First real light go easy

I've got a birthday coming up and only own three flashlights so I thought I might celebrate by picking up a fourth. I have a light for diving, one I leave at the family farm and a headlamp for backpacking. I was loolking to get a light that would complement that headlamp. Something with moderate throw. I've been eyeing a 6p led and hear the 6p is considered standard equipment in a flashlight world. I'd also pick up the kt 1 turbo head for when I want more throw. Is this a good combination for a first good light?

The 6P LED is a solid light, the KT1 does not use an LED (it's a similar bulb as what is found in a standard P60 module, just on a different module and in a huge reflector), so installing it would negate the extended runtime benefits of the LED.


Most people here would suggest that the SureFire turbo heads are just a bit too bulky to be worth it on the smaller bodied lights. It converts a 6P from something pocket-able to something, well, cargo-jacket pocket-able. And just doesn't provide a large enough boost in useful performance to be worth the substantial size. Save turbo-heads for longer flashlight configurations.

The 6P is an excellent platform to start with if you plan on sticking with CR123 cells. You can adapt a 6P into just about any light you want in the future. With extenders and turbo-head it can be sortof like an M4 (minus shock isolation), with an adapter and extension, sortof like an M3, with nothing more than an extension, a 9P. It can be made a throwy LED light with a malkoff drop-in, can be made a multi-mode LED with an alternative drop-in, can be kept stock and enjoyed for a lifetime. it's really up to you


if you are inkling towards recharge-ability, the 6P is not necessarily the greatest starting point. Look for either AA powered LED lights, or 18650 li-ion powered incan or LED flashlights.

Eric

I'd suggest posting what you would like in this light.

Price?
Runtime?
Multimode?
Beam Pattern?
Other requirements?

The 6P is a good choice, though there might be better ones that suit your needs better. I wouldn't use the turbohead because that would limit your choices of LED and Incan modules.

9P + KT would allow you to run more useful combos than the 6P + KT at the expense of increased overall length.

The 6P is a classic and everyone should eventually own one. However, people often find they need a light on a low/dim setting most of the time and a very bright mode only once in awhile. The 6P does not offer any attenuation to its brightness. It's on or off - that's it. It's going to give you 80 lumens or so for a couple hours and then begin to taper off, finally becoming too dim for practical use after a bunch more hours. I'd recommend a light that has flexibility. Something with a low-low mode (~2-5 lumens), that can also be adjusted to put out mid-range lumens (~100) and then scorch your eyeballs when needed (~200 lumens).

Some manufacturers have pretty amazing stuff out now. Of course you can wait until the big 2 come out later this year - the Surefire Optimus and Invictus (for big $$). Or you could look at all of the offerings out there now. Surefire E1B or E1L. Edgetac's Extreme and Jetbeam's Jet Pro II I.B.S. are single-123 and have a lot of flexibility. Fenix P2D/P3D, L2D are all very capable as well as the Derelight CL1H.

Good luck!

The 6P is a classic, but rather antiquated in it's capabilities.

Well thanks to Gilly i've decided to wait for the release for surefires newest two lights and see if they live up to the hype. I'll put some money aside and dream for now. Better to wait and be happy than buy now and possibly regret.