Surefire E2D LED Defender (non-Ultra) upgrade?

Hello all,

I have a friend who uses an E2D Defender LED (the older, dual-output 200lm version) every day for work. It's a solid light for his needs, and he's got a bezel-up bottom-loading Kydex belt rig that really works for him. The issue, though, is that he uses it so much that he's spending $10-15 a month on CR123 primaries for the thing. I'd love to come up with a rechargeable solution to present to him as a gift.



It's an old enough light that I can't find much information about it. Ideally, I'd be able to find a low-voltage replacement head or drop-in with a similar UI so I could just swap in that and a 16650... but there may be other possibilities I'm not considering. Custom work isn't out of the question. I'd be open to any suggestions or sources, and grateful for the help. The only constraint is that the head geometry really needs to remain the same for his belt rig.

Any ideas?

realjoshfreeman said:

Hello all,

I have a friend who uses an E2D Defender LED (the older, dual-output 200lm version) every day for work. It's a solid light for his needs, and he's got a bezel-up bottom-loading Kydex belt rig that really works for him. The issue, though, is that he uses it so much that he's spending $10-15 a month on CR123 primaries for the thing. I'd love to come up with a rechargeable solution to present to him as a gift.

It's an old enough light that I can't find much information about it. Ideally, I'd be able to find a low-voltage replacement head or drop-in with a similar UI so I could just swap in that and a 16650... but there may be other possibilities I'm not considering. Custom work isn't out of the question. I'd be open to any suggestions or sources, and grateful for the help. The only constraint is that the head geometry really needs to remain the same for his belt rig.

Any ideas?

Click to expand...

Although less capacity than primaries, "LiFePO4" cells" are an option particularly since a single 16650 would have limited voltage to drive the E2D.

FWIW, I've had good success using a replacement head from Lumen Factory on my L4 running 16650.

I would highly recommend reading the E2DL Ultra master thread (even though that was the upgraded model), as others have had similar queries:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?356967-Surefire-e2dl-ultra
I believe there is reliable info in that thread which provides suggestions/solutions.

I suspect that a single 16650 LiIon would provide quite satisfactory performance; my estimate would be ~90% of rated output initially (albeit not regulated); the relatively flat LiIon discharge curve shouldn't cause any complaint along those lines.

Furthermore, the massive capacity of modern 16650's will be a tremendous asset for your friend, with the single cell having approx. 10% more capacity compared to 2xCR123 primaries. IMO this is not only the best solution from a technical standpoint, but would also be the most affordable.