Re: Looking for modded old kl1 beamshot (700ma+IMS
I think that the more appropriate question would be whether one (a newer KL1) will throw appreciably farther than the other (modded older KL1).
Although I've had occassions to mess with both of them, I've never compard the two because I felt that it was like comparing apples and oranges.
The newer KL1 concentrated almost all of the photons into what could be called "the hotspot." A modified KL1 with a 17mm reflector doesn not do this. Some of the light is is shot out of the front as side spill. This alone would indicate to me that the newer KL1 should shoot farther, at the expense of sidespill.
Another point is that the optic used in the newer KL1 is also very efficient. This is part of the reason that such high lux reading are attained with the newer KL1, even at the moderate bias of 550mA (or there abouts).
Now, to muddy the waters even more, you also have to consider that a modified older KL1 will be biased to run in the 700mA range. That extra couple hundred mA won't make a big difference, but it certainly gives the modded head a bit of a kick.
My objective opinion is that the newer KL1 does not throw appreciably farther than a modified older KL1. It's kind of tough to tell because the newer KL1's lack of sidespill helps to give the appearance that it is throwing farther than it actually is. It just seemed like that to me, anyway.
I think that the bottom line question is, "what would make for a more useful light?" For me, the answer is a modified older KL1. The beam characteristics of the newer KL1 render the light all but useless to me for the applications that I typically use a flashlight for. This point was brought home for me on one particular occassion.
I had a new KL1 sitting on my bench on top of an E2e body. My cousin walked in cursing because he had gotten a flat tire on his way to my house. He walked into my shop and asked if I had a flashlight? I just shook my head and grabbed the one nearest to me. It happened to be the KL1. After a couple of minutes he came back in and asked if I had something with a broader beam. He also commented that if I had modified the light to be like that it was a stupid mod. I made sure that he knew that the reason I had the KL1 was to "fix" that problem; then I reached into my bag and handed him my modified E1e with a direct drive light engine using a turned down McR20 as a reflector. This is the most useful light I have ever had. It's small enough to have with me all of the time and it's tough enough to take the licks that I dish out. You should see the dings in the bezel ring from opening bottle of Dos Equis with it.
