Intro / L4 vs. L5 and L6 question

Hiya. First post on CPF although I've been a longtime lurker. I wanted to introduce myself and ask a question:

What is the difference between the L5 and L6's beam? Same lumen output I presume just with different beam shape, correct? What's the better of the two if I already have (and love) an L4?

Welcome /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
The L6 has more throw then both L4 and L5.
I don't own any of them, but it's like this;
L4 - flood
L5 - medium flood with more throw then L4
L6 - more of a throw light (not pencil beam though)

I think a L6 will be better for you because the difference between the L4 and L5 is not all that great from what i read here.

All this info is based on what i read on CPF and other sources, so no hands-on experiences with em /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
And please someone correct me if i'm wrong /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

the L6 is considerably longer both in body and head, but has a longer runtime (3 batts and better efficiency of the driver because it is a buck driver) and a tighter beam. Don once named it a "ram of light", and that pretty much nails it down.
bernhard

Not to mention that it's the sexiest SF light, IMO.

Hey Defender3:

If you have the L4, the L6 would be a good addition. It has great throw for an LED and awesome, second-to-none beam quality.

Josey

What others said, but the L6 doesn't run well (if at all) on Li-Ion rechargeables, whereas the L4 and L5 runs beautifully in full regulation on a Pila 168S Li-Ion for about 50 min. Guilt free lumens /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Jan

I ran my L6 on 2 150s Pila's just fine with the spring that Jon sent with the 150s. I swapped heads with one of my M4's
so I got a M3T and the L6 head is running on a M4 body with 2 168s Pila's the M4 head on the L6 body is running on 2 150s no problem at all. JanCPF you need a spring to make 150s work in the L6 or M3T.
Topper /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Fitting might not be an issue, regulation is. 2x150s/168s might not have enough voltage to keep L6 in regulated mode.

Alan

Thank you for that info Topper.

My concern actually wasn't the physical fit, but rather the regulation issue Alan refers to. The L6 has a buck converter, so in order for the light to run in regulation, the Vf of the luxeon (plus the voltage drop in the converter) has to be lower than the actual battery voltage. The two voltages will be close i think, so it probably depends on weather you get a good low Vf luxeon in your L6.

Jan

Sasha is running her L6 on Pilas as well as Frenchy. I do not have an L6 but I know a number of people run it that way.

I use Pilas in my L6 and it works great.

Here is what they look like and how the perform:

http://www.tjtech.org/gallery/NikolaTesla/TheBadestLightsEver_1

L6 uses 3 cells, the others 2. L6 is my favorite overall light. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

NikolaTesla /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

An Arc lamp is the Spark that takes away the Dark--HID Forever!

My Lights LightWar /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/xyxgun.gif

Depending on the Vf of the LED in the L6, it may or may not run in regulation off two Li-Ions. If you happen to have a very low Vf (around 6V) 5W Lux consider yourself lucky as your L6 will do quite well with Pilas. If however you get one with a Vf of, say, 7.5V, then you will get regulated light for the first few minutes and then it will go into direct drive as the cells get depleted.

CM

I had all three, an L4, L5, and L6. I ended up getting rid of the L6. The L6 while it had better throw than the L5 wasn't nearly as pocketable, and still couldn't compare to the throw my bigger SF incan lights, especially the turbohead models. Because of its considerable size as compared to the L5, both body length and head length, I seldom used it, reaching for an M4 or M6 when I needed more throw than my L5 gave me. YMMV

-Keith

I agree. My L5 is the biggest LED light I have and when I want to reach out and really touch someone, I reach for the M6 (Surefire) or a Pila lamp modified C2.