SUREFIRE KL2
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SureFire KL2, retail $TBA (http://www.surefire.com)
Manufactured by SureFire (http://www.surefire.com)
Last updated 09-16-13




The KL2 is SureFire's new 19-LED replacement bezel for your existing SureFire M-series 2- or 3- cell combat light. SureFire is well-known for making the toughest and brightest personal and tactical lights in the world, and the new KL2 lives up to their reputation.



The sturdy and robust KL2 bezel screws onto your existing M-series 2 cell or 3 cell Combatlight body. I was provided with an M3 body to evaluate the unit with. The KL2 produces a softer, slightly wider-angle beam than the KL1 or KL3.


SIZE:



Using the KL2 is simple. All you do is unscrew the bezel & lamp assembly off your M- series 2- or 3- cell light, and screw the KL2 bezel on. The switching mechanism will depend on what type and vintage of light you have; but you will always have a choice of momentary operation by pressing the rubber button on the tailcap, or continuous burning by twisting the tailcap in clockwise. Some models also feature a lock-out tailcap; but otherwise function as above.

The KL2 does not in any way modify your original light, so you are free to switch back to the regular bezel & lamp assembly of your choice any time you wish.



Change the batteries in your KL2-equipped light the same way you always did: either unscrew & remove the KL2 bezel, change the batteries, (button (+) end facing up) and screw the KL2 back in place, or remove the tailcap switch and rear-feed that sucker. When rear-feeding, be sure to aim the batteries so the button (+) end goes in first.




Battery discharge analyses.
The upper chart was hand-plotted on the fly; the lower chart was made by an auto-ranging plotter later on.

As you can see by the charts, the KL2 provides about an hour and a half of bright, reasonably regulated light, then drops like it just got its head slammed in the toilet seat. However, it smokes all other 19-LED lights currently available, both in size and in sheer intensity.


The KL2 (right) wasting a Tektite Expedition 1900 (left).

As you might have figured out, I'll take that hour and a half any day when I really need that extra kick.

Once it drops off, it continues to emit VERY usable levels of light for many hours, most of those hours spent well above the level of light provided by a regular 4-LED light like the Trek-4 or the Lightwave 2000.



Like the other KL products, the KL2 is extremely well-made and engineered. The same SureFire quality you've come to expect from their personal and tactical lights is built into the KL2. The finish is a type 3 hard anodize, just like the rest of the SureFire light you installed it on.

A Pyrex window protects the 19 screaming white Nichia LEDs from scratches and impacts, and keeps them sparkling clean no matter what you put the flashlight through. The LEDs themselves are mounted in individual cells in a black plastic frame; this keeps them from getting whacked out of alignment when the light is dropped or hits something hard.

The beam produced by the KL2 is softer and slightly wider than the KL1 or KL3. There is very little in the way of blue coloration at the center, and the beam has a slightly elliptical shape to it. The beam fades softly all the way to extinction. The LEDs are 20° Nichias, and the soft corona extends about another 20° beyond that. As I have nothing to measure beam angles directly, you'll have to wait until I run the KL2 through the beam profile analyzer before exact figures will be known.

I'm not exactly sure what kind of circuitry is inside the KL2. It does show characteristics of regulation, but I can't identify the falloff curve once it drops out of regulation. From the time you turn it on, its output actually increases for the whole 90 minutes it stays in regulation; then it rather quickly begins to drop off in a hyperbolic discharge curve after that.


Since I don't have a gun, here I show the SureFire KL2 being used in a "combat grip" with a can of Raid instead, shooting down those awful little black fungus gnats that seem to appear in large numbers in Seattle during July, August, and September.
This photograph was taken in mid-September 2002, about one and a half months after I received the SureFire KLx bezels for testing.



Beam photo.

Came in at 174,000mcd, but remember this light has a significantly wider angle and no central hotspot like the KL1 and KL3 have. So it will measure lower on instruments. Testing showed its total emitted light was actually higher than the other two KL bezels.
Current consumption is 670 milliamps in a 3-cell light like the Millennium M3 Combatlight.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of the LEDs in this flashlight.


Spectrographic plot
Same as above; newer spectrometer software & settings used.



Spectrographic analysis of the LEDs in this flashlight; yet newer spectrometer software & settings used.



Spectrographic analysis of the LEDs in this flashlight; spectrometer's response narrowed to a band between 430nm and 480nm to pinpoint native emission peak wavelength, which is 452.537nm.



Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of the LEDs in this flashlight; newest (01-13-13) spectrometer software settings used.


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of the LEDs in this flashlight; newest (01-13-13) spectrometer software settings used Spectrometer's response narrowed to a band between 455nm and 465nm to pinpoint native emission peak wavelength, which is 457.170nm.

The raw spectrometer data (tab-delimited that can be loaded into Excel) is at http://ledmuseum.candlepower.us/43/kl2.txt

USB2000 Spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.


ProMetric analysis
Beam cross-sectional analysis.
Image made using the ProMetric System by Radiant Imaging.




TEST NOTES:
Evaluation units were tested in August 2002 just prior to their commercialisation with detailed reports sent to SureFire before this page was constructed. Many thanks to PK at SureFire.




UPDATE: 09-18-02
This page is just now being written, and more data (including some info on the M3 body itself) will be added in the coming days. However, I have already tested this product for about one month and have already assigned a final product rating, so you can buy with confidence.


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).


PROS:
Insanely bright; it smokes all other 19-LED lights available.
Excellent construction & engineering
Very good beam quality


NEUTRAL:
Several LEDs appear slightly misaligned; I was told this occured during part of the manufacturing process and should be expected. Does not significantly detract from beam quality.
Slight body color mismatch - however this is normal with the HA-3 process, and will not figure into the rating.


CONS:
Runtime at full regulation is a bit on the short side.



    MANUFACTURER: SureFire
    PRODUCT TYPE: LED Bezel for SureFire lights
    LAMP TYPE: LED, 5mm
    No. OF LAMPS: 19
    BEAM TYPE: Slightly elliptical, smooth beam with minimal hot spot and soft fall-off
    SWITCH TYPE: Varies depending on the light you install it in
    BEZEL: Pyrex lens with LEDs positioned directly beneath
    BATTERY: 2x or 3x CR123A Lithium Photo Battery
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 670mA at 9 volts
    WATER RESISTANT: Yes (when installed on a flashlight)
    SUBMERSIBLE: Yes, to shallow depths at minimum (when installed on a flashlight)
    ACCESSORIES: None that I'm aware of
    WARRANTY: Lifetime

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star RatingStar Rating







SureFire KL2 * WWW.SUREFIRE.COM






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