Comparison of P7 Led vs. Hotwired M6

[Illumination]

Does anyone have beamshots comparing one of the recent 18650-driven P7 Seoul lights (claimed 700 - 900 lumens) with a Surefire M6 (or equivalent mod) driving a incan bulb with stated lumens output of 500 (for MN21) - 900 or so (for the Welch Allen, Phillips, etc. mods)?

Obviously the P7 will have much more runtime; I am just curious how the output compares.

 

[zx7dave]

I have a KL6/M4 running two 18650's that Milky did for me. 436 Lumens from a P7.
Also have a Superfire W1000 supposed to be 1000 Lumens from a P7..ends up only slightly brighter than the build Scott did for me

Neither really compare with the throw from the M6, but both LED lights have much better run time..get over two hours from the KL6/M4.

 

[Illumination]

given the lights you have, would you (do you) use an M6?

 

[IcantC]

I have a 2D P7 M@g running off 3C( well 3 AA eneloops using C adapters) and a M6.

I like the M6 better for output, but M@g better for runtime. Either way te M6 is usually used for no more than 10mins at a time.

The P7 is no slouch though, but M6 is better imo.

 

[Illumination]

I guess an M6 is great for the occasional blast. With a hotwired bulb, you are probably talking about no more than 20 minutes of runtime...a P7 can get an hour.

Will a P7 do a good job lighting up a field at night?

 

[mooman]

Will a P7 do a good job lighting up a field at night?

Oh heck yes. I have 2 Elektrolumens P7 m@gs, an Elektrolumens P7 edc, and a Wolf-eyes P7 Sniper. All lights do an incredible job lighting a large grass field I go by on my night hikes. The larger reflectors of the m@gs do help the throw a bit. I like the P7's for lighting up large areas but always go back to my incans for throw or when color is important.

 

[Grox]

I guess an M6 is great for the occasional blast. With a hotwired bulb, you are probably talking about no more than 20 minutes of runtime...a P7 can get an hour.

Will a P7 do a good job lighting up a field at night?

Well, that's not quite true. In stock form you're right, the MN21 will run for about 20 minutes. However, there is also the MN20 which will last for 1 hour, and the MN15 which will last for 2.5 hours. Don't write off the M6 and its hotwire (incandescants are called 'hotwires' not 'hotwired' because that's what they literally are) rechargeable bretheren...

The M6 puts out a really broad smooth cone of light with a lovely hotspot with a decent amount of throw, but note that due to the heavy stippling of the reflector, the M6 doesn't throw as well as a well collimated hotwire or to take it to extremes, an aspheric-ed LED.

So having said that, the P7s I've seen haven't been as bright and they don't have the wow factor of an M6 running a MN21. The P7 is very impressive in its own right though as a thrower or as a massive flooder but it doesn't just have the output to take on the 1000 bulb lumens of the MN21.

There are already comparison pics on CPF on this type of question - just do some hunting and you should turn them up. I think the best answer would be to buy both - both incan and LED are fantastic at what they do - but you need to try them both to figure out what suits your useage patterns best.