Nice incan with a silent/quiet switch?

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K

KQL

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Please forgive my noob incandescent question.

Last few nights I've been on an incandescent kick, I pulled out my 2D and 3D Maglites and some plastic cheapies from around the house. I'm surprisingly pleased with the tint of these and now I'm wanting more. The Maglite beam shape is pretty "unique" compared to the smooth LED beams, so it got me thinking if a nicer incan light like a Surefire might have a nicer beam.

Also, these old lights have incredibly loud clicking switches. I'd like to get a nicer incan light for indoor use, with a nicer beam shape and a quieter switch. Is there an iconic, high quality incan light known for a good looking beam, with a quiet switch as a secondary consideration?

So far, I've started looking for 3xcr123 lights like the 9P, G3 and C3, thinking that I'd like the option of running these with 2xAA and a Malkoff M61LL in the future, should I need it, or find that the incan lights just aren't my thing (I'm willing to explore them some some, but would like to keep my options open). Any others I should consider? Even if it's a dedicated incan light, what's a nice one? Prob looking to spend under $100.

Thank you all.
 
Conte

Conte

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Most units are going to make the click unless you have one of those modded lights with a softstart or regulated switch in which case the buttom is a silent momentary.

Mag reflectors suck. You can upgrade the reflector is your interested, however. Part of the problem is the PR bulbs. The filaments don't always sit perfectly center. You can upgrade a mag with a bi pin socket that will let you fine adjust the bulb perfectly center.

The sky is the limit with Mag upgrade. You could bulb a regulated multi mode ultimag, or jsut upgrade it for better performance.


Meanwhile, for the small lights your looking for, Fivemega has lots of surefire clone options that would keep it modular with the ability to use any P60 drop in.
You can pick what components you want and build a completely custom light.

You'd have to decide that batteries you want to use first.
You can get likes that will fit either CR123's or rechargable li-ions, but not AA's. You can get them to run AA, but then you will limit it's incan ability.
Not many good incans these days will run off AA's. You can fit similar sized Li-ion equivalents into them to get the brightness, but the runtime will be very poor.

In other news, P60 style incan bulbs are very smooth beamed. To a fault even. They won't throw the farthest.

For iconic, anything Mag or Surefire based really.
Can't go wrong with either.
Special CPF iconic would be a Fivemega custom.

For a good dedicated incan, His new FM1794 is really slick in your size and price range.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?383790-2x18350-amp-2x18500-FM1794

If any of this interests you let me know and I'll hook you up with some links.
 
Last edited:
scout24

scout24

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Stock G2/3 has a twisty, nothing quieter than that... :) Both can house a McClicky switch from Oveready, which is fairly quiet and probably the highest quality clicky switch out there. Works perfectly with any Nitrolon-compatable lower powered LED dropin as well. See Malkoff M60/ M61L variants, which also work with 2xAA's
 
C

cland72

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I think you're on the right track by looking for a 3x123 Surefire host. They can interchangeably run a P90 or M61 (or L/LL/LLL), 3x123, 2xAA, or 2x17500.

Alternately, you could grab a Surefire G2 for about $40, stick a Lumens Factory HO-4 in it, and be able to swap between 2x123 with the P60, to 1x17670 (or 16650) with the HO-4.

Whatever you do, stick with the Surefire factory twist tailcap and it will be completely silent when you activate the light.
 
stienke

stienke

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All above mentioned are good options , my favorite incan for edc is my A2 , regulated and bright enough for most tasks , also a low mode for close up.
It's only 50 lumen but it outshines some led lights with a higher output , a incan trows better as a led does and the color is perfect to my eyes, but that is my opinion , maybe I'm wrong.
I have led lights but I grab my incan first when I go outside (I live near the woods).
 
K

KQL

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I didn't even think of the twisty/momentary on the Surefires, it will be perfect. I'll keep searching for a G3/C3/9P light, just got out-bid on one on eBay. In the meantime, I've ordered the Maglite OP reflector and a diffuser lens. All my uses for these lights are purely recreational and I've never needed more throw than 50 feet, unless it's just for fun.

The couch survivalist in me likes the idea of using the Malkoff M61LL with either cr123s or AAs, so I think a 3 cell host is perfect, but if I see a 2-cell one on CPFM, I'll prob grab it too.
 
fivemega

fivemega

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You may want to consider about incand Streamlght TL3 :
Full aluminum body which can be bored out to 18mm,
Larger head diameter with smooth beam,
Low cost replacement bulb,
Choice of brighter bulbs such as 1499 and 1794,
Twisty tail switch,
Focusable,
Lifetime warranty,
Within price range
 
Conte

Conte

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The problem with a 9p format is unless you bore it out, you're not going to be able to fit the rechargable Li-ions you would actually want to use.

Stock a 6p or 9p fits a CR123 which is something like a 16 to 17 and they are too tight to fit an rechargable that is 18mm.

Yes, you can get rechargables that size, but they suck. They are kind of non-standard for a rechargable and you take a capacity hit.
You're going to want to run either 18350, 18500, or 18650 cells.

I would recommend a modified 6P style host.
You can run a single 18650 with a 3.7v bulb to get a good balance of output and run time.
Or you can run dual 18350 IMR cells with a 7.4v bulb to get kicking output with less runtime.

Since it's 6P, there are a lot of D26 bulb options.

This is what I recommend.

This is a 6P body, pre modified to take the 18mm cells.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...fied-Genuine-6P-Bodies-By-Fivemega&highlight=

In this sales thread you can buy the stock oem surefire head and twisty tail cap:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?279647
Also in that sales thread you can buy various US made aftermarket surefire style bodies.

This sales thread for the same guy has the batteries:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/sh...s-Thread-*USA*-amp-international-***Part-2***
You probably know about this one already.

Here are the bulb for a single 18650:
http://www.lumensfactory.com/online_shop.php?cid=2&sid=1

Here are the bulbs for dual 18350:
http://www.lumensfactory.com/online_shop.php?cid=2&sid=3

And of course, at any time, you can drop a 6v bulb in there to run dual cr123s, but assume the CR123s are only for emergency use, you will get decent output using them with the dual 18350 bulbs, so I wouldn't bother. Once you get this set up, you're going to want to use the rechargables most of the time anyway.

And finally, at anytime, you can use a d26 LED drop in with your choise of battery systems.
 
K

KQL

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Great info, I will definitely be referring to this plan. As I mentioned, I really want to start off with a stock Surefire, I like to take trips down "this is the way it was back in the day" lane. But, I've been looking at 3 cell hosts that can run AAs down the road, but in truth I have some many AA and AAA lights around, in the car, on my keys, that if I was caught with a dead 18650 or 2-cell incan, I would hardly be inconvenienced.

So, I think I'll go with a bored 6P and use it with 2xCR123/6V bulb to get the authentic experience, but also have the 4.2V setup for daily use.

Conte said:
The problem with a 9p format is unless you bore it out, you're not going to be able to fit the rechargable Li-ions you would actually want to use.

Stock a 6p or 9p fits a CR123 which is something like a 16 to 17 and they are too tight to fit an rechargable that is 18mm.

Yes, you can get rechargables that size, but they suck. They are kind of non-standard for a rechargable and you take a capacity hit.
You're going to want to run either 18350, 18500, or 18650 cells.

I would recommend a modified 6P style host.
You can run a single 18650 with a 3.7v bulb to get a good balance of output and run time.
Or you can run dual 18350 IMR cells with a 7.4v bulb to get kicking output with less runtime.

Since it's 6P, there are a lot of D26 bulb options.

This is what I recommend.

This is a 6P body, pre modified to take the 18mm cells.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...fied-Genuine-6P-Bodies-By-Fivemega&highlight=

In this sales thread you can buy the stock oem surefire head and twisty tail cap:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?279647
Also in that sales thread you can buy various US made aftermarket surefire style bodies.

This sales thread for the same guy has the batteries:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/sh...s-Thread-*USA*-amp-international-***Part-2***
You probably know about this one already.

Here are the bulb for a single 18650:
http://www.lumensfactory.com/online_shop.php?cid=2&sid=1

Here are the bulbs for dual 18350:
http://www.lumensfactory.com/online_shop.php?cid=2&sid=3

And of course, at any time, you can drop a 6v bulb in there to run dual cr123s, but assume the CR123s are only for emergency use, you will get decent output using them with the dual 18350 bulbs, so I wouldn't bother. Once you get this set up, you're going to want to use the rechargables most of the time anyway.

And finally, at anytime, you can use a d26 LED drop in with your choise of battery systems.
Click to expand...
 
K

KQL

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Some of the single-cell lights based on the 6P look awesome. Just love the little stubby look. Looks like fivemega is out of the Z44 head, any other sources besides watching CPFM?

jabe1 said:
Get the bored 6P and a bored A19 single cell adapter, then you have many choices.
Click to expand...
 
K

KQL

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Dec 3, 2013
Messages
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People say you can't bore out a G2 light for use with an 18650, since there is a thin metal sleeve inside the plastic body which is needed to complete the circuit. But has anyone tried removing the sleeve, boring out the plastic a bit further and then either re-installing the sleeve or cutting a small trench into the inside surface and then running a wire of sufficient gauge down this gutter to the head? It seems like the plastic rubbery body would suit my light duty need for this light, and the price is cheap to test-drive the surefire incan.

If no-one has done this, I'll be willing to give it a try with mine, after I play with it for a while as a dedicated incan/cr123 light. The worst that can happen is that I'll need a new G2 body.
 
Monocrom

Monocrom

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Honestly, nothing quieter than a momentary switch on that range of SureFire lights that you mentioned.
 
K

KQL

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I've ordered the yellow G2 SF from B&H, $42 can't be beat. It'll be a great intro to SF incan lights and maybe I can mod it to take an 18650 with some inginuity. I'm also eyeing the Malkoff M361 with the 3 mode LED, if the incandescent doesn't suit my needs, I can always get a dropin, and a metal head. Looking forward to it!
 
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