5th Gen L1 too bright?

I have a 5th gen L1 with the 90 hour 1.1 lumen low. I can get past the ugly square beam but this thing seems to put out way more than 1.1 lumen. My 45/3 kx1 on low seems much dimmer than this L1. Is it because of the optic appearing to be brighter because of the spill on the L1? I added some medical tape to the lense and it diffuses it to a nice smooth floody beam that is much more suited for night time trips to the bathroom. It does look ugly with "tape" on the end but honestly if it wasnt for the ultra long runtime I would sale it and keep the Kx1 as a night vision preserve light. any thoughts?

I have both of the lights you're talking about and agree. In fact, I did the opposite of you and cracked the head on my KX1, added some diffuser film between the lens and optic, and sealed it back up. It's now my go to nightime light with a sweet diffused beam (has and aleph tailcap so it can tailsatnd as well).

Not sure what makes the L1 appear brighter, I would have to think it's either the optic, or possibly underrated and really puts out about 5 lumens?