SureFire, LLC, manufacturer of high-end illumination tools and tactical products, has released a new model to its popular Outdoorsman series of flashlights. Like other members of the Outdoorsman family, the new E2L AA features a dual-output, solid-state LED emitter; tailcap switching; a TIR lens, and a weather-resistant aerospace aluminum body that’s been Mil-Spec hard anodized. It differs, however, in its power source. The E2L AA, as its name suggests, runs on either two AA lithium or AA alkaline batteries-a first for SureFire.
The progression of LED technology has finally led to a reasonable output/runtime combination that measured up to SureFire standards. For nearly twenty years, SureFire was the only flashlight manufacturer to use lithium 123A batteries, the only sufficient compact power source to run the high-output incandescent lamps that made SureFire famous. However, 123A batteries aren’t as cheap as AA and are harder to find. AA batteries are still not as powerful as the 123A so the E2L AA Outdoorsman was designed primarily for outdoor use, but it’s built to the same standards as its battle-proven brothers.
Of course, a choice of batteries is not the only factor that makes the E2L AA a great fit for the Great Outdoors. Its power-regulated LED generates two output levels: 80 lumens of light on high (four times the light of a typical two-D-cell flashlight), perfect for searching or signaling, or three lumens on low, enough light for navigating, reading a map, or other close-range tasks without compromising night-adapted vision. The flashlight runs for nine hours on a set of AA lithium batteries at its high setting and 60 hours at its low setting, allowing a user to better manage runtime by switching between the two levels as needed. A Total Internal Reflection (TIR) lens gathers the solid-state LED’s light and shapes it into a versatile beam with plenty of reach and enough surround light to accommodate peripheral vision. And to protect the E2L AA from the elements, its Mil-Spec hard-anodized aerospace aluminum body is sealed with O-rings and gaskets to keep out moisture and dirt.
The E2L AA retails for $159 and is available now.
For more information visit http://www.surefire.com