E1L vs HDS Throw/Output?

Several searches didn't disclose the info I wanted regarding comparative beams. From what I gathered, the E1L is aprox. 25 lumens and maybe 30 with the KL1 on an E2 body. With the HDS 60 running at level 1, how does the throw compare? I'll assume the HDS has a better spill/flood beam.

Will the HDS B60 really last an hour at level one? I'm looking for auxillary reasons to justify the basic 60 besides just wanting it. The four light levels are a biggie.

Somebody, help. The right fact or reason is all I need to push me over the edge. Plus...Father's Day is right around the corner, my birthday is in August, there's Independence Day, Labor Day, hell...Flag Day is close too!

I've got the Basic 60 GT. It is in a pocket every day. The clickie feel is the best ever, with little-no chance of accidental activation. Perfect beam shape/density as far as I'm concerned.
Camping: great throw/spill ratio makes it work well for walking. Secondary setting perfect for reading in the tent, and at that setting the battery lasts forever (well, very many hours.) Primary setting for nite hiking, with brightest only a press-hold away if you need a whole lot of light.
Work: It is always in my pocket, so always available in a second. Gets used every day. Keys / coins etc. in the same pocket havn't scratched it one bit, but my Palm Pilot case has taken the worst of it if in the same pocket. I've taken to using the clip so it can coexist nicely with the Palm.

The light is perfectly white at all settings, unlike my SF L2, which is green-ish at low setting.

Others have complained of a flicker at one or 2 settings - I can see an ever so slight flicker at the secondary setting if I really concentrate on seeing it, but never ever would have noticed it if I wasn't aware this might exist before I bought it.

Hell, buy the Ultimate 60 GT and be done with it. If I had it to do over again, and if it would have been available without a wait, I would have.

It feel fantastic in your hand. I'm a digital camera buff, and have used it with great results as a light for doing nightime macro photography, and as a fill light for daytime macro.

Don't hesitate, or you'll be lost.

John F

Runtime of the 60-lumen version of the HDS flashlight is advertised as 20 minutes, not 60 minutes. The 42-lumen version will last for 75 minutes on its brightest setting. These values are for Surefire 123A batteries, which are much more economical to purchase than the slightly more powerful Duracell batteries.

I haven't placed an order for an HDS EDC, but I may in the future. I liked the concept of the Arc4 but not its unfortunately glitchy implementation. One impression that I get is that I probably wouldn't get the EDC Basic 60. The fixed 10-lumen setting might not be bright enough for some purposes, while the fixed 60-lumen setting would make short work of the battery. I would lean toward the EDC Basic 42, or even the EDC Ultimate 60 (adjustable brightness levels) if I had money to burn.

That's an interesting choice, asdalton, one extreme to the other, and it's one which makes sense. The Ultimate allows one to really minimise the lowest settings where 10 Lu (minimum) may be way too high with the Basic. I'll bet that 42 Lu is close to 60 in real world use when it comes to actual use, + the RT improvement @ 42Lu is a significant difference.

jayflash, i have both an E1L and HDS Ultimate 60. At level 1, the U60 just out throws the E1L, although not by much. Of course the spill/flood of the U60 is much better. If I find some time i will try to post some beamshots for ya.

Thanks, segan, your description gives me a good idea of what the HDS is like. JohnF's post, above, indicates this is a light with reasonable throw combined with an even beamspread which helps prevent too much contrast. Sounds like it's a practical light for most, normal, uses and that lots of thought went into its creation.

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segan said:
jayflash, i have both an E1L and HDS Ultimate 60. At level 1, the U60 just out throws the E1L, although not by much. Of course the spill/flood of the U60 is much better. If I find some time i will try to post some beamshots for ya.

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Agreed. my greenish tinted KL-1 does out throw my HDS by a smidge, but doesn't have the beautiful tint. VDG

Don´t forget that the Ultimate´s runtime on level one is MUCH
worse than the KL1´s

Just remember, that you're comparing tow different beasts, in the end:

The Surefire E1L is an incandescent, with incandescent performance and problems (namely, runtime and tint). The new L1 puts in a LuxIII with a total-internal reflecting optic, which means that it gets more throw than it otherwise would have but at the expense of a lot of flood. It's regulated, but it's not meant to do 'dual-level' lighting, IIRC.

The HDS Basic and Ultimate lights are LuxIII LED's with a reflector rather than an optic, which means a more even spill but with slightly less throw in most cases due to reflector design. However, it IS computer controlled, unlike the KL1 head, which means that it has more functions available to it and it can manage power in a way that the 'dumb' KL1 head can't - so you have low-level illumination as well as high-level, plus various 'strobe' functions and auto-management of power.

Brightness-wise, there's little comparison; the Ultimate and Basic 60 at ~60 lumens will outdo a KL1 in terms of sheer illumination. The requirements do dictate one's choice of light.

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Haesslich said:

The Surefire E1L is an incandescent, with incandescent performance and problems (namely, runtime and tint).

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eh? The E1L has an E1e body with KL1 head, definitely not an incan. All your other points make sense though.

Yeah, Just realized that after checking the Surefire site. Doh. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/stupid.gif

I have a Basic 60 and find that the 10 lumen setting is surprisingly bright- often TOO bright for indoor tasks, so I often go down to the 2 lumen or .3 lumen settings (covering the bezel when I turn it on). Regarding the battery-hungry 60 lumen level, it will most likely only be used for outdoor spotting (or just showing off /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif), which is usually just a brief press. I've been using the RCR123's from batterystation (only $12 for the charger and $6 per battery) which also relieves a lot of reluctance to use the 60 lumen setting.
In regards to you're comparison question- if you're going to burn over $100 on a light, I'd definately go with some version of HDS. With the EL1, you get a reasonably small, bright spotlight. With HDS, you get an even smaller bright spotlight, 2 general purpose lights, and a close range light (or even more if you go with the ultimate.)