Kestrel
Flashaholic
Let's get your opinions and experiences with your SureFire L1's. :wave:
After reading the recent writeup by 325Addict, A closer look at the SureFire U2 Ultra, I decided upon writing a comparable thread for the SureFire L1, which I have wanted to write about for some time now. I have had three good years with the L1: I used it for quite a while, set it aside for other lights, and then recently started using it again. This made me appreciate the strengths of this great light all over again.
My first SureFire was the L1, chosen out of the wide variety of lights in the SureFire catalog in the spring of 2007. What attracted me to this particular light were the two output levels – there weren't many multi-level lights in the SureFire line back then, and the L1 was the smallest available of that type. As this was before I found about CPF, I had pored over the two L1 reviews in Flashlight Reviews and LED modifications (the L1/LuxI review & the more recent L1/LuxIII review).
As the current version at that time was prior to the newer 'Cree' model, it didn't have the high outputs that we've come to expect these days, with a specification of 22 lumens on 'high' & only ~1-2 lumens on 'low'. However, I found the 22 lumen 'high' to be quite sufficient, as the aspheric lens did a great job of focusing the modest output and getting it to where it was needed. The lack of spill from the aspheric lens added to the impressiveness of using that very focused hotspot.
I also found the low level to be very usable, especially inside the house in the middle of the night – many folks here on CPF swear by their 'low-lows', for good reason. The 50-hour runtime on 'low' was impressive and highly-valued on CPF at the time.
What I didn't expect from that light was the tailcap UI: after three years of use (besides standard EDC duty & numerous nighttime walks, it went deer & elk hunting in Oregon, a December trip to Alaska, a trip to Chile) and after many many hours of reading on CPF, I still consider it to be SureFire's best innovation after the P60 drop-in and the Z41 tailcap:
I got a lot of use out of that L1 with the Luxeon III emitter, but one night the driver started acting up. It worked perfectly in normal use, but when a cell was nearly dead, instead of the output tapering off at the very very end (where there was insufficient remaining voltage to operate the 'high' level), the LED would instead flicker for a while and then abruptly cut out. I called SureFire and they said that the driver was probably malfunctioning, and sent me a replacement light.
However, at the same time I had been having my eye on the newly-released L1 'Cree', so I purchased one of those as well. Talk about
: Not far from 100 lumens, that amazing TIR optic with all that throw, and my particular unit had a nearly-perfect beam and the best tint I have ever seen from a SureFire. One of the main criticisms of that light was that SureFire abandoned the 'low-low' that many here on CPF prefer. They kept the same resistor value in the tailcap, but with the new more-efficient emitter, the 'low' went from ~1-2 lumens to ~10 lumens, which (to me) seemed more like ~20 for close-up use due to most of the output being in that tightly-focused hotspot. Since the newer 'low' is a little high for my tastes, I now have a SF P60 / 5mm LED 'battery vampire' 1xCR123 light as a bedside light for a couple-of-lumens-roaming-around-at-night light. Unlike the old 'low-low' of the older SF L1, the brighter 'low' of the L1 'Cree' is perfectly usable outside at night, saving the 'high' for only occasional use and still providing plenty of runtime.
Well, about a year ago, I finally decided upon a custom EDC, so I found a vintage SF E1 on the Marketplace and sent if off to Milky for the Room Sweeper treatment, adding a two-level McE2S switch to obtain comparable operation to the L1 tailcap UI. To make a long story short, while I really liked the light & used it often over the past year, I found that the E1 was just a little too small for my hand. However, picking up the L1 again, that light is simply a perfect fit for me.
So recently I have begun carrying this L1 again after it did bedside duty for the past year. I was somewhat surprised to find that the momentary in the tailcap had gotten a little 'sticky', sometimes failing to spring back to 'off' after release. I called SureFire, who promptly sent me a new tailcap. In the meantime however, after using the light for a week or so, the 'momentary' loosened up a little, and now works perfectly again.
This light fits my hand like it was made for it.
And yes, I still have that slightly-longer Luxeon III replacement L1, still new-in-the-package. In a year or two, it's probably going to be making its own pilgrimage to Milky. Inspired by Crenshaw's slightly-shorter 'Cree' L1 that Milky worked over to take a 17500 LiIon:
This one of mine will get bored through to accept an AW 17670 – yes, Scott says that its body should be long enough. It will get a slightly-warm XP-G (or its successor), a custom reflector (here's one example from xcel730) - the goal for this one will be to provide a comparable beam to the Malkoff M61, and custom-resistored for a lower-low. A buck driver should permit both 1x17670 and 2xCR123 for backup. Another fun attempt to get that elusive 'perfect' flashlight.
I have gotten four (non-CPF) friends to purchase the SureFire L1, and all of them have been very impressed. In addition, because it is a single-celled light, I feel very good about them using it – there have been a number of documented safety incidents on CPF involving multi-cell flashlights using mismatched CR123's. I have my friends well-provisioned with US-made CR123's for now, but you never really know what cells will find their way into their lights in the future.
And, yes, we are still waiting for the SureFire LX1 – if the L1 (Cree) wasn't so darn good, maybe SureFire would have already released its successor by now.
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So, here are my two:
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Please post your opinions and your experiences with the SureFire L1, both good and bad. Pics are always great. Real-usage stories are even better – the SureFire L1 vs. John Deere thread was perhaps the penultimate L1 adventure, but I'm sure there are other good ones out there just waiting to be written.
Thanks for reading,
K
After reading the recent writeup by 325Addict, A closer look at the SureFire U2 Ultra, I decided upon writing a comparable thread for the SureFire L1, which I have wanted to write about for some time now. I have had three good years with the L1: I used it for quite a while, set it aside for other lights, and then recently started using it again. This made me appreciate the strengths of this great light all over again.
My first SureFire was the L1, chosen out of the wide variety of lights in the SureFire catalog in the spring of 2007. What attracted me to this particular light were the two output levels – there weren't many multi-level lights in the SureFire line back then, and the L1 was the smallest available of that type. As this was before I found about CPF, I had pored over the two L1 reviews in Flashlight Reviews and LED modifications (the L1/LuxI review & the more recent L1/LuxIII review).
As the current version at that time was prior to the newer 'Cree' model, it didn't have the high outputs that we've come to expect these days, with a specification of 22 lumens on 'high' & only ~1-2 lumens on 'low'. However, I found the 22 lumen 'high' to be quite sufficient, as the aspheric lens did a great job of focusing the modest output and getting it to where it was needed. The lack of spill from the aspheric lens added to the impressiveness of using that very focused hotspot.
I also found the low level to be very usable, especially inside the house in the middle of the night – many folks here on CPF swear by their 'low-lows', for good reason. The 50-hour runtime on 'low' was impressive and highly-valued on CPF at the time.
What I didn't expect from that light was the tailcap UI: after three years of use (besides standard EDC duty & numerous nighttime walks, it went deer & elk hunting in Oregon, a December trip to Alaska, a trip to Chile) and after many many hours of reading on CPF, I still consider it to be SureFire's best innovation after the P60 drop-in and the Z41 tailcap:
- For momentary operation: Press for 'low', press harder for 'high'
- For constant-on: Twist for 'low', twist further for 'high'
- And if you are using it on constant-'low', push the momentary for 'high'
I got a lot of use out of that L1 with the Luxeon III emitter, but one night the driver started acting up. It worked perfectly in normal use, but when a cell was nearly dead, instead of the output tapering off at the very very end (where there was insufficient remaining voltage to operate the 'high' level), the LED would instead flicker for a while and then abruptly cut out. I called SureFire and they said that the driver was probably malfunctioning, and sent me a replacement light.
However, at the same time I had been having my eye on the newly-released L1 'Cree', so I purchased one of those as well. Talk about
: Not far from 100 lumens, that amazing TIR optic with all that throw, and my particular unit had a nearly-perfect beam and the best tint I have ever seen from a SureFire. One of the main criticisms of that light was that SureFire abandoned the 'low-low' that many here on CPF prefer. They kept the same resistor value in the tailcap, but with the new more-efficient emitter, the 'low' went from ~1-2 lumens to ~10 lumens, which (to me) seemed more like ~20 for close-up use due to most of the output being in that tightly-focused hotspot. Since the newer 'low' is a little high for my tastes, I now have a SF P60 / 5mm LED 'battery vampire' 1xCR123 light as a bedside light for a couple-of-lumens-roaming-around-at-night light. Unlike the old 'low-low' of the older SF L1, the brighter 'low' of the L1 'Cree' is perfectly usable outside at night, saving the 'high' for only occasional use and still providing plenty of runtime.Well, about a year ago, I finally decided upon a custom EDC, so I found a vintage SF E1 on the Marketplace and sent if off to Milky for the Room Sweeper treatment, adding a two-level McE2S switch to obtain comparable operation to the L1 tailcap UI. To make a long story short, while I really liked the light & used it often over the past year, I found that the E1 was just a little too small for my hand. However, picking up the L1 again, that light is simply a perfect fit for me.
So recently I have begun carrying this L1 again after it did bedside duty for the past year. I was somewhat surprised to find that the momentary in the tailcap had gotten a little 'sticky', sometimes failing to spring back to 'off' after release. I called SureFire, who promptly sent me a new tailcap. In the meantime however, after using the light for a week or so, the 'momentary' loosened up a little, and now works perfectly again.
This light fits my hand like it was made for it.
And yes, I still have that slightly-longer Luxeon III replacement L1, still new-in-the-package. In a year or two, it's probably going to be making its own pilgrimage to Milky. Inspired by Crenshaw's slightly-shorter 'Cree' L1 that Milky worked over to take a 17500 LiIon:
This one of mine will get bored through to accept an AW 17670 – yes, Scott says that its body should be long enough. It will get a slightly-warm XP-G (or its successor), a custom reflector (here's one example from xcel730) - the goal for this one will be to provide a comparable beam to the Malkoff M61, and custom-resistored for a lower-low. A buck driver should permit both 1x17670 and 2xCR123 for backup. Another fun attempt to get that elusive 'perfect' flashlight.
I have gotten four (non-CPF) friends to purchase the SureFire L1, and all of them have been very impressed. In addition, because it is a single-celled light, I feel very good about them using it – there have been a number of documented safety incidents on CPF involving multi-cell flashlights using mismatched CR123's. I have my friends well-provisioned with US-made CR123's for now, but you never really know what cells will find their way into their lights in the future.
And, yes, we are still waiting for the SureFire LX1 – if the L1 (Cree) wasn't so darn good, maybe SureFire would have already released its successor by now.
----------
So, here are my two:
----------
Please post your opinions and your experiences with the SureFire L1, both good and bad. Pics are always great. Real-usage stories are even better – the SureFire L1 vs. John Deere thread was perhaps the penultimate L1 adventure, but I'm sure there are other good ones out there just waiting to be written.
Thanks for reading,
K
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