# SF 6P original vs SL TL-2 shock proof



## bykfixer (Nov 1, 2015)

As part of a budding collection of Streamlight products, I acquired a TL-2 shock proof at a good price last night.
Should arrive in a few days.

I have some 6P originals already. But they were purchased with drop-in emitters in mind. 

Now until the TL-2 arrives this is a 'why I did it in the days of the LED' thread and then some physical comparisons can be done.

So for now here goes the 'why' part.
-Both are incandecent.
-Both are baby cop lights.
-Both have a twist on tail cap switch. 
-Both are portable. (About 5" ea)
-Both are reportedly very bright. I can attest for the P60 already.
-Both use 2 CR 123's
-Both are weapons grade. 
-Both are black.
-Both in original form are discontinued.
-Both bulb modules were designed to withstand 12g shotgun blasts, yet neither will likely be mounted on one to see. 
-Both having shock proof bulbs are fairly drop friendly.
-Both have really clear lenses.
-Both are backed by great warranty.
-Both are USA made.


Bulbs for the TL are $5 for just the bulb or $18 for the module if you can find one.
The 6P, $17 for the module. Not hard to find.
TL comes with a spare bulb. 6P does not.

Going in the TL is about $20 more. But after replacing the just the xenons a few times the TL becomes the lesser costing light as both are rated at similar run times on a pair of batteries. 

6P is mod friendly. TL is not...but not mod-proof. 

TL comes with a bezel up pocket clip and an adjustable wrist lanyard. 
The 6P has to be purchased separately and is attached to a ring. 

TL can tail stand...with a little help...
6P, not even close.

TL reportedly arrives with a well over 100 lumens bulb. 6P well under 100. 
P61 bulb has like a 20 minute run time and is rated about same lumens as the 60+ minute rated TL bulb. 
(Now all that I've read so I cannot state those by experience)


So after all that, why'd I buy one?
'Cause I didn't have one. 
And I get the sneaking suspicion that it'll make a mighty fine addition to my weapons lights as well as the budding Streamlight collection.




^^ the promo pic for now. 




^^ a 6P original with an added lanyard.


I have to wonder if anything from the TL-2 was carried over into current lights by others these days.

Coming soon:
The beam shots.


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## fivemega (Nov 4, 2015)

*You can also add these:
TL-2 has adjustable beam focus.
TL-2 can be used with Strion bulb using single 16670
TL-2 can be used with TL-3, CL1499 or FM1794 bulbs using pair of IMR 16340
You can use any of above bulbs in 6P if you have FM G2 bi-pin module.
You have the option to buy different type of McClicky tail caps for 6P
Some 6P comes with plastic lens.*


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## bykfixer (Nov 5, 2015)

Wow! 
Thanks. I'm honored.

Any LED's able to go in the TL-2?


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## Timothybil (Nov 5, 2015)

Lumens Factory makes a very nice SO-6, HO-6, or EO-6 lamp module for the 6P if you want a higher output incan light. The SO-6 is 120 lumen and is rated for one hour. The others are brighter, and obviously less run time. They also make the ES-6 at 80 lumens and 80 min run time. All sell for $12.99 USD + a slight shipping charge, and usually only take a week or so to arrive.


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## bykfixer (Nov 6, 2015)

Thanks for that. But my one of my 6p's gets 5 hours with a Malkoff NL.

I'm curious of what can be done to the Streamlight.


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## Timothybil (Nov 6, 2015)

bykfixer said:


> Thanks for that. But my one of my 6p's gets 5 hours with a Malkoff NL.
> 
> I'm curious of what can be done to the Streamlight.


As far as I know, Malkoff doesn't do incan lamps, which is what I thought you were looking for. Lumens Factory also does some really nice D26 LED drop ins in neutral white or 90+ CRI at about 400 lumens max, with the following run times:

1 x AW17670 (1600mAh): 
High: ~1 hour, Medium: ~3 hours, Low: ~20 hours

I don't remember if Malkhoff does Streamlight lamps, but I know TerraLUX does if you are interested. Battery Junction carries the TerraLUX drop ins so you can check them out there.


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## Monocrom (Nov 6, 2015)

fivemega said:


> *You can also add these:
> TL-2 has adjustable beam focus.
> *



Having tried out the so called adjustable beam on my Streamlight Scorpion inca., I was less than impressed. Seemed more like a marketing gimmick than something useful. No one does adjustable beams better than LEDLenser/Coast. (Though how they achieve that is a bit less than great.) Streamlight doesn't even come close with regards to adjustable beams. Whereas on the SF 6P, you get a beam that's going to be ideal for easily 95% (if not more) of the applications most folks will put their lights through. 

Still, of the two, I'd pick the Streamight in this comparison. Despite the 6P having overall better build quality between these two lights, the lack of shock protection is going to be an issue if the lights are used for anything serious.


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## bykfixer (Nov 6, 2015)

Thanks timothybil. I have a teralux in a mag. A two pin thing. Love it. So I'll check into that.
Malkoff has a stinger drop in. But that's it.
With a grinder and some o-rings I can get a Malkoff M61 to fit...but will it light? 

That so-called adustable focus reminds me of the mag xl 200...it works...kinda. 
But it is nice to dial in the spot or spread it some.

It arrived today. I'm impressed.

Another post for my comments. But first Ima research a bit on that TerraLux.
Thanks for the input monocrom. Yeah I think the incan TL is a better light for shock abuse for certain....if I trip on a hillside and it goes rolling down with me type of thing...


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## bykfixer (Nov 6, 2015)

10 minutes of research kept coming back here. lol

I'll make some phone calls Monday.

Ok so as I said the TL2 arrived.

A clam pack you need a knife or scissors to get open. The 6P packaging also has to be destroyed. 

TL 2 came with instructions. 6P does not.

I noticed the TL 2 is a lot less heavy. When ounces matter that's a good thing. 

The 6P switch seems sturdier. But the harder plastic button cover on the TL 2 seems like it'll last longer.

6P locks out with about 2 rotations. The TL 2 takes about 4. But both lock out.

Both have a nice warm beam. 
The spot of the TL 2 can be dialed in a bit tighter or broader without really changing the spill. 
TL 2 is brighter. 

Beams shots of my basketball goal at about 35' will show that. 

6P is easier to disassemble. I can see why that light is such a popular Lego. But I like the reflector and lens on the TL 2 vs the P60. 

I'll use an Elzetta lanyard ring and a 99¢ lanyard on the TL 2 instead of the pocket clip and neck lanyard. 
Same as my G2. 

It's been a long day and I need to play with the TL 2 a few days to give more impressions. 
But I'd say all in all it's a dang shame Streamlight discontinued this fine light. 
Sure Fire brought back the 6P incan. 

The pix:
TL 2 vs 6P



^^ TL 2 at 35' lights the goal and part of the pole.
Note, it's dialed in as tight as possible.




^^ the P60 spot isn't as broad. 




^^ for kix n giggles, the Malkoff M60WL

The spot vs spill pix;




^^ TL 2, the tree is about 75' away




^^ P60 wins the throw. Plenty of spill.




^^ the Malkoff

The spot pix;




^^TL 2 spot 




^^ TL 2 spot tightened.




^^ P60 is a goody. 
A blinding 65 lumens




^^ the Malkoff has a great blend of spot/spill.

My long distance pic;
A van about 500' away. 
All three beams were so similar I'm only showing one pic..the P60.




^^ before





^^ note the garage and van are somewhat lit.
They are both nice little lights. 
(Take that chillin)




^^ the double sprung element looks very shock resistant
Better pic later...




^^ L to R:
Streamlight Scorpion HL 600
Sure Fire 6P
Streamlight TL 2 shock proof
Klarus P1A
Elzetta Alpha

As you can see the TL 2 is smaller than the 6P. 
Carrying the 6P exudes more confidence. The TL 2 is not a pocket size light, but it certainly is portable. 

Oh, and the TL 2 DOES NOT tail stand. The switch is recessed enough to thwart accidental turn on. But protrudes enough to not tail stand without a lot of help. 

It DOES NOT come with an extra bulb as advertised. The 2 pin can be removed but the P60 module is readily available. The TL 2 module is discontinued and hard to find. Pulling the xenon bulb is tricky at best. 
Instructions say not to use Panasonic batteries, yet they make Streamlight batteries. Weird. 

More impressions later.

Edit: 
It's later;

So the 1" Elzetta lanyard ring is too big for the TL 2. I got out the drill and poked a hole in a dimple of the tail cap. That-a-way no ill effects to the water tightness. 
I pushed in the button and drilled from the inside about half way through and finished from the outside. 4 minutes later a 99¢ lanyard was installed. 




99¢ lanyard installed 

The 6P was drilled vertically about an 1/8th" down, then sideways until holes met, about 1/8" from both edges.




Now both have a 99¢ lanyard

Anti-roll

The 6P original has raised areas. 
The TL has flat spots. The body of the TL 2 is ever-so-slightly larger than the head. 
So the flat spots work...at least as well as the notches on the Elzetta Alpha. Maybe better.




^^ anti-roll methods differ in appearance.
I personally prefer the Streamlight unobtrusive way. 
But on say...a car hood the Sure Fire is better. 

Pocket clip

The TL 2 comes with one mounted. The 6P requires one be purchased.
TL 2 is a bezel up type. Anything that fits the 6P (that I know of) is bezel down. 
I removed the clip from the TL 2.




^^ a Malkoff on a Klarus
It will work fine on a 6P 




^^ the attached TL 2 clip.
It's a bland, uncoated steel that also acts as the supplied adjustable neck length lanyard attachment point. 




^^ clip removed.
A much 'cleaner' look. Note the attachment screw appears to protrude. Yet the flat spot on the opposite side is a better anti-roll area.

I read at an AR15 site that the TerraLUX LED kit for the Strion works on the TL 2. No details on whether it works on the shock proof. But I ordered one anyway. 
$12, so wut-the-heck, right?





If it works I'll do a "converted" 6P vs TL 2 post later.


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## RobertMM (Nov 7, 2015)

Nice thread, Bykfixer.

Playing around with my P60 lamps, I noticed a long time ago that the beam characteristics vary as well, which was bound to happen as they are "focused" at the factory and fixed in place with some kind of epoxy.
I have one that has an almost LED+orange peel like beam, very smooth and round medium hotspot with smooth spill.

I also have a "thrower" P60 that has a very small spot, with a large percentage of the total light on the hotspot and relatively little for the spill compared to my other lamps.
One has a very floody profile, the "hotspot" is large and blends very smoothly with the spill. Great for indoors. 
Gues beam characteristics for Surefire P60 lamps vary according to the mood of the guy at the factory or what he perceives to be the best possible focus point for the bulb and reflector.


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## bykfixer (Nov 7, 2015)

^^ hmmm, imperfections...another reason to love the ole incan...

I'd failed to notice the football shaped spot before last night. 
Basically I'd only used that P60 in daylight and only a couple of times as Mr. Malkoff's drop in had arrived before the 6P had. 


I suppose the bulb may rest in the P60 module slightly different at times as the assembler shoves it in. Some may come to rest at an angle while others go in straight. Or could be the bulb casing is shaped a bit differently, or perhaps it's a filament thing? 
I dunno.
But regardless, for a 65 lumen output that thing is mighty bright no matter the shape.

As I purchased several sure fire incans I also purchased a drop in. So each of the P60's are now stored in the drop in packaging. Some day I'll do a test for characteristics and label the package accordingly.


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## lightlover (Nov 7, 2015)

bykfixer said:


> ^^ the double sprung element looks very shock resistant
> Better pic later...
> 
> ........................
> ...



*Hi bykfixer,
I'm puzzled:* my TL-2 lamp module doesn't have a spring contact on the underside, just a flat cap(!) positive contact - anyone know if that means I have a different, without the anti-shock feature TL-2 model? 
Mine seems identical to yours in all other ways, and I bought it sealed NOS.

(Although if I load it, then take off the tailcap and press (quite firmly) on the batteries, there is some give. 
Maybe my version has the whole [lamp module + the batteries] isolated, that is, set to "float" between the topmost spring and tailcap spring?)

What I'm asking is if there was a TL-2 shock-proof, and a TL-2 not-so-shock-proof.  
*Dano,* you know the Streamlight stuff - any ideas?

About the extra lamp - in mine, the lamp itself is so tiny, a secret spare is secretly hidden under the aforesaid cap, in a thin grey foam wrapping. I could hardly believe there was room in there for it - so a pleasant surprise! 
If you can take off the bottom spring, have a close look at the underside of the lamp module. 
Could be maybe the same in your model?


Following your topic with interest: looking forward, thanks.


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## bykfixer (Nov 7, 2015)

^^ thanks for looking.

It seems Streamlight made the TL 2 as an 88102, which was a xenon bulb'd light and an 88402 as well. The 88102 is said to be 4-1/4" while the 402 is 4.9"...so I suppose the spring makes it longer? 

At Amazon they describe the 402 as shock proof.

If the TerraLUX doesn't work in the shock proof one I'll acquire a 102 model. It's about 1/2 the price of the double sprung light...I'd like to compare them anyway. And I'll stash the extra bulbs for the shockproof one. 









TBH I did not see any definitive info here at cpf about the incan TL 2 when searching all 34 pages of search results recently.
The 6P has been covered pretty thoroughly. It seems as the TL 2 may have been the Streamlight answer to the 6C? So I started this thread to describe the little discussed TL 2 shockproof up against the famous 6P...


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## dano (Nov 8, 2015)

lightlover said:


> *Hi bykfixer,
> I'm puzzled:* my TL-2 lamp module doesn't have a spring contact on the underside, just a flat cap(!) positive contact - anyone know if that means I have a different, without the anti-shock feature TL-2 model?
> Mine seems identical to yours in all other ways, and I bought it sealed NOS.
> 
> ...



The Shockproof TL-2 lamp was an optional lamp for the TL/NF series. I prefer the NF-2 body style to the TL. I didn't know that the Terralux Strion LED kit fits the TL (and maybe the NF, also...)....I'll look into that.


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## bykfixer (Nov 8, 2015)

^^ I don't know that the Strion upgrade fits for certain Dano. But I'll know in a few days. 

I saw at a couple of 'other' sites that it will work on the nite fighter too. 

I have an 88102 and a TerraLUX LED kit on the way.
Also have an 88105 160 lumen LED (Gen 1 and 2 were 44 lumen) on the way as well. If that will Lego with the 102 I may buy a spare 105 head/LED and stick with SL factory parts.

But I'm intrigured by how close the M61 comes to fitting inside that 402 body...


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## bykfixer (Nov 11, 2015)

So it turns out the TerraLUX drop in for the Strion works with either TL 2 incan.
It's a 2 pin bulb replacer with a non reflector head. 
The Glass (or really really hard plastic) is aspheric and makes a fantastic thrower with a buncha spill.
Brightness rivals my 600 lumen Scorpion. But this thing is rated at up to 3.5 hours vs an hour with the Scorpion. 



^^ TL 2 shockproof (88402) vs not (88102)
Top one is the 102.

Note the non shockproof has a clicky and tail cap protrudes a lot more.







Note how much the button pokes out. So much tail standing. 

Alright so I have a $15 LED that works in either. So which one gets the upgrade?
The non shockproof. It'll likely never get stressed with a $15 LED...as in dog walker, not gun light. Shockproof guts will work on the 102, so I can sorta Lego them. But I'm keeping the shockproof as is....just in case.

Now for an incan vs LED by TerraLUX
Snow white beam vs golden yellow-ish




^^ incan beam




^^ the LED. 200 streamlight lumens via TerraLUX

The throw was astanishing with the TerraLUX




^^ before




^^ the incan





^^ WOW! 200 Lumens.




^^ this is a 600 lumen Scorpion

The TL 2 is a mighty fine light. A Sure Fire baby cop lights cousin. 
The shockproof is a pretty cool tac light. 

But the combo of the TerraLUX and a non shockproof TL 2 is a winner.
Time will tell how long the TerraLUX lasts. Yet for $16 shipped, if it holds up as long well as my mini mag conversion...yeah I'll buy another.

Note:
Anybody who does a Strion drop in mod should be aware the 2 pin bulb replacer has 2 little bitty stopper to stop the pins from going in too far.
I mean little itty-bitty-titty little pieces of weak metal that bend easily.

If the 2 pin drop in base is touching the streamlight incan module you've pushed it too far, bent the 2 stoppers and the light won't light because the head runs out of threads before the module seats against the inner sleeve, which completes the circuit.

If you know this going in you're looking at 5 minutes to install the drop in. If you push too far you'll be like me going "seriously? whut gives here?"


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## bykfixer (Nov 14, 2015)

The 88105 arrived.

So right off the bat I took it apart and started swapping parts. The 88105 LED module and head works in either of the "02" lights. And either incan module works in the "05" light. The clicky tail cap or tac fits the bodys of any of the TL's.

Now the 05 cap locks out with less turns than the 02 clicky. Why? I dunno.
But either clicky is _*very*_ sensitive and protrudes. So if using in a pocket...definitely lock it out. 

Since this is an incan thread I won't do 105 vs the Terra Lux pix. But suffice it to say the 105 module/head combo is a great thrower that's way more nuetral than the TerraLUX. Warm? Eh, a hint perhaps...but not much. 





^^ some Streamlight lego action




^^ these work on any of the 3 shown.
Now if you have a spare incan head/reflector to destroy you can modify it to fit over the LED module to retain the incan look.








^^ dremel away the protrusion. 

Seems part #881140 is the way to LED your TL 2 incan. And a 881149 head. 
If you like a twisty tac cap the 88117 will work on any of your NF, TL, or SuperTac LED lights.


https://eweb.streamlight.com/Parts_Store/?action=logoff
^^ how about the Streamlight parts store?

Sadly without custom made parts it seems a Stream Fire, or Surelight is not likely.

Edit:
Alright, couldn't resist.
The Streamlight LED vs the TerraLUX

beam shots: you'll see they are very similar. If you plan on a conversion that'll be abused, the $30+/- Streamlight drop in is built from much sturdier stuff. You're looking at about $45 to upgrade as you'll need a new head.

If you don't need high durability the TerraLUX is great at $15-20 complete.




TerraLUX 35' basketball total light test




^^ the Streamlight 
Less flashback and a bit wider spot.




^^ snow white TerraLUX




^^ the more neutral Streamlight




^^ 200 lumens get you this at 300'




^^ a bit less is lit up with the 160 Streamlight




^^ 500'+ TerraLUX style




^^ Streamlight style.


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