Comments about SureFire E1L Outdoorsman LED Flashlight:

It's really a connoisseur's light. Not everyone will appreciate it for the price, but there are reasons to pay the money: it's one of the best you can buy. I usually keep this in my car for emergencies, but it ends up in the backcountry with me when I don't want something bigger. It's relatively bright, very compact (only about as long as my palm is wide) and starts on low setting to save batteries. Click off and on again and it turns on the high setting. The battery is a single lithium 123 that has a 10-year shelf life, which is why I bought it. It will always be ready in an emergency, where alkalines will self-discharge. It is very sturdy, made of machined aluminum and has a pyrex window that doesn't get all scratched up and scatter light like most lights. The bezel is slightly crenelated, not quite a strike bezel, but it lets light "leak" out if it's placed on end to let you know it's on. It's solid enough to be used as a weapon, though. You can lock it off by unscrewing the tail cap a turn. It's supposed to clip to a hat to act as a head light, but I don't wear baseball caps, especially at night. I have a lot of different lights by different makers and this one is one of the most useful. I basically never use the mini mag lights anymore after buying this. I still use the Princeton Tec lights, especially around water or for marine use, but their light is splotchy and uneven in comparison. The Surefires have the most even, defect free light of any maker I've tried. The only thing the E1E doesn't have is tactical brightness, but that's a conscious choice with this light. The E1B is similar but brighter, but at the cost of run time. If I need that kind of brightness, I carry something with two or three batteries like a Surefire G2, 6PX, or the Innova Inforce, Streamlight Scorpion or whatever. However, those lights are really in a different class. For most people, the E1L's light is significantly brighter and more useful than what they are used to from something this small, and it would make a good introduction to the recent crop of lithium-powered LED wonder lights. While not as bright as an extreme tactical light, it is really more useful for the outdoorsman or backpacker.