Surefire 6P Legos

[GyroF-16]

Well, once again, P-F has cost me money...

Didn’t need another flashlight, but couldn’t resist a good $74 light.

In informal testing, I’m really impressed with the brightness and the throw of this light.
I used it to scan the meadow behind our house for coyotes when taking the dog out on two different nights. I compared it to two of my favorite lights for this task, a Nightcore SRT6 with variable output, and my SureFire EDCL2-T. Both are rated at around 1000 lumens at max output.
I was very pleased with the 6P Lego- the hotspot is so tightly concentrated that the throw is equivalent to both 1000-lumen lights when illuminating individual trees. The other two lights have better “spill” (the EDCL2-T is almost uniform across the whole illuminated area), but this LEGO light does a great job of putting a LOT of light on what you’re interested in, out to at least 200 yds.

Thanks, guys - it was money well spent.

Thanks to @Sidheshooter I'm spending yet more $$ on flashlights... ;-/

He posted this link to a smokin' hot deal on the Surefire 6P, the light that started it all (Lego lights, that is). For $34.00 including shipping I couldn't resist, and anyone who wants to build a quality light to their liking should grab one too.

Since the 6P comes standard with the Z41 twisty tailcap (button momentary only, twist for constant-on), I decided to build a budget fightin' light using this drop-in module. It's rated at 560 lumens and due to the emitter used and the polished reflector, should produce a tightly-focused beam with plentiful candela. Though there is no candela rating on this drop-in, my WAG is that it should produce 12,000 to 15,000 candela - I'll get a better feel for this when I compare it to my other lights with known ratings.

For $73.99 (all free shipping), this could be a fight light bargain if the drop-in delivers the way I think it will. I'll report back with photos and a full evaluation.

[NH Shooter]

@GyroF-16 thanks for your feedback!

I too am taking a liking to this drop-in. The center hot spot is tight and well-defined from the uniform spill area. The hot spot certainly has enough luminous intensity to cause flash blindness in a self defense situation. What I find so useful with the beam pattern is that the spill light is more than bright (and inform) enough to use for general lighting without being overbearing, and simply getting the much brighter hot spot in the face of an aggressor is a simple task. I need to take another beam shot to better illustrate that.

I'm using this module in the WML on my 1187, one in a Surefire Z2 Combat Light and I just ordered a third one to put back in my 6P.

[Old Man Winter]

@NH Shooter - thanks for the info. Very impressed with the drop in you mentioned. It's a solid upgrade for the old 6P and turns it into an excellent light for rural use.

[SiriusBlunder]

It took a month for my https://www.solarforceflashlight-sales.com/ pocket clip to arrive form HK. Not complaining based on the price.

I'm going to start carrying my 6P with EDC+ drop as a 2nd tactical light to get a feel for durability.

Comparing the EDC+ drop in to known 15K and 21K candela lights, I think 17-18K is a great estimate. Mine is much warmer than I anticipated.

In summary, I'm really excited about this build and hope it works out as I love the Surefire 6P tailcap interface.

Thanks @NH Shooter and @Sidheshooter!

[NH Shooter]

I now have three of these EDC+ drop-ins and as expected, the beam pattern is very consistent. I do notice a difference in color temperature between the three, ranging from what I would estimate from around 5000K to 6500K.

An issue I found that others need to be aware of is that the shiny LED "pill" on the rear of the module screws into the large aluminum reflector. All of mine have come loose from installing/removing the drop-ins in various lights. I resolved the issue by removing the pill, placing a tiny drop of Loctite on the reflector threads and tightening the pill into the reflector by hand as tight as possible. Just something to be aware of.

For a drop-in rated 6V maximum, it does give great results. I like the beam pattern with its tight, well-defined hot spot surrounded by a fairly uniform spill of sufficient brightness. Quality wise it's not a Malkoff, but is certainly not bad and better than most.

Speaking of Malkoff, their brightest 6V (M61) single-mode drop-in is rated at 450 lumens at an estimated 8,000 candela. I am patiently awaiting for something in the 1,000 lumen/20,000+ candela range but I suspect I'm in for a long wait.

In the meantime this Lego brings plenty of value in a robust host with the perfect UI for defensive use. I even set up an old Z2 Combat Light with one and think it's awesome for those who use the Rogers-Surefire technique. Interestingly, it outperforms (in candela) the two combat lights currently available from Surefire;

[GyroF-16]

FWIW - donor 6Ps are one “sale” for $44 here:
https://tacticalsportsgear.com/colle...-bk-flashlight

Free shipping. Not the smokin’ $34 deal of a couple months ago, but not too bad, methinks.

[10mmfanboy]

Has anyone tried a Malkoff device for a incandescent Maglite yet? For the life of me I couldn't figure out why they are still making them, but I kind of dig the idea of a huge thrower. Something tells me the focus and throw on one of those would be spectacular.

I had a theory I'd like to test out, sad thing is I don't even own a incandescent flashlight anymore to try to test my theory. I noticed that when it's rainy and foggy and gloomy out that my led flame throwers don't do very well at all. It seems like all the moisture in the air makes the bright led light bounce off the rain and reflect all weird. Almost like it is lighting up the rain and nothing else. I am wondering if a low lumen incandescent light flashlight wouldn't work better in those kinds of situations?

[joshs]

While they don't have quite the same build quality as Malkoff, the single mode dropins from Nailbender/Customlites are still well-built and include potted electronics. If you want very good output in a P60, his XPL domeless dropin is great: https://www.customlites.com/product....2&categoryId=1

[GyroF-16]

Has anyone tried a Malkoff device for a incandescent Maglite yet? For the life of me I couldn't figure out why they are still making them, but I kind of dig the idea of a huge thrower. Something tells me the focus and throw on one of those would be spectacular.

I had a theory I'd like to test out, sad thing is I don't even own a incandescent flashlight anymore to try to test my theory. I noticed that when it's rainy and foggy and gloomy out that my led flame throwers don't do very well at all. It seems like all the moisture in the air makes the bright led light bounce off the rain and reflect all weird. Almost like it is lighting up the rain and nothing else. I am wondering if a low lumen incandescent light flashlight wouldn't work better in those kinds of situations?

I have one. For me, the appeal was something like 30 hrs from a 3xD-cell Maglite. Seems like it would be great for extended periods without electricity. I remember being quite satisfied with the output (though I think “spectacular” would have memorable, so not that good) but that was more than a year ago, and it’s just been ready underneath the nightstand ever since.

I’ll try to remember to bring it when I take the dog out tonight and report back.

[10mmfanboy]

I have one. For me, the appeal was something like 30 hrs from a 3xD-cell Maglite. Seems like it would be great for extended periods without electricity. I remember being quite satisfied with the output (though I think “spectacular” would have memorable, so not that good) but that was more than a year ago, and it’s just been ready underneath the nightstand ever since.

I’ll try to remember to bring it when I take the dog out tonight and report back.

Thank you, I appreciate it! That is exactly the use I was thinking of too. I really like how long of a charge they get as well.