uses a high dome luxeon, so the beam is more even and white and it has a hot spot which throws further /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
i would say the beam of the arc LSH is better, and even the arc LSL would be a better choice but the dual-stage switch of the L1 is very useful as well.