One thing you need to know with Surefire's lumen ratings is that they're one company that's actually pretty honest them. Many companies inflate their ratings, or use mathematical estimations rather than using light testing gear (called an integration sphere). Fenix and Inova are notorious for being overoptimistic about the brightness of their flashlights. Surefire OTOH, you can pretty much guarantee that they're underrating the brightness. Figure that if they say 30 lumens, it's assuredly more, and there's no way it's less than 30.
That said, I had a KL1 head for a brief time (used with an E1 body, L4 body, and 3.7V li-ion rechargables). "Outdoorsman" is a good name, because outdoors, it works great. The beam penetrates nicely, and the goofy, square beam isn't as noticeable. Indoors however, the tight, no-spill beam sucks. For indoor illumination, floods are far better, or at least a beam with some side-spill. Which the E1L/E2L doesn't have much of. I normally prefer single-cell flashlights for pocket carry, but in the case of the E1L or E2L, I'd prefer the E2L because the clip placement makes the E1L very bezel-heavy. About half the flashlight is in the pocket, half is sticking out (and it's the big, heavier half). Which is a recipe for it falling out and getting dinged up or lost. I'd prefer an L4 over either myself, which I'd mod with an aftermarket 2 stage tail cap (which unfortunately are hard to come by these days). Even without that mod, I find the L4 beam more useful than the KL1 beam, even outdoors (where the L4 doesn't throw as far). It's more expensive, but that's relative, as cheaper stuff is expensive if it's not as useful. Or, I'd mod the KL1 head with a McGizmo McR-20 reflector and a flat lens (a fairly simple mod, if you can crack open the head--which can be difficult), which gives you a more traditional beam with a spot and sidespill.
Comparing small flashlights like Surefires to large ones like Maglites can be deceiving. The difference is the reflector size. In an E2 sized flashlight, you have a comparatively small and inefficient reflector. So when Surefire says on their package "4x as bright as a big 2D flashlight", technically, lumen-wise, they're correct. However, the large reflector on a Mag collects and concentrates more light and focuses it better. The result is that even a dim, dead, yellow-brown Maglite beam will outthrow the small Surefire with new batteries. By far. So what you need to realize is that upclose, the Surefire will outperform and outhandle a big Maglite; you'll wonder why you ever bothered with such a large, unwieldy hunk of junk. However, if you expect to be lighting up people's faces from 100 yards away, you're out of luck. There's simply no substitute (yet, not even the TIR optics) for a big honkin' reflector. You'll either want a Surefire with a Turbohead (like M3T, M4, or M6), or you could try an LED drop-in module in Maglite.
If you want a small, daily carry personal flashlight, I'd recommend something like the HDS EDC series, particularly the Ultimate 60 line. This flashlight does more with 1 CR123A cell (including rechargables) than pretty much every other flashlight made. The biggest disadvantage with the Surefire E2L is that it's only 1 level. The L1 has 2 stages, but can't use rechargables. The L2 can use rechargables, but performance is seriously shortened (runtime-wise), and it's rather long. The HDS Ultimate 60 can change instantly between 4 different levels, user programmable from 20 different levels. Multiple (at least 2) brightness levels is immensely useful. Low brightness for battery conservation, or so you don't blind yourself using it up close or when your vision is night-adjusted. Medium levels for longer runtime when full brightness isn't needed, then the full blast High level when you need it. I have a tricked out HDS U60XRGT that I take with my everywhere I go.
If I were to choose a 2 cell flashlight for daily carry, I'd go with my Surefire A2 Aviator. It has 3 small LEDs for low-light use, and a very nice incandescent beam on high (surefire rates it at 50 lumens, but it's more like 80). It's also the only incandescent light that's regulated, meaning that until the batteries completely die, it doesn't dim and yellow-out. The only bummer with the A2 is that rechargables aren't an option.
I personally don't care for Surefire's other incandescent flashlights because rechargables aren't easy to use (possible, but not recommended to anybody but expert users who don't mind occasional failure) and they're not regulated. For a 2 cell sized (meaning 2x CR123As) incandescent flashlight, I'd go with a Streamlight Strion. Not regulated in the technical sense (meaning circuits and such), but it uses li-ion rechargeables which have a flatter discharge curve than non-rechargeable lithium primaries, which means it dims less over time. But, there's no pocket clip (I NEED a pocket clip; I HATE sheath carry), and the body isn't HAIII anodized.
Since you're looking at the E2L, I'm trying to keep my suggestions inline with that price range. If you can spend more, look into custom lights like the McGizmo McLux PD III or 27L, or the new McCree A19 XR-E (go to candlepowerforums.com for info on these). We're well over the $200 range, but these lights are way beyond the production line stuff like Surefires.
