SUREFIRE E1e FLASHLIGHT

SureFire E1e, retail $78.00 (www.surefire.com)
Manufactured by SureFire (www.surefire.com)
Last updated 03-28-07




SureFire is well-known for making the toughest and brightest personal and tactical lights in the world, and the E1e will not disappoint you.

This particular SureFire E1e is autographed by PK himself, and as such, is somewhat special. So I might not abuse it quite as harshly as I've abused other SureFire products for this website sakes. It'll still be abused during the testing period, but I don't want to trash the part with PK's autograph on it (the bezel, or head, as shown in the photograph directly above).

The E1e has a Type III hard anodized aluminum body, which holds a SureFire MN01 lamp assembly at the bottom of a stippled (texturised) reflector.
A single CR123A lithium cell in the body powers that lamp.


SIZE



The E1e comes almost ready to use. Just remove it and its included battery from the plastic package (no tools or sharp instruments are necessary here), install the battery (see directly below), and then you can go to town.

For momentary or signalling mode, press and hold the rubberised tailcap button in. Release the tailcap to turn the E1e back off.

For continuous mode, turn the tailcap clockwise (as if tightening it). This turns the E1e on, and it will stay on unattended.
Turn the tailcap counterclockwise (as if loosening it) to turn the E1e off.

The E1e is equipped with a LOTC (Lock Out TailCap) feature. To engage the LOTC, find the two witness marks (dimples machined into the barrel and tailcap), and, using these witness marks as a guide, unscrew the tailcap one full turn from the "on" position, so that these marks line up. You may need to unscrew it 1 1/4 turns or so for this to occur. The E1e will not turn on in this condition, no matter what presses against the tailcap button during storage or transport.

Screw the tailcap back in 1 to 1 1/4 turns to resume normal use.



To change the battery in the E1e, unscrew and remove the bezel (head), and set it aside.

Tip the used CR123A cell out of the barrel and into your hand, and dispose of or recycle it as you see fit.

Insert a new CR123A cell into the barrel, flat-end (-) negative first. The button-end of the battery should be visible.

Screw the bezel back on, and there, that's it.

Current consumption measures 803mA on the SF123A (the SureFire brand CR123A cell in the predominantly red covering) it was supplied with.

Since this is an incandescent flashlight, sooner or later you'll need to change the bulb.

To do that, unscrew and remove the bezel, and tap it open-end first gently against a relatively soft object like a desktop, until the burnt out lamp assembly falls out. Place a new MN01 xenon-halogen lamp assembly, bulb-first, into the bezel, and press in on it until it's completely seated. Finally, screw the bezel back on your E1e's barrel.

Properly dispose of the burnt out lamp assembly. Do not dispose of by flushing, and don't stomp on it unless you like cleaning broken glass off the floor.




Picture of the business-end of the E1e, showing the lamp, the textured reflector, and the lightly scalloped bezel.

Since this is a very special E1e, I won't be punishing it to the degree that I punish most other flashlights. That said, let's take care of that water-resistance test right now...

When the tailcap was removed and that dreadful suction test was performed, no air was admitted through or around the bezel. An O-ring is present on the barrel, where it will engage with the bezel when the bezel is screwed down. I sucked on it fairly hard too; harder than I suck on many other flashlights. An O-ring is present on the barrel that engages with the tailcap. So I suctioned the bezel-end too, and no leakage was detected at the tailcap. It should be weatherproof and waterproof (which is more watertight than weather- and water-resistant) and shouldn't leak if you use it in rain or snow; and shallow-water landings shouldn't kill it either.

I can't do the smack test now because the table hosting the steel rod used for that test is currently hosting a test on another product in progress. Smacking the E1e now would very likely queer the test, so I'll have to wait.

(Edit 09-22-04): I did that smack test. Ten whacks against a 30" steel rod (five against the tailcap, and five against the bezel), and no damage was detected, and no electrical malfunctions were detected. The only possible anomality I can see is that the bulb filament was knocked very slightly off to one side, so the beam isn't *perfectly* round any more. But all incandescent flashlights are prone to this, so it was not entirely unexpected, and no points off in my evaluation.

The E1e is extremely well-made and engineered. The same SureFire quality you've come to expect from their personal and tactical lights is built into this product. The exterior finish is a Type 3 hard anodize ("HA-III" as us flashaholics know it), and there's a gold colored material (Chemcoat) inside the barrel to protect it against corrosion from water or bad battery juice.

One of the things I noticed quickly is that the E1e has a "scalloped" bezel, so if the light is set face-down while it's on, some light still escapes and you can easily tell it's still turned on, even if you set it down on a completely flat surface like a tabletop or countertop. No more ruined and wasted batteries from your setting the light down and not realising it's still on.
(Yes, I really did that - to a SureFire KL2 if I remember right!)

There is knurling (diamond-shaped texturising) along the barrel and on the tailcap; this helps aid in retention (the ability to hold the flashlight when your hands are cold, wet, or oily). This knurling is somewhat aggressive (sharp), so there is a very slight possibility it could eventually cut holes in your pockets if it's carried that way for an extended period. I don't think this will happen, but it's a remote possibility. Carrying it in your pocket once in awhile is safe, so you need not be worried if you only carry it this way on occasion.

The E1e comes equipped with a bezel-up clip, which you can use to affix the E1e to a pocket, backpack strap, belt, or similar location. I believe this clip can be removed if necessary, but I don't know how to do it, so please do not ask.



Beam photo at ~12".
Measures 622cd with a Meterman LM631 light meter.
The reflector is textured, giving a very smooth beam to the L6.

This lamp assembly is rated for 15 lumens, but since I am not
equipped to measure light in lumens, I cannot verify this.





TEST NOTES:
Sample of the SureFire E1e was won as part of a raffle on Candlepower Forums on 09-07-04, and was received on the afternoon of 09-21-04.

I also received a SureFire L2, a SureFire E2D, and a special bag (all autographed by PK) with a lot of pockets and loops inside for carrying flashlights.


UPDATE: 04-29-05
SureFire has confirmed that all current SureFire lights should be waterproof to about 33 feet/10 meters. Some evaluations were posted before Surefire made the affirmation that their lights were watertight to 1 atmosphere depth. Any new SureFire lights you purchase now should be considered waterproof to 33' (10M).


UPDATE: 07-08-06
As a "thank you", a long-time fan of this website sent me an E1e among several other items (an InReTECH HELIOS, seven "3-to-D" battery adapters, and some incandescent flashlight blubs along with the E1e), so it's only fair that this E1e make the big time - being published on this web page!!!




Photograph of this E1e flashlight.
Note that this version is "gunmetal grey" in color, not "natural".


Spectrographic plot
Spectrometer plot of the incandescent bulb in this flashlight.
Ocean Optics USB2000 Spectrometer on loan from TWO-CUBED.


UPDATE: 03-28-07
ProMetric analysis
Beam cross-sectional analysis.
Image made using the ProMetric System by Radiant Imaging.



PROS:



CONS:



    MANUFACTURER: SureFire
    PRODUCT TYPE: Tactical handheld flashlight
    LAMP TYPE: Xenon-filled incandescent lamp
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: Medium spot with dimmer corona
    SWITCH TYPE: Tailcap push momentary turn on/off
    BEZEL: Lightly scalloped; pyrex glass window protects bulb and reflector
    BATTERY: 1xCR123A cell
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 803mA
    WATER RESISTANT: Yes
    SUBMERSIBLE: Unknown/TBA
    ACCESSORIES: 1xCR123A cell
    SIZE: 3.4" L, 1" D
    WARRANTY: Lifetime, except batteries and bulbs

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating





SureFire E1e Flashlight * www.surefire.com






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