I have been gifted a Surefire 6P!

Hi everyone,

Two days ago, I was gifted a Surefire 6P from friend of mine. I was showing him my 4Sevens Quark the other day, and the next day he goes, "Hey, I have a light for you"...to my shock and awe, he pulls out a Surefire 6P out of his backpack and hands it to me! As a CPFer...it was a proud moment to receive a light that holds such legendary status.

First things I noticed:
-Serious durability/strength, but at the price of some serious weight over my Quark
-BEAUTIFUL beam, my first powerful incan!
-No clip Makes the weight issue worse
-A strange UI, but one that makes a lot of sense for tactical purposes!
-My second waterproof-to-33ft. light!
-First time handling CR123s...very lightweight and compact!
-Disbelief that I finally own a Surefire light!

I'm still stunned to believe that I am the proud owner of a Surefire. I'm a college student who has never even thought of putting money towards one, mostly because of the high cost. Now all I can say is TIME TO BUY SOME DROP INS AND JUMP ON THE LI-ION SHIP!

My plans:
-Multi level, warm, LED drop in
-SheKor Li-Ion charger (I have researched chargers, please don't recommend others)
-Some RCR123s for the 6P, and 14500s for the Quark

What other size batteries fit in the 6P?


-Jon

Welcome to the club!

I am a little confused about what you have said about the UI... there isn't a UI with the 6P :thinking:

DimeRazorback said:

Welcome to the club!

I am a little confused about what you have said about the UI... there isn't a UI with the 6P :thinking:

Click to expand...

If its stock the Incan or the 6P LED it should have a twisty, which means on/ off operation.

RE: other batteries, I use a 17670 cell, which saves the hassle involved in 2-cell setups. Works fine on drop-ins that are made for that voltage range, which many are.

Congrtas on the Surefire light. I to was blessed with a Surefire C2 a few weeks ago in a trade. I love the light and I hope you enjoy your new Surefire.

Dont waste any money on inferior dropins, just get a Malkoff M61. :naughty:

While your at it, send your new 6P to get bored for 18650 and a McClickie in the TC, and a nice new shiny bezel ring!!!

DimeRazorback said:

Welcome to the club!

I am a little confused about what you have said about the UI... there isn't a UI with the 6P :thinking:

Click to expand...

Well, I don't think the term User Interface needs to be exclusive to digital interfaces, so I applied it to the 6P.

What I really meant was that I was surprised that it wasn't a clicky as I had imagined...yet at the same time it isn't a pure twisty. It twists on/off, yet can be partially pressed for momentary....it really caught me off guard is why I mentioned it.

PoliceScannerMan said:

Dont waste any money on inferior dropins, just get a Malkoff M61. :naughty:

While your at it, send your new 6P to get bored for 18650 and a McClickie in the TC, and a nice new shiny bezel ring!!!

Click to expand...

Most important phrase in that paragraph about drops ins was College Student

I really wish I could get Malkoff drops in and all that fancy stuff, but I really don't have the need for high end components like that. But 18650 bore and a clicky aren't out of the question...those would be of great use to me!

Since I guess that money maybe tight for you, I have this to recommend to you. http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.32954

It's a XPG R5 p60 drop in with 3.6 to 18v driver. At $15 shipped it's quite the deal, as the emitter cost almost that much. Also with 18v max input means using 2 rechargeable CR123a is ok. This is the latest Cree emitter with the highest bin with the lowest price at 1amp regulation.

Try spiderfire rechargeable CR123a on ebay, they seems to be pretty good. As there was a member here who did a test on them, and they pretty much came 2nd.

Also the next cheapest and best upgrade would be just an AR coated window for the 6p. http://www.flashlightlens.com/

I hope you have a bright adventure coming for you with the 6p.:naughty:

Points regarding UI are valid.

I didn't really explain my point in my original point.

I urge you to carefully consider whether boring is worth it to you: calculate how much boring and all the batteries and charger will cost compared to how many hours you expect to use the light -- I calculated one such rechargeable upgrade to run me around $30 for a different light, when I realized I would have to go through the equivalent of 20 primaries in order to make it worth my while!

I promise it is worth saving up for a Malkoff, and I urge you to do so. A cheaper drop-in will only serve to whet your appetite but the real meat & potatoes is with the top-tier drop-ins.

carrot said:

...I promise it is worth saving up for a Malkoff, and I urge you to do so. A cheaper drop-in will only serve to whet your appetite but the real meat & potatoes is with the top-tier drop-ins.

Click to expand...

+1 on that...I started with a DX LED drop-in in my 6P, and it was fine for awhile, but then it started sucking the juice out of primary cells like there was no tomorrow. Then I got a Malkoff M60 and there was no going back. I run either a single 17670, or two RCR123s (if I want maximum brightness) in my 6P with M61, and it is SWEET either way. :thumbsup:

Very thoughtful ideas Carrot and Toohotruk.

Carrot, that makes a lot of sense to compare the cost/benefits of boring rather than simply saying it will extend runtime. In the long run, I imagine it will save me money if I don't bore.

As far as drop ins...I refuse to buy any product from DX or any of that low end BS. I got my Quark because its a great mix of value, power, and versatility. DX goods and the like just aren't worth it...there is no real value to such low quality products. I need to have confidence in my light, and a DX product won't give me that.

On the other hand....I'll have to do my researching, but I'm not sure if I'd go Malkoff immediately either. Like I said, I look for value and I'll have to evaluate his products considering it's above my price point. Thanks for the input everyone, I'll take it into consideration!

I dont class Solarforce in the same bunch as the DX riff raff.
Take a look at the Solarforce XP-G dropin for something bright and durable.

I got my 6P in the 90's and have always liked it.
Right now its got a Lumens Factory D26 drop in and a netkidz clicky switch on RCR123's.
Its my home mess around light so runtime is not important.

Its brothers the 6PD and C2 do defensive duty these days.

You can still use AAs in the 6P. All you need is a dropin that feeds on 0.9-4.2v and a 15mm spacer. Alternatively you can get a Solarforce ECR or an AN14 (I think they had an aluminum version of this somewhere...) and you can run 2xAAs.

IIRC the M30 is no slouch on 2xAAs, Its also available in 5A.

You might find this type of set up most cost effective than getting another charger + rechargeables or switching battery setups all together.

You can also use it like it is. That way you have a real Surefire!

Agreed!

I love my 6P-USA with the P60

Get yourself a Nailbender 4.2v Warm/Neutral white XP-G drop-in. 300 OTF lumens in neutral white for 1.4hours if you get it bored out to 18650. Also, they're only $45. Seriously, no other drop-in compares to the performance of a Nailbender XP-G in the same price range. :thumbsup:

red, great point on cost effectiveness. Normally, I am all about it, but in this case I saved so much money from being given a light, that I can afford to add on some quality upgrades!

gcbryan, excellent point! I plan to keep the P60 bulb...I'm very impressed with it! For being rated at 65 lumens....it sure does a great job. And I can't get enough of how WARM WARM WARM it is!

Redforest, I was actually looking through Nailbender's offerings last night. Seems like he has a great product that would fit my budget and purposes better than a Malkoff. I wouldn't get the 4.2v version though, as that voltage would be too low I believe? RCR123x2=8.4v...right?

I just wish I could find some runtimes and OTF lumen ratings for his offerings on various battery setups....I know that I need to look up the actual LEDs he uses but I'm unsure of how to go about doing that.

Hey JCW. I have an extra Lumens Factory D26 drop in. PM me your addr and I will send it to you.:wave: