the new guy with questions. ETA: more questions

HI! i am the new guy with a cople of questions.

I have an interest in flashlights, and stumbled upon this place. its really great, but I kind of got dropped into the middle of someting i dont full understand. i have been reading for a while after a person on AR15.com (where i am also a member) was selling maglights that gave ASTOUNDING performance.

I have a brand new 2 C maglight right in front of me. what is a good "beginner" mod? is the one where you put in a piece of tubing with 3 CR123s in it with a 6D bulb popular?

Re: the new guy with questions

I've built and sold a lot of those... Either the KPR112+3x123 or the KPR118+4x123. Then I 'sputter' the reflector with clear acrylic spray paint for a much smoother beam and wider hotspot. Runtime is about an hour with either build though the KPR118 is brighter. These builds are significantly overdriving the bulbs and bulb life ranges from 1 second (not kidding!) to maybe 2 hours and the Radio Shack krypton bulbs seem to hold up better than the Maglite-brand Kryptons. To use Xenon bulbs, you need to go up a cell... ie, you can use the 6 cell Xenon on the 3 CR123s. Some report good things with the 3x123 cells on a 5 cell Xenon but I've never done it or tried it.

Another recent thing to come along is called the ROP Low, ROP stands for Roar of the Pelican which is a larger rechargeable light. The bulbs are PR base so you don't need to use the PR to bipin adapter. The 'Low' comes from the fact that the bulbs are sold as a pair with physically seperate high and low bulbs.

Then there are other kinds of cells that are rechargeable lithium which are higher voltage than the regular CR123 cells but there are safety considerations that need to be taken into account. The ROP Low can be built to run with 2 18650-sized of these rechargeable LiON cells and you end up with about three times brighter light and better bulb life.

Re: the new guy with questions

so a KPR118 + 4x123 = really bright light? how would it compare to a G2?

how much are KPR118s? how much are 18650s?

Re: the new guy with questions

Well, the KPR118s are the same price as the KPR112 at Radio Shack, I believe.

The 18650 LiON cells range from $5.50 for unprotected cells to $12 (I think) for protected cells. These are pretty specific cells and many folks offer stern warnings when talking about them. I figure we're all adults here and there are a lot more dangerous things around than batteries but since I don't know you from adam, I will offer the warning that they should be used with caution.

I'd say I'd rank them like this in terms of pure brightness:

Surefire G2 with the stock P60 lamp
KPR112 with 3x123 cells
Surefire G2 with High Output P61 lamp
KPR118 with 4x123 cells

I'd hate to guess at lumen ranges but I'd say the KPR112 build is closer to the P61 lamp than to the P60 lamp and the KPR118 build is maybe 25% brighter than the P61 lamp.

The ROP is in a whole and entirely different class... The P60 is rated at 60 lumens, The P61 is rated at 120 lumens, the ROP low is more than 400 lumens so it will absolutely blow the stock G2 away.

If you're a car guy, it would be like a busted up stock 1988 Honda Civic with 200,000 miles on it and a bad exhaust racing a Dodge Viper...

Just no comparison! No way! No how!

Re: the new guy with questions

ok, i am a bright guy (pun intended), and should be able to use 18650s with out hurting myself.

I have a G2, and that thing is BRIGHT! now i am sure by your standards, its well, the standard, but 400 LUMENS?!?! that kicks ***.

build one: KPR118 + 4x123

build two: ROP LO.

i am so addicted.

Re: the new guy with questions

I think i have decided to go with the ROP LO build for my first one.

questions:

1: do i need a metal reflector and glass lens for the "low"?
2: will 2 18650s fit in my 2C without rattle?
3: what is bulb life on this set up?
4: what is battery life?