Spiderfire R2 Cree

[jockohomo]

I've just acquired a Spiderfire R2 Cree 300 lumen p60 drop-in. I popped it into my Surefire 9P but it seems to be a tad too long. It lights up fine, no idea as to its actual lumens, seriously doubt it's really 300, but it's far brighter than the incan p60 it replaced.
The problem is, I can't screw the head all the way down, it stops 3mm before the endstop. Perhaps not a big deal but I like things to be just so.
Is this a common problem with led drop-ins? Is there a better one with a perfect fit?
I know the Malkoff is American made and meant to be good, but with postage to U.K. works out at about $80. Don't want to spend more than $20.
Am I being too fussy?
I'd welcome comments as I'm no expert. Cheers!

 

[jimmy1970]

I've just acquired a Spiderfire R2 Cree 300 lumen p60 drop-in. I popped it into my Surefire 9P but it seems to be a tad too long. It lights up fine, no idea as to its actual lumens, seriously doubt it's really 300, but it's far brighter than the incan p60 it replaced.
The problem is, I can't screw the head all the way down, it stops 3mm before the endstop. Perhaps not a big deal but I like things to be just so.
Is this a common problem with led drop-ins? Is there a better one with a perfect fit?
I know the Malkoff is American made and meant to be good, but with postage to U.K. works out at about $80. Don't want to spend more than $20.
Am I being too fussy?
I'd welcome comments as I'm no expert. Cheers!

If you do a search under P60 drop ins you will find shed loads of options. Some people remove the outer large spring to get a better fit - try that if its one of those removable ones (unlike the genuine surefire drop ins).

I know what you mean regarding the cost of the Malkoff units with international postage - I'm in Australia and at $30 US + the cost of the drop ins, it really adds up b - u - t It Is Worth It!!!!

My 6P has a Malkoff M60WLF and it is an excellent combo - the quality of Malkoff units is top notch - much better IMHO than the Surefire originals. Solid brass and all - by the way, the Malkoff drop-ins are heavier than other drop-ins but you will find that the 6p with one is perfectly balanced. My 6P has a slight gap at the head less than the thickness of a business card. You can sand down the lower edge of the Malkoff to reduce this but I personally wouldn't bother - you have to be very careful you don't remove too much material as you will have a rattle and a resulting poor connection.

Good luck with it.

James....

P.S. A lot of the surefire clones overdrive their emitters drastically reducing their life span - Malkoff does not.

 

[jockohomo]

Thanks James, a very comprehensive answer. Of course, now will end up getting the Malkoff like I almost did in the first place. Except, it now has a $20 premium for the Spiderfire I'II never use.
Pay for quality, suffer once. Pay for junk, suffer twice when you replace it. (Thought I knew this already!)
Cheers mate!

 

[lightinsky]

I got the solarforce Q5 drop in rated at 275 lumens. It leaves no gap in my 6P. I guess it's hit or miss with these after market drop ins. It's surefires fault for not producing one when they should of to compete with others. If they had produced one I'm sure cpf'rs and many would of bought those instead. Come on surefire speed it up you are losing business and revenue.

 

[ace0001a]

I got the solarforce Q5 drop in rated at 275 lumens. It leaves no gap in my 6P. I guess it's hit or miss with these after market drop ins. It's surefires fault for not producing one when they should of to compete with others. If they had produced one I'm sure cpf'rs and many would of bought those instead. Come on surefire speed it up you are losing business and revenue.

Actually the manufacturing varies among the various Surefire 6P format flashlights (even within actual Surefire 6Ps). The design of any P60 dropin, starting with the stock incandescent ones, rely in the spring to compensate for any of these variances. But an incandescent P60 dropin has a smaller internal diameter, so they always allow for full screw down of the heads. The same can be said for Surefire's P60L LED dropin which also uses only the inner spring to make contact with the inside body. The problem with springs are that they don't conduct heat very well, which is the Surefire P60L is only limited to 80 lumens output. The other more common aftermarket P60LED dropins are bulkier and therefore having metal for a higher thermal capacitance and also rely on having internal contact of the "pill" with the inside of the flashlight body to conduct heat. Most if not all of the standard aftermarket P60LED dropins also come with an internal outer spring (the negative contact) to help compensate for flashlight body manufacturing variances, but more often than not these springs end up creating a large gap between the head and body and are also poor heat conductors.

I've found that most of the Solarforce/Spiderfire L2 (Surefire 6P clone) flashlights allow for fitting of the compensation spring of the aftermarket P60LED dropins...although I'm usually not surprised if I run into a fitting issues with any of these P60 compatible flashlights these days.

 

[jockohomo]

I must in all fairness pass on the feedback from the ebay seller who responded to my complaint with patience and attention to detail. They pointed out that the big 'outside' spring could be removed and it would fit.
It could, it did, happy days!