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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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.
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.
