What's so great about a p60 drop in?

Ok so it seems that the p60 drop ins are all the rage right now. But why? Aren't there more efficient reflector configurations available? Other than the ability to swap out reflectors and emitters quickly whats the big deal?


Does the p60 drop in perform that well?

They're great because of their upgradeability and its cheaper than buying a whole new light. Not everyone has the money to spend on new lights coming out every month or two and also with p60 droppins you get to choose the beampattern/brightness/runtime/UI(modes)/price for your favourite p60 compatiable flashlight.

The Surefire 6p/9p/G2/G3 etc sized "frame" (body and head) are a durable, reliable platform, and are reasonably priced. The drop-ins available offer much better efficiency than the stock P60 lamp which has been a long time favorite. This translates to much greater brightness at the same runtime as the old P60, or at least equal brightness over several hours.

Plus, with an LED the chance of the module breaking after being dropped is is greatly reduced, since a soldered emitter is much less fragile than a thin incandescent filament.

All of that and more, including the post above!

Yapo said:

They're great because of their upgradeability and its cheaper than buying a whole new light. Not everyone has the money to spend on new lights coming out every month or two and also with p60 droppins you get to choose the beampattern/brightness/runtime/UI(modes)/price for your favourite p60 compatiable flashlight.

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x2... and if they don't make a module that appeals, you can easily go the DIY route and make one using available parts. Get yourself a good host, thats capable of dissipating a lot of heat and it will never be out-dated when new bins are released.

Besides that though, IMHO they do perform admirably well.

They are liked because(some have been stated in above posts):

Many people have P60 accepting lights.
The drop-ins are easy to swap and require no modding.
When new LEDs come, most drop-ins aren't too hard to open and can be easily upgraded.
Drop-ins are usually cheaper then the light itself/buying a new light.
Their size gives them a good balance of throw and flood(depends more on the optic/reflector though).
Drop-ins are usually tougher and brighter then the incans they replace.
There are also many different choices of drop-ins.

underconstruction said:

Ok so it seems that the p60 drop ins are all the rage right now. But why? Aren't there more efficient reflector configurations available? Other than the ability to swap out reflectors and emitters quickly whats the big deal?


Does the p60 drop in perform that well?

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Besides the points already mentioned..

Its the easiest way to turn your incan light into LED. Led's are more efficient, you dont have to replace them like incans..you can use rechargeable batteries..so for the economic aspect its great..

I think it was Ford who invented the general concept of interchangeable parts. Seems like a lot of industries have embraced his idea. IMHO, the interchangeable P60 module concept is as significant as the LED itself.:thumbsup:

Ok so I think im gonna give the p60 thing a shot. Ive been having difficulty finding a good host that has a rebel 100/Q5/r2 and is optimized for use with an 18650 and is multi-mode.

bspofford said:

I think it was Ford who invented the general concept of interchangeable parts. Seems like a lot of industries have embraced his idea. IMHO, the interchangeable P60 module concept is as significant as the LED itself.:thumbsup:

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Not Ford but Eli Whitney who was the first to actively promote the idea but probably didn't come up with it himself. Ford made advances in assembly line efficiency.

But it was Henry Ford who said, "I don't like 'Yes Men.' I want people who work for me to speak their minds -- even if it costs them their jobs!"

underconstruction said:

Ok so it seems that the p60 drop ins are all the rage right now. But why? Aren't there more efficient reflector configurations available? Other than the ability to swap out reflectors and emitters quickly whats the big deal?


Does the p60 drop in perform that well?

Click to expand...

The way you phrase your questions indicate that you may not fully understand what "P60" drop-ins are.

The P60 (type) drop-in is nothing more than a form factor of certain dimensions that will fit a particular range of lights, most notably the Surefire 6P among MANY others.

Beyond that, no two P60's are alike, and they differ in LED's used and the design of the reflector and the material the reflector is made from.
That means that, among the many P60's available, there is great variation in brightness, beam shape and spill, and how well the drop-in can take the heat.

So the short answer is that what's so great about the P60 drop-ins is that there is a very large selection to choose from that offer different lighting characteristics from each other, and there are many choices of "hosts" in which to install the P60 drop-in in.

underconstruction said:

Ok so I think im gonna give the p60 thing a shot. Ive been having difficulty finding a good host that has a rebel 100/Q5/r2 and is optimized for use with an 18650 and is multi-mode.

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http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.7934

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/186661

What price?

The RC-M4 is a good lower priced host.

Gunner12 said:

What price?

The RC-M4 is a good lower priced host.

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... that accomodates an 18650 as requested by the OP. Otherwise, I'd recommend a SF 6P at $42.00 on ebay as a good quality host for P60's.

What's so great about a p60 drop in?

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Figure $68 for a Malkoff M60, $45 for a 6P. For not much money, you get a beautiful beam, 240 lumens, and decent runtime.

Other than a $500 custom mod, there isn't much available that does this much for so little.

The Dereelight Cl1H is another P60 and 18650 accepting host. But it comes with a Q5 drop-in when you get one new and it costs much more then the RC-M4.

High P60 performance on a budget:

$30 range = RC-M4 + DX P60 module (0-100% 3-mode Q5 or R2)
or/ TrustFire T1 with one-mode Q5 included (2X16340)

$45 range = Solarforce L2 with stainless steel bezel (comes with clicky
tailcap, AR glass and R2 P60 module)

$80 range = DereeLight CL1H with 3SD module and OP reflector (because
the host may last a lifetime and upgrade modules are
affordable, the cost of the light should be considered over a
period of ten years or more, <$10 per year)

Note: Mev at LightReviews recently reported that the 0-100% 3-mode Q5 (actually 15 modes in 6 groups) is as bright on high as a Fenix T1 and also has great runtimes. The UI is a bit complex, so read his review about changing groups.

bspofford, could we get a link to that review you mentioned. Thanks!

Mev does great reviews. He is systematic, so the information is very useful when comparing lights.

http://lightreviews.info/dx_sku_11074/review.html

bspofford said:

Mev does great reviews. He is systematic, so the information is very useful when comparing lights.

http://lightreviews.info/dx_sku_11074/review.html

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wow...8500lux at 1m with a OP reflector...i wonder if the reflector is different from other droppins or if it's driven hard because that beats dereelights Q5 droppin with SMO reflector at over 1.2A