SF G2 vs. G2L?

Well I'm thinking that my next light will be the surefire G2, though I'm undecided whether to go with incan or led. I have a couple decent DX lights that have done me very well and run off the nice AA. In fact one of them now has a Q5 with a driver that will handle just about any 14500 sized batt you casn throw at it (for which I have a pair of li-ions on the way!).

I also have been planning to, eventually, go the auroralite-hotwire-TL3 route with a minimag I have laying around.

So I'm just not sure whether to go incan or LED with this SF. I know their leds don't have the nicest tint, but that alright; a small price to pay for the reliability. I guess it boils down to two questions.
1) Is the LED really notably brighter than the incan version? Stated 65lm/incan 80lm/led. I know the led output should be flatter.
2) Which one throws better? This will likely end up a glovebox light and/or pack light (depending on how long before I get my car fixed back up) and since I have a couple nice pocket lights for close to medium work (under 30yards) this light would be a carry light to fill in for a larger one.

I've converted all of my SureFire Incan's to LED. It is noticeably brighter to my Mark 1 Mod 0 eyeball.

And tests do show that the assembly in the LED will put out 80 lumens....even slightly more when you have really fresh CR123A's.

-Steve

Buy the G2. Then sell the P60 and go with a Q5 drop-in.

adamlau said:

Buy the G2. Then sell the P60 and go with a Q5 drop-in.

Click to expand...

Is there really any market for a basic P60? I wouldn't mind going with a Q5 drop-in, and maybe eventually. But my main consideration is which throws better the G2 or G2L?

I'm fixin' to make sure I have good batteries in both lights.

I have a 6PL and two standard G2 bodies. I have two P60s marked A and B for beam quality.

I will put A in a G2 with 2x123 at 3.1 or better.
I will put P60L in another G2 with similar batteries.

My test is a gazebo at around 125', a gate at 175', tops of pine trees at 200' and some other stuff to compare beams.

It will be dark in another couple hours. I will test and report.

EDIT: In my well lit computer room I'll go ahead and bet that the P60L will if not actually BE brighter will sure as heck APPEAR so. We'll know in a couple hours....

Cool, I'll be anxiously awaiting your findings!

OK. I did not check Flash Amps on the batteries, only V and they were equal in V.

Maybe I'm just used to LED now, but the P60 in the G2 looked awfully yellow.
It does light up the gazebo, gate and top of the pine trees.

The P60L does it so much better! Anything white on the gazebo or other places I shine it are WHITE! The top of the pine trees POPS into view.

Just for grins I had my better of two DX Cree (1447) in a Pelican M6 and it made the P60 look sick. It was somewhat brighter than the P60L.

I wish I could do pics that showed what my eyes see.

I would recommend the G2L or 6PL. When you consider that the batteries in the G2 will be dead 2-3 hours before the G2L loses much brightness it's a NO BRAINER!

I'm going to further check the batteries that were driving the P60 now.


EDIT: The Battery Station CR123A are after the test at 2.98V each, and one FA at 3.5 while the other FA at 4.5 which I should think is plenty for the P60.

When I put my second DX Cree (which isn't as nice of tint as the other) in the same light with the same batteries it does at least as good as the P60L

That's it! The batteries that were driving the DX Cree were at 2.95V and 7.2 and 6.6 FA. They don't make the P60 bright but they sure as heck run the LED!!!

Further edit! My DX Sku 7999 Romisen RC-F4 SLAUGHTERS this stuff! If I'm going to use a LED light to check out my 3.5 acres it will be the Romisen!!!

I've swapped out the p60 from my SF G2 with a DX Cree drop in.... and it is a lot brighter to the eye. I haven't done any tests with light meters, but comparing it to my Olight T20, they light up a room equally, even though the T20 is rated at 160+ lumens.

Also, with the Cree drop in the CR123 batteries last a heck of a lot longer and I don't get that ugly yellowing of the light as the batteries get used. With the p60, batteries dead in an hour or so and the output goes down hill within 15 minutes, with the Cree I've been on the same set of batteries for at least 1 hour and its still nice and bright white. Just my two cents.

First of all the P60 is quite a bit brighter than the P60L. No doubt about it.
The P60 is also more amber in color and runs the battery down very quickly.
The P60L is very nice and white.
What I did is buy a G2L and I pulled the P60L and replaced it with a Malkoff M60 which is very nice and white and very bright. it only stays bright for a couple of hours though in like the P60L which stays bright for 6 to 8 hours.

I use the P60L in another 6P I have. IMHO the P60L is a better way to go as a lamp in the 6P and G2.

Have a look at the P60 drop in thread in the LED area of the forums. There is a great deal of information there about all types of drop In's.
One thing to look at is your decision to go with a G2 vs a 6P. The 6P is a better way to go generally if you want to run the LED drop ins at high current drive levels because they move the generated heat much better.
Have fun.
BTW either light is cool enough that you will want to play with it for a while before tossing it into the darkness of the glovebox. Poor light.

Yaesumofo

Buck91 said:

Well I'm thinking that my next light will be the surefire G2, though I'm undecided whether to go with inca or led. I have a couple decent DX lights that have done me very well and run off the nice AA. In fact one of them now has a Q5 with a driver that will handle just about any 14500 sized batt you can throw at it (for which I have a pair of li-ions on the way!).

I also have been planning to, eventually, go the auroralite-hotwire-TL3 route with a minimag I have laying around.

So I'm just not sure whether to go insane or LED with this SF. I know their leds don't have the nicest tint, but that alright; a small price to pay for the reliability. I guess it boils down to two questions.
1) Is the LED really notably brighter than the incan version? Stated 65lm/incan 80lm/led. I know the led output should be flatter.
2) Which one throws better? This will likely end up a glove box light and/or pack light (depending on how long before I get my car fixed back up) and since I have a couple nice pocket lights for close to medium work (under 30yards) this light would be a carry light to fill in for a larger one.

Click to expand...

Buck91 said:

Is there really any market for a basic P60? I wouldn't mind going with a Q5 drop-in, and maybe eventually. But my main consideration is which throws better the G2 or G2L?

Click to expand...

Try it on a foggy day and you'll see.

You might as well go ahead and shoot me, because you'll never make me USE an incandescent flashlight anymore.

Batteries that won't make the P60 anywhere near white will run the M*gled or any of the DX drop ins I have just swell!

And speaking of drop ins, 4068 Seoul drop in arrived today. Compared to the Crees it is perhaps a bit brighter but TOTALLY different in beam!

It has a bright but undefined center blending out to spill which isn't as bright as the Cree spill.

Tint is good and it is as good as the Cree just different!

yaesumofo said,

One thing to look at is your decision to go with a G2 vs a 6P. The 6P is a better way to go generally if you want to run the LED drop ins at high current drive levels because they move the generated heat much better.

Since the G2L and 6PL both use the 80 lumen SF driver which is not considered "high output," would there be any heat issues? If using a drop in rated higher than 80 lumens, I'd use the 6P.

If one chosed to use an aftermarket drop in the ability to move heat is an advantage.
My P60L doesn't generate nearly as much heat as a incan P60.
Either way, more aluminum is almost allways a better way to go if there is a chance of running a high power globe/emitter system.
It was a sort of just in case comment.
Yaesumofo

roymail said:

yaesumofo said,

One thing to look at is your decision to go with a G2 vs a 6P. The 6P is a better way to go generally if you want to run the LED drop ins at high current drive levels because they move the generated heat much better.

Since the G2L and 6PL both use the 80 lumen SF driver which is not considered "high output," would there be any heat issues? If using a drop in rated higher than 80 lumens, I'd use the 6P.

Click to expand...

Interestingly the P60 and P60L don't REALLY contact the head or body of the light. CLOSE proximity around the reflector, but the other end touches via springs.

That said as long as the bezel is aluminum that should be as good as it gets.

One MIGHT want to use thermal paste to increase the reflector to head contact.

THAT said I would tend to use a M*gled or such around the house when I need runtime, and I carry 1AA stuff as EDC.

So at best these lights are KEWL toys to me....

Interestlingly enough, the drop ins (at least DX drop ins) make contact with the BODY of the light. Some at the end of the bezel threads but solid aluminum to body at the lower end.

In a G2 the upper contact is nitrolon and the lower is the ground sleeve.

A P60 or P60L uses springs at the end and makes no such contact.

I gotta run out to the truck for my P60L....

Same thing. There IS a place in the aluminum head where the reflector makes contact....

I'm using the Lumens Factory 3.7v lamp and a 17670 LiIon in my G2. I really like that combo. Its my only rechargeable incandescent. Sometimes you just want that nice warm incandescent beam and this combo gives a rechargeable solution so I don't worry about the efficiency.

I just got a P60L drop in for Christmas, and have tried it out in my 6P and C2. In my opinion the P60L has a several advantages (better sidespill, longer runtime, etc), but throw is not one of them. I think the P60 throws much better, and its color makes it easier to identify stuff at a distance. Of course, if you compare the P60L to the P61, the P61 just blows it away as far as throw.

I think the best combo would be to buy the G2L or 6PL, then buy a P61 drop in, extra batteries and a SC1 spares carrier for the glovebox. You'd have a really bright, good throwing incan and then an LED if you need the longer runtimes.

Of course, if you already have your medium/close work lights, then just buy a G2 or 6P and drop in a P61.

I can't afford nor see ANY reason to have an incandescent 2 or 3x123 light anymore. In my day-to-day work life a 1AA Cree is all the light I need.

I have brighter stuff in the truck including an MC60.

I have decent runtime in a Lambda LUXIII pill in a MM.

I have a NiteIze headstrap for hands free, altough I can lip an AAA or AA light pretty good.

P60L is to my eye better than P60. At least using the exact same batteries.

The above is strictly opinion.

I received a 6PL for Christmas and I'm impressed with the installed P60L (not to mention the 6P body). It might not throw as far as the incandescent P60, but with nearly 3 hours' worth of regulated runtime this is a winner in my book.

The tint on my P60L is white, with a slight hint of blue. I think the folks here on CPF refer to that as "cool" instead of "warm". Definitely not any of the ugly blue people were describing in earlier threads.

For the price of $65 for the G2L or $85 for the 6PL you are getting one hell of a combination.

My hope is that Surefire will create brighter LED drop-in assemblies for their lineup down the road. Then it will be as simple as swapping out the P60L for whatever is next...

PlayboyJoeShmoe, Do you have beam shots of the Dealextreme drop in 4068? Do you prefer it over a cree?