Questions for Surefire EB1 (tactical tail) owners

HI All,

I have a few questions for those that have used the EB1 with the tactical tail.

- When rotating the tailcap to turn on (low or high), can this be done reasonably with one hand?
- How does the low (5 lumens) compare to 15 lumens on an HDS if you have both? (hoping 5 surefire lumens are near 15 HDS lumens)
- Can the clip be removed? (I carry in the same pocket with keyring, getting them tangled would be annoying)
- I know it can use 3.0v rechargeables, can it use 3.7(4.2)v rechargeables?

Thanks much,
ThumperACC

I just got an EB1 with the tactical tail and yes it is easy to turn on although it takes a few turns to get it to the high setting. As for the 5 lumen low it like the old E1B seems to be about 5 lumens. The beam is focused so it seems to do the job. the beam seems to be better than the old optic. The clip I would guess can be removed but why bother. You might find the clip helpful. When its in your pocket is lays down sideways and is really annoying. Also, your keys will scratch it up but with the clip on your pants the light should ride above the keys.

Flashlight Dave said:

I just got an EB1 with the tactical tail and yes it is easy to turn on although it takes a few turns to get it to the high setting. As for the 5 lumen low it like the old E1B seems to be about 5 lumens. The beam is focused so it seems to do the job. the beam seems to be better than the old optic. The clip I would guess can be removed but why bother. You might find the clip helpful. When its in your pocket is lays down sideways and is really annoying. Also, your keys will scratch it up but with the clip on your pants the light should ride above the keys.

Click to expand...

Can you elaborate on the "few turns" to get to high? Specifically how many full turns from the onset of low to the onset of high?

Thanks

Well I checked and it is 3/4th of a turn from just coming on low to coming on high. In retrospect I guess it is not really any more than the other lights like the L2 or LX2, L1. I did a ceiling bounce and the low seems to be about 5 or so lumens.

Thanks again Dave.

ThumperACC

Do you have any preflash or forgetting the mode problems?

If I press the tail rapidly it will predictably preflash on the 3rd through 5th or 6th time and then the preflash stops and then starts again. If I press it really fast it seems to get confused and will not work. However, with that being said, when I use it properly it works fine (no preflash). Don't seem to have it forgetting modes unless what you mean falls under what I mentioned above.

Over all I am pleased with it. Not sure how the "cliff dive" will look when the battery weakens but so far it seems like a good buy. There are rumors of some sort of upgrade or firmware deal but we will have to see I guess.

Flashlight Dave said:

If I press the tail rapidly it will predictably preflash on the 3rd through 5th or 6th time and then the preflash stops and then starts again. If I press it really fast it seems to get confused and will not work...

Click to expand...

Hi again Dave,

Can I read this to mean that signaling on low (using momentary) doesn't work well? How fast is "rapidly" (as in how many presses in a second)?

Thanks
ThumperACC

I would say about 6 to 8 times a second. At that strobe like speed it will malfunction. Even if you were doing morse code I don't think it will be a problem. One more thing. I know some people have mentioned the size of the light being rather large for a single 123 light well just happens that it is the same size as the latest generation (gen 6) L1.

Wow, 6-8 times per second. You've got a fast thumb! oo:

Thanks again

Flashlight Dave said:

If I press the tail rapidly it will predictably preflash on the 3rd through 5th or 6th time and then the preflash stops and then starts again. If I press it really fast it seems to get confused and will not work. However, with that being said, when I use it properly it works fine (no preflash). Don't seem to have it forgetting modes unless what you mean falls under what I mentioned above.

Over all I am pleased with it. Not sure how the "cliff dive" will look when the battery weakens but so far it seems like a good buy. There are rumors of some sort of upgrade or firmware deal but we will have to see I guess.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I really want to get this light but it seems like some people have problems with it and others love it. I'd hate to order one and get a bad one. The only store that has them is two hours away so if i got one I'd be ordering blind.

tonywalker23 said:

Thanks. I really want to get this light but it seems like some people have problems with it and others love it. I'd hate to order one and get a bad one. The only store that has them is two hours away so if i got one I'd be ordering blind.

Click to expand...

Question. From my description is mine one of the problem lights?? Have others gotten EB1s that did not have the preflash and such??

Flashlight Dave said:

Question. From my description is mine one of the problem lights?? Have others gotten EB1s that did not have the preflash and such??

Click to expand...

I have the impression that what you describe might be what Robin24k sent his back for (maybe Glock22 also). I read all 30 pages of the "Surefire EB1 backup 200 lumen flashlight" yesterday and I think I remember that. Sorry I wish I had something more precise :fail:

I guess you could search their posts between Nov and now.

ThumperACC

I called Surefire and spoke with someone who really seemed to know his stuff.

After two normal presses on low mode, the 3rd press will flash high momentarily then stay in low mode, it will do this a few more times. Eventually it stops working for a couple seconds. Surefire explained that this is a function to allow the future "programming" of different modes into the lights.

If you need to do morse code using your flashlight, this is not the one for you. However, if you want a mini LX2, it's a smooth sided, clean black anodized, super friggin bright but smaller version with an impressive 45 hours runtime on low, just like the 2 battery versions..

MatthewSB said:

I called Surefire and spoke with someone who really seemed to know his stuff.

After two normal presses on low mode, the 3rd press will flash high momentarily then stay in low mode, it will do this a few more times. Eventually it stops working for a couple seconds. Surefire explained that this is a function to allow the future "programming" of different modes into the lights.

If you need to do morse code using your flashlight, this is not the one for you. However, if you want a mini LX2, it's a smooth sided, clean black anodized, super friggin bright but smaller version with an impressive 45 hours runtime on low, just like the 2 battery versions..

Click to expand...

Wait, what?! I want to know more about that. They might just be talking about from the factory, but imagine if everyone's level(s) of choice could be user programmed on something like this from SureFire. Would be awesome.

I doubt we can program the ones we have now. I think this "programming" was part of the early development of the light.