"Sleeper" flashlights

There is a concept of cars called "Sleepers" which look ordinary on the outside but on the inside have a high performance engine, brakes and suspension etc..

Can anyone offer an example of a sleeper flashlight, either off-the-shelf or modded?

Regards,

David

Any hotwire Maglite would be a good start... They would show the most bang for buck as a sleeper, but if you want something even more subtle, then you need something like an iTP A3 Eos... looks like a simple keychain light but puts out about 8 times more light compared to something you would pick up at a supermarket.

There are literally dozens of lights that fall into this category, depends on how stock you need it to appear, and what level of consumer you are aiming at.

For instance, if it was your typical Australian who still thinks Incan mags for $100 are the best light in the world, bar none! then a simple SF 6P incan will really impress, but if you are looking at someone who is aware of high efficiency LED's and maybe even owns something in the 100-200 Lumen category, then you will have to start looking at dropins or mods... for instance, I have an SST-90 in a 6P (600+ Lumens... possibly a lot brighter at turn on with LiFePO4 batteries, maybe upwards of 900+) which (for a short period of time) kicks the crap out of all my lights but looks like a standard light

HI David,

Here is one along the lines of what you said. In fact its literaly called "The Sleeper"

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/206201

Pretty much any light that MilkySpit gets his hands on is a Sleeper.

Other than the tape on the bezel that outlines what the light is capable of, they generally look stock.

Just about any AAA led light that is loaded with a LiIon cell. It is usual outside the specifications and might damage both the led and battery, but it is bright.

Any Surefire 6P style light that has a modern drop in could be classed as a sleeper. Here are 2 of mine. The roundy has a Malkoff M61 - 260 lumens!
The newer 6P has a Malkoff M60 - 235 lumens!! - They look like 65 lumen stock lights but their beasts!!

An ITP A3 & similar AAA lights that can handle lithium ion batteries are pretty shocking to non-flashaholics. They are shocking to me after owning Lummi a 200 lumen (Lummi rated) light.
Also shocking is the beam quality.

The older version of the D-Mini is also quite shocking for it's throw for a very nondescript looking light. The old D-mini with the Q5 3 mode digital pill is still nothing to be sneezed at & will embarrass most of the new R5 2x123 lights out there when it comes to throw.

The Quark Preon is supposed to be even more a screamer with a 10440 in it than the ITP/Maratac AAA's. Also starting to warm up to the body style.

Check Bigchelis thread with numbers from his IS, he is constantly adding more lights to it & some are quite surprising. In both rated output & actual, or potential for the lights that can handle lithium ion batteries (but not approved by manufacturer for heat reasons), it is an eyeopener.


This is all pretty much just reinforcement for the rest of the posts so far & experience with my own lights.
edit:
Also, any of the SF clones or p60 hosts can be turned into the most serious of sleepers by the custom fabbers here on cpf

jimmy1970 said:

Any Surefire 6P style light that has a modern drop in could be classed as a sleeper. Here are 2 of mine. The roundy has a Malkoff M61 - 260 lumens!

The newer 6P has a Malkoff M60 - 235 lumens!! - They look like 65 lumen stock lights but their beasts!!

Click to expand...

I've got a stock 6P with one of Gene's M60W MC-E drop-ins in it.

470 lumens in a 65-lumen form-factor. :twothumbs

Depending on the size of light, a C/D Mag or a P60 light could be turned into a hand held flame thrower or pocket rocket. You might want to watch out for your wallet though...

tolkaze said:

For instance, if it was your typical Australian who still thinks Incan mags for $100 are the best light in the world, bar none! then a simple SF 6P incan will really impress

Click to expand...

Do not go giving us Aussies too much credit, I still impress many Aussies with just a simple 1 watt LED conversion in a AA Mini-mag :sick2:

When I fire up a 5-6D Mag with a TLE300 conversion there are many that think I am the second coming :candle: and heaven forbid I should fire up my Olight M30. To most Aussies these are just "torches" so the sleeper factor is usually just down to size. Most Aussies still think a EverReady "Dolphin" is a great light and Mag D's are just for security/LE types (at great expense)

No offence taken , illumination technology is starting to take hold down here in the antipodes but a long way to go. I (whilst not being overly techno minded) appear to be the local illumination guru with many of my colleagues slowly becoming "Flashaholics".

At the recent SF Bay Area GTG I was told of a guy who brought a 2AA Mini-Mag to a previous GTG that was running two 14500s DD into an MCE. Run times, apparently, were measured in seconds. Either that or the thing would go thermal in a matter of seconds, not sure which. Either way, you had two or three seconds of 1000 lumens with this little light.

any maglite would be a nice sleeper for americans. i'm not sure about the surefires.

i definitely agree about the aaa's. it's natural to perceive light strength with size so the smaller it is, the least lumens are expected.

I'd say, hide a 6P with a malkof drop in inside the oldest D sized battery flashlight you can find (you will need to remove all the innards), preferably something colorful and made for children (even better if it has dolphins on the side), stuff it with newspaper so the 6P won't move and use a remote switch hanging out the back... that should get you a reaction... just remember not to leave it on too long

Small bright light's like the Fenix PD10 or Zebralight SC50 on 14500 seem to bring the biggest wth is that response from friends and on lookers.

Ozgeardo said:

Do not go giving us Aussies too much credit, I still impress many Aussies with just a simple 1 watt LED conversion in a AA Mini-mag :sick2:

When I fire up a 5-6D Mag with a TLE300 conversion there are many that think I am the second coming :candle: and heaven forbid I should fire up my Olight M30. To most Aussies these are just "torches" so the sleeper factor is usually just down to size. Most Aussies still think a EverReady "Dolphin" is a great light and Mag D's are just for security/LE types (at great expense)

No offence taken , illumination technology is starting to take hold down here in the antipodes but a long way to go. I (whilst not being overly techno minded) appear to be the local illumination guru with many of my colleagues slowly becoming "Flashaholics".

Click to expand...

Well, as a fellow Aussie, I can see why maglites are so awesome to most people, and I agree on the dolphin torch... maybe I should chuck a big chunk of heatsinking into a dolphin and run an SST90 at spec... hmmmmm

My main problem with the Australian lighting scene is that the best lighting options I have seen in any store are mag's, led lensers, and the occasional 1 watt with an xp-c emitter. there are no gun shops, no surefires on display anywhere, nothing good at all.

An old Maglite with a Malkoff drop-in

ToNIX said:

An old Maglite with a Malkoff drop-in

Click to expand...

+1. LOL

PCC said:

At the recent SF Bay Area GTG I was told of a guy who brought a 2AA Mini-Mag to a previous GTG that was running two 14500s DD into an MCE. Run times, apparently, were measured in seconds. Either that or the thing would go thermal in a matter of seconds, not sure which. Either way, you had two or three seconds of 1000 lumens with this little light.

Click to expand...

dear sweet jesus, he's driving that at twice its rated voltage, and draining those cells at maybe 3 times their rated current. Enjoy your pipe bomb.

Chrontius said:

dear sweet jesus, he's driving that at twice its rated voltage, and draining those cells at maybe 3 times their rated current. Enjoy your pipe bomb.

Click to expand...

I believe it was 2S2P wired; however, it still must be draining the cells at more than 2C.

I have a Mini-Mag with an MC-E as well... wired 2S2P and driven by 2 unprotected 14500s. Mine has a driver though, which limits the current to 1000mA (approx 500mA per die). The aspheric (just for kicks) and the kroll switch give it away though...

tolkaze said:

Well, as a fellow Aussie, I can see why maglites are so awesome to most people, and I agree on the dolphin torch... maybe I should chuck a big chunk of heatsinking into a dolphin and run an SST90 at spec... hmmmmm

My main problem with the Australian lighting scene is that the best lighting options I have seen in any store are mag's, led lensers, and the occasional 1 watt with an xp-c emitter. there are no gun shops, no surefires on display anywhere, nothing good at all.

Click to expand...

I saw a 6P and a G2 in King of Knives. The 6P was $200 (about $160US) and the G2 $150!!!! The G2 had a blown bulb and they still wouldn't sell it cheap.

Sleeper mags are the way to go. Anything with a few thousand lumens or more in a stock looking body is going to be a hit.

Cheers,
Nova