I bought a KE2DF Scout Light on a good deal on BF - but even though its rated at 1500 Lumens it looks MUCH weaker than my TRL-H1 which is rated at 800 lumens. Its marked Surefire and is in the proper packaging.
Could be a counterfeit, I’ve encountered those. Came in a Surefire box with all the accessories but felt very cheap with a loose and rattling switch. I bought it second-hand, seller claimed that he bought it from Amazon.
I don’t have a DF Scout but found this interesting:
https://arisakadefense.com/blog/arisaka-modlite-and-surefire-beam-shots/
Seems the DF has more spill than throw? Could be that your TLR-H1 projects the light different so it seems brighter?
How far were you trying to illuminate with it?
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The Dual Fuel Scout has only 16000 candela when using the proper 18650s, and 12800 candela when running on CR123As. The newer generation of TLR-1 HLs are rated at 1000 lumens with 20000 candela, while the older generation at 800 lumens typically have 15000 candela. To the human eye, the differences are likely not that drastic, so I would be suspicious as to whether or not there’s something wrong with the Scout, presuming that you’re not accidentally using a 1000 lumen TLR-1 HL and pairing it against a DF on CR123As.
Are you using a tape switch, or a tailcap button?
This is the answer.
Thanks. I bought my scout new at PA. I don’t think its defective. I bought the HLs some time ago, and but they COULD be 1000 lumens. But when you compare the beams, the scout spills a bit wider and seems less intense. I just expected a hot spot at least as intense as a 1000 Lumen light. I also have Olight PLs and they are also seemingly more intense with a great beam.
Is the Scout meant to have a broader beam or what? Not sure I get the purpose when there are smaller, handier lights with more intense light for carbines.
This is a complicated answer. But the easiest way to explain it is Surefire isn’t cutting edge in output performance and stream light’s development cycle is just a little behind surefire which allows them to compensate for Surefire’s latest products. Surefire raced to 1500 lumens and got there first. That’s about it. Stream light has a hotter hot spot and now candela are almost equal or more important than lumen as a performance metric. Modlite’s PLHv2 is a notable improvement over the Surefire. Heads are interchangeable so you can just add one to your surefire body if you’re not satisfied.
I plan to send back. I checked again last night. This scout light is just plain weak. It is NOT as penetrating as the HL in any way, and it costs almost twice as much. If I need better I’ll go Modlite or reluctantly go with a Chicom version.
I think you are seeking beam intensity, not lumens. These Malkoff heads may interest you.
I agree that candela is the spec that you need to focus on, not lumens.
I haven’t had great experience with Streamlight’s Protac series of weapon lights, which are essentially Scout clones. The color temperature is bluer than the Surefire Scout lights and I have a harder time distinguishing details with the bluer light. Another issue I had was with the springs for the battery contacts not strong enough to resist 5.56 recoil which caused flickering. Final issue was a tear in the cable insulation at the tape switch right out of the box. IMO, Streamlight molded the strain relief for their pressure switch too short to sufficiently retain the cable.
On the other hand, I’m quite happy with Streamlight Macrostream and Microstream USB hand-held lights for my EDC. They are the right size and the right price that I could lose one and not feel too bad about it.
At what distance do you want to be able to positively ID a target?
The industry standard specification identifies distance till the light delivers .25 lux onto an object. .25 lux is not adequate for positive ID….1.5 to 2 lux is generally considered adequate.
The Surefire is on its way back to PA. I’ll shop with OP from now on - they give shipping labels.
For my VZ 58 with limited mounting options, I MAY just go with a Streamlight TLR - HL. The beam is MUCH better around the house and into the woods. The SF beam just sucks. Just watched a video which explained the differences between the SF, Arisaka and Modlite. I’ll get the Arisaka IF I go with a Scout mount. I really cannot mount a pressure switch correctly with the NEA mount, so I might have to go with a light side and interrupt my grip a tad.
Moral of the story. If you are spending hundreds, do more research and don’t assume the old tried and true brands are always the best way to go.
Could you please share the video if there is good information on it? I know not all you tubers can put together a cohesive thought out production…
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I find that Mr. Guns and Gear’s videos are very informative when it comes to different lights and their characteristics.
Here’s his review of the Cloud Defensive Rein and he does compare it to the Surefire DualFuel and ModLite for throw.
https://youtu.be/655LksYpMUU
I have started slowly switching most of my lights to Cloud defensive and modlight. I am only keeping a couple,e of surefire for my home defense oriented weapons.
I started running Malkoff heads on Arisaka scout light bodies a few years ago and have never looked back. Cloud did their fans dirty with the way they handled the preorders for the OWL and Modlite gets butthurt everytime someone critiques one of their products and they start unnecessary internet fights with skinny glorified airsoft kids.
What did Cloud do on preorders?
I tried the Malkoff heads and just don’t like them as much as the other two.
Used the preorders as a crowdfunding campaign to finance production of the OWL, gave the first batch of them to influencers, IG stars, and youtubers instead of people who paid upfront by several months or even a year, missed the deadline by a huge amount, made excuses all along the way.