SureFire P91 LA, I *LOVE* this LA!

[MacTech]

Yesterday, I stopped off at my local sporting goods shop and picked up a SF P91 for my G3, I wanted to see what this 200 lumen monsterbulb would be like

long story short, I like it, I *really* like it, it puts out a very versatile large oval hotspot, oriented horizontally, it's great for wide, sweeping passes, vertically, it's great for hallway illumination, or if you need to illuminate a hostile/perp (thank Og I don't have to deal with that)

the hotspot is a bright, clean white, and used in short bursts, the runtime doesn't seem too horribly bad, as the batteries have time to recover....

Still, that 20 minute runtime is really the only downside to this bulb, I'm more of a floody light kinda' guy, and an incan guy, and the P91 is just the right balance between flood and throw, but that 20 minute runtime, something has to be done about that.....

from the research I've been doing, going with a battery extension and a pair of rechargable cells (17670 or 18670, IIRC...) seems to be the best bet

can 18670's fit in a stock G3 tube, or am I limited to 17670's, and would the KR1 work as a battery extender with a pair of XX670 cells?

I want a way to use the P91 Guilt-Free, it's too nice a lamp assembly to be limited to short bursts, but given the expense of primaries, rechargable is the only way to go

 

[NotRegulated]

Use the 17670's. They are not the best alternative...the 18650's are. The 17670's will be driven quite hard with the P91. I have used this setup in my 9P plus A19 extender. I think it still beats three CR123's even thought the 17670's will wear out much faster than designed. There is nothing quite like the P91.

 

[mdocod]

if you like it now, wait till you see it on 17670s, fresh off the charger it's about 50% brighter than it is on primaries. You'll have to run a pair of 17670s and some kind of extender... (there are quite a few, like the A19 mentioned, also check lighthound.com to see some other options)....

Note that on 17670s the P91 won't last as long, I estimate something more like 10 hours life instead of the standard 30 hours, but that's if you use it more often closer to the top of the charge (which you will more than likely want to do, because it's brighter more often that way, and shallow cycles on your li-ion cycles will extend their service life dramatically, and shallow cycles are, in my experience, a HUGE factor in service life when the cell is dealing with difficult loads). You will make up for the lost bulb life in battery savings and overall enjoyment of the light.

The other nice thing about the 17670s, is that, if you need it, you have more runtime than you do on CR123s, over 30 minutes if you stretch it out, ideally I suggest recharging after the first 5-10 minutes or so has been used whenever possible.

 

[MacTech]

So, the best bet to maximize P91 performance would be a dedicated 2-18650 body, like the Leef on Lighthound's site?

looks like I may be building my first true Lego-Light soon, I figure a G&P tactical head, a Leef 2-18650 body, and a SF twisty tailcap would be a decent combo

in the interim, I'll just stock up on BatteryStation primaries for $1/ea, so I won't feel *too* guilty "playing" with it

the P91 sure is an addictive lamp

 

[Omega Man]

Or a C3 with A19, I use that and 17670s, it's great. I use a Lumens Factory HO-9 (9V, 320 Lumens) bulb, and it's nice too.

 

[tsl]

Note that on 17670s the P91 won't last as long, I estimate something more like 10 hours life instead of the standard 30 hours, but that's if you use it more often closer to the top of the charge (which you will more than likely want to do, because it's brighter more often that way, and shallow cycles on your li-ion cycles will extend their service life dramatically, and shallow cycles are, in my experience, a HUGE factor in service life when the cell is dealing with difficult loads).

Any idea what the bulb life would be using a pair of 18500s or 18650s?

 

[mdocod]

10 hours is a ballpark figure, it could be 5 or could be 15, just depends on how the moon lines up with venus and this years mating behaviors of the local chipmunks. with 18500s you can expect about the same as 17670s, with 18650s, you can expect another 10-20% nocked off the life...(estimates, estimates)... without a huge sample of P91s and cells to work with there is no correct answer, only guidelines. Also, keep in mind that there are some 18650s out there that perform worse than 17670s as far as holding voltage under a load, so a very well built 18500 or 17670 can easily drive a P91 harder than a poorly built 18650. So the whole point is moot when you start looking at the differences from brand to brand.

 

[tsl]

Thanks. For some reason, I thought the bulb life would be increased, but I obviously don't have all this electrical stuff down.

 

[KevinL]

The P91 rocks

I put together a frankenlight with a 18650 body, black C2 tailcap and M2 head. Looks terrible, but works great.

 

[LED61]

This lamp works with two 18500's and no extender in a wolf eyes Raider 9A. That's the problem with the Surefires they are not that flexible for rechargeables. And the lamp rocks on rechargeables.

 

[NotRegulated]

This lamp works with two 18500's and no extender in a wolf eyes Raider 9A. That's the problem with the Surefires they are not that flexible for rechargeables. And the lamp rocks on rechargeables.

Yes.

I have two platforms built around the P91. One is the 2x18500 Leef body that runs my P91. The other, which is my best setup for the P91, is the Leef 2x18650 body.

I tend to run the LF E0-9 in my 2x18500 setup now. It is less harsh on the batteries and gives me P91 like brightness with less flood and more throw in a beam that is rounder and narrower.

 

[Paul_in_Maryland]

A Leef 2x18650 is the way to go. For months, I EDC'd a P91 lamp in a Wolfeyes 2x168A body created by adding a 1-cell extender to a Wolfeyes Raider. But compared to the Leef, this arrangement has drawbacks:

• You must buy or fashion a suitable metal ring to create continuity between the extender and the WE body.
• To remove the cell, you can't just unscrew the tailcap and spill out the cell. You must break down the body from the extender, taking care not to lose the ring.
• You will eventually lose the ring.
• The Wolfeyes body won't let you attach a lanyard.
• The Wolfeyes tactical head has an odd diameter; it won't accept Surefire, Streamlight, or other traffic cones, diffusers, and filters.
• You don't have the option of using a shock-resistant head.
• You'll have to remember to insert the cells forward instead of the Wolfeyes-standard "backward."
• You must remove the Surefire spring, making it less convenient to move the P91 to a Surefire or G&P body.

Don't get me wrong: I use three Wolf Eyes bodies. But compared to the Leef, the "extended Sniper" is far less convenient and versatile.

 

[Dr.K]

Now just bring on the Leef bodies. I heard it wont be long until more are available.

2 weeks?

 

[Krispy]

The copper ring can be replaced by removing 1 or 2 inside threads from the Wolf-Eyes extender. (Dremel) Works with the 2 cell, or half cell extenders.