LED Drop-in for Surefire Good Enough for Iraq?

[boosterboy]

don't forget red filters, and if you decide to bring spare P60 lamps for IR filters.

 

[Size15's]

The larger the number of products being sampled, the more likely there is to be failures.

From my perspective, perhaps access to free replacement CR123A batteries is not as widespread as I thought.

 

[flashlightguru]

Surefire lights are a great brand but have you considered battery life?
If your buddy is going to a place with extreme conditions as well as an evironment where the possibility of extended use of a light is needed then I would go with an LED Light. A great website I've found with lot's of selection is:
www.meregear.com I own a number of Coast LED Lights and two of my favorites are the 7438 Tactical Focus Beam light (83 Lumens) and the 7736 Tactical Power Chip Torch ( 65 Lumens) in comparison to the Surfire lights out of the package these lights have superior battery life, higher lumens, and when you drop them the bulb doesn't burn out. A surfire only last for 1 hr. max if on continuously how many batteries and bulbs will your buddy have to take with him to Iraq? I'd check it out.

flashlightguru:thumbsup:

 

[lightemup]

IMHO we need to pay more attention to the original question. You mention the words "bright, reliable, durability and Iraq" in your first sentence.

To me that is all you need to focus on. My short answer, buy a G2L and drive on

Longer answer:

He already likes the g2 platform. Buy him a G2l. Two is one, and one is none. He can have one on the vest (or belt etc) and one on the rifle, or one spare. Thus commonality of mounting brackets etc.

The p60L is AS GOOD if not better than a p60 beam wise. It will have a boatload more runtime though, with my g2 / g2l's being an example. I have batteries that had dimmed the p60 in the g2 to a sickly yellow (time to replace). Threw them in the g2l and i'm still using them at full output. Don't know for how long, but can't be bad can it

G2l is thermally regulated, so heat really isn't an issue. According to those 'in the know' the g2l will put out 5 or 10 lumens lower than a 6pl on constant on. IMHO the g2 has more going for it in other areas to still trump the 6p on features (easier to hold in the cold, more shock resistant etc, more ding proof etc).

As far as the other drop ins go, it is a cost benefit analysis of reliability compared to output and battery runtime. I believe you've answered the question yourself. By looking at the words in your first two sentences, and by the conditions in which he is using the light, imho the g2l is the way to go.

If he has a problem with the g2 or g2l over there, he can still use the other one in the interim. You can bet that Surefire'd look after him. With the aftermarkets he doesn't have a leg to stand on with Surefire, and how the aftermarket manufacturer chooses to resolve the issue is up to how they deal with things...

Hook him up with a couple of SC1's and two dozen batteries, and he's off to a good start Another handy way to carry batteries is Wal-mart has (or used to) od green waterproof match containers. In Aus they went for $2 each. They perfectly fit two sf123's (with a tiny spacer like a bit of tissue etc), are waterproof and nice and compact.

Just my 2 cents

 

[lightemup]

:welcome: flashlight guru

I'm not sure where you're getting the higher lumens information from, as well as the battery life claims in comparison to Surefire led's.

In reference to incandescent reliability my g2z with p61 lamp has been dropped numerous times and it still works perfectly. My maglite 3d (god rest its soul thanks to energizer alkalines leaking in it ) was dropped, bashed and crashed way more times than that and I only had to replace the lamp once. I presume you were referring to incandescents and not Surefire LED's...

I looked at your website, and the 7438 and 7736 run on 3 alkaline aaa's. I have a dead Eotech and 2 dead maglites that have been killed by energizer alkalines leaking. IMHO Lithiums are a must. Battery availability may be an issue as well in the sandbox, I would expect that aa's and dl123's woul be more easily found and supplied. His existing g2 also uses sf123's...

There is no spec on the led of the 7438, and the 7736 is said to have a 1.25 watt led. I could be completely wrong, but I didn't know it was possible to achieve 65 lumens out of a 1 watt led. All this is also presuming they have the same build quality, water resistance and testing as what Surefire do...

Furthermore they are rated at 100 hours runtime, I have yet to see this kind of performance that wasn't at a trickle level of brightness. I've never seen any light that ran for 100 hours. That doesn't say much though, i'm sure they are out there?

Okay maybe that was more than 2 cents

Flashlight Guru, I look forward to you engaging my questions / critique of the coast for the intended usage of discohero's buddy.

 

[Derek Dean]

Lightemup, very thoughtful and well expressed posts.

 

[BentHeadTX]

The X5 that failed was used during the day to light up connex shipping containers. Normally, it was hung up at the top of the box were the heat is and run for hours on end. At night, it was hung up inside power generators to provide light when they were worked on. Have no idea the heat the X5 is exposed to inside power generators but it can hit 160+F !! The light had hundreds of hours of use since the guy using it was there on consecutive tours and it showed. He replaced it with another X5 and pressed on. Overdriven 5mm LEDs and heat don't mix.

That is a reason why I like thermally controlled large die LEDs. Anything can fail under heavy use and scorching heat will do LEDs and batteries in. At least the lithium batteries did not blow!

The G2 is great except for the battery life. Are there any LED drop-ins that use thermal regulation and can run on an 18650 lithium-ion? Now if I could get a protected 18650 LiFePO4 or two RCR123 sized protected LiFePO4, that would be an awesome light for those conditions.

Maybe a MagLED 3C with a Newbie resistor mod would be best for extreme heat jobs. Remove the head for a flood light, let the thermal protection protect the LED and load it with alkalines. Since the light pill will be modded anyway, maybe a new K2 would be even better since it can handle more heat and pump out more light.

Novatach 120, Mag 3C and the G2 for incandescent needs should do it. LEDs are a pain to recommend, the G2 is an easy one.

 

[cheapo]

i'm looking at getting a q4 drop in from supertactical. not sure if they're a good dealer, but i'll find out. stated at 200 lumens, but obviousely.. its overstated. we'll see.

 

[lightemup]

One last thing that a friend reminded me of, is if he plans to use it with a IR filter he has to use the incandescent bulb. LED's by their nature don't emit IR light unless they are a dedicated IR LED (e.g. Surefire M1).

I've seen and heard of many standard g2's being used as weaponlights with no dramas. However because the bezel is not shock isolated, for peace of mind i'd recommend a z32 or m2 bezel for that application. On a 5.56 mm it shouldn't be a big deal, but it will reduce the likelihood of lamp failure nonetheless . If you go down this road the M2 bezel does not take the same size filters as the normal 6p / g2 size bezels...