SureFire E-Series Addicts Unite!

ilikeguns40

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Newer E1B-MV also works with 3.7v 16340. Only lights I'm not certain of are the older sub-200 lumen models like the EB1 backups, E1L Outdoorsman's, and any other older single cell LED lights. Never asked Surefire just for the fact I don't own any
 

Megalamuffin

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If the head says KE1 you are safe. So the E1D is safe to use. I'm not 100% on the older EB1 as the stock output is also much lower. I would email Surefire and just ask to be safe. I've heard people running 3.7v 16340 in the EB1 and it working but I'm not sure on long term if that higher voltage will jeopardize that LED or not

Cool, I'll ask them just for the heck of it. I have those 3v rcr123's that work nicely in the e1d and eb1, but if the e1d could safely use 16340's then I can go unprotected and not have the sudden shut off.

I've been using 16340's for a while in the e1b mv and edcl1-t and they have been good to go. Definitely nice for the mv since that eats up primaries at a stupidly fast rate.
 

Munkel

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Oct 25, 2019
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So I was really wanting to try a Malkoff head but in all the images I had seen they looked really big, was thinking it would be much larger than the SF MV head I had etc. If there is anyone else debating the Malkoff BGV2 head, GET IT! I is ridiculously awesome. Plenty of throw and and flood, smaller than a SF MV head in diameter and within a 1/16 of the same length. Love this thing, only thing that would make it better is if Gene would make a crenelated end for it. So here is a ton of pics to try and show size and my meager collection of 1 cell lights etc.

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chillinn

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I'm very glad, and I would guess everyone else is, too, that you're enjoying your new Malkoff head, Munkel.

But crenellations have a tendency to appear out of no where for no reason. Imagine if all tools, wrenches, pliers, hammers, drivers, whatever, imagine if every single tool in the world had a bottle opener on it. That's sort of how I feel about crenellations. So if there is an E head without crenellations, and there are and they are rare as hens teeth, personally speaking, I'd prefer smooth bezels stay that way and do not become extinct. How cool would it be if crenelated bezels were rare! That would be awesome. And it would make a lot of sense, too. I like it when things make sense.

I'd just like to point out to you now that you never use your crenellations, and if you ever did, you'd probably go to jail, so please, please don't ever use them for their intended purpose.
 
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bykfixer

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The E series began as an "officer's" or "detective's" duty light. Designed to be conspicuous under a suit jacket. Sort of gentleman's tactical flashlight. Key word being tactical.

They evolved into tactical lights for the foot soldier or patrolman. So even the 'executive' had a kubatan device for times when hand to hand combat was required. Now some were still produced exclusively for the leader(s) but the vast majority were not. So what is floating around the market place these days are what remains of those produced with hand to hand combat in mind. Probably 100:1 had the crenalations versus those without. 100,000 with, 1000 without.
 

chillinn

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Thanks bykfixer for helping explain how rare smooth bezels are, and also the stuff about early E. Perhaps you're just explaining the ratio and not suggesting there are only 1000 E2e's out there without crenellations. Because I was under the impression Surefire changed from style to style, yearly or every 2 years or something, until they reached the rounds bodies. I have never seen an Executive sans Elite with crenellations unless they were stuck on the teardrops or smooth Executive heads with a teethy ring. If Surefire had military contracts, then I thought there would be hundreds of thousands of each type out there, mostly in drawers and forgotten, and same with the unpatented 3 flats Executive Elite with smooth bezel, and same each for the one, two, ?three, ?four, etc., patented 3 flats models with smooth bezels, until at some point the rounds bodies were introduced with crenellated bezels. I have no idea how I ever got that impression.

FWIW, tactical just means planned or calculated except, it seems, when used to describe a flashlight, in which case it also means used in conjunction with a firearm. I'm not sure how crenellations give anyone using a flashlight in conjunction with a firearm any advantage. Crenellations, for all intents and purposes, are weapons themselves. They are the teeth or bumps on a club to increase damage in strikes. I don't think there is anyway to know, but I would not be surprised if it turned out no one ever used them, ever.

Case in point, LEO carries all sorts of things, night stick, mace, eventually taser, and a firearm. Same with military, but also knives and grenades, etc. Why on earth would they use their expensive compact flashlight as a club? It is not at all like a many D Maglite in that leverage would be minimal. Maybe it'd be used more like a black jack. A just in case needed in an instant and happened to be in the hand, kind of like a bottle opener on something else.

That said, I must admit the shallow crenellations on the rounds incan E does help prevent major damage to the bezel in many drops, but I wonder if that was intended or a happy accident. For the most part though, I think crenellations are not entirely unlike racing stripes on a fast car, which I also have to admit, I like those, and cigarette lighters, which also do not really help a car go. A car is a more complicated tool, though. It's really a moving home, garage and control center. I don't mind Swiss Army knives, either. But I don't want bottle openers on my pliers, wrenches, screwdrivers, etc. It is interesting that firearms rarely have crenellations, usually called bayonets.
 
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Munkel

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None of the Malkoff heads come with a crenelated bezel ring, it is an option you can buy and add yourself. All I was saying is I wish they made a crenelated bezel ring for the head I purchased. I would much rather have that as option in a self defense situation before I get to other items. My flashlight is the least lethal item I carry that can be used for self defense, if it can be used effectively to avoid having to go to the next item in line that would be ideal.
 

chillinn

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Right, but it's pretty arbitrary. People carry lots of things, wallet, keys, cell phone, pocket knife. Why don't you just wish you had crenellations on the butt end of your closed pocket knife or one side of your cell phone? Also, you have to consider that using crenellations for self-defense is not really a clear cut case of not being thrown in jail afterwards. If someone mugs you, and you defend yourself and kill them with your flashlight, which is not out of the realm of possibility, that's a pretty hairy case if they were unarmed, especially so with no witnesses.
 

bykfixer

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Kubatan. It's a martial arts thing. The guy who designed numerous SureFire flashlights added a kubtan ability to them. Same with their inkpens. It was added to some training excersizes they demonstrated to majors and generals when going for military contracts.

Unless you understand what kubatan is, the crenalated bezel seems like an oddity to some, annoyance to others. It's not a thing where you punch somebody in the face with a flashlight. That would be stupid and may even break your wrist. And not to see if your bezel down flashlight was left on. (No offense hsa). It can be used for that, sure.

Many flashlight makers add crenalations because it looks cool. Like something a warrior has on like a spiked leather jacket. To go into detail about what kubatan is would go against CPF policy for discussing violence. But smaller objects work best. The crenalated bezel on a 4D Maglite for example would serve best as a glass breaker not a kubatan.
 

Monocrom

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Kubatan. It's a martial arts thing. The guy who designed numerous SureFire flashlights added a kubtan ability to them. Same with their inkpens. It was added to some training excersizes they demonstrated to majors and generals when going for military contracts.

Unless you understand what kubatan is, the crenalated bezel seems like an oddity to some, annoyance to others. It's not a thing where you punch somebody in the face with a flashlight. That would be stupid and may even break your wrist. And not to see if your bezel down flashlight was left on. (No offense hsa). It can be used for that, sure.

Many flashlight makers add crenalations because it looks cool. Like something a warrior has on like a spiked leather jacket. To go into detail about what kubatan is would go against CPF policy for discussing violence. But smaller objects work best. The crenalated bezel on a 4D Maglite for example would serve best as a glass breaker not a kubatan.
Actually, I've trained with flashlights that have crenulations. They make excellent hammer-fist enhancers. Have never once broken my wrist. Even when making impact with solid objects. The first Kubatons were large, solid, metal Men's pens. No crenulations. What's now seen as a traditional Kubaton, has none either. And while Maglite will never admit to it, the original 2AA Mini-mag was designed as a kubaton. Just one with a useful feature built in. Just like those oversized Men's pens. But that secondary feature proved so popular, Maglite decided to pretend it's just a useful flashlight. But again, one with no crenulations.
 

chillinn

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Unless you understand what kubatan is, the crenalated bezel seems like an oddity to some, annoyance to others.
A Kubotan™ doesn't have any points on it other than the edges of its thin cylinder and the edges of the grooves along its length. It's usually made of Lexan or high impact plastic, not metal. Many cheesy knockoffs are metal and are tapered on one end with larger rounder grooves that are also tapered. I expect anyone trained to use a Kubotan could also use anything hard and about 6 inches long as one, if it has a swivel lanyard even more so.

I think crenellations are more like a knife, or a small, one or two dimensional mace, for stabbing and slashing. I don't know of any Surefire lights that came with a lanyard, but some must have. Surefire had z27 and z50 lanyards available, but I have rarely seen anyone equip their light with one. I use one on the Greenbean, the large LeeF I have, but I use it more like a handle than a lanyard. The LeeF with crenellated KT4 is very much a full-sized mace. When I get around to it, the crenellated bezel is coming off and replaced with smooth, with any luck titanium. A smooth bezel will only negligibly reduce its effectiveness as a weapon, but I would dispatch Thunder and Lightning long before I risked more scuffs on it.
 
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Monocrom

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Hammer/fist is a different animal.
The current minimags still have a kubatan. The lanyard attachment.
I'm sorry but the lanyard attachment is not what a Kubaton is. The entire mini-mag was designed to be used as a Kubaton. Whether you have a lanyard attachment or not. With the 2AA version of the Mini-mag, they got the thickness spot-on at the rear. And the length is the right size too.
 

bykfixer

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The lanyard attachment may not be "meant" as a kubatan in the design aspect but used correctly can become one.
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4 objects with kubatan potential.
When folks ask me why I edc finger nail clippers I say "it's a self defense item".
 

knucklegary

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Kubaton,, also called Jawara.. just go ask Mr Don Keller, or Paul Kim..

Personally, I like to keep my distance from possible tainted blood with who-knows-what these days

Btw, my wife luvs her PL-2 crenellations (-;
 
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