# My M3 Leef 2x18650 setup (w/ lots of pics and beamshots)



## SCblur (May 10, 2007)

I have been wanting an M3 for a long time, but I hadn't found a rechargable option for it that I was totally sold on. Then Leef started making bodies, and I had all the pieces for the light I had been envisioning. I promptly bought an M3 and ordered a 2x18650 leef body (C tail and M head) from Lighthound. It arrived today, more beautiful than I had anticipated. Leef does amazing work. 

This is my new favorite light. The whole package feels very balanced in my hand, and for whatever reason, the SF twistie is actually easier to depress with the Leef body than with the stock one. I am very happy with the HAIII match; I've had an A2 and E2e whose individual pieces didn't match nearly as well as the leef body does with the M3. The knurling is perfect and the threads are SF quality. 

One little touch that I particularly appreciate was an unexpected surprise. It seems Leef designed a narrowed opening at the head of the body so that the 18650 cells won't come out when changing lamps. I prefer to tail load my cells when able since I don't have to risk dropping a lamp in the dark and losing it, and likewise, when I change lamp assemblies I don't like having to worry about my cells falling out the front. I know this is a litle thing, but I really like it. Also, Leef has left plenty of room for the standard lanyard ring attachment. The body has been grooved to accept two o-rings at both ends, and includes one set with the body. Enough talk, here are some pictures: (scroll to bottom for beamshot comparisons)











































I wanted to compare the MN11 in the leef body to the stock SF setup, and especially my ROP-LE, since that is the most similar light to this one that I own, in terms of output. The beamshots below compare the Leef body (2x18560s) to the stock SF body (3xCR123s) with both lamps. I'm happy to say that the MN11 is noticeable brighter on 18560s, with an approximate runtime of 45minutes. I was even more excited to find that the Leef MN11 was considerably brighter than my ROP-LE-Low, but not the high bulb. Here are the pics:

*ALL PICS ARE TAKEN AT F8.0 AND 1/3SEC.*






You might notice that the leef MN11 doesn't appear much dimmer than the ROP-HI. What the pictures don't show as well though, is the increased sidespill put out by the ROP-HI. The ROP lights up ambient objects all over the room, (notice the lit cabinet in the foreground on the left) much more than the MN11. Otherwise, the hotspots aren't that much different, with the ROP taking a slight lead.

With similar runtime to my ROP-LE-low, and more output, in a smaller and more ergonomic package, this will from now on be the light I grab when I need serious light. I'm anticipating this will be an even more viable setup when Lumensfactory comes out with their M3-compatible lamps this month. A turbohead might have to be my next purchase, giving me an M4 setup for a fraction of the cost. For anyone considering Leef bodies, I highly recommend them. Aside from his excellent quality and attention to detail, playing legos is just so much darned fun!


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## mdocod (May 10, 2007)

looks great, are all pictures taken with the same exposure time? or is this on "auto"


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## SCblur (May 10, 2007)

Oops, should have clarified that. All pics are taken on manual, F8.0 and 1/3 second. I intentionally underexposed a little bit to make comparisons easier.


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## leukos (May 10, 2007)

+1 to the quality of Leef bodies! :goodjob:


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## jumpstat (May 10, 2007)

Nice setup Scblur. Imagine a SW02 at the tail-end.......


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## BBL (May 10, 2007)

The quality of leef bodies is excelent, i absolutely agree.

I'd just like to point out one fact: they do not accept a second o-ring. The second grooves on the tail- and front-end are different, so the stock o-rings will not fit


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## Paladin (May 10, 2007)

I appreciated the high quality of my first Leef body (M-C 2x18650) that I soon ordered a second (C-C 2x18650) one. I was perfectly happy running an L6 on four primary cells, but ordered the 18650's and charger with the second body. More than anything else, I like the 2x18650 tubes having enough length to feel comforting, while still fitting (barely!) in a front pocket bezel up.

Paladin


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## cfromc (May 10, 2007)

Thank you SCblur, this is the exact light I'm planning to build. I was thinking of the C:C version (or this version) but I really love the M head. The beamshots and pics of the assembled lights are perfect today because I was going to order everything this week but was still a little undecided on which version I wanted to build. THANK YOU for making my decision that much easier. That is an awesome light for something I can use with a holster and take out of the house or for a back-up to my ROP-HI.

May I ask which brand batteries you are using?


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## SCblur (May 10, 2007)

cfromc said:


> Thank you SCblur, this is the exact light I'm planning to build. I was thinking of the C:C version (or this version) but I really love the M head. The beamshots and pics of the assembled lights are perfect today because I was going to order everything this week but was still a little undecided on which version I wanted to build. THANK YOU for making my decision that much easier. That is an awesome light for something I can use with a holster and take out of the house or for a back-up to my ROP-HI.
> 
> May I ask which brand batteries you are using?


Thanks, glad I was able to help. The batteries are AW protected 18650s. They fire up no problem without any double-clicks. Depending on your cells though, you may need a magnet between them to make up for the lack of a button top. Leef makes some magnets with a ring around them so there is no worry of shorting anything. It think they're available at lighthound. Enjoy your new light when you get it, I don't think you'll be dissapointed.


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## brunt_sp (May 10, 2007)

Personally I think the 2 X 18650 looks a little too long with the M3 head. A 2 X 18500 would be perfect but Leef does not make such a C to M item. For that reason I have a Leef 2 X 18500 C to C tube and a C-M Leefdapter on order. This will be combined with a SW02 tailcap. (I agree with Jumpstat)


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## knightrider (May 10, 2007)

That looks awesome! And the rechargeability is cool too. Sweet set-up.

Does anyone have a pic with the M3T (M4, M6) head on that 2x18650 Leef body? Would love to see what that looks like.


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## SCblur (May 10, 2007)

brunt_sp said:


> Personally I think the 2 X 18650 looks a little too long with the M3 head. A 2 X 18500 would be perfect but Leef does not make such a C to M item. For that reason I have a Leef 2 X 18500 C to C tube and a C-M Leefdapter on order. This will be combined with a SW02 tailcap. (I agree with Jumpstat)



post a picture of that setup if you get a chance, I've been thinking of getting one of those too, for when I want a little more portability.


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## Outdoors Fanatic (May 10, 2007)

That's a great setup and it does give an excellent performance. I just don't like its form factor though. It looks too long and flat. The stock M3 is much more sexy.


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## ampdude (May 10, 2007)

Looks nice. I'm still hoping we will see a 2 X 18500 C-M Leef Body yet. Since this would also allow the use of CR123A's and is more compact and fits some standard holsters better. I would be all over a 2 X 18500 body.


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## SCblur (May 10, 2007)

I'm also considering getting a 2x18500 body for it, when I need something a little more compact. However, I'm also trying to standardize my batteries as much as possible, and I'd like to stick to 18650s as much as possible.


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## jumpstat (May 14, 2007)

My next project would be 2x18650 leef body, SW02 tc and an M2 head with P91. Can this setup turn heads!?!


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## trouble (May 14, 2007)

Nice setup! I've got 2 lego lights with Leef bodies and I also have to say how much I was impressed with their quality! Good stuff! Something you might consider is a Leef grip for added control on the tail end, I've got them on both of mine and they help out a bunch and really open up options for the use of the light with a handgun or other weapon, just a thought...


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## SCblur (May 14, 2007)

I just checked out the Leef grip, very interesting. Looks kinda like the detonator extender, without actually extending the tube. Pretty smart idea. I might have to pick one of those up next time I order at lighthound. Thanks trouble.


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## CLHC (May 14, 2007)

Very impressive I must say. :thumbsup:

Enjoy!


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## CM (May 14, 2007)

Leef makes my favorite "Lego" blocks for the Surefire. Nice pics.


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## jumpstat (May 15, 2007)

SCblur said:


> I just checked out the Leef grip, very interesting. Looks kinda like the detonator extender, without actually extending the tube. Pretty smart idea. I might have to pick one of those up next time I order at lighthound. Thanks trouble.


Those leef grips, how are they mounted on the body? Is it static?


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## SCblur (May 15, 2007)

I haven't used one, but from what I can see in the picture (and the description), it seems like it slides onto the back of the battery tube, and is secured in the gap between the tailcap and body. I don't see any other way to secure it, so it might just rotate freely around the body, I'm not sure. You can see it here:
http://www.lighthound.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2513


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## trouble (May 15, 2007)

Yes they free spin unless you really crank down the tailcap.


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## brunt_sp (May 17, 2007)

They come with an O-ring that sits underneath. This prevents them from spinning but the inside of the tailcap still has to make contact with the end of the tube. For this reason a certain amount of experimentation is needed.


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## SCblur (May 17, 2007)

They sure look cool, it's nice being able to add that feature w/o increasing the tube length as in the detonator. I just bought a Milky M310.3, I'm thinking of getting one of those for it.


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## etc (Sep 11, 2008)

BTT, old but most interesting thread as I really wanted to see pics of the 2x18650 body. As I am planning very similar "mod":
*

SureFire 9P with Malkoff M60 and Leef 2x18650.* 
I presume the Leef body is "C/C"?

Never had a Surefire. I hope to find out what the beam pattern look like in the LED forum.


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## mdocod (Sep 11, 2008)

the leefbody in the pictures above is a C/M, the M3's Z46 bezel on the front end, combined with pictures taken next to the M3 body is kind of a giveaway.

The C-C body will have a smaller front end. For D26 reflector modules, rather than M3 bulb tower modules.


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## cernobila (Sep 11, 2008)

jumpstat said:


> My next project would be 2x18650 leef body, SW02 tc and an M2 head with P91. Can this setup turn heads!?!



The P91 will only work in a "C" head, ideally on a 2x 18650 Leef body.....and yes it is a nice floody lamp with plenty of output.


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## streetkid (Sep 11, 2008)

I put together a 9P with a 1 cell extender along with a LF EO-9 LA, I've had it together for over a week now waiting on my 2x17670s from AW. The benefit of the extender vs the leef is that you can break it down and use 3 primaries. And the obvious disadvantage is not being able to use 18mm cells, reducing capacity by quite a bit. I'm also interested in getting an M60 eventually too.. also want a turbo head eventually 

The reasons I stuck with the 9P body rather than going to a leef was 1, to keep it an actual surefire light and 2, price. Its a shame SF bodies cant take 18mm cells, really a shame, then they might actually be the perfect light.

If you're going to do a leef body, wouldnt it be a better idea to keep an eye out for bezels/tailcaps on the marketplace, rather than buy complete overpriced SF in the first place?


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## brandx (Sep 11, 2008)

I've had an M3 for several years that sat in BOB neglected and useless. Too big for a pocket and not enough lumens/throw to replace the M4 as my general ranch light. I did not use 1 set of cells in that time. Recently, Milky 'fixed' my M3 and suddenly it is 'useful' with 350 lumens and runs AW cells. Next step was a Leef 2x 18650 body. To my mind, this is already too big for a pocket light, so the little extra length to run 18650's rather than 17500's is a non issue. I now have fresh appreciation for the M3 form factor, but not incan model with anemic output relative to the size. Isn't it grand to live in intersting times?


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## etc (Sep 12, 2008)

2x18650 is not an EDC candidate but a lot smaller than my current 3D M*g with Malkoff.


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## Solscud007 (Sep 15, 2008)

Other than using a detonator on a M3 body what other rechargeable options are there? Just 3x Rechargeable 123?

does the M3 body need to be bored out for the 18650 if I wanted to stay with the stock M3 body? so then my detonator would also need to be bored out? or should I just get a M4 body and bore it out?


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## Sgt. LED (Sep 15, 2008)

I vote for boring out the M4 body......
Well on second thought boring out the M3 body + Detonator would be more flexible if you want to run something different down the road. And yes both need bored for 18mm cells.
:shrug:


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