Long Term Report

Long Term Report - SureFire L1 Lumamax

Name: David Sowards-Emmerd
Age: 29
Gender: Male
Height: 5' 8'' (1.73 m)
Weight: 155 lb (70 kg)
Email Address: drunken_marmotATyahooDOTcom
Los Altos, California, USA
August 29, 2006

Backpacking Background:

I generally take weekend (1 night) trips, and occasionally take 3-4 day trips. Most of my backpacking is at moderate altitude, 6,000'-12,000' (1,800-3,650 m), in conditions ranging from dry desert to hail/heavy snow in the mountains. In winter and spring I split time between Southern California (SoCal) deserts and snowshoeing/skiing/snowcamping in the Sierra/Cascades. Summer and fall I tend to stick to the high country.

Manufacturer's Website: www.surefire.com
MSRP: $135 US

Manufacturer's Specifications: (from website)
Weight: 2.9 oz (82 g)
Length: 4.6'' (11.7 cm)

Specifications (as measured by tester):
Lanyard Weight: 0.5 oz (14 g)
Flashlight Weight (without battery): 2.7 oz (77 g)
Tailcap Weight: 0.5 oz (13 g)
LED Head Weight: 1.0 oz (28 g)
Central Body Weight: 1.3 oz (36 g)
Battery Weight: 0.6 oz (16 g)
Flashlight Length: 5.0'' (12.7 cm)
Lanyard Length (end-to-end): 18'' (46 cm)

Product Description:

The SureFire L1 is a compact, single-cell LED flashlight with an anodized aluminum body. The L1 has a very narrow and well-shaped beam and has two brightness settings. For more details on the L1, see my Initial Report.

Field Testing:

For details of my first few months of use, see my Field Report.

Continued Field Testing:

I've carried the L1 on several more backpacking and car-camping trips during the final phase of testing. Most of the use was while caving at Lava Beds National Monument, where I would have the light on high beam for periods ranging from 15 to 30 minutes depending on the cave. On the high setting, I definitely could have used more light in the caves. Additionally, using the lanyard as a headband didn't work very well and a headlamp would have been more appropriate. However, the L1 was very sturdy, and I frequently had most of my body weight on it (L1 between me and lava) when crawling around the areas with very low ceilings. Additionally, I used the L1 around camp on backpacking trips to Emigrant Wilderness, Desolation Wilderness, and John Muir Wilderness (Stanislaus, Eldorado, and Sierra National Forest respectively, all in California). Temperatures during use varied from around 40 F (4 C) to around 95 F (35 C), with most of the use being at the lower end when caving or after sunset. I didn't notice any difference in behaviour of the L1 at different temperatures. Elevations during the backpacking and car-camping trips ranged from around 4,000'-9,000' (1,200-2,700 m).

Also, as I forgot to mention in my Field Report, I have carried the L1 either on my keychain, or clipped to my pocket a couple days a week on average when not backpacking.

More Observations:

Battery Life:
So far, I've only thoroughly used up one battery, but other than when caving, use has been sporadic. One thing I don't like about the circuitry of this light is that once the battery is worn down a ways, the low power option isn't an option any more. That is, it only turns on in the high beam mode, and goes on and off even in that mode. With low batteries like this, if the flashlight is turned off from high mode, it can't be turned back on for a short period (~10-30 seconds). That is, when turned on again immediately after turning off, no light is produced in either mode. I have run down three batteries and have seen this in all three cases. I would much prefer to have an hour or so of useable light on the low (or dimmer) setting instead of less than reliable light on the high setting.

Wear and Tear:
The L1 doesn't look any worse at this point than it did when I wrote my Field Report.

Conclusions:

Overall, this is just about the perfect little backpacking flashlight for me, so long as I remember to bring the diffuser along. The high and low power settings and narrow and diffuse beam options cover all my normal needs. So far it's been a sturdy little flashlight. My main complaint would be about the issues described above when the battery is getting low.

Continued Use:

I will definitely continue to carry the L1 on most of my backpacking trips, but it will probably be more of a backup since I find a headlamp to be more useful both around camp and on the trail. It will most likely still see some everyday carry and use at home as well.

Read more reviews of Surefire gear
Read more gear reviews by David Sowards-Emmerd

Reviews > Lighting > Flashlights - LED > SureFire L1 LumaMax > David Sowards-Emmerd > Long Term Report

All material on this site is the exclusive property of BackpackGearTest.org.
BackpackGearTest software copyright David Anderson