I would go with the new SureFire L4. It is an LED and provides 65 Lumens for over an hour with an additional 3 hours of useful light. It is small, lightweight and rugged.

[url]http://www.surefire.com/cgi-bin/main/co_disp/displ/prrfnbr/1071/sesent/00[/url]

C4

[email][email protected][/email]

McDuff, there are a lot of GOOD solutions to choose from so you're going to have decide which one fits your needs and your budget.

From Surefire -

The L4 5 watt LED that C4iGrant mentioned above is a great light and over a longer term would pay for itself due to the long life LED.  For an every day carry (EDC) the L4 really would be a good choice. The fact that the LED's are able to use batteries in a more efficient way means that after an hours use (approx.) you won't be left in the dark like with other lights/lamps. General market price range is approx. $135 +/-.

There are couple of negatives that should be mentioned with the L4:  a.) The L4 is still not capable of matching the longer range illumination of standard lamps such as the P60 & P61 lamps of Surefire 2 cell lights.  b.) The L4 shouldn't be considered for weapons mounted use.

Next on my list of EDC lights, any of the SF E2E Executive Elites.  The E2e's are excellent for EDC due to their smaller, more lightweight design and pocket clip. [i](BTW, the L4 is built of an E2 body.)[/i] The E2e's offer 60 lumens and a runtime of approx. 75 min.  The E2e's do not have the option of a higher output lamp.  With the E2's you do have the option of adding either a 1 watt Luxeon LED head (KL1) or adding the 5 watt LED head (KL4) head. The E2's shouldn't be considered for weapons mounted use. General market price range depending upon model is approx. $65 & up.

Next would be the full size 2 cell SF lights, in this area you have several to choose from.  For general use the C2 Centurion, 6P or G2 Nitrolon will cover most needs.  For a combat light design, the C2, G2Z, Z2 & the M2 will cover that field.

Considering what your intended use is, I'd probably be looking at the 6P, C2 or G2.  I won't go into the details on all these but if you'll jump over to SF's site you'll get an indepth overview of all the lights. What the full size lights have in common is a broad assortment of interchangeable parts & configurations.  Also, the 6P & G2 can easily be enhanced for mounting on an AR-15.

For the 6P, general market price range is approx. $65.

For the C2, general market price range is approx. $70 for the black & $80+ for the HA.

The G2 Nitrolon is considered their entry level light but offers all the performance comparable SF P60/P61 based lights.  Approx. price is $30.  (Concerning the non-lockout tailcap, a simple $10 holster can help prevent accidental activation.)

Surefire - [url]http://www.san.surefire.com/cgi-bin/main.pl?pgm=co_disp&func=displ&sesent=0,0&strfnbr=6&pgname=high_performance[/url]

I gotta head out for a bit but later I'll try to fill you in on some of the lights from Streamlight that would be good choices and are lower in cost.

Now for the Streamlight info -

The first must have is a Streamlight KeyMate LED light!!!  These are really great lights and give off a lot more light than most other LED lights of similar size.  IMO this light really out performs the ARC AAA.  The only down side is the battery type but they can be replaced for under $2 and battery life is rated at up to 96 hrs.  This is an excellent keychain or pocket as it only weighs .9 ounces and is 2.36" in length. You have a choice of blue, green or white
LED color (white LEDs have a blueish/purple tint light color). Approx. price is $11.

For more powerful EDC lights Streamlight has the following lights you should consider:

Streamlight Scorpion (two 123A's) - The Scorpions give similar performance as SF P60 based light but is not quite an equal.  Where the Scorpion has advantages is its simple, quick push button constant on/off tailcap switch.  The rubber covered body is a big help too, especially if you need both hands free are trying to hold the light with your neck & shoulder or holding it with your teeth.  The Scorpion also uses a cheaper lamp that's a 1/3 the cost of SF P60 lamp plus the Scorpion comes with a spare lamp contained in the light itself.  General market price range is approx. $30.

The new Tactical Light TL-2 (two 123A's) - This is new from Streamlight and is a great light. It is rated at 100 lumens but I feel they over shot that rating.  The TL-2 (& NF-2) features an adjustable spot-to-flood focus with a non-protruding momentary tailcap switch to decrease the chance of accidental activation. (The tailcap of course rotates for constant on.) The TL-2 has a removable pocket clip, like the Scorpion it comes with a spare bulb contained within the light and it also comes with an adjustable wrist lanyard.  General market price range is approx. $50.

Though a little large for EDC, there is also the TL-3 which is simply a 3 cell version of the TL-2.  The TL-3 is now a favorite of mine, this light has a performance/price ratio that really makes you smile.  Though Streamlight hasn't made up their mind on Lumens rating [i](website says 175 but the prod. packaging states 200 lumens)[/i] this light has near equal performance to the SF 3 cell lights that use the high output P91 (200 lumen) lamps.  When the TL-3 is focused for best performance it has longer range performance than a P91.  But, when it comes to broad illumination it it's nearly equivalent to the SF P91 but is a little less (no more than 8-12% less though).  With all that said, the TL-3 is nearly half the cost of a 3 cell SF light equipped with a P91 lamp AND the TL-3 will give approx. 1 hour off a set of batteries vs. 20 minutes.  General market price range is approx. $65.  

There is also a 5 watt LED TL-3 rated at 85-90 Lumens and cost on it is approx. $110.  I was supposed to have a few but unfortunately they were wrongly packaged (had std. TL-3's inside) and so I'm still waiting to try one out.

Also new from Streamlight are the Twin Task 1L & 2L lights.  The 1L uses one 123A cell & the 2L is a two cell light.  The TT's feature both LED illumination and high performance xenon lamp illumination.  When circumstances require only minimal illumination the LED mode will provide plenty of light but for more demanding needs a simple click of the switch will activate the xenon lamp.  The Twin-Task are available in 3AA, 3C, 2D and the 1L & 2L. General market price range is approx. $25 & up depending upon model.


For a full details & specs of the above Streamlight models:

KeyMate - [url]http://www.streamlight.com/keymate_info.htm[/url]
Scorpion - [url]http://www.streamlight.com/scorpion_specifications.htm[/url]
TL & NF series - [url]http://www.streamlight.com/tl-nf_info.htm[/url]
Twin-Task lights - [url]http://www.streamlight.com/tasklight_info.htm[/url]

Yes, I sell Surefire & Streamlight both, and both are favorites of mine.  

As far as where to find me, well, it's beginning to look my website may be ready sometime this decade (I'm relying on a couple of very busy friends to build it.) so for now the best way is to either contact me direct at:

[email][email protected][/email]

Or, if you want to take a quick look at a few things first I have an ad over in the Equipment Exchange -

[url]http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=7&f=25&t=165056[/url]