Sure Fire Executive Series ??

P

PWork

Joined
Apr 24, 2002
Messages
3,164
It seems that Sure Fire started with a riveted clip, changed to a screwed in clip, then changed back to a riveted clip. Just how is the current production clip attached? Can it be removed without losing water resistancy. I would really prefer not to have a clip.

After finally seeing a SF light in person (6P) I'm seriously concidering an E2e HA with KL1. Has anyone burned a set of batteries completely with the LED head? How do they compare overall with the Inova X5T? Which will give the most burn on a set of batteries?

Thanks in advance.

Paul
 
Paul,

I think the KL1 is a much better solution than the Inova. Here's why:

Brightness-wise, a luxeon-star should be worth about 15-20 of those little 5mm LEDs. My Arc LS runs brighter on a single 123A than the Inova runs on two 123As. The KL1 is brighter still.

Second, the KL1 is regulated. LEDs run very efficiently on low power. As a battery runs down, unlike an incandescent, the LED will keep shining, though light output will drop proportionally. That's why LEDs give you many hours of very low light output after the first few minutes when the battery is strong. Surefire (and Arc, and other companies) put a regulation circuit in front of the LED that pulls power out of the battery even as the battery level drops. That means that as the battery gets weaker, the light output stays bright, until the battery just can't put out anymore. So you can take batteries that are partially depleted, put them in your Surefire with KL1, and get really bright light out. By contrast, do that with your Inova, and the depleted batteries will give you a correspondingly depleted light output. Yes, the Inova will run a long time on batteries, but I would rather run a shorter time at full brightness, than a long time on unacceptably low brightness.

Lastly, the KL1 has what I think of as a great utility beam. Fairly dispersed for close-up work, but still enough punch if you want to see something further away. The Inova is more floodlight-ish, great for closeup, not such great throw. Sometimes, I want to see something that's not just 5 feet away, and then I'm glad I have a luxeon star based light.

In summary, I feel regulated luxeon star lights like the Arc LS and Surefire KL1 are simply in another class than the Inova X5. The X5 has awesome styling and is a great light at a reasonable price, but it won't compete with the big dogs performance-wise. I use my Arc LS to burn off batteries from my Surefire M4 -- I change the 123As as soon as the M4's beam starts to yellow.

Note that I don't have a KL1, just an Arc LS, but I've seen beamshots, and they both use Luxeon stars and are regulated, so I know the two perform rougly alike.

Joe
 
With the E2, the clip is attached to the bezel. Using the KL1 will remove the clip. With the E2e, the clip is attached to the body and is removable.
 
i believe you get a pyrex lense on the kl1 so you're getting most of the features of the e2e with just an e2, and you can get the lock out tailcap separately if you want it. it's a pretty useful feature although people have mentioned being able to lock it out by rotating the bezel.

- pete
 
The E2 (and the E1, D3, and Z3) have all been discontinued so if you want one you'd better move fairly quickly.
 
I carry an E1 and an X5T in my briefcase. I bought both used from other forumites. The E1 disappears in my pocket and casts a beam far enough for most of my needs, and the X5T gives a nice flood light with good runtime for closer work. The X5T is much more compact than my 6P with KL3. They are all solid lights IMO....they just meet different requirements.
Jim
 
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