Surefire G2

Does anyone still use the Surefire G2 Nitrolon? It is the cheapest flashlight from surefire with its LED cousin being almost twice as expensive. Does anyone knows knows if the G2 can have its bulb switch from incandescant to LED readily? If so, how much does an LED drop-in kit would cost? Last but not least, what are comparable light to the Surefire G2 LED from reputable brand more much less money?

Yep, I've got a G2. I got it as a G2L (soon after release, so it has the Nitrolon bezel), and sometime I use it with the P60L it came with, sometimes with an incandescent P60, sometimes a Malkoff M60LF.

The G2 is perfectly compatible with any P60-size drop-in, of which there are many. Just find the drop-in that works best for you, unscrew the bezel, take out the P60, drop in your new lamp assembly, re-attach the bezel, and you're good to go. Countless drop-ins are available, with enough variety to choose based on your expected uses. There's a sticky thread in the LED forum about P60-compatible LED drop-ins - this could be a good place to start your search.

As for price, it could be anywhere from $10 to $125, depending on how reliable of a brand you choose, and how expensive the parts of the given drop-in are.

And there are a number of companies other than SF that make P60-compatible lights, though I don't know what they all are. Chances are, though, that you'll primarily only find aluminum alternatives, which, while much cheaper than SF's aluminum hosts, won't be much different in price from the G2 (I think).

This should help you.

The G2 is a nice inexpensive way to enter the world of Surefire flashlights. And yes the light can be converted to the LED version just as easy as changing the bulb assembly. I'm not sure what the stock Surefire LED module costs on it's own, since I just bought the G2L (essentially a G2 with the LED module already installed at the factory). There are some cheaper alternatives, but I don't have any, just Surefires. Look for any light that is considered a P60 host, and those will take Surefire LED modules, and Malkoff M60 drop-in modules.

In the end, you'll probably end up with a Surefire, or two, or six, or twelve anyway. They are the standard by which many lights are judged.

I'd recommend M60L or M60LL from malkoff - I'm running a M60LL in my G2. (M60s will have heat dissipation problems in the plastic body) These LED modules are slightly pricer but are plenty bright, long runtime, well built and definitely lasts u a reeealllly long time. Do a search on the forums for their reviews. Good stuff.

i still use the g2 as my incandescent light for outdoor color rendition and depth. i prefer the streamlight polytac led as a nitrolon led because of the heatsinking inside the nitrolon. plus, its 20 dollars cheaper than the g2l and a lot brighter.

Looked into the G2, but then balked after reading some drop-in manufacturers' recommendations that their drop-in should not be used in plastic hosts such as the G2, as a result of heat issues. Then there are those threads that discuss how the G2 needs to be bored out before it can house a 18650 cell. A bit disappointed. The quality of SF is hard to turn away from but the prices!

You can use LED drop-ins in the G2, but you must use an aluminum head with it to prevent damage to the LED.

The G2 cannot be bored out. There is a metal sleeve that goes up the inside of the body. In order to bore out a G2, you'd have to physically "stretch" the Nitrolon body and then insert a new sleeve.

The G2 is a sweet light and is a great gateway drug, er I mean light, to enter the world of Surefire with

Black Rose,

Thanks for the correction. I must have the G2 mixed up with some thread about boring out other SF hosts.
But about the heat issue, doesn't the aluminum head still need to transfer the heat to the polymer body, which is a poor conductor? Thanks.

Its not so much that LEDs shouldn't be run in G2's, but 'full power' LED setups should not be. With modules under a half amp (< 500ma) like the M60L, there's enough 'heatroom' in the module itself to handle most waste heat.

With modules great than half an amp, the goal is to provide a path for heat to escape from the LED. Surrounded by nylon (think insulated blanket), heat must pretty much go up through the lens or down toward the battery. Adding either a metal body or metal bezel provides a heat path out to the surface of the light.

Its actually more useful to change the body to metal, but then it would no longer be a G.

The G2 is under rated in my opinion.

It doesn't put out as much light but it's beam is concentrated enough where it is superior to other LED lights at identifying objects at 50 yards.

It was better at this than a Malkoff M60L when I compared them.