Surefire P60 fitment in Solarforce L2

First post here but I have been lurking.

My recent purchase of a couple of Malkoff devices left me with an extra Surefire P60 and a P60L. I bought two Solarforce L2 bodies from Lighthound and neither the P60 nor the P60L work in the L2.

I got the L2 that is compatible with both CR123 and 18650 batteries.

Upon close inspection it appears that the ledge on the inside of the L2 body that the large spring on the P60 and P60L rests on is larger in diameter than the Surefire 6P therefore the spring is passing through the hole instead of resting on the ledge.

Has anyone else experienced this issue?

I was able to get both drop-ins to work by bending the large springs out a little, making them have a larger diameter which allowed them to rest on the ledge.

Is there any other way to make them work or is this the best fix?

I use a thin washer to provide a reference surface for the SureFire P60 spring. I agree that it isn't a good solution - perhaps the best solution to that problem is a SureFire 6P body - the one SolarForce body I have has been an irritant in this respect compared to my SureFire hosts.





Edit: Oh, and welcome to CPF.

Kestrel said:

I use a thin washer to provide a reference surface for the SureFire P60 spring. I agree that it isn't a good solution - perhaps the best solution to that problem is a SureFire 6P body - the one SolarForce body I have has been an irritant in this respect compared to my SureFire hosts.

Edit: Oh, and welcome to CPF.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll try the washer route.

Is that a brass washer ?

I'm guess the washer needs to be conductive ... ?

I just bent the P60 spring a little with vise grip pliers... grabbed the largest coil and bent it outwards a little to touch the host body.

kramer5150 said:

I just bent the P60 spring a little with vise grip pliers... grabbed the largest coil and bent it outwards a little to touch the host body.

Click to expand...

I need to make the same mod. I have a stainless steel and copper washer on-hand that both fit well. Any suggestions on which one to use? I am wondering if either will cause some type of corrosive reaction with the L2 body. Thanks

I like that washer fix. Certainly cheaper than ordering a larger spring to go around the Malkoff drop-in. And faster, too.

TMedina said:

I like that washer fix. Certainly cheaper than ordering a larger spring to go around the Malkoff drop-in. And faster, too.

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What is the exact size of that washer? I'd like to try it, too.

My surefire P60 works nicely in a solarforce L2T. So L2T might be slightly different from L2 inside. Interesting read.

Modernflame said:

What is the exact size of that washer? I'd like to try it, too.

Click to expand...

This "External Tooth Lock Washer" works perfectly. It rests on the shelf of the L2 without any play, and the center hole is large enough to keep the P60's inner spring from shorting.

A) OD = 22.5 mm
B) ID = 13.2 mm
C) Thick = 1.75 mm (thinner is ok)


Still looking for suggestions on what type of metal is best for the washer? Concerned about reaction with L2's body. Thanks

cp2315 said:

My surefire P60 works nicely in a solarforce L2T. So L2T might be slightly different from L2 inside. Interesting read.

Click to expand...

At some point, Solarforce shifted their hosts for 18650 batteries. Before that, P60-style drop-ins fit just fine. I have a now discontinued L2R which runs an M31L just fine. In later Solarforce hosts, I had to dig up a spring to slip on my Malkoff drop-ins to complete the circuit.

TMedina said:

At some point, Solarforce shifted their hosts for 18650 batteries. Before that, P60-style drop-ins fit just fine. I have a now discontinued L2R which runs an M31L just fine. In later Solarforce hosts, I had to dig up a spring to slip on my Malkoff drop-ins to complete the circuit.

Click to expand...

The shelf/lip at the bottom of the socket of the L2r is wider, because it uses the thinner AA cells, so the malkoff probably sits on it just fine. I believe the socket of their lights for 18mm cells have always been straight, requiring dropins with a tapering end to use an external spring for contact.

That wide L2r shelf shorted out a number of my drop ins with exposed chips on the bottom of the driver.

That was probably a bad example, but I swear I remember using Solarforce hosts "before" without issue. Ah well - they say memory is the second thing to go.

Solarforce L2 with "External Tooth Lock Washer" installed: