First Surefire, first post!

[cland72]

Not to mention the 6P is infinitely upgradeable with any number of P60 formatted drop ins, whereas the G2X is not upgradeable without dismanteling the head and soldering in a new LED.

If I were you, I'd spend the G2X money on a really good P60 drop in such as a Malkoff, Nailbender, EDC+, or VinhNguyen.

 

[novice]

Not to mention the 6P is infinitely upgradeable with any number of P60 formatted drop ins, whereas the G2X is not upgradeable without dismantling the head and soldering in a new LED.

If I were you, I'd spend the G2X money on a really good P60 drop in such as a Malkoff, Nailbender, EDC+, or VinhNguyen.

Yes, this. You can explore all the options. SF incan assemblies, any high-quality drop-in you wish. If you find a discontinued A19, you can make it a "virtual 9P", and with two A19 extenders, you can run 2x 17670. Plus there are discontinued custom parts out there, such as those made by Fivemega, that can give you even more versatility. I would strongly recommend keeping the 6P, and exploring those (endless) options.

 

[cland72]

Oh, one brand of P60 drop in I neglected to mention is Sportac (by Eagletac). Excellent value for around $35.

 

[Justin Case]

LEDs have ultimate brightness, ultimate life time, ultimate battery saver and ultimate........
But I still prefer incandescent color warmness that you will never ever find in any high CRI LED

Another word, some people value and appreciate the quality rather than quantity.

IMO, what is valued and appreciated is a matter of perspective and application. I don't see it as some law of physics that incan warmness is automatically a quality thing, while everything about LEDs is merely quantity. They are all just specifications. So it is unclear to me why brightness, LED life, battery life, etc are not also aspects of quality, or why all of these specs, including "color warmness", are not aspects of quantity. If I am a photographer, color accuracy is probably extremely important. If I am a military operator, I probably don't care about some slight greenish tinge to the beam color. But things like battery life and output brightness certainly can matter and can easily be viewed as indicators of quality since they are byproducts of the driver's quality.

 

[SoCalEngr]

Oh, one brand of P60 drop in I neglected to mention is Sportac (by Eagletac). Excellent value for around $35.

Thanks for the drop in info. I will try in my 6P an G2s.

BTW, you didn't mention Tactical Night Visions Q5 drop-in

Pat Rogers of EAG seems to like them very much. Would you recommend Malkoff over this Q5?

Thanks.

 

[cland72]

Thanks for the drop in info. I will try in my 6P an G2s.

BTW, you didn't mention Tactical Night Visions Q5 drop-in

Pat Rogers of EAG seems to like them very much. Would you recommend Malkoff over this Q5?

Thanks.

Absolutely Malkoff, without a doubt. The TNVC Q5 is nothing more than a rebranded Chinese made drop in.

 

[ampdude]

Yes, but bulb life is reduced. The P91 causes greater voltage sag when using primaries than the P90, and as a result is over driven with two li-ions. So, you get a brighter output from the P91, but you risk burning it out early.

It kind of depends on the cell size though. With a couple of IMR16340's or P17500's that you double click to start it up, you are not over-volting the P91. If anything it is getting less volts than startup with three fresh CR123A's, though the average voltage with lithium-ion batteries will probably be slightly higher over the total run. On the other hand it's another story if you are trying to run a P91 off of a couple high capacity P18650's or IMR18650's.

You can. The P90 will run on two lithium ion rechargeables. If you have a 6P body, you will need two RCR123 batteries. The runtime will be short in that setup b/c RCR123s do not have a lot of capacity.

You'll have MUCH better luck running incan lamp assemblies on two IMR16340's as opposed to two RCR's, but the IMR16340's won't have a much longer runtime than the RCR's.

 

[ampdude]

IMO, what is valued and appreciated is a matter of perspective and application. I don't see it as some law of physics that incan warmness is automatically a quality thing, while everything about LEDs is merely quantity.

Experience leads to enlightenment, grasshopper.

 

[radiopej]

Hehe, looking at all the upgrade ideas makes me realise something.

One day they'll release a 100-CRI, 0.001 to 5000 lumens, 12pm sunlight tint triple LED torch with awesome flood and throw, all running on a single AA for 600 hours on high. Then you guys will buy it... and send it straight to Vinh to mod it. I love this place.

 

[Justin Case]

Experience leads to enlightenment, grasshopper.

I'm not sure what experience you are referring to that leads to what enlightenment. I would not choose an incan for low light self-defense use, nor would I choose an LED for high quality photography. They each have the regimes of applicability. Incan warmth is not the be-all, end-all, just as LED efficiency is not either.

 

[ampdude]

I totally agree with you. I don't find LED's that appealing even for my personal use though 99% of the time. I'm not that battery poor nor do I need the months on end of runtime that some LED's can provide aside from certain situations which never seem to arise..

 

[fivemega]

I don't see it as some law of physics that incan warmness is automatically a quality thing, while everything about LEDs is merely quantity.

You are lucky that your eyes can't see the difference. Unfortunately my eyes can quickly detect and dislike.

One day they'll release a 100-CRI, 0.001 to 5000 lumens, 12pm sunlight tint triple LED torch with awesome flood and throw, all running on a single AA for 600 hours on high. Then you guys will buy it... and send it straight to Vinh to mod it. I love this place.

Until that day, I will stick to my incandescent lights because long time ago that day became reality for me.
Cost of bulb, run time and cost of batteries are not issue for me.
If you are happy with your LED, good for you and stick with it. Maybe some day you will see and start enjoying "5000 lumens, 12pm sunlight tint triple LED"

 

[Justin Case]

You are lucky that your eyes can't see the difference. Unfortunately my eyes can quickly detect and dislike.

That isn't the point. I can see the difference. But it doesn't matter for some applications, while other features are far more important. As I said, incan warmth is not the be-all, end-all feature for a flashlight.

I guess the fact that as you dim an incan, it doesn't bother you that the color temp changes drastically while the supposedly meaningful CRI misleadingly stays at 100.

Also, "dislike" is not the same as "non-functional". I may dislike a cool white beam, but it doesn't hinder functionality for building search. Now, if the choice exists and the other key features aren't significantly sacrificed, I may choose a light with a warmer beam vice a cool white beam. But I won't choose an incan over an LED for that application only because the incan has a warm beam.

 

[LanthanumK]

I just got the SureFire G2X Pro. After the very blue tint of my Maglite Mini LED Pro and various cheap Chinese flashlights, the white coloration is far better. I have a halogen 5 MILLION CANDLEPOWER spotlight. I prefer the whitish SureFire to the yellowish-white full-spectrum halogen lighting. BTW the SF costs 5 times as much, is 1/15 the size, and outputs a similar quantity of light for a far longer runtime.

People who grew up on incans often prefer them. Personally, comparing the dirty yellow of classic Maglites, faded old auto headlights, and bargain-bin spotlights to the high-tech blue of cheap LEDs and tinted headlights, I prefer the blue color. The high-end white of my LED SureFire is even better.

Maybe if I see a P61 in person I will think differently, but the idea of a flashlight burning out in the 21st century appalls me, even if it has good color rendition.

 

[nanchanglang]

6P is really a good start for SF. You will like it.

 

[jhp762]

Well Gents, it's been a while. My original 6P was stolen from me during aerial gunnery last fall... ballsy sons-of-guns... but it took me a while to get around to buying another. However, I have done so now and love the new one *almost* as much as my old one. It's not my "first" anymore, though.

I am so glad to see this thread went for over a month with great input for new member like myself! Makes me very happy.

I see malkoff and nailbender have Nichia drop-ins available now... I have to say, I'm interested. I might pick up a Malkoff MD2 to drop one in. Lol. The sickness never ends...

 

[Grizzman]

I'm glad you were happy with your 6P. It's too bad that someone thought they needed it more than you.

I'm a big fan of Gene's Nichia drop-ins, and have ummmm several of them.

 

[bykfixer]

Oh candlepowerforums... I post up saying "hey! I like my stock p60 lamp better than this modded multi-mode super-cri LED" and you guys come back with "well, if you like that stock incan bulb, you can mod it this way, this way and this way!"

I think I've found "home" on the internet.

Cool to see you got another 6P.

Today I bought a Malkoff M61 WLL (warm low/low) drop in for my yet to arrive 6P original as is supposed to put out similar to the lumens and tint as the oem P60 bulb with a 10 hour runtime on 2 Sure Fire 123a batteries. 65 lumens from the P60 bulb and 75 from the M61. Gene Malkoff's site says it's a blinder at 30'. and has a 100' bright beam. An AR-15 site says better spill and brighter hot spot.

Want brighter? The M61 WL for like 125 lumens and 5 hour runtime. Malkoff Devices say it's a blinder at 75' and 300' of good light.

Hours rated are regulated hours with a few hours of direct after that.
Both run from3.4 to 9 volts.
I'll have to buy some spare P60's for heaters.


To all of you service men in this thread...
Thank You!!!

 

[rocketman121]

Congrats on the surefire light! My first surefire was an original G2!