Very nice review. Too bad you couldn't review the KL4 LED head. This head is every bit the equal of the 50 lumen xenon bulb for the E2E, but gives you another 3 hours of diminished brightness use after the initial 1 hour at 65 lumens. Many people have the misconception that LED's can't be focused for spotlight use, and many LED flashlights make no attempt, but my L4 has every bit as much throw as my E2E. It just takes a bigger - and maybe differently configured - reflector to do it.
I have also found that the battery life with other LED flashlights is very overstated, and if you need a certain minimum level of brightness, you aren't going to get it for that much longer than a conventional bulb. Again, the advantage of the LED is that you don't get sudden failure.
Interesting to read of your disappointment with the E2D. This light has appealed to me, but I haven't wanted to go back to the xenon bulb after experiencing the LED, and have suggested to Surefire that an "L4D" would be the ultimate tactical light. I can see your point about the crenelations getting in the way of the switch.
When I first saw a Kubotan, and even later after I bought one, I sas very skeptical about the usefulness of something like that for self-defense, despite having already achieved a black belt. I didn't fully appreciate it until I had some specific training in its use. Now, I never walk through a metal detector without some kind of small aluminum flashlight that won't raise eyebrows but will be an effective defensive tool.
I disagree about the switch. I like the click-on/off switch. You have to push pretty hard to overcome the momentary on and click it on, so doing so when momentary on is desired is unlikely. I have found that the prior switche caps tended to rotate out of position, so you never quite knew how much force you were going to need. I really like being able to tighten the cap all the way down and know that it is properly set.
I used to think the Rogers/Surefire/cigar method was the ultimate flashlight hold until I actually had some low-light training. I found that what works best is to just grasp the light in your fist and raise it up to about shoulder height. Move it from one side to the other depending on which side of a barricade you are going around, and/or move it away from your body if you are outdoors and the old "FBI" technique is appropriate. If someone grabs your gun, you are holding a weapon you can use to keep him from getting control of it.
I have generally found that any attempt to use a 2-hand hold with a flashlight creates unusual pressure points on the hand/gun that will cause shots to go well off to one side or the other. The trick to using the Rogers/Surefire/cigar method or the Harries method is to MINIMIZE the pressure applied to the shooting hand by the gun hand, thereby giving you some additional stability without creating these pressure points. I prefer to just rely on the one-hand shooting that was thoroughly drilled before I learned how to combine the gun and flashlight.
I have also found that carrying a 6Z or G2Z on the belt creates a huge bulge, while an E2E or L4 creates no more outward bulge tnan a magazine pouch.
So, given my disillusionment with the techniques requiring such a light, and the better concealment offered by a narrower light, I switched from carrying a G2Z to an E2E and then later to the L4.
