most "moddable" flashlight?

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justin22885

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what would you guys say the best flashlight is in term of user modification.. a good platform to tweak and play around with?.. i see a lot of people changing LEDs, batteries, and making other mods to maglites, including the maglite mini.. would this be a good place to start or is there something better?
 
I think the larger (C or D cell) MagLites are the most mod friendly lights followed by the Surefire 6P platform. Since you can get 2C/D up to 6C/D models you can get longer or shorter hosts to start with and their larger diameter bodies lend themselves to fitting different battery combinations. Replacement heads, tails, bezels, lenses, reflectors, and switches are available aftermarket (you can build a custom Mag where the only part that came from Mag Industries is the body). The larger form factor compared to the 6P allows you far greater possibilities as far as mods and possible custom work that you can do to one is concerned. The 6P, however, is far more carryable making it more versatile as far as the end product is concerned.
 
so the impression i get is the surefire 6p series is the most moddable, with maglites in second... however, there is a SIGNIFICANT price difference between maglites and surefire.. i mean, if i purchased a surefire, im not sure id want to risk tearing it apart for some of the more aggressive mods, if that makes any sense
 
Surefire is more of a light you can mix and mach parts such as drop in's (p60) in more flavors than B.R. Ice cream. bodies, tailcaps, switches, heads stock and aftermarket all bolt together and can be put back,
mag mods are more of a one way ticket as many require switch mod cutting tower fitting heat sinks, soldering leds ect.
unlike a p60 host that you can change from flood light to thrower and anything in between in a matter of seconds.
 
the silver aluminum shells.. these are just polished aluminum and not anodized, right? and black and colored flashlights are anodized? just curious, as i could send the metal parts in to be anodized a custom color
 
It depends on skills and tools, the surefire p series basically screws together, a mag needs tools to mod it
 
anodizing is using electricity to erode the surface layer of metal so that it can accept dyes to change the color.. so wouldnt silver anodizing just be without the dyes? or is there some kind of clear chemical added?.. its not even important, i was thinking of changing something to OD green, but ill just go with black

as for modifying flashlights, i honestly think im going to go with an 18650 shell like the ultrafire, or solarforce, etc.. these seem incredibly moddable, with a lot of drop in parts.. so ill probably go that route.. but a 2d maglite could be fun too as a second project
 
justin22885 said:
as for modifying flashlights, i honestly think im going to go with an 18650 shell like the ultrafire, or solarforce, etc.. these seem incredibly moddable, with a lot of drop in parts.. so ill probably go that route.. but a 2d maglite could be fun too as a second project
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I'd agree with that, it depends whether you class "modding" as changing by unscrewing and dropping another, well, drop-in or body, tail-switch, head, bezel etc. or if you mean by getting hold of a soldering iron, dremel, grinder, lathe, etc.
The SolarForce route with combinations of battery#, multiple body parts etc. is the route I've taken but I'm still a newbie and still learning. I will get around to buying another soldering iron and getting at one with the flux sooner or later. I wouldn't class what I'm doing just swapping bits around as modding, that's more the building drop-ins yourself rather than buying them and building or taking a tool to your flashlight.

Edit- I'd say the most changed around flashlight is the Surefire p6, Solarforce L2 type. The most modded by solder/ tools the Maglite range.
 
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