Streamlight Scorpion vs. Surefire 6P

Chrontius · Apr 21, 2008

The more I look at the Scorpion, the more it looks like it's got a leg up on the Surefire. 114 lumens vs. 65 Surefire lumens - dunno how good Streamlight is about rating those - with the same runtime. Brightguy's got the 6P for $60 and the Scorpion for $35. (I know, never pay retail on a Surefire 6P)

Is it just the name recognition, the potential for Surefire lego (I can't imagine many non-enthusiasts do that), or is the lockout tailcap really that important?

Lighthouse one · Apr 21, 2008

Surefire is very conservative on their ratings.

Flash_Gordon · Apr 21, 2008

Streamlight claims 78 lumens for he xenon Scorpion.

I like the 6P because: Numerous choices for xenon lamps or LED modules.
Ability to modify light with different tailcaps or bezels. Surefire quality.

Some careful shopping in the CPF MarketPlace or on eBay can find a 6P at a very nice price. You can also buy a 6P LED and add a xenon LA.

Mark

mdocod · Apr 21, 2008

As I understand the scorpion uses a bi-pin bulb, which has the disadvantage of being more likely to be jared loose if dropped or exposed to recoil, (or at least, I would have to assume). Surefire uses a D26 style lamp assembly, which has become a standard in the tactical market, the advantage to these assemblies is that you get a fresh reflector with every bulb replacement, or, you can choose from one of dozens of available LED upgrade modules (even SureFire has one now). If you get a good deal on the 6P, you have a lot more options. Personally, I'd take a Wolf-Eyes 6 series over either since it will accommodate a 18650 size cell

If rechargeable options are not something you are interested in, then go with the 6P

Oh, and try not to worry too much about the lumen rating difference between the scorpion and 6P, they are both, for all intents and purposes, almost identical in total light output, both use bulbs that run around 1.2A on a pair of CR123s. I think the scorpion might have a slightly tighter beam profile, (guessing here)... any minor difference would be almost undetectable by the human eye.

Outdoors Fanatic · Apr 22, 2008

mdocod said:
As I understand the scorpion uses a bi-pin bulb, which has the disadvantage of being more likely to be jared loose if dropped or exposed to recoil, (or at least, I would have to assume). Surefire uses a D26 style lamp assembly, which has become a standard in the tactical market, the advantage to these assemblies is that you get a fresh reflector with every bulb replacement, or, you can choose from one of dozens of available LED upgrade modules (even SureFire has one now). If you get a good deal on the 6P, you have a lot more options. Personally, I'd take a Wolf-Eyes 6 series over either since it will accommodate a 18650 size cell If rechargeable options are not something you are interested in, then go with the 6P

Oh, and try not to worry too much about the lumen rating difference between the scorpion and 6P, they are both, for all intents and purposes, almost identical in total light output, both use bulbs that run around 1.2A on a pair of CR123s. I think the scorpion might have a slightly tighter beam profile, (guessing here)... any minor difference would be almost undetectable by the human eye.

+1

Great post! I agree 100% with that.:thumbsup:

Chrontius · Apr 23, 2008

So, if you don't expect the bipin bulb to be a problem, the Streamlight is probably more bang-for-buck (for straight-up incandescent) than the 6p, considering the going price?

Paladin · Apr 23, 2008

The physical differences between the two might be the deciding factor for some users.

The SL Scorpions' rubber coated body vs. SF with bare metal.
The SL has a clickie tailcap switch vs. SF's twisty.
The SL has a less expensive onboard spare lamp vs. SF's more expensive lamp/reflector assembly.
The SL has a slightly smaller diameter vs. The SF 1" diameter.
The SL is "fed" from the bezel end, the SF at either end.

Paladin

yellow · Apr 23, 2008

mechanically the Streamlight is in a totally different (crappier) league than the 6P.
output-wise the Streamlight kicks the 6P
... but I only have an 18650 Scorpion, dunno if this makes much of a difference to the CR123 model

lower pic, left: Scorpion 18650 on left, 6P on right
lower pic, right: 6P on left, Scorpion 18650 on right

beam of Scorpion set to same diameter than the 6P one,
CR batteries unused but 1/2 year old, 18650 with some rest (2 weeks or so)

horizonseeker · Apr 23, 2008

I personally prefer the Scorpion because in really cold weather, the sleeved body is a lot easier to hold. when I went to nor-cal last december, the scorpion was the most used light despite bringning a load of other lights.

Chrontius · Apr 23, 2008

O-kay. That is in fact a very big difference in output, but what bulb are you using? Is it official Streamlight stuff for use with the li-ion battery?

mdocod · Apr 23, 2008

I think he might be comparing to the strion, which uses a 18650 li-ion cell, and is around $100 if i recall correctly.. The strion has good throw from what i have seen for it's size, so will appear brighter in most beam shots..

Out of curiosity, why not a LED light in this size? The only configurations in this size class that come close to LEDs in output are very limited on runtime (20 minutes or so).

dmz · Apr 24, 2008

To outperform a Streamlight Scorpion you can get a Surefire 6P on ebay for $40 and a bright DX led drop in for $10. You can out shine a Streamlight Scorpion for $15 more than the price of a Streamlight Scorpion.

yellow · Apr 24, 2008

the "Streamlight Scorpion 18650" is an half-official ;-) release that uses a strion bulb and a body that could house an 18650 Li-Ion cell.
Got mine from lighthound but when I checked now, it is no longer there.

PS: I'd also opt for the Led-version (especially in this flashlight size class).
the upper row shows a Cree XR-E "P4" vs. the 18650 Scorpion.
And that led runs for almost 2.5 hours on that brightness on an 18650 (vs. the "usual" 50 mins for the incan) + the lower levels, ruggedness, ...

Lightingguy321 · Apr 24, 2008

From the sounds of this, you guys probably mean the comparison of a surefire G2 nitrolon and a Scorpion (definetly a more fair comparison). Both are polymer bodied. The G2 is a nitrolon (not the cheap plastic you see on dollar store lights) and the scorpion uses a replaceable rubber sleave on the metal body. In terms of output they are about the same (believe me, streamlights lumen ratings are a bit over blown). Remember the G2 nitrolon costs $36.00(msrp) and the scorpion somewhere in the neighborhood of 28 to 35 dollars. The newer LED scorpion (w/ C4 technology as they call it) uses a Cree-XRE (P4 I think) and outputs 114 streamlight lumens (I think that is more around 80 lumens out the front, last I checked, streamlight likes to rate bulb lumens and not what actually makes it out the front of the light). That puts the P60LED module on the same page as the Scorpion LEDs output. In this case I would go with surefire (not that I am biased or anything)

Lunal_Tic · Apr 24, 2008

With the cheaper bulbs (carries a spare in the light too) and forward clickie tail switch I've given more Scorpions away as gifts. The rubber sleeve is also nice if you have to hold the light in your mouth, your teeth will thank you for it. It's a nice inexpensive incan to have and use.

The 6P is nice but I wouldn't run a P60 in it with all the LED options out there.

-LT

Chrontius · Apr 24, 2008

I agree on the LED suggestion, I've been carrying nothing but since I switched from a mini-mag back when I started actually carrying a light. But once I got an incandescent light with acceptable output (Surefire) I've had a crisis of faith. While on the one hand, a Malkoff M60 will equal a ROP-LE-low in terms of throw, the incandescent bulb will make details appear that simply don't show up with the LED. A little analytical chemistry will go a long way to explain the reasoning behind people's love of incandescent lights - some things simply soak up everything in the region of the LED's spectral peaks, and reflect the regions where it's putting out very little light. I bought a Malkoff to have the best (and not spend another $60-100 trying things I'd stop using until I got fed up and bought a Malkoff anyway) and I'm still occasionally tempted to go back to the P60.

Monocrom · Apr 25, 2008

Chrontius said:
The more I look at the Scorpion, the more it looks like it's got a leg up on the Surefire. 114 lumens vs. 65 Surefire lumens - dunno how good Streamlight is about rating those - with the same runtime. Brightguy's got the 6P for $60 and the Scorpion for $35. (I know, never pay retail on a Surefire 6P)

Is it just the name recognition, the potential for Surefire lego (I can't imagine many non-enthusiasts do that), or is the lockout tailcap really that important?

I also used to think that Streamlight had a leg up on Surefire, when it came to these two models. Then one day, I went to Cabela's. Bought a couple of Surefire G2 models and a Streamlight Scorpion.

Imagine my surprise when the G2 models turned out to be brighter, with better sidespill. Later on, I learned that (unlike Surefire) Streamlight measures emitter lumens.

USM0083 · Apr 25, 2008

Chrontius said:
I agree on the LED suggestion, I've been carrying nothing but since I switched from a mini-mag back when I started actually carrying a light. But once I got an incandescent light with acceptable output (Surefire) I've had a crisis of faith. While on the one hand, a Malkoff M60 will equal a ROP-LE-low in terms of throw, the incandescent bulb will make details appear that simply don't show up with the LED. A little analytical chemistry will go a long way to explain the reasoning behind people's love of incandescent lights - some things simply soak up everything in the region of the LED's spectral peaks, and reflect the regions where it's putting out very little light. I bought a Malkoff to have the best (and not spend another $60-100 trying things I'd stop using until I got fed up and bought a Malkoff anyway) and I'm still occasionally tempted to go back to the P60.

+1

I two lights on my duty belt a G2Z with a R2 Cree and a G3 with a HO-9. For outdoors the HO-9 brings out details better (for my eyes, at least).

Streamlight Scorpion vs. Surefire 6P

Chrontius

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Lighthouse one

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Flash_Gordon

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mdocod

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Chrontius

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Paladin

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yellow

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horizonseeker

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