Convince me not to buy Surefire L5...

Been thinking of going LED and I really like the look and features of the L5. Belt clip, grip ring, clickie tailcap, HAIII, 65 lumens for a full hour... it seems great. But I'm wondering, is the beam a nice tight spot or a flood like the L2? I would think its a tight spot since its a combatlight. Is it available in the black type3 HA? or just the grey or the new green?

Eh, since it's a 5W with a reflector, it's more of a semi-spot beam, i.e., better than the L2/L4, but not as tight as say, an P60. Surefire claims that they lit up the top of a tree with an L5 from a hundred yards away, but not nearly as well as a comparable incan lamp can. the review can be found on quickbeam's review site, where the review stated the throw at about 1370, or the same throw as a E1l with the optics, so I think it is a relatively tight beam especially when you consider that it's a Lux V, which are notoriously floddy(liek the L4 and L2), but since people always complain about the E1l being a spotlight, I imagine the L5 will be a more user friendly beam by a long shot.

How can I convince you to not do it?
...

I'll get back to you when I find a reason to not buy a Surefire. Don't hold your breathe though, it may take a while...

Well, it's not available in HAIII-black, as far as I know, does that count as a dis?

Nick /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

here is just an idea.. you said try to convince ya ..
check this out .. PentagonLight Porfessional Flashlights L3 5W

L3 5W Luxeon Light


Description
L3 is fitted with our proprietary reflector designed for focusing the light generated by the 5W Luxeon light source into a smooth intensified light beam. Luxeon is power efficient and does not need frequent lamp replacement since it will not burn out like the filament of incandescent bulbs. A twist for constant-on and a push for momentary-on PentagonLight signature switch is featured. The pentagon shape tail cap makes it easy for one-hand operation.
Warranty: Limited Lifetime

Black Anodized 1.5" Bezel Head $159.95
Hard Anodized 1.5" Bezel Head $169.95

Specifications
Brightness: 75 Lumens
Run-Time: 100 Minutes (Peak)
Batteries: Three CR-123A
Bezel Size: 1.5"
Features
* 5W Luxeon white light source
* Aerospace-Grade Aluminum Body
* Momentary or Constant On/Off Tail Switch
* Double O-Ring Sealing

there I tried .. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

but in there defense here is a great sight with the L5 beam shots and would give ya an idea of how the beam will look .. SureFire L5 Lumamax

OK here is why you don't want an L5:

1) You probably won't use all your other flashlights anymore because of the wonderful and versatile beam (ram of light) of the L5.

2) You will get less sleep because you want to go out at night to play with that extremely well built L5.

3) It will be very difficult to find a new and better flashlight after you've got the L5, thus dampen your flashaholism. (hmm.. maybe that's a good thing)

Did I convince you? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif

The L5 is heavier than it needs to be, because of the second o-ring on the tail end. Of course, the added o-ring does increase it's water resistance. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Yeah that's right Gramps, and also it's much better looking than it needs to be. It could be looking like a Heliotek but have the same nice L5 beam. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Hot mod for L5 is to bore out barrel to accept 18650's

Tight thrower-very long though

I was considering buying a C2 and then getting one of the 5W LED drop-ins from BugOutGear when they come out, but they'll be about the same price. Decisions, decisions...

Convince you NOT to buy a Surefire L5?

Impossible! Other than price, there is no factor my opinion says that is negative on the L5. I LOVE mine.

The beam is awesome. It throws well out to medium range, and at the same time has a bright corona for excellent area coverage. Its a wall of white light, with perfect beam quality (zero artifacts). I feel the beam is a perfect balance of throw and flood. The flashlight itself is built incredibly well...excellent fit and finish, and very durable. Performance is truly awesome, the 65 lumen output is incredibly impressive both inside and outside, and it maintains this output for slightly longer than an hour. Even when it falls out of regulation, you still have some solid minutes of moderate output. Simply, I cannot fault the L5 in any way...other than price...

Yeah, a 180 bucks is an awful lot for that light. I even looked at just the LED head at Surefire - $140!!! Ugh. I think I may stick to the plan I outlined a post ago... C2 w/LED drop in...

[ QUOTE ]
KDOG3 said:
Yeah, a 180 bucks is an awful lot for that light. I even looked at just the LED head at Surefire - $140!!! Ugh. I think I may stick to the plan I outlined a post ago... C2 w/LED drop in...

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, and since the price of the conversion head and full light are so close, I don't see the advantage of buying the head alone.

I think the L5 is about the second tightest 5W beam from surefire.
The U2 being the tightest. I am not sure what the current price for the L5 is, but the U2 is running about $240, and is a damn fine light. It has the best beam I have seen from a 5W light its size.

There are plenty of other lights that have the performance of the L5, like the new 352 Nuwai.
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/nuwai_alx-352_alx-032.htm

No pocket clip though, and might be alittle longer, but has a better beam i think and 3 brightness levels.

[ QUOTE ]
jtice said:
I think the L5 is about the second tightest 5W beam from surefire.
The U2 being the tightest. I am not sure what the current price for the L5 is, but the U2 is running about $240, and is a damn fine light. It has the best beam I have seen from a 5W light its size.

There are plenty of other lights that have the performance of the L5, like the new 352 Nuwai.
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/nuwai_alx-352_alx-032.htm

No pocket clip though, and might be alittle longer, but has a better beam i think and 3 brightness levels.

[/ QUOTE ]

The L6 beam is a little tighter than the L5, due to the larger reflector.


I agree about the U2, it is a darn fine light.

I have an L6 donot have either a U2 or L5. From the beam shots I've seen the L6 has better throw than either a U2 or L5. Comparing an L5 to L6, go with the L6 it is a very nice light. Litte big for EDC but will still easly to stuff into a large pocket or back pack.

I ended up installing a KL5 on my C3. I didn't like the incandesent C3 beam (way too many artifacts), and to me 65 lumens at 90 minutes runtime is awesome--and the KL5 and L5s actually appear to produce MORE than 65 lumens to me, based on how well it they completely light up my yard at night. I've read that KL5s also work on M4s and M6s...that would be an awesome setup...2 hours (M4) to 3 hours (M6) of runtime at 65+ lumens....very tempted to pick up an M4 or M6 for this use.

[ QUOTE ]
357 said:
I ended up installing a KL5 on my C3. I didn't like the incandesent C3 beam (way too many artifacts), and to me 65 lumens at 90 minutes runtime is awesome--and the KL5 and L5s actually appear to produce MORE than 65 lumens to me, based on how well it they completely light up my yard at night. I've read that KL5s also work on M4s and M6s...that would be an awesome setup...2 hours (M4) to 3 hours (M6) of runtime at 65+ lumens....very tempted to pick up an M4 or M6 for this use.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think you are thinking abou the KL6. I can't see how an LED head designed for the C/P/G serires can fit on a M4/6/3 body...

KL6 will physically fit the M3/M4/M6. KL5 will NOT.

DOH ! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ohgeez.gif how could I forget the L6!

Yea the L6 (KL6) and U2 should out throw the L5 (KL5)
Though I dont know how the L6 compares to the U2, Id like to see that beamshot outside /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif