Surefire L2 LED light mini review

[Vic303]

My L2 arrived today! Wow....I'm just an early round bezel 6P owner of Surefires....the only other one I've ever had was a weak E1e that I sold a year or more ago. Never liked the E1e--not very bright and not so good runtime to me...

But this...well, now I understand the meaning of Wall of Light! :shocked: It took a few minutes of experimentation to sort out the details of the switch, as the other 2 stage ones I have used were all Chinese style (Nuwai). Tint is very nice--very white with a faint tint of purple/red to it. Not as warm as my Huntlight, but being brighter, appears whiter. The donut is almost imperceptible and totally invisible on bright/in normal usage. It's the same length as the Huntlight FT02xj, although the switch cover sticks out a bit farther. The head is slightly smaller diameter. I think the Huntlight is 1 1/16" or 1 1/8" diameter compared to the 1" SF L2. The L2 anodizing is a beautiful dark grey, almost parkerized in color although the scalloped ring on the head (not the crenelated end) is a different color. May have been a different ano batch, or maybe SF does it on purpose. Irrelevant to the function of the light, I just happened to notice it. Knurling on the tube & tail cap is very nice--grippy without being harshly abrasive. The light also weighs less than I had expected. Nice touch! I really like the lanyard attachment ring and wish all my lights had one like it.

Not sure what else to add except that this is one sweet light!
--Vic

[Lunal_Tic]

Outside beamshots? ;D

-LT

[Vic303]

Maybe tonight if you are lucky. Here are some pics to tide you over though until I get a chance to experiment with the camera out in the dark.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b353/vic303/IMG_1459.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b353/vic303/IMG_1461.jpg


Pic 1: showing ONLY ambient light down the hallway.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b353/vic303/IMG_1467.jpg

Pic 2: Low power L2.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b353/vic303/IMG_1465.jpg

Pic 3: High power L2.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b353/vic303/IMG_1466.jpg

[rik]

I have an L2 - used to carry it everywhere. Now I have a Gladius too. The L2 is tied to my large rucksack, ready for use, but the Gladius stays with me.

[Lunal_Tic]

Any chance you could fire off some shots into some bushes at about 30' or so? I'd be interested to see how it is with depth of field in your opinion.

-LT

[Vic303]

LT, I will see what I can do. It could be a couple nights depending on weather here--they're talking rain & I won't get the camera rained on if at all possible. I can give you archery targets at some known distances which would give you some color rendition. Shrubbery is harder, as we don't have a lot of it at that distance on property.

--Vic

[Lunal_Tic]

If you have a good incan try it at the same time then tell us what you think. If 30' is too close by all means go long. ;D

-LT

[Vic303]

I've got a 6p & Maxfire for similar output incans, and a BearCub for high power incan. Will see what I can do. It won't be perfectly dark in my setting though, as I live in suburbia.

[Vic303]

Ok, here are the newer night pics.
In order of presentation: Distance 20 yds. Target is fence gate with archery targets.
1. Ambient light
2. Brinkmann MaxfireLX
3. Huntlight FT02xj
4. SF L2 low
5. SF L2 high
6. BearCub (220lumen) smooth reflector tightened down to spot.

1. Ambient light
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b353/vic303/IMG_1468.jpg

2. Maxfire
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b353/vic303/IMG_1469.jpg

3. FTO2xj
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b353/vic303/IMG_1470.jpg

4. L2 low
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b353/vic303/IMG_1471.jpg

5.L2 high
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b353/vic303/IMG_1472.jpg

6. Bearcub
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b353/vic303/IMG_1474.jpg

[Lunal_Tic]

Now that's impressive, a real wall of light. Was it really that evident that the L2 showed more of the surroundings better than the incans? I was thinking that the last pic probably shows less spill effect because the spot is so hot.

-LT

[Vic303]

Yes, the L2 is really a Wall of Light. It won't throw far, but what it will light it lights VERY well. If I had used a textured reflector in the Bearcub, and turned it to flood, it would have done a good job of the Wall of Light thing. But the Bearcub is a 2CM@g, running a 5D Magstar bulb, and 2x18500 batts (IIRC). So its reflector is 4-5x the size of the L2.

I think what I like best, feature-wise on the L2 is the way the hi-low switch works. It's a classic SF momentary-on switch but a light pressure gets you Low, and press hard for High. Let go back to light pressure and it goes back to Low. If you twist the tailcap to AlwaysOn, then you just press the switch until it goes to High mode.

I wish the pics were clearer, but that was only my second attempt at dark photography with a digital camera. They looked a lot brighter on the camera's display screen (more like what I saw), than they do here.

[MouldyCrow360]

Your review reminded me of a question I've been meaning to ask fellow L2 owners. Do you notice a slight high pitched whining noise when this light is used in Low power mode? I've never noticed this with other LED lights but the L2 is my only Surefire LED light. This might be a stupid question as I'm not a flashlight expert.

[Vic303]

I don't know...I have not noticed any whine from my light, but I wasn't trying to hear one. I will try to listen tonight.

[Vic303]

Did a check on my L2 low mode. Yes there is a faint high pitched whine on low.

[greenLED]

That's the inductor vibrating - nothing wrong with your light. Some inductors do that louder than others; some people hear better than others.

[MouldyCrow360]

Thanks for the definitive answer greenLED. I've been wondering about that for a while; glad to know that our lights are fine. :)

[LordOfWar]

Those look interesting. I'll have to pick one up sometime.