The Martialist: The Magazine For Those Who Fight Unfairly

“Stay ‘unreasonable.’  If you
don’t like the solutions [available to you], come up with your
own.” 
Dan Webre

The Martialist does not
constitute legal advice.  It is for ENTERTAINMENT
PURPOSES ONLY.

Copyright © 2003-2004 Phil Elmore, all rights
reserved.

SureFire E2D Defender

A Product Review by Phil Elmore

The SureFire E2D, a superb Xenon-bulb self-defense implement.

Previously I reviewed the
SureFire
E2E Executive tactical light. 
SureFire’s E2D Defender takes the “executive accessory” theme a step
farther in terms of aggressive “tactical” qualities.  While its
relationship to its slightly more politically correct sibling is apparent,
the E2D is an obvious (and successful) attempt to address the growing
market for personal torches that can serve as expedient weapons.  The
company even markets the light as a “personal safety device.”

The E2D Defender is an excellent “personal safety
device.”

The Defender is just under five inches long and produces
60 lumens of light from its domed Xenon bulb arrangement for a total run
time (on two CR123A lithium batteries) of 75 minutes.  Constructed of
knurled aluminum with a dark hard-anodized finish, the light body provides
excellent traction and feels great in my hands.

Beam shot from the E2D straight out of the box.

The most immediately recognizable feature of
the Defender is its scalloped head. 
The elongated profile of the bezel is designed to make the light a painful,
effective striking implement.  The aluminum scallops are thin enough that
you could pierce someone’s skin with them.  I jabbed the Defender into an
pumpkin several times to great effect and would not want to be on the
receiving end of it.  The scalloped head also causes the beam of the
Defender to take on a distinctive pattern, creating a broad corona around the
center of the beam.

The scalloped head of the Defender produces this
light pattern.

The tailcap switch of the Defender has smaller
raised scallops around it, which means either end of the light could be used
to strike a defensive blow.  The scallops have holes drilled through them
(to which one could attach a lanyard, a key ring, or any other accessory
desired) and serve as a stop for the thumb.

The tailcap assembly is well-designed.  It can
be turned to “always-
off” mode for storage.  A deep press grants “always-on” illumination.

Pressing the rubber switch (which is textured
for good traction) produces momentary-on lighting.  Pressing the switch
more deeply produces always-on lighting (and pressing it deeply again switches
the light off).  The “tactical” risk of such an arrangement is that,
under stress, the operator could push the switch too hard for momentary
lighting and get always-on light (which increases the risk he will give away
his position in low-light scenarios).  The scallops on the tailcap
prevent this from happening.  I found that it was impossible for me to
activate the tailcap in always-on mode without consciously trying to do it. 
A simple twist of the tailcap switches the light to always-off mode for
storage.

The scallops on both ends of the light make it a
great striking tool.

The metal pocket
clip is small and unobtrusive.  I carried the Defender daily for
several weeks and thought the clipped worked well.  I noticed that I had
a tendency to absently run my finger over the light dome (the light rides
head-up in the pocket) and the scallops of the head sometimes scraped against
things (particularly when getting into and out of my car).  These were
minor issues, though, and certainly did not prevent me from carrying the
light.  The Defender deploys easily from the pocket and can be brought up
quickly for defensive use.

Deploying the Defender for “personal safety” was
easy.

As with any “tactical” light, my Defender sees
the most use as a utility torch.  I’ve used it quite a bit.  One
thing I did notice was that leaving it on for any length of time causes the
entire aluminum body of the torch to get hot.  The head of the
light bears a warning label, too – Xenon bulbs are very small and very bright,
but the tradeoff for this power is the heat generated.  One ancillary
benefit of the scallops on the head of the Defender is that a light that has
become hot with extended use can be placed to cool standing on one end. 
The scallops serve as little feet to raise the hot light body off the surface
on which it rests.

The light burns hot – the price for great power in a
small package.

In a world where the tools of self-defense are
increasingly restricted, personal torches are filling a niche for those
seeking legal implements of self-defense.  Aggressive tools like the
Executive Defender leave no doubt as to their purpose.  This is a very
good light that does very well what it is designed to do:  provide
light from within an envelope that is itself a weapon.

Whether you are an executive or a
blue-collar worker, the E2D can be used in your defense.