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Reviews > Lighting > Flashlights - LED > SureFire L1 LumaMax > Chuck Carnes > Long Term ReportSUREFIRE
L1 LUMAMAX  Long Term Report by Chuck Carnes Report Date: September 6, 2006
Name: Chuck Carnes Age: 36 Gender: Male Height: 6 ft. 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 175 lb (79 kg) E-mail address: ctcarnes1(at)yahoo(dot)com City, State, Country: Greenville, South Carolina USA
I love the outdoors – I’ve spent time camping in the outdoors since I was born, and have been actively hiking and backpacking since then. I consider myself a lightweight hiker, usually carrying 20 – 30 pounds (11-13 kg) for hikes up to a week in length. I hike at an easy pace, averaging 2 mph (3 kph). I am a one-man tent camper for now. I like to carry a single trekking pole when I hike to help relieve stress to my legs and knees. I like to get out on the trail as often as I can.
 Manufacturer: Surefire Model: L1 Lumamax Year of manufacture: 2006 URL: http://www.surefire.com Listed Weight: 2.9 oz (82 g) (not sure what this includes) Actual Weight: 3.5 oz (99 g) (flashlight and battery) Listed Size: 4.6 in (11.6 cm) long Actual Size: 5 in (12 cm) long (from front edge of lens to end of tailcap) Max. Output: 1.1 lumens / 22 lumens (low / high settings) Runtime: 90 hours / 4 hours (low / high selections) Battery: One 123A Lithium MSRP: $135.00 USD Product Description (taken from the web site): Extremely compact (shirt pocket size) dual-output LED flashlight for backpacking and general use. Uses a virtually indestructible power-regulated light-emitting diode (LED) light source plus a two-stage tailcap switch for instant selection of desired output level — extremely long-runtime low beam for close-up work or a long runtime high beam with 1.5 times the light of a big 2-D cell flashlight. Small size, extended runtime, high output, and 10-year battery shelf life also make it perfect for disaster preparedness kits, and an excellent everyday-carry light. Product Features (taken from the web site):
Trip #3: Location: Shinning Rock, N.C. Elevation: 6,000 ft (1,829 m) - 6,500 ft (1,981 m) Temperature: 95-102 F (35-38 C) day, 85-90 F (29-32 C) night Weather Conditions: Dry and hot in the day and night. Afternoon rain showers. Duration of Trip: 2 days, 1 night Length of Trip: 8 miles (12 km) Approximate Burn Time (plus/minus): 50-60 minutes total (not continuous most of the time, varying times of high/low on and off) Report: I used the Surefire on this trip doing around the camp stuff and finding my way to the potty area. There was nothing special that I noticed about the light on this trip that would cause me to write anything different than what I have already mentioned in my Field Report. The light worked as expected. Trip #4: Location: Mount Mitchell, N.C. Elevation: 6,400 ft (1,951 m) - 6,750 ft (2,057 m) Temperature: 88-94 F (31-34 C) day, 75-80 F (23-26 C) night Weather Conditions: Dry and cool with slight breeze during the day. Cool at night. No rain. Duration of Trip: 3 days, 2 nights Length of Trip: 6 miles (9 km) total Approximate Burn Time (plus/minus): 3-3.5 hours (not continuous most of the time, varying times of high/low on and off) Report: Thanks to my kids, they gave this light a good work out. After it got dark, they realized they liked my Surefire a lot better than their kids flashlight. The burn time on this trip was quite a bit with them taking turns with it and shinning it on every moving thing in the woods. We were able to take a midnight stroll on a nearby trail after a rain shower. They used their lights and I used the Surefire. I walked behind them and was able to light the path about 20-30 ft (6-9 m) in front of them; over powering the lights they were using which gave me a sense of safety while I was with them. It was quite difficult to hold and read to them while lying on my back in the tent but I was able to clip it to my hat bill for it to become hands free.
The following are questions that were proposed in my Initial Report. The answers that are in red are from my Field Report and the answers that are in blue are for this Long Term Report. * How well do I like having to hold the light instead of it being on my head like a headlamp? So far I really like the flashlight and all of it's features, Since I am able to clip it to my baseball cap, I like it even better. There were times during my Long Term Report (refered to as LTR from here on out) that I would have liked to have a hands free light but I didn't have anywhere or anything to clip the flashlight to. The only place was to stick it in my mouth and that wasn't too tasteful. * Can the pocket clip be clipped on a baseball cap? Yes, as mentioned above. * Is it too heavy for a floppy hat? I have not used it on a floppy hat yet. I used the light on a floppy hat during the LTR and it was to heavy for the brim of the hat. It did work on the hat, however, when reading a book because the light drooped and shone right on the pages. * How comfortably does it fit in my hand? Very nicely, it's small but big enough to fit in the palm of my hand. * Will the clip be a nuisance on the side of the light? So far it is not. I never found it to be a nuisance. * Can I remove the clip? No * How well does my hand grip the knurled handle when it is wet? Very well, I don't feel like I have to grip it very tightly. * How useful is the lanyard? I have not used the lanyard thus far. I never used it during my LTR. * Can I find the same type of lithium battery at a store? I have had to buy a battery that is not made by Surefire.
Likes:
I truly like the Surefire L1 light. It is very durable and it produces a very nice, clean beam of light. The design of the housing is very well thought out and the quality is certainly obvious when I hold and use this light. My only concern is how well it will make it in the "headlamp" market. The price of this light is a little bit high for a handheld light but the quality is certainly there. At times, I found the light a nuisance to hold when I needed both hands free and I had nowhere to place the light and it still be functional. Thank you Surefire and BGT for giving me this opportunity to test this flashlight. Read more reviews of Surefire gear Read more gear reviews by Chuck Carnes Reviews > Lighting > Flashlights - LED > SureFire L1 LumaMax > Chuck Carnes > Long Term Report | |||||||