unhappy with 3w. kl1, where do i get what i want?

hi all.
i was looking for a tough small led FLOOD light around 30 lumens. the new kl1 is no flood light! i am afraid to buy the old kl1 because i cannot return it. it is only 19 lumens. i doubt i will find it bright enough. the l4 is too bright for close up work.
i want the light to be haIII. more or less i want half an l4. i don't think multi led's is the way to go because they are not white and bright. i would like to stick with 1 or 3w luxeon high dome.

any other company than surefire make something like this without going custom?
i don't know why they made the kl1 the way they did. it seems useless other than a signaling beacon.


thanks,
nitebrite.

Re: unhappy with 3w. kl1, where do i get what i wa

You might try a $12 Surefire F04 beamshaper, turns it into a defused flood, before spending big bucks on another light. The downside is the size of the beamshaper retaining ring, add's about an 1/8 inch to the diam and a 1/4 inch to the length of the head. I have one on my KL1/VG1 combo and like it.

Re: unhappy with 3w. kl1, where do i get what i wa

You can do what buba does with the $12 beamshaper, while having the option for the pencil thin beam on hand, but also this adds size.

I had an E1L with this new 3 watt LED and gave it away to a non flashaholic relative because well the beam was ringy and useless upclose.

I did play around with a McGizmo 2 stage switch, on a E1e body with a KL4 head powered by a R123. Thats not a bad set-up, the switch I used was 60 ohms of resistance I believe.

Jason

Re: unhappy with 3w. kl1, where do i get what i wa

i was thinking of getting a different complete light.
but maybe not from sf. i didn't really want to spend for a l2 right now. i was thinking of a x5 or infinity ultra.
i dont think those are too bright though. i noticed on flashlightreviews that the old kl1 looks pretty bright. is it brighter than x5 or infinity? with $75 to spend is a head for the e2e better or a different light?

i know the two lights i mentioned are not haIII but they are still tough.

thanks,
nitebrite.

Re: unhappy with 3w. kl1, where do i get what i wa

I'd get a nuwai Q3 maybe? If you dont mind bigger, id get the PM6 3w.

-David

Re: unhappy with 3w. kl1, where do i get what i wa

Look into the HDS EDC Basic or a KL4 on a SF one cell body, McGizmo 2-stage tail cap available at Sandwich Shop and a rechargable cr123a from The Battery Station. The Battery Station also has some HDS EDC basic models in stock.

Re: unhappy with 3w. kl1, where do i get what i wa

I would try the beam shaper. if you want a dedicated flood, a KL-4 on a VG FB-1. I do want to make a point for those that don't own a KL-1 it's not an X-1 or "pencil thin" at real world use. It spreads out after 15-20 ft, and it doesn't need to be moved side to side to see a target.
It narrow but no more then i have seen many LEO's focus mag's for throw/and spill.
It's just a matter of preference, I love my HDS because it has a tight spot and decent spill. something in that way depending on cash would be an aleph II or chop modded 3 gen KL-1. imho of course.VDG

Re: unhappy with 3w. kl1, where do i get what i wa

i am about to stick my kl4 on my e1e body and see what happens. if this works i think i'll bring back the kl1 and get another kl4. i didn't mention that i want 2+ hours runtime at max brightness. how long will the kl4 run on one cell and how many lumens do you reckon it is? is there a two speed z57 thingy? the l2 is too big 100 lumens is way too much and 15 is not enough.

the other stuff you guys mentioned is all great but i can't get it right now(custom). i will in the future. but i wanted this for right now.

nitebrite.

Re: unhappy with 3w. kl1, where do i get what i wa

i got the f04. this is pretty good. with the f04 i can flood the engine compartment. and with the kl1 sans f04 it will light up 100' high tree tops that are 500 feet away!
sf does not dissapoint for a production light! i will definatly be getting the vg fb-1. that looks just awesome!

thanks again guys,
nitebrite.

Re: unhappy with 3w. kl1, where do i get what i wa

I'm glad it worked out for you. I was about to say, if you want half and L4 then stick a KL4 on an E1e body and you will have what you want, a dimmer L4.

The f04 works wonders though.

I have also been waiting for a reasonably priced flood as well and am pretty excited about the Nuwai 2x123A Luxeon V (TM-301X-5) review. It looks like L4 like performance at a more affordable price, but it exceeds your 30 lumen requirement.

i didn't really want to kill a set of 123's right now to find out, but.... i don't think the kl4 on the e1e body is going to run all that long?


edit: oops, i meant kill just 1 123. i guess i can deal with that. i'll leave it on.

nitebrite.

Re: unhappy with 3w. kl1, where do i get what i wa

[ QUOTE ]
nitebrite said:
i didn't really want to kill a set of 123's right now to find out, but.... i don't think the kl4 on the e1e body is going to run all that long?


edit: oops, i meant kill just 1 123. i guess i can deal with that. i'll leave it on.

nitebrite.

[/ QUOTE ]

Since it's not running at full power it should give decent run-time. I don't remember what people were getting but it's longer than 1 1/2 hours I believe.

I don't care for the 4th (newest)KL1 beam either, for the same reasons you have stated.

If you can find one of the 3rd gen. KL1 heads, you may find it works well for you. It's a 1 watt high dome Luxeon that is considerably brighter than the 1st and 2nd gen KL1's. The beam is a nice spot with medium throw, and a generous amount of spill light. Mine looks identical to an Arc LSH-P. I have a 1st gen, 3rd gen, and 4th gen KL1's; the 3rd is by far the most useful, IMHO; not so bright that you can't use it close up, and not so dim it won't light up things at medium distances. I have mine on an E1e body with a Z57 clicky switch, and it's a very nice size and useful little light.

Unfortunately, the 3rd gen KL1 wasn't in production nearly as long as the 1st and 2nd gen KL1, so they are less common.

If you can afford one, a HDS EDC Ultimate is an excellent small light, with 4 adjustable (programmable) light levels, and a ton of other useful features. It is rather expensive, but extremely well made, with a very nice beam. Worth the money, as it can serve so many different uses. I bought the Ultimate 42, after briefly owning a Basic 60. The output difference side by side isn't nearly as much as you might think (The 60 only looked a little brighter to me) but the Ultimate is a vastly more useful light than the Basic model.

Check Battery Station's website, as they are a stocking dealer, and (when in stock) have the Ultimates for significantly less than buying directly from the HDS website. Shipping is less, as well.

Re: unhappy with 3w. kl1, where do i get what i wa

Voodooreg said it. The KL1 is not a pencil beam. The size of the hotspot is pretty good sized after 10 feet or so, and I found it to be pretty useful.

Of course, the cheapest light with a KL1 is the E1L at 100 bucks, and a HDS EDC basic 42, and you get a lot more for the money...

Re: unhappy with 3w. kl1, where do i get what i wa

I have a Gen 2, and a Gen 4. I like them both for what they do. I was amazingly impressed with the newer one, but I like the flood of the older one. Since I now had one to compare the old one to, I wasn't happy with the color, and was going to send it back to SF for color correction, but I am worried they would just send me a newer one instead of replacing the led in the old one. So I'll just keep it for now.

Re: unhappy with 3w. kl1, where do i get what i wa

I am supprised no one mentioned Fenix. There is group buy going on right now, will close on monday 29th. It's a 1AA light, 46 lumen, run time 4 hours, peak 2 hours.

Re: unhappy with 3w. kl1, where do i get what i wa

If you havent ordered the VG FB1, I wouldnt get it... It'll make you lose light (you'll notice it alot with low battery). I compared my kl1 on Fb1 to E1E body, and the E1E is much brighter.

-David

After a E1e with the old then new KL1 head, I went to HDS Ultimate 60. I love it. For $120 you'll get the most bang for your buck with an HDS Basic 42. You'll have about the same EDC size as your KL1, 4 choices of brightness, a wonderful beam and a bunch of runtime.
www.jimsflashlights.com

Re: unhappy with 3w. kl1, where do i get what i wa

nitebrite said:

i got the f04. this is pretty good. with the f04 i can flood the engine compartment. and with the kl1 sans f04 it will light up 100' high tree tops that are 500 feet away!
sf does not dissapoint for a production light! i will definatly be getting the vg fb-1. that looks just awesome!

thanks again guys,
nitebrite.

Click to expand...

My feelings exactly. Having a simple small light that takes seconds to go from flood to spot is a good thing! VDG