Hosts & Drop-Ins

[AlphaZen]

Will someone point me in the direction of a good link or resource to understand hosts, drop-ins and making your own flashlight from parts.

 

[SmurfTacular]

Well I can tell you that if you do plan on making your own flashlight, start small. I would make it P60 compatible, and have it powered by a single 18650 li-ion cell.

A P60 is an extremely popular "drop-in" format. I suggest using a R5 LED in the P60 format

5 mode R5

Single mode R5

As far as the tailcap goes, I hope your skilled at lathing.

Here are some other things you might need

rubber tailcap

O-rings

Tailcap clicky

 

[AlphaZen]

Thanks for the info and the links. A few questions:
-Why would I need to be skilled at lathing, because I'm not?
-What else do I need besides a host + drop-in + battery + possibly o-rings?

 

[SmurfTacular]

oh, when you said making your own flashlight from scratch, I thought you meant you where planning on lathing a host from a block of aluminum.

I don't think assembling a flashlight would be the best option. I don't even know of any places that sell just the host.

 

[AlphaZen]

Let me ask a few more specific questions:
1) If I have a Surefire 6P and put a 3-mode drop-in in it, how does switching modes work.
2) Are the tailcaps from Solarforce lights, like the L2P, useable on a Surefire 6P?
3) Will someone share some general knowledge surrounding mode switching on a light like the 6P, when using a custom drop-in?

Ps Any other helpful information on this general topic would be welcome.

 

[jabe1]

Check out these threads

HOSTS

DROP-INS

 

[gcbryan]

If you have a Surefire 6P you would press the momentary switch to change modes and twist the tail cap to keep it on a particular mode or just twist and untwist until you get the proper mode.

I would rather have a clone with a clicky switch with a multi-mode drop-in.

P60 drop-ins are available for XR-E R2, XP-G R5, as well as for P7, MC-E, SST-50 and SST-90 I guess.

I wouldn't want any more than the XP-G R5 in a P60 drop-in.

 

[SmurfTacular]

I wouldn't want any more than the XP-G R5 in a P60 drop-in.

I second this. If you want more power get a bigger light! I've never heard of a sst-90 p60. If it did exist no flashlight that is P60 compatible would be able to hold enough batteries to keep up with the massive amperage the SST-90 draws.

 

[Black Rose]

Plus there are heatsinking issues involved with running hot LEDs in a P60 drop-in.

A Surefire 6P would handle it a bit better because it has the "cup" that holds the drop-in, whereas the non-Surefire hosts have a wider opening with a fair amount of air between the drop-in and the head.