SureFire L6 LED
By: Frank Borelli, 2 October 2004
Several months back I reviewed the SureFire KL4 Lumamax LED flashlight. Accustomed to my E2e-HA (hard anodized executive 2-cell), I was pleased with the KL4 because it was so similar in size but offered longer run times and comparable light output. For anyone who hasn't been paying attention to the contemporary flashlight scene, LED bulbs are the answer to several problems and I'm waiting for a company to come out with a whole new design of lights that are ALL LED bulbs. The potential is great and the company that does it will rule the darkness. That said, let's take a look at this L6 LED flashlight - relatively new - from SureFire.
Roughly comparable in size to the M3, Z3 or C3 SureFire flashlights, the L6 is a 3-cell flashlight with an LED bulb. The body of the flashlight is crafted from aerospace grade aluminum and hard anodized like many of SureFire's previous designs. That the SureFire light take a fair amount of abuse has never been argued. The challenge they've had in the past is that the tungsten bulbs could be tested thoroughly in the factory and then break inexplicably in the field. I had this problem originally with my shotgun foregrip (SF-918FA) bulb. A brand new tungsten bulb blew after two shots out of the shotgun. SureFire, true to their usual customer service outlook, immediately sent me replacement bulbs. While that solves the problem after the fact, it does little good for the combat soldier in a high risk environment, or a law enforcement officer searching a dark structure for a wanted felon. The answer? Find a more stable bulb that is more resistant to abuse and more likely to perform long-term AFTER testing. Enter the LED...
LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. It is essentially a closed circuit that glows when charged (that's putting it REAL simply). The secret to getting useful light out of a flashlight that incorporates an LED bulb is three-fold:
1 - you have to shape the reflector behind the LED so that the light produced is projected sufficiently;
2 - you have to provide a sufficient amount of power to the LED bulb to get it to deliver that useable amount of light, and
3 - you have to control the power flow in such a way as to provide enough to the LED bulb but not waste what the batteries have stored and are capable of feeding.
The good news about any LED bulb is that it doesn't die out as fast as tungsten bulbs do. My E2e-HA will go from "useable light" to "mildly yellow" to "dead" in less than five minutes. Sure, I can see the light reducing as the battery levels start to die, but the end result is, "What happened? I had a working light in my hand and now I have a soft candle glow..." A few seconds after that you end up with a paperweight until you replace the batteries. With an LED bulb, at least the bulb doesn't completely die out as the batteries die. It drops off noticeably from full power to about 20% strength and then it hangs at the 20% strength for hours. That's a whole lot better than having a dead flashlight in your hand. If nothing else, it's usually enough to navigate yourself back away from the risk situation you were in the middle of entering.
SureFire's promotional material on the L6 says that it puts out 65 lumens of light. That's about the equivalent of the Z2, or G2 Nitrolon. Why is it worth it to carry a bigger flashlight for the same amount of light output? See all of the above explanation. The Z2 and/or G2 Nitrolon really only puts out that equivalent light for about 20 minutes of steady run time and then it starts to drop off. The L6 (according to SureFire) can put out that light for four hours - and bear in mind that it doesn't simply die after that: you still get the reduced amounts of light.
As with most of SureFire's lights now, the L6 has a "click on / click off" tailcap that is also touch-activated. Want a blink? Touch the tailcap briefly. Want the light on? Push a little harder ('til it clicks). Want it back off? Click it again. With a slight counter-clockwise twist of the tailcap, you can disengage it so that the light cannot be turned on unless you turn the tailcap back.
The body of the L6 is machined just like most of SureFire's other lights so that there is raised checkering on the body that enhances grip. What would really be useful would be a redesigned grip that either helps fill your palm better (without getting out of hand) or provides an expanded end / tailcap that swells outside the back of your hand when gripped.
Is there a cost benefit to buying the L6? Yes and no. The suggested retail cost is $265.00. That is significantly more than the SureFire flashlights that provide similar light outputs. However, the amount of money you'll spend on batteries and replacement bulbs is much less. With the LED bulb, the batteries in your L6 should last up to 400% longer than those in a tungsten-bulb flashlight and over the course of years that certainly would add up.
What might be a more cost effective solution for many warriors - especially those who already own a SureFire M3 or M4, you could purchase the KL6 LED conversion head. By installing the KL6 conversion head onto your M3 or M4 flashlight body, you effectively change it into an LED flashlight allowing you to take advantage of the energy efficiency. But don't misunderstand: your M3 produces either 125 or 225 lumens of light depending on which bulb you have in it. Your M4 produces either 200 or 350 lumens of light. What you're trading is a significant reduction in light output (65 lumens) for an extended run time. Only you - as you evaluate your lighting needs for each mission - can determine whether or not that is an acceptable trade off.
Is the L6 a good flashlight? Yes it is. I'm still keeping my eyes open though... technology progresses every day and I keep waiting for that "magic" flashlight: one that uses an LED bulb; controls power flow; fills my grip better and produces combat-useful levels of light. When I find such a light, I will IMMEDIATELY let you know.
For more information on the L6, visit SureFire online.
By: Frank Borelli, 2 October 2004
Several months back I reviewed the SureFire KL4 Lumamax LED flashlight. Accustomed to my E2e-HA (hard anodized executive 2-cell), I was pleased with the KL4 because it was so similar in size but offered longer run times and comparable light output. For anyone who hasn't been paying attention to the contemporary flashlight scene, LED bulbs are the answer to several problems and I'm waiting for a company to come out with a whole new design of lights that are ALL LED bulbs. The potential is great and the company that does it will rule the darkness. That said, let's take a look at this L6 LED flashlight - relatively new - from SureFire.
Roughly comparable in size to the M3, Z3 or C3 SureFire flashlights, the L6 is a 3-cell flashlight with an LED bulb. The body of the flashlight is crafted from aerospace grade aluminum and hard anodized like many of SureFire's previous designs. That the SureFire light take a fair amount of abuse has never been argued. The challenge they've had in the past is that the tungsten bulbs could be tested thoroughly in the factory and then break inexplicably in the field. I had this problem originally with my shotgun foregrip (SF-918FA) bulb. A brand new tungsten bulb blew after two shots out of the shotgun. SureFire, true to their usual customer service outlook, immediately sent me replacement bulbs. While that solves the problem after the fact, it does little good for the combat soldier in a high risk environment, or a law enforcement officer searching a dark structure for a wanted felon. The answer? Find a more stable bulb that is more resistant to abuse and more likely to perform long-term AFTER testing. Enter the LED...
LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. It is essentially a closed circuit that glows when charged (that's putting it REAL simply). The secret to getting useful light out of a flashlight that incorporates an LED bulb is three-fold:
1 - you have to shape the reflector behind the LED so that the light produced is projected sufficiently;
2 - you have to provide a sufficient amount of power to the LED bulb to get it to deliver that useable amount of light, and
3 - you have to control the power flow in such a way as to provide enough to the LED bulb but not waste what the batteries have stored and are capable of feeding.
The good news about any LED bulb is that it doesn't die out as fast as tungsten bulbs do. My E2e-HA will go from "useable light" to "mildly yellow" to "dead" in less than five minutes. Sure, I can see the light reducing as the battery levels start to die, but the end result is, "What happened? I had a working light in my hand and now I have a soft candle glow..." A few seconds after that you end up with a paperweight until you replace the batteries. With an LED bulb, at least the bulb doesn't completely die out as the batteries die. It drops off noticeably from full power to about 20% strength and then it hangs at the 20% strength for hours. That's a whole lot better than having a dead flashlight in your hand. If nothing else, it's usually enough to navigate yourself back away from the risk situation you were in the middle of entering.
SureFire's promotional material on the L6 says that it puts out 65 lumens of light. That's about the equivalent of the Z2, or G2 Nitrolon. Why is it worth it to carry a bigger flashlight for the same amount of light output? See all of the above explanation. The Z2 and/or G2 Nitrolon really only puts out that equivalent light for about 20 minutes of steady run time and then it starts to drop off. The L6 (according to SureFire) can put out that light for four hours - and bear in mind that it doesn't simply die after that: you still get the reduced amounts of light.
As with most of SureFire's lights now, the L6 has a "click on / click off" tailcap that is also touch-activated. Want a blink? Touch the tailcap briefly. Want the light on? Push a little harder ('til it clicks). Want it back off? Click it again. With a slight counter-clockwise twist of the tailcap, you can disengage it so that the light cannot be turned on unless you turn the tailcap back.
The body of the L6 is machined just like most of SureFire's other lights so that there is raised checkering on the body that enhances grip. What would really be useful would be a redesigned grip that either helps fill your palm better (without getting out of hand) or provides an expanded end / tailcap that swells outside the back of your hand when gripped.
Is there a cost benefit to buying the L6? Yes and no. The suggested retail cost is $265.00. That is significantly more than the SureFire flashlights that provide similar light outputs. However, the amount of money you'll spend on batteries and replacement bulbs is much less. With the LED bulb, the batteries in your L6 should last up to 400% longer than those in a tungsten-bulb flashlight and over the course of years that certainly would add up.
What might be a more cost effective solution for many warriors - especially those who already own a SureFire M3 or M4, you could purchase the KL6 LED conversion head. By installing the KL6 conversion head onto your M3 or M4 flashlight body, you effectively change it into an LED flashlight allowing you to take advantage of the energy efficiency. But don't misunderstand: your M3 produces either 125 or 225 lumens of light depending on which bulb you have in it. Your M4 produces either 200 or 350 lumens of light. What you're trading is a significant reduction in light output (65 lumens) for an extended run time. Only you - as you evaluate your lighting needs for each mission - can determine whether or not that is an acceptable trade off.
Is the L6 a good flashlight? Yes it is. I'm still keeping my eyes open though... technology progresses every day and I keep waiting for that "magic" flashlight: one that uses an LED bulb; controls power flow; fills my grip better and produces combat-useful levels of light. When I find such a light, I will IMMEDIATELY let you know.
For more information on the L6, visit SureFire online.
