Goodbye L4? The L4 finally meets its match

Surefire's L4 was and is a revolutionary light, unmatched in its combination of small size and remarkable broad bright beam. It has remained unequalled until now. Based on my recent experience I can report that the L4 has finally met its match, and then some.

Don Mcgizmo's new Aleph series of interchangeable bodies, 2-stage tailcaps, heads and regulated light engines includes the Aleph II head with 20mm reflector which can accept a choice of Lux III or 5w driven to custom selected levels.

I recently purchased an Aleph II with a 5w "McGizmo-binned" Luxeon driven at 700 ma . The light came with a perfectly focused hotspot and no "donut hole" but by moving the position-adjustable light engine I found that the brightest and most useful beam retained a subtle donut hole similar to that of my L4s.

I mounted the newly adjusted Aleph II on a black E2D Defender body with a black Z54 LOTC 2-stage tailcap tweaked to a "hair trigger" by Mcgizmo. Then I compared the light to my KL4s which were mounted on E2E bodies with Z52 one and two-stage tailcaps:

MODEL…….…....LGTH …..MAX..BZL DIA …BOD DIA WT……LUMENS/CP<>

Surefire L4…………...5 1/16"…….…1.11"…………….....…13/16"……….…3.8oz…...….65 L
Aleph II/E2E………….4 7/8"…………...1"……………...…….13/16"………….3.7oz………65L ?

Although dimensional differences are small they make a functional difference in handling this light which feels noticeably more compact than the L4. I own three L4s and gave a fourth as a gift. All four were bright but two of the current three are exceptionally bright with beams that have a very subtle greenish hue with a modest "donut hole". I'm told by a "reliable source" that these greenish tinted KL4s are among the brightest of all the KL4s. The adjusted Aleph equaled or slightly exceeded the brightness of the brightest L4 and I found that its brilliant "HID white" beam was preferable aesthetically and offered greater penetration than the L4.

I have yet to run-test the Aleph but I would expect its 700ma burn time to be a little shorter than the 620ma L4. Given the performance of my Aleph I suspect that an Aleph run at 611ma would be at least as bright as the average L4 and would equal its runtime while retaining its superiority in other areas.

The KL4's greater mass will permit cooler long-term running than the Aleph, a doubtful advantage since most informed buyers will add a Mc2S 2-stage tailcap, using stage one (direct drive) more frequently and for longer periods than stage 2.

To sum up: The Aleph II with LUX 5w driven between 600ma – 700ma mounted on an E2D Defender with 2-stageZ52 tailcap has the following advantages over the L4:

Shorter
Lighter
Smaller bezel
Feels more compact and handles better
Brighter or at least as bright
Better tint
User adjustable beam
Choice of LED and light engine
Interchangeable and upgradeable parts
More attractive appearance (my personal opinion)

I believe that Don (McGizmo) has accomplished a notable achievement; he has created a light to stand proudly next to the L4 as a genuine equal with additional features that will make it even more prized by some owners. Can it be considered the L4's "successor"? As a producer of broad-beamed bright light, not really, the laws of physics being what they are, but its uncommon flexibility, and adaptability to future improved LEDs and circuitry give it a unique developmental advantage.

Hats off to Don!

Brightnorm

Hey brightnorm:

Cudos for your efforts, but IMHO, the L4 and the Aleph are different branches in the luminary tree. It would never have occurred to me to face them off and declare a winner. In my mind, they aren't direct competitors, but then again I don't have an Aleph. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

What about price?

Admittedly those were my personal reactions but the Mc2S is a winner regardless of host, and I'm guessing that the superior Aleph bin compared to the L4 will be more the norm than the exception.. I could be wrong about that because I based it on four L4s, admittedly a small sample. But then there are the Aleph's many other appealing features.

I prefer the E2D body to the Aleph body because I carry the light clipped to my front pocket and the Alephs don't have clips.

I guess I could be accused of invidious comparisons because I usually don't say "x light is superior to y light". I think I may have gone a bit overboard in my enthusiasm, especially with that provocative title which I knew would be a bit of a grabber.

The KL4 is a wonderful light which I'm sure will be in the front of the pack for a long time to come, but I really do prefer the Aleph as described in my review. Part of its appeal for me is the way it looks; I really love its compact dull black simplicity with its look of high quality. If you've just seen photos of the Aleph and haven't actually seen and held one in real life you can't know the impression it makes.

At any rate, I agree that the choice between the AlephII and the L4 is a personal one, and they're both great lights.

Cost is not the major factor in a buy/no buy decision. I allow myself a certain expenditure for lights and would rather wait to buy one special light rather than several not so special lights. This head was around $130.00 and I had a Defender body so the only additional expense was the Mc2S. You could also mount the Aleph on a HA II ordinary black E2E or older E2, an Aleph body, a Balrog body and perhaps others as well. My total out of pocket expense was about $180 including the Mc2S. A new L4 costs $160.00

If you don't have a host for the Aleph II you'd have to by one from McGizmo, Surefire or others who make appropriate tubes.

At any rate, I love this light

Brightnorm

Ok, let's say that you wanted to buy, for now, only one Aleph2...wich configuration would you suggest? I realize that there are many different possibilities for different needs but is there one that you see as "optimal"?

"Optimal" really depends on how you define your needs. I am always on the lookout for an improvement to the lights I carry every day. Aside from my ARC AAA and Photon II my primary EDC lights are all 2x123 or PILA size lights in three categories: 1) Bright "wall of light", 2) Bright "throw" and 3) Medium bright long run. Within those categories I look for the smallest, brightest and lightest top performers. In the smallest and brightest wall of light category the L4 has reigned supreme since its inception; there really haven't been any serious challengers until now. I prefer 2x123 or PILA sized lights for their brighter longer runtime and still very modest size.

In the bright throw #2 category my all time favorite is the PM6 xenon but unfortunately it is too big for comfortable EDC (IMO). Next in line would be the streamlight TL-2 xenon, an excellent light of acceptable size but quite far below the remarkable PM6 in brightness, throw distance, bright runtime and lamp life. When McGizmo adapted the PM6 reflector to his custom made PR and PR-T heads using high binned LUX IIIs and efficient regulators he raised the bar for long throw small LED lights. In fact the PR-T/LUX III/917ma outthrows the E2E xenon, a first for a small 2x123 LED light. The approximately 1 hour regulated runtime gave it a clear advantage over the E2E. (Although incandescent lights continue to maintain their "pound for pound" advantage over LEDs in color rendering, visual contrast, depth of penetration and sheer brightness). I have been carrying the PR-T917 as my #2 light but I will have to take a closer look at McGizmo's Aleph I head (27mm) as a LUX III host because of its superior light gathering efficiency.

My moderately bright Category 3 light is the venerable LSH-P which I run in the original short 2AA twist pack with 2xAA Lithiums which gives me 5-5.5hours of very white regulated light. There are brighter lights now and the original KL-1 (not the new one) will give about 4-4.5 hours of regulated light but I prefer the LSH-P for several reasons including the fact that it is the shortest, smallest-diameter light of its type and capacities. It will fit into a tiny MAG AAA flapped holster which is how I carry it.

Each one of these lights has been carefully chosen to fulfill a specific role in my EDC. In addition, the Aleph/E2D and the PR-T both sport a Z52/54 modded with McGizmo's Mc2S 2-stage switches; worth their weight in gold (IMO).

I know this rather long reply hasn't been a direct answer to your question, but I wanted to describe my light buying rationale. If cost is an issue there are plenty of much cheaper lights that do a fine job in many situations; that's the great thing about our hobby; plenty of choices. That's also the frustrating thing about our hobby; plenty of choices.

Brightnorm

The price for a brand-new Aleph from Don himself is about $195, but that includes the hand-picked LED and an Aleph1 head - the Aleph2 adds another $2. The main thing you're getting with an Aleph is that it's a) custom-built to your specifications, and b) it's incredibly modular, as much so as any E-series light from Surefire.

With the Surefire, you're getting the brandname and the support that goes with it. With the Aleph, you're getting the quality that Don or anyone else who assembles one (Chop comes to mind) puts into it, plus a lot of accessories. Plus, the head's easily replaced - with the L4, you have to replace the whole bezel or get it modded to change the LED should it die. With an Aleph, you just remove the emitter and put a new one on, or swap the LE.

I have to agree. The L4 has been my favorite light since I first got it, as it just "felt" better than anything else I used, both from an ergonomic point of view and from a performance standpoint. The Aleph 2 really does out-L4 the L4, though. It feels even better in my hand, especially with 2xCR2 in the 1.5x123 body, and the 20mm reflector gives the same awesome wall of light that the KL4 does in an even smaller package.

Two pics of the Aleph-2 on 2xCR2 vs. the L4:

[larger image]

[larger image]

Tyler,

What sort of regulated runtime do you get with those 2xcr2's?

Brightnorm

Tyler and Brightnorm:

With all due respect, and from an esthetic standpoint alone here (I know us flashaholics are into esthetics as well as performance /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif), the Aleph is basically tubes with knurling, while the L4 is a beautiful piece of design art.

However, I'd love to have an Aleph too! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif

Here's my take on the differences between the two...the Aleph is a semi-custom made light aimed at the members of the CPF, while the L4 is comercially made light aimed at the teeming masses that have never heard of the CPF and want a quality flashlight. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

If I could offer an unbiased opinion, I might try. I can't so I won't! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nana.gif

The overall design and sophistication of the KL4 and its components puts it in a class well above and beyond reach of the humble Aleph 2. The Aleph 2 is simple function with even simpler if not non existant form. It has been reduced to the very basics with all consideration given only to function and it is certainly limited in design by my own and many limitations. The reflector is deeper than the KL4 and has more surface area. This was done to maximize the photon redirection in the given volume of space to work with. My intent with all of the Aleph heads was to provide the best beam and light output I could, subject to the physics and numerous constraints involved. My focus was on what you see with the light and not what you see of the light. Certainly I didn't want them to be butt ugly but not having access to multi axis machine centers along with probably not knowing how to "please" with design anyway, It was easy to focus on the function and keep the design simple in form. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

Since I am posting on this thread, I want to dispell any implication that "Don binning" is superior or desireable over SF LED's. I try to get good bin LED's as this is expected and demanded of expensive and custom lights; understandably. I do not have any system of selection or weaning out bunk LED's other than recognizing the visual results and pulling the ocassional dud from the scene. The lottery is alive and well and subject to being passed on with only gross filtering based on bin selection as determined by Lumileds as well as visual filtering by my own eyes. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif SF is a big player and I think we can count on them getting and using only the brightest LED's!

I think Roy has hit on the essence of the differences and I won't pretend that the Aleph lights are something that they are not! I hope that those buying them are under no false presumptions either!

EDIT:
For me to have my lights even compared to the SF lights is the highest form of flattery I could imagine! To this extent, thank you! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif I have no illusions about being beat by SF lights in terms of quality, sophistication, design excellence and better pricing on top of all that! Heck to even get a chance to be on the same stage is an honor that is probably un due! What I can focus on is alternatives to the direction SF is currently taking and I can offer an open and accessible architecture that SF, for obvious and legitimate reasons, can not. I can only hope to offer something that is functionally different and desireable, for whatever reasons or need of applications.

If SF chose to cover all the bases, I would never get to play! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nana.gif

I have an L4 and what I like about is it simplicity. I understand the versatility and attraction of having virtually unlimited options available, but personally I do wish there were some preassembled complete Aleph units available. For the uninitiated and non-modder types choosing and assembling individual component parts is daunting.

indenial,

The shoppe will be selling TK ALeph lights soon and some of the modders are offering complete units in B/S/T. In addition to my offer to build complete but to suit, at some point I will be selling some pre-built and complete lights as well.

If the naming of the lights which include the components in its description is a put off, I don't know how to address that. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

Don,

That reminds me - when will the Aleph logo/symbol start appearing on the heads?

Brightnorm

Please send me the L4 heads you are tossing out I will use them.
Topper

Brightnorm,
I had only some Aleph 1's engraved so far. You might be seeing some more engraving down the road but I don't know what or when, exactly. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

[ QUOTE ]
Topper said:
Please send me the L4 heads you are tossing out I will use them.
Topper

[/ QUOTE ]

The L4 is a truly great light, I'll never sell mine. My review may have had elements of a new convert's fanaticism. I'll look through it to see if any sails need trimming.

Brightnorm

Cant blame me for trying I hope
Topper /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/poke2.gif

Not at all. Would you be interested in some used 123s? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Brightnorm