Newb seeking advice on a Surefire 6P Led drop-in

I've seen the threads on the P60 style drop-ins and I've searched the forums for advice on upgrades. But to be honest, my head is spinning from all the information that's not all that straight forward or might be outdated. Heck, I don't even know what the advantages and disadvantages are with the current top LEDs are. Anyway, I apologize if this question has been rehashed over and over.

I just bought a Surefire 6P LED. I'm not a flashaholic though I've been following these boards on and off for years. This is my actual first post. :huh: I know that there good lights out there that are rugged, give better output, and that some provide more power source flexibility but I wanted to get something that I could use for years and years and still be able to upgrade it so it won't seem so old. It not only needed to be rugged but I wanted to buy it from a company that sells replacement parts and accessories and has been around for some time. Surefire seemed to be the only one to fit the bill.

Anyway, it does lack in power output compared to what is possible and what some cheaper lights offer. Don't get me wrong. As an admirer of flashlight/led technology rather than a flashaholic, I like the balance of output and quality. This thing seems indestructable. But I'd like to have fun with it a little and see how much light I can get out of it with either a drop-in or a mod.

Like I said, I've looked through the P60 thread a little but I don't know what's good. I want to get something significantly brighter than what I have already; otherwise what's the point. However, a 45 minute run time doesn't sound good. I'd like something that's a little warmer than the stock LED. As for multimode, it's not a big issue but I'm open to suggestions if one is really good. I figured a tail multi-mode function might be a better option than something built into the lamp assembly; but I'm a newb so I don't know.

I've seen the Malkoff stuff online and it always gets high praises but all the compatible drop-ins seem to be sold out. I assume this status might be a while because of the current run of flashlights he's making (damn, I missed out on that). So, what drop-ins do you guys recommend?

I'm alright at soldering too so if there's a good mod out there that's recommended, I might be interested in that.

Any help and advice will be greatly appreciated.

P.S. Like I said, I've stalked these forums for years. Well, I stopped for the longest time actually but recently found a renewed interest. I had a bunch of mass produced led flashlight back when led flashlights were just coming around. None of them lasted though. My old incan. maglites lasted longer. However, my old CG Infinity is still going strong. I only use it to light up my tent when I go camping so it's still running off the first lithium AA I stuck in it. Amazing. That's more than 5 years. I recently got a 2D Rebel Maglite LED, a 2AA Multimode Mini Maglite LED, and upgraded my old Mini Mag with a Nite Ize 1W and IQ switch. The old Minimag is on light duty so the Nite Ize stuff works fine at giving it extra life.

If it helps, I just purchased my first drop-in for my very old 6P. I went with the $10.00 DX R2 and I'm blown away with the brightness. It's got a nice tint and it's reeeeeaaaally bright!!!

A good place to start might be the DX "R2" drop-in. Shipping is slow though.

Malkoff makes them in "runs" you'll have to catch one to get one of this drop-ins.

since you're okay at soldering you could get make your own from a DX reflector drop in kit. Get both the smooth and textured ones so you can lego your drop in.
Next you'll need a good driver and a good emitter. Or maybe just get the R2 drop in and the smooth reflector set for now so you can play with different reflectors. (98% sure the reflectors are swappable with the pre-made drop-in.)

The one DX P60 dropin that I have has a very noticeable cree ring, and the beam just doesn't look all that good overall. Are all DX dropins like this, or does it really depend? It could be that I have just been spoiled by my T10L's beam which has virtually no ring... However, I am somewhat unimpressed by the DX dropin I have.
However, for what it cost, it really is worth it. I would think that you would want a higher quality drop in in a 6P that would hopefully have more precisely designed optics.
You should also take a look at the dereelight dropins. They are less expsnive than the Malkoffs (about $35 dollars), but they have some multimode dropins, and also offer a warm tinted Q3 %a dropin. Malkoff also has warm dropins, but they are more expensive and hard to get a hold of (as you have already discovered).

Honestly, you'll have plenty of time to try out new things later. Many people (me included) buy tons of lights and dropins and don't know what we want until hundreds of dollars later. My advice would be to go return that $90 6P LED. You'll never use that LED dropin again, so let's not waste any money quite yet. Return it and head over to the Marketplace. Members are selling 6P's all the time. There is a used one for $40 right now.

Malkoff's dropins are heads and shoulders above any other competitor out there. Really. I don't think anyone can dispute that. I really think you need to start there. So let's start with one light first. The 6P platform is perfect because it's small, built like a tank, and parts can be bought for it. There is a guy in the Marketplace selling 6P's that have been bored for an 18650 lithium rechargeable, stripped and then anodized a custom platinum/green color. Then he slaps a Malkoff M30 or M30W in there. All for $155 shipped. Basically the cost of your 6P LED plus a dropin from Malkoff. Only the light is customized with a hard anodized type III coating, and there are only 18 of them in circulation. These are built and ready to ship. No wait for the Malkoff Dropin.

The Malkoff M30 is like your 6P LED, but on steroids. 235 lumens with a tight beam and plenty of spill.

I would also recommend Malkoff's M60 MC-E for another 6P type host. The MC-E will give you over 500 lumens of pure light. No hot spot, just lights up the entire room. I swear it's like turning on the lights!

You can't rely on Malkoff's site to order his stuff. His site host can't seem to get him up to speed with out of stock notifications or anything. Click on the "contact us" link and give him a call. He or Cathy will call you back and you will want to order the MC-E or whatever that way.

These two lights will really show you what is possible with your 6P. After that, you can start buying other lights that might fit particular needs. But at least you'll have started where many of us are now. I'm just like your dad trying to teach you from my mistakes. Listen to me, I'm saving you money! LOL

OK, now on one flame me! I mean it!

Hey thanks for the advice everyone. Keep it coming.

jslappa ... You know what, I was thinking about buying that bored out 6P with HA III. The rational side of me told me that was the best way to go but my impulsive side of me decided to just go get the 6P. Well, another reason was that I didn't have these kind of rechargeable batteries that seem to be so popular for these custom flashlights. Another reason (or excuse, haha) was that I wanted to be able to grab batteries at a retail store in a pinch if I was out camping our something.

As for the 6Ps that are sold in the markplace forums. I dunno. I seem to be really slow at catching those deals. They seem to sell out faster than I can discover them for some reason.

I'll think about returning my purchase but, honestly, it's hard to. As a beginner, this stock 6P LED is brighter than anything I have right now. LOL.

I just checked malkoff's site and he has 7 M30's in stock right now. If you decide to keep your 6P LED, that M30 would be perfect. Just remember it only runs on ONE battery. 2 will fry it quick. AW17670's work well in an unmodded 6P. There's even a CPF discount. (though I don't know what it is!)

I agree, send that LED Surefire back! I purchased the cheaper xenon version of the Surefire and dropped in a Q5 bulb and am happy as a clam.

I just have to get my battery situation in order and I am having a hard time figuring out what batteries are best.

I spent 40 bucks on the NEW xenon surefire.