I'm pretty new to the newer brands, so the Cloud defensive brand is one I've never heard about. I became a Streamlight fan every since I bought a trl-1 HL weapon light and saw a video where it won a torcher test while still performing great. So I just bought the Streamlight ProTac HL5-X and the Streamlight HL-X USB. The HL5-X isn't really a carry light of course, unless you are working as security guard or a police officer. But man it is bright. My HL-X hasn't arrived yet, but I think it will be a great light too, but for carry. Great video. Thank you. 😎👍
I carry an mch hc for a self defense/ tac light. It’s a nice alternative and overall more usable than the small LEP I was carrying before (ti antman). I still carry a separate light for low light and up close tasks though. Have the mch set to high/low. The low can be pretty useful indoors. I actually have two mch hc, micro and full size. The micro was the cooler white I was expecting but the full size is significantly warmer @~4500k. Nice surprise as I generally prefer warmer lights. I kind of think the edc led ended up in there by accident. Otherwise has the same beam profile as the cooler micro.
The EDC definitely has its place. I thought the HC was going to be it for me, but the EDC really is that balance of punch and spread that just makes it SO good. There are a few sales going, between Bereli and Black Friday - you're bound to find one for a good deal. Best of luck, and thanks for checking out my review spread 👌😎
Happy to help! You're gonna have great use out of that HC, but if you do go the EDC route... your HC is going to turn into an emergency light that you use for bumps in the night or checking the property. I carry and use both, out and about the EDC, but at home on my 50 acre spread it's the HC all the time. Look forward to a followup once you've had some time to use your HC 👌
Really a great video, would love to see your thoughts on the turbo series from surefire. Finally surefire is starting to get on board with the 18650 platform. great runtimes on edc2-dft
I have a couple offerings in my cart, and crossing my fingers for at least a small discount for Cyber Monday. Got one surprise coming in from Black Friday deal! I get all these 100% on my own so there is zero bias. Not opposed to those who accept affiliate offers, but I am not their, and prefer to keep my opinions as mine. The new Surefire offerings are definitely improving, however I'm a little perturbed by some of the modes based on the online info available on their website. At full price, if you want something now... I'd recommend Modlite or Cloud Defensive, Streamlight being a solid 3rd. Surefire still has some good offerings, but they're very much stuck in the 80s, and worse than Apple when it comes to updating their line.
@@PhotoCaptured yep, I'll have to agree with you on that one, modlite and cloud have some good offerings. I've been an avid surefire fan and still love the look and feel so I continue to buy. I just purchased the edc2dft from a reputable eBay seller, they're running a sale on the new DFTs until the 28th, it's right at around 200 so I couldn't pass it up. Give that a look if you're interested, seller has all good reviews. I Appreciate the honest review, thanks 👍
@Whistler24 I'm over here wishing the E2D Defender Ultra had a program option and ran on an 18650 cell at 3,500mAh 👌 Phenomenal little light, but the run time on CR123 cells stinks... and it has an unfortunately rapid step down. Appreciate the info, and will definitely take a look! I love seeking out exceptional lights at different price points. These days I prefer quality output and accurate run times over insane modes or a specs. So long as it just keeps going! Reasons I still recommend the Streamlight Pro-Tac 2L-X, power to run time it is one of the absolute bests on the market.
hoping surefire will continue the 18650 over to the e2d which has been due for an update!....we'll see. Price point on those Pro-tacs are hard to beat, usually the light I recommend to people the most.@@PhotoCaptured
Great comparison! Excellent lineup and interesting results. I was curious about the Surefire E2D Defender performance and runtime compared to the EDCL2-T as Surefire website shows it having a much longer runtimes than what appears to be a similar light in the E2D. Surprised the performance is that noticeable as well!
Thanks, and great point on your part. The EDCL2-T and the E2D should be quite similar, however from all the reading, info, and reviews I found they changed the chip for modulation along with the emitter. The concepts of the EDCL2-T is neat, but in practical use I personally find it to be very limiting due to runtime. Which is why I don't and haven't carried it much since I got it. The gas pedal being another very annoying point... I have excellent grip and finger strength, a woman, or someone with strength challenges is going to find it painful to use well. The E2D on the other hand is SUPERB. Slight reduction in candela, no noticeable difference in brightness when considering the Lumen output, and a significantly improved runtime. The low feature is anemic, and the protected switch at the back is a bit over the top. All that said, I highly recommend it to anyone that wants a small, and easy to use light that will run well. So long as you can get one for a good deal well below the 230 mark... Bonus feature on the E2D Defender Ultra is that it runs insanely well on the KeepPower 16650 2,500mAh rechargeable cells. (Standard models NOT the USB version) In actual use I'm getting 1hr of BRIGHT light, and a solid 3-3.5hrs of very usable light. The EDCL2-T on the other hand... it runs for an hour, which is accurate true to Surefire numbers. However... you only get about 10-15min of BRIGHT light, and then it steps down so much that it's honestly annoying. If you run it with Surefire approved CR123A rechargeable cells that time drops down significantly. It doesn't work at all with 16650 cells, unless you count low as functional. If the slight increase in size doesn't bother you though, the Cloud Defensive and Modlite offerings are a significant improvement in bang for your buck. The E2D is great, and I sing its praises, but it's priced steeply for what it does. That said, it will work every time you need it. Also, if you're going to have a light that's staged for an emergency, just load it up with some quality CR123 primaries and it's good for 8-10yrs, no questions asked. Certain models of the MCH have been plagued with tail switch issues, however once corrected, or you get an updated one I recommend them all day long. The guys at Cloud won't leave you with a paperweight, and are top notch about keeping the customer happy. The Cloud and Modlite offerings are essentially the same price as an E2D, and more hand friendly in my opinion, plus offering superior power with better 18650 Samsung 30Q cells. I hope that answered your question well, and gives you some help in picking an excellent light to trust!
Thanks! More great info, I’m using the KeepPower 16650s in multiple Surefire and Malkoff lights. You’re right about the EDCL2-T, doesn’t play well. Probably not enough voltage. That’s definitely points for the E2D and makes me want to add it to the collection! I’m about to try a new 16340 from KeepPower that charges to 4.2V but is regulated to 3V output by its internal circuit. They are 1000 mAh too but advertised as a CR123A equivalent
If you have a chance, could you please review the new Surefire EDC1-DFT or EDC2-DFT?
Low lumen high candela lights definitely tend to stay cooler for longer than high lumen lights
I'm pretty new to the newer brands, so the Cloud defensive brand is one I've never heard about. I became a Streamlight fan every since I bought a trl-1 HL weapon light and saw a video where it won a torcher test while still performing great.
So I just bought the Streamlight ProTac HL5-X and the Streamlight HL-X USB.
The HL5-X isn't really a carry light of course, unless you are working as security guard or a police officer. But man it is bright.
My HL-X hasn't arrived yet, but I think it will be a great light too, but for carry.
Great video. Thank you. 😎👍
Came for the Surefire, stayed for the Microstream.
I carry an mch hc for a self defense/ tac light. It’s a nice alternative and overall more usable than the small LEP I was carrying before (ti antman). I still carry a separate light for low light and up close tasks though. Have the mch set to high/low. The low can be pretty useful indoors. I actually have two mch hc, micro and full size. The micro was the cooler white I was expecting but the full size is significantly warmer @~4500k. Nice surprise as I generally prefer warmer lights. I kind of think the edc led ended up in there by accident. Otherwise has the same beam profile as the cooler micro.
Great comparison! Just got my MCH HC. Working great. Now I want the EDC too haha
The EDC definitely has its place.
I thought the HC was going to be it for me, but the EDC really is that balance of punch and spread that just makes it SO good.
There are a few sales going, between Bereli and Black Friday - you're bound to find one for a good deal.
Best of luck, and thanks for checking out my review spread 👌😎
Nice video, thank you!
My CD MCH-HC arrives tomorrow… thinking about getting the EDC version as well, lol
Happy to help! You're gonna have great use out of that HC, but if you do go the EDC route... your HC is going to turn into an emergency light that you use for bumps in the night or checking the property.
I carry and use both, out and about the EDC, but at home on my 50 acre spread it's the HC all the time. Look forward to a followup once you've had some time to use your HC 👌
Really a great video, would love to see your thoughts on the turbo series from surefire. Finally surefire is starting to get on board with the 18650 platform. great runtimes on edc2-dft
I have a couple offerings in my cart, and crossing my fingers for at least a small discount for Cyber Monday.
Got one surprise coming in from Black Friday deal!
I get all these 100% on my own so there is zero bias. Not opposed to those who accept affiliate offers, but I am not their, and prefer to keep my opinions as mine.
The new Surefire offerings are definitely improving, however I'm a little perturbed by some of the modes based on the online info available on their website.
At full price, if you want something now... I'd recommend Modlite or Cloud Defensive, Streamlight being a solid 3rd.
Surefire still has some good offerings, but they're very much stuck in the 80s, and worse than Apple when it comes to updating their line.
@@PhotoCaptured yep, I'll have to agree with you on that one, modlite and cloud have some good offerings. I've been an avid surefire fan and still love the look and feel so I continue to buy.
I just purchased the edc2dft from a reputable eBay seller, they're running a sale on the new DFTs until the 28th, it's right at around 200 so I couldn't pass it up. Give that a look if you're interested, seller has all good reviews.
I Appreciate the honest review, thanks 👍
@Whistler24 I'm over here wishing the E2D Defender Ultra had a program option and ran on an 18650 cell at 3,500mAh 👌
Phenomenal little light, but the run time on CR123 cells stinks... and it has an unfortunately rapid step down.
Appreciate the info, and will definitely take a look! I love seeking out exceptional lights at different price points.
These days I prefer quality output and accurate run times over insane modes or a specs. So long as it just keeps going!
Reasons I still recommend the Streamlight Pro-Tac 2L-X, power to run time it is one of the absolute bests on the market.
hoping surefire will continue the 18650 over to the e2d which has been due for an update!....we'll see. Price point on those Pro-tacs are hard to beat, usually the light I recommend to people the most.@@PhotoCaptured
Those old surefires could use malkoff head upgrades
Great comparison! Excellent lineup and interesting results. I was curious about the Surefire E2D Defender performance and runtime compared to the EDCL2-T as Surefire website shows it having a much longer runtimes than what appears to be a similar light in the E2D. Surprised the performance is that noticeable as well!
Thanks, and great point on your part.
The EDCL2-T and the E2D should be quite similar, however from all the reading, info, and reviews I found they changed the chip for modulation along with the emitter.
The concepts of the EDCL2-T is neat, but in practical use I personally find it to be very limiting due to runtime.
Which is why I don't and haven't carried it much since I got it.
The gas pedal being another very annoying point... I have excellent grip and finger strength, a woman, or someone with strength challenges is going to find it painful to use well.
The E2D on the other hand is SUPERB.
Slight reduction in candela, no noticeable difference in brightness when considering the Lumen output, and a significantly improved runtime.
The low feature is anemic, and the protected switch at the back is a bit over the top.
All that said, I highly recommend it to anyone that wants a small, and easy to use light that will run well. So long as you can get one for a good deal well below the 230 mark...
Bonus feature on the E2D Defender Ultra is that it runs insanely well on the KeepPower 16650 2,500mAh rechargeable cells.
(Standard models NOT the USB version)
In actual use I'm getting 1hr of BRIGHT light, and a solid 3-3.5hrs of very usable light.
The EDCL2-T on the other hand... it runs for an hour, which is accurate true to Surefire numbers. However... you only get about 10-15min of BRIGHT light, and then it steps down so much that it's honestly annoying.
If you run it with Surefire approved CR123A rechargeable cells that time drops down significantly. It doesn't work at all with 16650 cells, unless you count low as functional.
If the slight increase in size doesn't bother you though, the Cloud Defensive and Modlite offerings are a significant improvement in bang for your buck.
The E2D is great, and I sing its praises, but it's priced steeply for what it does.
That said, it will work every time you need it.
Also, if you're going to have a light that's staged for an emergency, just load it up with some quality CR123 primaries and it's good for 8-10yrs, no questions asked.
Certain models of the MCH have been plagued with tail switch issues, however once corrected, or you get an updated one I recommend them all day long.
The guys at Cloud won't leave you with a paperweight, and are top notch about keeping the customer happy. The Cloud and Modlite offerings are essentially the same price as an E2D, and more hand friendly in my opinion, plus offering superior power with better 18650 Samsung 30Q cells.
I hope that answered your question well, and gives you some help in picking an excellent light to trust!
Thanks! More great info, I’m using the KeepPower 16650s in multiple Surefire and Malkoff lights. You’re right about the EDCL2-T, doesn’t play well. Probably not enough voltage. That’s definitely points for the E2D and makes me want to add it to the collection! I’m about to try a new 16340 from KeepPower that charges to 4.2V but is regulated to 3V output by its internal circuit. They are 1000 mAh too but advertised as a CR123A equivalent
@@PhotoCapturedgoing w the mch-duty. 18k lumen / 50 candela