Solarforce

[Rob Babcock]

Does anyone know who manufactures the lights under the Solarforce brand name? They look very familiar but I'm not all that familiar with the Chinese lights outside of brands like JETBeam, Fenix and Olight.

 

[DellSuperman]

They are a brand on their own.
Their main line of L2 lights are a copy of surefire 6P, C2 hosts.

 

[Rob Babcock]

Thanks. That's what got me wondering- it sure looks like one of their lights is a close copy of the 6P. Do they take the same drop ins as a Surefire 6P?

 

[Rob Babcock]

One more [probably loaded] question- are they decent lights? How's the fit 'n' finish and QC? They appear to be reasonably priced if the quality is decent.

 

[ven]

Yes they take drop ins and very flexible , good for swapping and mixing parts up. Quality varies imo, some are ok and perfectly acceptable, others excellent !! For the money they are hard to beat for a beater host, however I am not a big fan of their drop ins . Bit cheap in quality/feel and personally don't inspire too much confidence.....not had one fail though!!!

The p1d is a nice solid host, better quality than the other models IMHO . Right now I have got into the stainless L2T which is a bit shiny but very nicely made .

 

[WarriorOfLight]

One more [probably loaded] question- are they decent lights? How's the fit 'n' finish and QC? They appear to be reasonably priced if the quality is decent.

It is important to know and understand that there are also a lot solarforce fakes out. At all I would rate the Solarforce stuff as good for a really small money. I got all my stuf here:

www.solarforceflashlight-sales.com

This shop really sells the real solarforce Stuff, and not a bad copy. If I remember correctly they sell their stuff as ITC Store at ebay.

If you want a light that supports P60 dropins go to Solarforce, the hosts are nice made. I never had real problems with the Solarforce stuff.

 

[Rob Babcock]

Thanks everyone!

 

[peter yetman]

Solarforce drop ins are Ok for the money. But, I have had two fail on me in the last year - no warning - just dead. The Solarforce shop is very efficient, stuff gets to the Uk in about 5 days. Apart from the two dead drop ins, no problems.
P

 

[DellSuperman]

Among all their P60 hosts, i do like the quality of the P1D best.
The fit & finish is much better the the normal L2 series.
But it is slightly beefier, a wee bit heavier & pricier as well.

 

[CaptainBrock]

Got to give a thumbs up for Solarforce lights. I have two of the basic 18650 jobs (model L2P), one a pretty blue ano. I went for the 3-mode (without the exasperating epileptic strobe) and the brightness levels are perfectly calibrated. I have the lantern attachment kit on my wish list.
The one minor issue I encountered on one light was the thumbswitch button was slightly too high and it was a mite wobbly doing a tailstand. This worked itself out after some number of switch cycles in normal use.
I see quality as right up there with high-dollar name brands. :thumbsup:

 

[ven]

Among all their P60 hosts, i do like the quality of the P1D best.
The fit & finish is much better the the normal L2 series.
But it is slightly beefier, a wee bit heavier & pricier as well.

+1, i had an L2n which being honest for the money very good, nice light, quite compact feel and nice ano. I gifted it to a work mate with a drop in as i preferred the p1d and p1........if its not going to be used, someone might as well get use and he is into his lights a bit.........thanks to someone

P1 is not bad for a light weight light, almost bounces :laughing:

P1D is solid and dropped mine a few times,looks like this now..... still almost like new(have to look close for chip on body and little scrapes)






My new love is the L2T , fan of stainless anyway as it holds up so well to beatings!!! Just imo a great metal and have a ss quantum on my car keys and stainless TiS on works keys(like new after fighting daily with keys)


Like the L2T that much i have another on the way........no often i do that!!

 

[bykfixer]

I don't have issue with solar force parts like clips, bezels and tac heads.

They're like Stanley pliers in that they hold up to the things I use 'em for.

 

[emarkd]

Love my Solarforce L2P host. Its really well made and has never given me any issues. I've never used any of their drop-ins though.

 

[scs]

My SF XML and XPG dropins still work. In fact, they outlasted several Nailbender dropins.
But, no choice of tint for nearly all their dropins, and bad PWM in low modes.
It's hard to go back to SF P60 hosts after owning a bored 6p with McClicky and Xeno SS bezel rings though.
Nevertheless, very good value, and they can take a good beating.
Want a good P60 host you will use frequently but don't want to fall in love with it too much, choose SF.
Of course you might end up loving it anyways.

 

[softsorter]

I bought a L2 Host and used one of their drop ins and the quality of the the and cap threads are very good no concerns on quality, one of my better lights

 

[facepalm69]

I got a Solarforce L2P with the XP-G Drop-In since 2010. Still in use and works great!

The host is well made. Mine got some minor scratches right now. But its over 5 years old!

Totally recommend you their stuff.

 

[texas cop]

I build a lot of lights for local first responders in the area about 350 to date over the last 5 years. All are Solarforce host, to date only one rejected host. Came with a cracked tail end tube. Host used so far are L2, L2P, L2T, L2M and P1D. The L2P, L2T and the P1D are better built. Their dropin's in single mode are longer living. The multi mode dropin's are only average quality. All are now using a 3-9V driver that seems a little better than the older ones. I stick with these dropin's for the last 250 or so builds http://intl-outdoor.com/p60-c-143.html Never had one fail yet. On the Stainless steel L2T, I believe they had some one else build them or they slowed down and got the best machinist to do it. Their quality is some on the very best I've ever seen. Fit, finish and milling are all excellent. Overall their quality seems to get a little better every year. Host are not Surefire quality, getting closer, but the price does make it easier to drop and not cry.

 

[peter yetman]

That makes sense, it was the multi mode drop ins that failed on me. My single modes are still running well.
P

 

[Woods Walker]

I think they are ok for the money. The parts aren't totally comparable with SF which is a bummer. I
gotta order another switch for my solarforce. Just toss an extra drop-in and tail cap in your kit and yea have a light that can be recovered in the field should it go down for little money in extra parts. I also should order a lanyard connector at the same time. In fact I just wrapped a drop-in with foil the other night though the last single mode XP-G is still good and has some nice throw. I didn't go with Solarforce for a drop-in rather just the host.

 

[darkinvader]

I build a lot of lights for local first responders in the area about 350 to date over the last 5 years. All are Solarforce host, to date only one rejected host. Came with a cracked tail end tube. Host used so far are L2, L2P, L2T, L2M and P1D. The L2P, L2T and the P1D are better built. Their dropin's in single mode are longer living. The multi mode dropin's are only average quality. All are now using a 3-9V driver that seems a little better than the older ones. I stick with these dropin's for the last 250 or so builds http://intl-outdoor.com/p60-c-143.html Never had one fail yet. On the Stainless steel L2T, I believe they had some one else build them or they slowed down and got the best machinist to do it. Their quality is some on the very best I've ever seen. Fit, finish and milling are all excellent. Overall their quality seems to get a little better every year. Host are not Surefire quality, getting closer, but the price does make it easier to drop and not cry.

I have a Solarforce 900 (very old), the LED broke, is there another, more modern replacement LED that might be retrofit? The old one was brass and threaded in.