I just got my Solarforce (ebay generic) P60 in the mail tonight, and wanted to share my observations.
First, I must say the build quality is suprisingly good. I'm always weary of buying things off ebay, especially anything involving electronics, especially when it comes direct from HK. But for $20 shipped, it was more of a science experiment than anything else.
I'll gladly take some pics of the module if everyone wants to see it, but to be honest, it looks like every other generic drop-in we've all seen pictures of. There is nothing remarkable about it, it simply says "Solarforce" on a band around the reflector. I specifically ordered one of the Q5 single mode variants. I have plenty of multi-mode lights, I wanted a simple on/off module.
It was advertised as: (taken directly from ebay)
Brand New CREE Q5 XR-E 270 Lumens LED Lamp Assembly compatible with Surefire, G&P and Ultrafire Flashlight
Features:
~ Highest quality selected.
~ CREE Q5 XR-E 270 lumens LED Lamp Assembly with a life of 50,000 hours.
~ Aluminum Reflector.
~ Compatible with:
1. Surefire: 6p, 9p, C2, D2, D3, E2, G2, M2, Z2, Z3 Flashlight.
2. G&P: G&P T-6, T-9, R12.
3. Ultrafire: G60, G90
~ Operating Voltage: 3.0V - 9.0V
~ Working Current: 450mA - 600mA
I promptly stuck it in a Brinkmann Maxfire LX I had waiting for it. It replaces the stock reflector/bulb unit perfectly. It fits both with and without the outer spring which is removable. If you put it in without the other spring, it simply rests against the metal sleeve inside the Brinkmann body. With the outer spring in place, it keeps a really nice tension between the sleeve on the bottom, and the lens on the top. I decided to keep the outer spring on, as I like the thought of the added "shock resistence" between the body sleeve and the module.
The reflector itself is much deeper than the stock one. It has a nice light orange peel surface, and the emitter sits pretty well centered at the bottom. The dome is perfectly centered, the emitter itself is just a hair off center. Not enough to bother me. The reflector/emitter screws on and back off of the base. Not sure why you'd need to remove it, but you can if you want.
I had a couple other lights to compare it to, but the obvious choice was a P3D Q5 I had. I figured those two would make for the best comparison. They both were using new cr123 batteries, so everything was fairly equal. The color of both beams is identical; just a faint tint of purplish-blue that I've come to expect from the Q5s. Next to an incan, or a Reb100, it looks incredibly purple, but all by itself, it's quite a nice color.
The hotspot is just a tad smaller than the P3D, but with the larger reflector, that's not a big surprise. It's raining pretty hard outside so it's difficult to get a real good sense of throw, but they seem about equal. I expected the Maxfire with the deeper reflector and more concentrated hotspot would clearly throw further, and it very well may. But for now, in the rain, they seem farily equal. Inside the house on a white wall, they look identical in overall output, again with just a tighter hotspot on the drop-in.
So, long story short, I'm entirely pleased with my purchase. It met and exceeded every expectation I had. For $20, I couldn't be happier.
If anyone has any questions about it, please feel free to ask. If anyone is really dying for pics, I can do that to. Beamshots might be a little tough though, I don't have the proper equipment. But I'm guessing by now, everyone has an idea what these look like.
First, I must say the build quality is suprisingly good. I'm always weary of buying things off ebay, especially anything involving electronics, especially when it comes direct from HK. But for $20 shipped, it was more of a science experiment than anything else.
I'll gladly take some pics of the module if everyone wants to see it, but to be honest, it looks like every other generic drop-in we've all seen pictures of. There is nothing remarkable about it, it simply says "Solarforce" on a band around the reflector. I specifically ordered one of the Q5 single mode variants. I have plenty of multi-mode lights, I wanted a simple on/off module.
It was advertised as: (taken directly from ebay)
Brand New CREE Q5 XR-E 270 Lumens LED Lamp Assembly compatible with Surefire, G&P and Ultrafire Flashlight
Features:
~ Highest quality selected.
~ CREE Q5 XR-E 270 lumens LED Lamp Assembly with a life of 50,000 hours.
~ Aluminum Reflector.
~ Compatible with:
1. Surefire: 6p, 9p, C2, D2, D3, E2, G2, M2, Z2, Z3 Flashlight.
2. G&P: G&P T-6, T-9, R12.
3. Ultrafire: G60, G90
~ Operating Voltage: 3.0V - 9.0V
~ Working Current: 450mA - 600mA
I promptly stuck it in a Brinkmann Maxfire LX I had waiting for it. It replaces the stock reflector/bulb unit perfectly. It fits both with and without the outer spring which is removable. If you put it in without the other spring, it simply rests against the metal sleeve inside the Brinkmann body. With the outer spring in place, it keeps a really nice tension between the sleeve on the bottom, and the lens on the top. I decided to keep the outer spring on, as I like the thought of the added "shock resistence" between the body sleeve and the module.
The reflector itself is much deeper than the stock one. It has a nice light orange peel surface, and the emitter sits pretty well centered at the bottom. The dome is perfectly centered, the emitter itself is just a hair off center. Not enough to bother me. The reflector/emitter screws on and back off of the base. Not sure why you'd need to remove it, but you can if you want.
I had a couple other lights to compare it to, but the obvious choice was a P3D Q5 I had. I figured those two would make for the best comparison. They both were using new cr123 batteries, so everything was fairly equal. The color of both beams is identical; just a faint tint of purplish-blue that I've come to expect from the Q5s. Next to an incan, or a Reb100, it looks incredibly purple, but all by itself, it's quite a nice color.
The hotspot is just a tad smaller than the P3D, but with the larger reflector, that's not a big surprise. It's raining pretty hard outside so it's difficult to get a real good sense of throw, but they seem about equal. I expected the Maxfire with the deeper reflector and more concentrated hotspot would clearly throw further, and it very well may. But for now, in the rain, they seem farily equal. Inside the house on a white wall, they look identical in overall output, again with just a tighter hotspot on the drop-in.
So, long story short, I'm entirely pleased with my purchase. It met and exceeded every expectation I had. For $20, I couldn't be happier.
If anyone has any questions about it, please feel free to ask. If anyone is really dying for pics, I can do that to. Beamshots might be a little tough though, I don't have the proper equipment. But I'm guessing by now, everyone has an idea what these look like.
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