Input needed on runtime. Surefire e2d defender 1,000 lumens. What would you pick?

Just a small summary, I bought an e2d defender 1,000 lumen from Surefire directly. The website said 2.75 hour runtime. The package I received said 1.25. I contacted Surefire and they apparently had a rev to the new 2.75. The choice is mine - do I keep the 1.25, or go with 2.75? Nothing has changed other than the programming. The 1.25 plateaus higher, the 2.75 plateaus lower, but holds longer. I think you get the picture...

This is strictly a "defense" flashlight. Here in the PRC (California), this is my very weak go-to. Which leads me to lean towards the 1.25. I'd prefer brighter to longer.

Thoughts?

And a side note - Surefire customer service is a bright beacon in a world full of non-existent customer service. The customer service guy put me on a brief hold and went to talk to the tech guys about my q. That's just plain cool.

That's a huge difference in runtime on high. Did they say what the 1.25 was compared to the 2.75?

thermal guy said:

That's a huge difference in runtime on high. Did they say what the 1.25 was compared to the 2.75?

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No, he didn't mention the difference in the "plateau" lumens. He did say that nothing changed with the LED or hardware. I can't imagine they somehow hit an efficiency miracle.

I can't remember, what is the cutoff for runtime? Is it when it drops below 60% of peak?

I have found once you go that bright the difference of 100 lumens or so either way isn't that huge. I'm always a fan of more runtime.

Thanks for the replies. I spoke with Surefire again. I got things cleared up. The runtime is really only a concern if I have the flashlight on for a long period of time. Which I won't. It's a tactical light, and will only be for short durations. With that in mind, battery life and performance will be virtually identical between both models. The new rev was more of a heat management change, which resulted in a longer runtime.

Now that I know I'm hanging on to this one, I can take it out and use it!

Another bump for Surefire. It was nice to call customer service and actually talk to a knowledgeable person that seemed excited about explaining how the flashlight worked.

Nice to get some insight into the programming on this light. If the hardware is the same, then we're talking about a difference related to step-down. I would be curious of when the stepdown actually occurs and its magnitude. Sounds like we're talking about a pretty big drop. But if it comes in after a minute of constant-on then it will never be noticed during normal use, and might actually be useful in an extreme circumstance where you need constant-on for an extended period (when total runtime and temperature likely become more important than peak output).