What do I need?

[jmax6900]

Hello everyone. I am a newbie, and have a question...possibly one you have heard a million times. I just bought a Surefire 6PL today. However, it is as you all know, only 80 Lumens (10-12,000cp). I am a Police Officer, and love the idea that it'll last 8 hours (my entire shift). But, I prefer to increase the lumens to the 120-200 range while still keeping the runtime to at least 4 hours. Is this possible? If so, which cree drop-in should I use. Also, instead of buying batteries all the time, can I just use rechargeable CR123's. Are they as strong or should I stay with the lithium?

Sorry for all the questions and thank you in advance.

 

[gswitter]

Check the "P60 sized led drop-ins" thread stickied at the top of the LED sub-forum. Plenty of info there.

The brands that are most recommended here are Malkoff and Deerelight. I've been impressed by Wolf Eyes as well.

You can run the Surefire P60L drop-in on a pair of rechargeable RCR123A's. Keep in mind, RCR123A's only have about 2/3 the energy of primary CR123A, so your runtime will suffer.

Surefire underrates their lumens compared to the aftermarket drop-in makers, so you may not see quite the improvement you're hoping for if you go by specs alone. You should be able to find plenty of beamshot comparisons here though.

 

[Marduke]

The P60L does not run for 8+ hours. The real runtime is only 3.3 hours.

Here is a list of P60 compatible dropins
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=193992

:welcome:

 

[hyperloop]

+1 for malkoff. You might want to consider getting a Mag with a Malkoff and use your Surefire as a back up belt light and even getting something smaller, say a 1 x AA Jetbeam with the IBS user interface (that is a 3 mode, individually programable interface where you can choose to set each of the 3 modes to the lighting level that you need, low - high and strobe, SOS with the option of setting even the frequency of your strobe)

Do a search on Jetbeam and you'll see the postings here or you can google 'jetbeam' and head to their site.

For budget flashlights, there is a great thread here as well as a few sites to look at, but for LEOs, i don't think that a budget light should be your primary light, maybe as a back up light would be alright. There's also a few threads which are LEO related flashlight threads.

Here's a link to a recommendation checklist, you may wish to fill it in, cut and paste it here so that CPF-ers can understand your needs more
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=96884

And here are the LEO threads

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=165017 (Part I)
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=2165029#post2165029 (Part II)
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=204324 (Part III)

Personally, I think the Jetbeam Jet III Military version would suit you, it runs on 18650 CR123 primaries, RCR123 cells so you have a range of cells to work with and it's a simple 2 mode flashlight, default mode is a high 225 lumens and the 2nd mode is programable using their IBS user interface. Great for LEOs, 1st mode for a blinding bright burst (for night adapted eyes), 2nd mode set to either minimum (2 lumens) for reading maps, filling out tickets, or conserving night vision or to a strobe/SOS/alternate light level.

selfbuilt has done an (IMHO) outstanding review on this light here http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=211631&highlight=jetbeam+military

and there are loads of other reviews as well. I personally own a Jet III Pro ST but that is more a general purpose light than one for LEOs. The dealer for CONUS is http://www.bugoutgearusa.com/

IMHO, the Jet III Military is a good LEO light.

 

[Gunner12]

As mentioned by Marduke, the P60L only has a regulated runtime of around 3 hours, not 11 as they seem to say. What they really say is 11 hours of usable light which can be as low as 1 lumen.

If you want to stick with the 6P, try the Malkoff M60L. Around the same runtime but more output due to the slightly more efficient LED and the more efficient optic.

Check this thread for more P60 type drop-ins.

RCR123s will work with the P60L but you will have less runtime.

Candlepower is misleading because most company use it as a number for throw. They state "peak" candlepower(many of the numbers are inflated or downright lies).

The Fenix T series or the Eagletac lights might work to. 2 stage(head tight = high, head loose = low) so you can have more runtime when you don't need max output.

:welcome:

 

[jmax6900]

Thanks for the quick replies. I will research the info you guys gave me and "attempt" a decision. Surefire was very misleading. I figured the light would last at very good power for 8 full hours. Otherwise, I may have bought something else. I'll see what I can do.