Worth it to upgrade P60 LED vs xenon

[glenda17]

I upgraded my 4D maglight to an LED head with maybe 30 LED's on it a few years ago. I like the longer battery life and the fact that the LED's don't break, but the output sucks vs the xenon.

I am new to this and am considering a Q5 P60 dropin for my 6P flashlight, but where do LED stand now vs xenon bulbs? Are they brighter? What is the advatage of the new LED's like a XRE Q5 ?

I looked at this thread:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=188590


And it looks like the brightest flashlight for the size is a Xenon.

I guess what am a getting with the new LED's vs a xenon?

 

[adirondackdestroyer]

5mm cluster lights are a thing of the past. If you haven't seen any of the new Cree based lights you are in for a real shock! A P60 Q5 drop in with completely crush the standard P60 Incan in output, and will have longer runtime. The advantage of a LED drop in is that it won't burn out or break, and it is MUCH more efficient.
The best P60 drop in is a custom called the M60 made by Malkoff. It's kinda pricey but very nice. Dereelight also makes some very nice drop in's. They have a couple threads in the Dealer's section over at the CPFM.

Trust me, once you see one of these in person you will realize that the stock P60 is officially dead!

I upgraded my 4D maglight to an LED head with maybe 30 LED's on it a few years ago. I like the longer battery life and the fact that the LED's don't break, but the output sucks vs the xenon.

I am new to this and am considering a Q5 P60 dropin for my 6P flashlight, but where do LED stand now vs xenon bulbs? Are they brighter? What is the advatage of the new LED's like a XRE Q5 ?

I looked at this thread:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=188590


And it looks like the brightest flashlight for the size is a Xenon.

I guess what am a getting with the new LED's vs a xenon?

 

[Gunner12]

For the smaller sized lights, LEDs will easily out lumen the incans(heck, this AAA light outputs a similar amount of light to the Maglite 4D, more output but less throw due to the much smaller reflector).

There is a big difference between the 5mm LEDs you have in your maglite and the current gen high power LEDs. The 5mm LEDs probably put out a max of 4 lumens each(presuming no overdrive). The Cree XR-E Q5 can hit 230 lumen within specs(over 300 lumen if you overdrive the LED).

You can get 120 lumen out the front with a xenon and 2 CR123 batteries, but then the light would only last 20 minutes. With a Cree driven to match that output, the LED light would last over 2 hours.

The advantage of the current gen LEDs is their efficiency and availability.

Look at this thread for a list of P60 compatible drop-ins.

If you have a stock 6P with the P60 incan module, then pretty much all of the LED drop-in with the current gen LEDs will out lumen and probably out throw what you have now.

In short, the upgrade is well worth it.

Now how much are you willing to spend?

:welcome:

 

[kelmo]

One thing to remember, the P60L module will fit in a SC1. So it is easy to swap them out in the field and have them protected when not in use. The BOG Cree drop ins won't do this. I don't have any of the others so I can't comment on them.

SF is going to be releasing the P61L sometime in the future if brightness is your thing.

The BOG Cree Premium drop in I have has a whiter beam than my P60L(s).

BTW welcome to CPF!

 

[generic808]

I have this_DX_drop-in in my 6P, G2, and Maxfire and it is bright for what it is! And for the price, you really can't go wrong. It's much brighter than any 3D/4D maglite.

 

[LukeA]

I have this_DX_drop-in in my 6P, G2, and Maxfire and it is bright for what it is! And for the price, you really can't go wrong. It's much brighter than any 3D/4D maglite.

I have a few of those. Very good build quality. Recommended.

 

[glenda17]

I just bought a P60 XR-E dropin from ebay for $18. I didn't notice that it was not Q5 just generic. This will be mounted on my shotgun. Hopefully it is a decent one.

 

[hfdq38g]

One word "Malkoff" nuff said. Actually there are a number of drop in's that are impressive. It may cost you more in the beginning but in the long run you will be glad you went with the led.:twothumbs

 

[edc3]

Just this last week I got a good deal on a 6P and bought a Wolf Eyes Q5 to go in it. I'm very impressed. Obviously it blows away the incan P60, but the Q5 is also significantly brighter than my old Wolf Eyes P4 Sniper. The combination of the beautifully machined 6P and the super bright, white light of the Q5 LED is awesome. In short, it's well worth it to upgrade. Good luck with yours.

 

[RichM]

A funny story relating to the brightness of the recent LED drop-ins:

A few weeks ago one of the guys I work with asked to see my 6P that has a Wolf-Eyes drop in.

He flashed it on a wall a few times and two other people came over to see who was welding.

I hadn't thought about it before then, but a few brief flashes from a light with one of the newer drop-ins does look a lot like a welder in use.

Rich

 

[precisionworks]

The best P60 drop in is a custom called the M60 made by Malkoff.

One word "Malkoff" nuff said.

Nothing else even comes close. It only looks pricey ($60) til you turn it on:thumbsup:

http://www.malkoffdevices.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=18

 

[adamlau]

Dereelight 1S Q5 SMO. Nothing else even comes close down a distance.

 

[kramer5150]

The more I get into this hobby the more the strengths and weaknesses become apparent from each design. I may be in the minority but I dont think LEDs do a very good job at rendering color and shadow-texturing. Shine an LED torch on an open grass field or tree and everything looks very mono-tone color... like a black and white photo with no contrast. The obvious thing is to upgrade to a brighter LED torch or mod the one you have. BUT all that does is make it BRIGHTER... doesn't do much for color rendering or create "real-looking" contrast between illuminated objects and shadows cast by those objects. So IMHO at least in that one area good, well powered Xenon incandescents rule over LEDs.

I have limited experience however... so take this with a huge grain of salt. My only 2 lights worth mentioning are a 6AA modded Fulton GI with a 6-cell Mag-Xenon and a Cree XR-E Task Force.

I have a 6P and a DX cree drop in on the way. It will be interesting to see how well the LED performs from a color-standpoint.

I'm probably going to get flamed... posting this in the LED forum. We need a Smiley in a flame-suit (that would be me)

 

[glenda17]

Thinking of getting a small LED for my pocket, what do people think of the P2D Q5? I didn't find much about the Q5 version searching.

 

[FliGuyRyan]

The Fenix P2D P4 Cree was my first, quality LED torch. I now have the P2D with the Rebel 100 (close to a Q5) and it rocks... I absolutely love it and I use it EVERY SINGLE DAY!

-RC

 

[Gunner12]

P2D-CE Q5

8% off coupon at Fenix Store is "CPF8".

I'll be a bit weary of eBay products. Many of the lower priced Cree/Seoul ones can be bought at a lower price at Dealextreme.

 

[JCup]

I got a Dealextreme 6090 for ten bucks a few weeks ago, to replace the P60 in my old Surefire 9P (still had its original xenon lamp).

It was a tremendous improvement.

I've only recently gotten powerful LED flashlights, my first being the Fenix L2D CE Q5.

I can compare the SF before and after, and the Fenix, as well as a Streamlight Ultrastinger.

I suppose if the Ultrastinger is right off the charger, it does throw an extremely tight spot, and compared to the Fenix at long range, there may be some argument about how well the weeds and bushes look at great distance. Up until December, it was my first choice.

But the Surefire looks sickly yellow compared to the Cree dropin, and it is far better than it had been - about like the Fenix. And overall, the Crees are very white, bright, and produce their much better results with improved battery life - and considering the Fenix can do all this with rechargeable NiMH AA's, it's an easy choice for me.

No flames from here, but I live on a greenbelt along a creek (totally unlit back there), I frequently go out on my deck to see what critters I hear (we have urban coyotes, foxes, and bobcats), and to let any humans know I'm checking them out. I've surprised many critters, a few dog walkers, and a couple of nightime pedestrians with unknown motives.

In almost every regard the L2D gives me a better, brighter (somewhat widened) beam than the others - and I used to think the incandescent 9P was just fine. I've now fully changed my mind - but with the Cree drop-in, it's closer. I have not really seen how much longer the CR123's will last yet.

I'm sure there are premium P60 drop-ins that outperform the DX 6090, but I suggest you give that one a try and confirm whether you like the result.