EDC incans to choose from?

Lately, I got back to my good old Surefire E1È with Lumens Factory 3.6V / 50 Lumens bulb. This is such a great combination that I had it on me for years, but in those years that strike-bezel of the E1E ate itself through many, many pocket of my trousers, so finally I abandoned the idea of using it as an EDC light... the only other option that comes to my mind is the Maglite Solitaire. But that one indeed isn't so bright...

Does anybody know of other high quality incans this size? E1E-size is really the largest I would consider as an EDC light.:thinking:

I'll be watching this one closely... I've been searching for one myself.

Why not just replace the bezel? There are several sources for them. Alternately, Lumens Factory makes very high quality replica E series incan heads without the strike bezel. They're under $40 if I recall. They also offer a 2- way pocket clip for the single cell E series bodies.

Replacing the bezel is an option indeed, IF the original one can be loosened without damaging the aluminum....

325addict said:

Lately, I got back to my good old Surefire E1È with Lumens Factory 3.6V / 50 Lumens bulb. This is such a great combination that I had it on me for years, but in those years that strike-bezel of the E1E ate itself through many, many pocket of my trousers, so finally I abandoned the idea of using it as an EDC light... the only other option that comes to my mind is the Maglite Solitaire. But that one indeed isn't so bright...

Does anybody know of other high quality incans this size? E1E-size is really the largest I would consider as an EDC light.:thinking:

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This is my first time visiting cpf in forever, so forgive me for asking this question here but I saw you near the top of the frontpage feed...

In this day in age, is there a practical reason why you want to use an incan as an EDC device? (I don't want to knock your thread off topic, sorry).

I use to have a Surefire Aviator incandescent that was pretty nifty.

These days it's not easy to find incan anything. Especially with any amount of brightness like an E1.

There is one option of drilling out the hole of a solitaire, installing a minimag 2aa/2aaa bulb and using a Lithium Ion 10440 in the Solitaire for a bit of WOW, or check out Lumens Factory for his latest E1 type gear. I don't think he has a complete one with incan bulb module but you can buy the parts there. Heck, perhaps if your bezel ring won't come off you can purchase a new bezel assembly there. Click on parts/head units and choose between HA natural or black.

incan E2E 2xAA vs. Zebralight Cree XP-L2 EasyWhite 4000K, ~3Lm each, paint is definitely yellowish.


Probably a Tad Customs A3712 in bored E2e w/18650, along with Vital Gear 2xAA/3xCR123A, Leef FM1794 & Fivemega 18350 E head E tail. Pure white wall.

ZippyDan said:

This is my first time visiting cpf in forever, so forgive me for asking this question here but I saw you near the top of the frontpage feed...
In this day in age, is there a practical reason why you want to use an incan as an EDC device? (I don't want to knock your thread off topic, sorry).
I use to have a Surefire Aviator incandescent that was pretty nifty.

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Carrying an incan flashlight as an EDC is all about the quality of the light. After I abandoned the E1E as an EDC light because it demolished my expensive Fjallraven trousers, I bought a very small LED light. That's a few years ago now but I will NEVER grow to that ugly LED tint. And don't try to tell me a Nichia whatever is beautiful, it's at most less ugly. And indeed, Lumens Factory seems to have an E1E head with smooth bezel. Time to do what I SHOULD have done a few years ago...

Yea, the E1e doesn't come with a strike bezel from the factory, so whoever sold it to you must have installed the strike bezel unless you did it yourself and still have the original bezel. I've always EDC'd an E2e or a Vital Gear FB3 and size has never been an issue for me with these lights, but to each their own. I find the two and three cells lights are much more stable in the pocket while the one cells tend to flop out easily. If you are not willing to go larger than 1 cell, Lumens Factory makes a great 90 lumen 3.7 volt lamp assembly called the EO-E1R I believe. Runs great on a single 16340. I recommend running it on a quality IMR cell. It will be a great match.

ampdude said:

Yea, the E1e doesn't come with a strike bezel from the factory, so whoever sold it to you must have installed the strike bezel unless you did it yourself and still have the original bezel. I've always EDC'd an E2e or a Vital Gear FB3 and size has never been an issue for me with these lights, but to each their own. I find the two and three cells lights are much more stable in the pocket while the one cells tend to flop out easily. If you are not willing to go larger than 1 cell, Lumens Factory makes a great 90 lumen 3.7 volt lamp assembly called the EO-E1R I believe. Runs great on a single 16340. I recommend running it on a quality IMR cell. It will be a great match.

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There are some "small teeth" on the bezel from the factory. Sharp enough to eat itself through the pocket of your trousers when you have it in there always. I have two E1Es and they both have exactly the same bezel, so that should be original. It looks exactly like this one:
https://www.captaindanns.com/product/surefire-e1e-executive-elite/

I used to run it with the Lumens Factory 50 Lumens version of the bulb you just recommended. The 90 Lumens version draws something like 1.3 Amps (I have one, tried it, but abandoned the idea to use this one due to be too hard on the small cell, and the runtime that's too short) while the 50 Lumens version just draws 0.8 Amps. And still gives a lot of light
I always kept it in an upright position in a very small pocket that used to be on nearly all of those Fjallraven trousers - it is just large enough to hold that little E1E. It's a pity I just cannot post pictures in this forum the way I can with Facebook and the like: I don't have any URL from ANY of my pictures.

I recently bought a few Keeppower 850mAh 16340s and I measured their capacity, in the assumption it would be more like 600mAh instead of the advertised 850mAh.... it went past 600mAh.... past 700mAh... I held my breath.... went past 800mAh to stop at 862mAh!! So, these are my new cells to use! This was with a discharge current of 450mA, so it may be that I have 800mAh with a discharge current of 800mA... effectively resulting in a full hour of runtime with this E1E setup.

Now buy a smooth bezel/head combo for it from Lumens Factory, and I'm back in business!
https://www.lumensfactory.com/en/product_detail.php?pid=475

Whomever invented strike bezels was a real busybody. The strike bezel is like a virus. It isn't useless, but at the same time, for something never used, it is unnecessarily ubiquitous. I know some like them, but they're still so rarely used, may as well say they're never used. And I think they're pretty ugly, and even gnarly. Much less often, on other utilities flashlights have appeared. I disagree with this also. Let flashlights be flashlights, and other things be other things.

The poor misunderstood strike bezel ring.

It was never actually intended to be used as many say it was. It was actually meant for use as a martial arts technique called kubatan. Same as tactical inkpens.

Glad you found a source for a smooth one.

Sorry, derailing thread. That is interesting bykfixer. Neat martial art, too. But never see crenelations on anything else. I don't think anyone would tolerate them on the end of their gun barrel. It just seems a little schizophrenic. Do one thing, do it well. Don't mix things up. I just can't imagine a warrior soldier, who has a knife, sidearm, fists, other dangerous things, going for their crenelated flashlight if they have a choice. I don't mind the more flattened stylized crenelations as much, because of the useful head stand, especially on a bright single mode light. But otherwise, they just do more damage to the user, and their pockets, than any enemy.

Back to your regularly scheduled thread.

I like incan double AA Mini Mags. They have a following. I need to get one myself.

Glad that I passed by this thread. Got a used E2e last week and was thinking of what to do with it, I would like to avoid a LED conversion. The 90 lumen LF bulb plus 16650 seems to be a perfect choice!

325addict said:

Carrying an incan flashlight as an EDC is all about the quality of the light.

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Reminds me of the vinyl vs. digital music. Technically, digital is better in every aspect. Bit it just doesn't give you the feel for the music.

If you're not adverse to the added length of the E2e, a whole host of options for cells and bulbs open up. Post three of the thread below is some excellent reading. Substitute "16650" for "17670" and you're good to go.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?233315-looking-for-an-incandescent-for-work

The digital music on paper is better. But the ears tell a different tale. Much like LED tech digital was awful at first. But as it evolved it got better and better as square edges got rounded smoother and smoother.

Yet to this day LED still looks like synthesized light. The bulb looks like real light. We've just adapted and learned to live with LED due to the virtues out weighing the minuses. 10k hours versus a few dozen, better fuel mileage, more drop resistant and the like. And getting 200+ lumens from a double A platform doesn't hurt either.

I'll be carrying a 1972 Kel-Lite 2C with me at work tonight.

tuelleric said:

Glad that I passed by this thread. Got a used E2e last week and was thinking of what to do with it, I would like to avoid a LED conversion. The 90 lumen LF bulb plus 16650 seems to be a perfect choice!

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That's how I run my E2D.Not quite as bright as standard 60 lumen lamp from SF but is close.And quilt free😁

bykfixer said:

The digital music on paper is better. But the ears tell a different tale. Much like LED tech digital was awful at first. But as it evolved it got better and better as square edges got rounded smoother and smoother.

Yet to this day LED still looks like synthesized light. The bulb looks like real light....

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I say the following, despite still being an incandescent fan .... The very best emitters are getting rather good indeed.

Byk, have you had a chance to view output from an Optisolis 4000K ?

That was the first LED where I saw it and said oo:

325addict said:

....Does anybody know of other high quality incans this size? E1E-size is really the largest I would consider as an EDC light.:thinking:

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I still use an (incandescent) A2 regularly, but not truly for EDC.

If you can find a 1xAAA JetUsolis 4000K, you might be surprised (I was) and that is what I have on my keyring now.

Have not had the pleasure Archi. But I'm pleased as punch with the Malkoff 4L's with SST's in them. Reminds me of a nice SureFire light like a 3P or E1.