LED Drop-in Emitter for Old Surefire 6P

[aznpos531]

Could someone recommend an LED drop-in for an old incandescent Surefire 6P?
The 3 and 5 mode drop-ins from Solarforce have caught my eye but I wanted to see if there are other options before buying it.

Thanks!

 

[RF11]

I asked the same question on AR15.com and got a pretty solid recommendation to check out Malkoff. http://www.malkoffdevices.com/shop/dropins-for-surefire-and-malkoff-m61s-to-fit-surefire-malkoff-c-1_14_18.html?zenid=f035be02148b9cb13baf829c439ce3c0

Your 6P I'm assuming is 2 cell which makes it 6 Volt. That means your options are any of the M61 range. The M61 gives you 260 lumens for about 2hours and then light output tapers down for a couple of hours after that.

There are also the M61L which is 175 lumens for 5hours or the M61LL 100 lumens for 10 hours.

The M61W gives you a warmer light some people prefer this because it illuminates colors properly but you sacrifice a bit of brightness.

Here is the comparison chart: http://http://www.malkoffdevices.com/compare-flashlights.php

 

[Starlight1967]

Be careful though, if you're using rechargeable 123 batteries. I'm using an older LED unit that uses 3.7-9volt. So I can use 2 primary cells for 6 volts, or 2 RCR123 for 7.4 volts.

 

[Noctis3880]

I'd prefer the Malkoff M61W. It's about 200 OTF lumens single-mode only, but it lasts a good while even on RCR123s, has both flood and spill, and is just plain awesome with a beautiful beam pattern due to the orange peel reflector.

I'd avoid Solarforce, it sounds like one of those generic China products, which can be either good or bad depending on your luck of the draw. I hear Thrunite has been very popular with their drop-ins, though I haven't tried their multi-mode versions, the single-mode I got was pretty good. You might find more options on Candle Power Forums. One user there called "nailbender" specifically produces P60 drop-in modules, though most of them are focused on high-output drop-ins, he provides a wide range of LEDs from XPE, XPG, XM-L, SST-50, and SST-90 to name a few. You just have to pick the ones in the correct voltage range for your light, which I believe is about 6-9 volts depending on which batteries you use and how many.

 

[Starlight1967]

I had particularly bad luck with a Thrunite. It was very very bright, but it worked for less than 30 seconds. The dealer offered to replace it, sending me an RMA, but by the time I paid international postage there and back, it would be very close to the cost of the drop-in. Just bad luck, I suppose, but I'm looking at other brands now.

 

[Katdaddy]

You can't beat a Malkoff.

 

[Noctis3880]

You can't beat a Malkoff.

Oveready makes a 1600 lumen drop-in that uses 3 XPG-2 emitters. I'd say that beats it by a pretty wide margin. Price is pretty hefty at $165. It can only run on rechargeables and not primary CR123s, so it would be about 15 minutes on high using 2 RCR123s. But it would be 15 minutes of glorious light:thumbup:.

 

[aznpos531]

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I'll really have to give the Malkoff drop-ins some consideration.

Oveready makes a 1600 lumen drop-in that uses 3 XPG-2 emitters. I'd say that beats it by a pretty wide margin. Price is pretty hefty at $165. It can only run on rechargeables and not primary CR123s, so it would be about 15 minutes on high using 2 RCR123s. But it would be 15 minutes of glorious light:thumbup:.

LOL...what am I going to do with 15 minutes of 1600 lumen light?

 

[Noctis3880]

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I'll really have to give the Malkoff drop-ins some consideration.

Very much so, they're popular for good reason:thumbup:.

LOL...what am I going to do with 15 minutes of 1600 lumen light?

Impress your friends? It's always amusing to see people's reactions when you light up a dark park at night:thumbup:. Granted there's little to no practical use for it, at least for people who aren't rescue workers. If there's a blackout, I'm more likely to use the "low" setting rather than "high". It's not like that kind of power wouldn't be useful in rural areas, it's just that the modified maglites would be better for it for a much longer runtime. Still, the fact that there are 3 power settings makes it very flexible. 55 minutes on medium and 27 hours on low. That's assuming 2 16340 IMR rechargeable cells.

I realize you might not like the idea of wasting the still serviceable 6P host, but consider upgrading to something a bit wider that can handle the 18*** width cells. That same mentioned 1600L drop-in can run for 19 minutes on high, 74 minutes on medium, and 35 hours on low with 2 18350 IMR cells. It can run at a reduced output(1070 Lumens) on a single 18650 cell at 77 minutes on high, 4 hours on medium, and 6 days on low. The new 3100mAh capacity 18650 cell is where it's at. If you use a 18650 cell with the Malkoff drop-in, you should be able to get over 4 hours of runtime easily.

I'd also imagine the black coating is wearing off on your light about now. The Type II anodizing easily wears off from rubbing on your clothing. The Type III anodizing can hold up to anything aside from scraping against metal constantly.

 

[Katdaddy]

Oveready makes a 1600 lumen drop-in that uses 3 XPG-2 emitters. I'd say that beats it by a pretty wide margin. Price is pretty hefty at $165. It can only run on rechargeables and not primary CR123s, so it would be about 15 minutes on high using 2 RCR123s. But it would be 15 minutes of glorious light:thumbup:.

Well, I stand corrected. That certainly sounds way more better than the Malkoff, which puts out lots of useful light for a long time. I withdraw my recommendation.

 

[Jason B.]

High lumen count is cool and all but I like to use my light. I have several surefires and those that use light modules have Malkoff drop-in's installed. All are older (5+ years) yet still some of the brightest and best. They work every time, provide superior light output, and work with a wide range of battery configuration's. They are tough as nails too.

Favorite is a G2 with M60LL, great balance of light and runtime.

 

[Noctis3880]

High lumen count is cool and all but I like to use my light. I have several surefires and those that use light modules have Malkoff drop-in's installed. All are older (5+ years) yet still some of the brightest and best. They work every time, provide superior light output, and work with a wide range of battery configuration's. They are tough as nails too.

Favorite is a G2 with M60LL, great balance of light and runtime.

True, I found the low mode the be the most used on my triple LED module(when actually looking for something in the dark in the car). But to me, that's sort of the weak point of the Malkoff modules: the single mode. Unless you buy the Malkoff host with a high/low switch, you'll either need multiple flashlights or multiple modules to swap in and out of your flashlight depending on your needs. It's a solid and reliable module to be sure, but the lack of multiple modes is a little meh. Granted, the thing was designed with weapon use in mind, but I'm not sure many of us here have our flashlights mounted to our guns.

The one thing I like most about the triple module is the beam pattern. I've got one paired with a UCL frosted lens and it is more or less a wall of light. A typical light has a hotspot and flood around the hotspot. This thing is more like all flood and no hotspot, but the flood is easily as bright as a typical hotspot. I found that particular feature more useful with the low mode as there's no particular spot you have to focus the hotspot on in order to get a good look at it.

 

[MikeC]

Man I just keep buying the crop ins from light hound I think their solar force and they work outstandingly well no pro lens whatsoever and Ive got 12 of them total a in surefires ranging from
G2 models to 9 P and the old D 3 models as well. Lights turn out around 305 lumens for about 2 hours. No problems.