SUREFIRE G2 NITROLON P61 BULB

On sale at a local store, I picked up a Surefire G2 Nitrolon and picked up the stronger P61 bulb which is SUPPOSED to up the lumens to 120....Was just wondering if anyone else noticed what I did with this light, whereas there is ZERO difference in the appearance of the beam of light with the supposedly stronger P61 bulb from the original P60 bulb that came with the light.

What brand batteries are you using? Are they new? Don't forget that the new bulb draws around double the amperage of the old one. Also, I remember this quuestion came up before regarding the standard 250 lumen bulb vs the 500 lumen one for the M6. While although the hotspot might not look any brighter, the spill might be, or even the size of the hotspot.

I'm using BRAND NEW Surefire Premiums.... Costly little buggers.....Tested the batties and they are full up......Even the spill is almost identical.....Just seems that I threw away $25 for nothing.....

When I put a P61 in my G2 the difference was easily noted when looking at more distant objects. Up close it wasn't as obvious but it does have more throw.

Wow, that is strange as you should be getting almost double the output. One more idea I have is try spotting something around 40-50 feet away, across a house should do it. The problem revolves around the fact that your eyes, just like a camera adjust to the brightest light. Because of this, from a few feet, the lights might look identical although one is really brighter. See if this helps, otherwise, maybe the package was... well... packaged wrong and a P60 bulb was really included.

h_nu said:

When I put a P61 in my G2 the difference was easily noted when looking at more distant objects. Up close it wasn't as obvious but it does have more throw.

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darn, beat me to it :lolsign:

Doing a white wall test can be rather deceiving because the human eye tends to just look at how intense the hotspot is. What is going on with the P61 is that it makes a bigger overall hotspot and has a brighter spill. Shine it on distant objects in the dark and you will see the difference. While the P60 would light up half a barn at 50 yds the P61 will light up the whole barn. Just looking at the brightness or intensity of the hotspot will only tell you how far the beam will throw not how much output the light puts out. The P61 doesn't really throw any farther it just lights up a larger area.

One thing that I've noticed with Surefire's nitrolon flashlights (G2, G2Z) is that with the P61 LA, the output is rather anemic compared to when the P61 LA is used with their all-metal counterparts (6P, Z2, C2). I wonder if the conductivity of the metal tube inside of the nitrolon flashlights is not as good as the all-metal bodies. Anybody else notice a difference in light output with the P61 LA in nitrolon vs. all-metal Surefires?

k-2

Even the spill is almost identical? Hmm. When I put a P61 in my G2, it went from a spot to more of a flood. The light is brighter with the P61 as well, but it only throws a small bit farther, instead the beam lights up twice the area of the P60. At least that's my perception of the experience.

I concur with Torchman.

Also keep in mind, if you only have one G2, that you can't directly compare the P60 and P61 LA's, side by side at the same time. There most certainly is a difference.

:buddies:

I have the same setup (P61 in a G2) and noticed the same thing as you, Steve. I emailed surefire and they said "the difference is only noticeable in the distance." I do notice a difference in the distance but it doesn't seem (to me) to be worth the added expense of batts and LAs.

lumens is a measure of total output and therefore it might not be "brighter." There may only be more light. I think that the difference between the bulbs is not worth the runtime. You're better off getting a p90 with rechargable cr123a cells. There's more runtime, similar amount of output and no more running costs.

I noticed a difference...longer throw and brighter...up close it is a little more difficult to see

VegasSteve777 said:

.....Just seems that I threw away $25 for nothing.....

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You should not feel that way, since a spare lamp is mandatory.

I tend to run HOLA's in my lights, and carry the LOLA in the spares carrier. My reasoning is that if I burn up the first set of batteries and need to access the spares, perhaps a more efficient lamp should be installed to extend the run time of the limited number of spare cells in the carrier.

Paladin

I have a G2 and the P61 bulb. It is a little brighter but then it eats the cr123's faster.

I can most usually tell whether it's the high output lamp assembly beam being used.
And when you compare the standard and the HOLA beams side-by-side the difference is obvious. I find the P61 beam so much better for use outdoors - I much prefer it to the P60. The P61 allows me to see more, more quickly.

Of course if you can't tell the difference then don't use it! People see light and see things by light very differently. It's a bit like hi-fi or cars or most other things. If you can't tell the difference between a £100 hi-fi and a £1000 hi-fi, or a car is just a car then save your money for something else - perhaps you're better at telling a £30 beef stake from a £5 stake, or whatever...

Al

I have the g2z and both the p60 and p61 bulbs. I only use the p61 and use the p60 as a backup. I was speaking to Jon at J.S. Burly's and he was telling me about a article that said it was hard for some people to tell the difference between 300 and 500 lumens at very close ranges. I believe him.

I just bought a 500 lumen light from him and am very happy with it. It does not apear 5 times or even four times brighter than my p61 or tl3 when I just shine ot against the wall, but the difference is VERY evident when I light up a non reflective object 30 yards away.

As to the p61 bulb, for me the bigger hotspot and overall illumination makes it worth feeding a couple of 123's a week. If I was using it for longer durations, I would switch to another light.