Sure Fire G3 [with "accessories"], it is a Sleeper for the Best All Round?

I have learned quite a bit of on CPF in the short time I have been here.
I learned something that I did not know today thanks to a post by zven.

From my previous posts, most of you can figure out that I am not an experimeter [ie. Modder], and that I want my lights to be reliable, indistructable, and no muss, no fuss.

Also this "stuff" [especially quality stuff] is expensive.

Also I like to keep things simple as possible, with as much as interchangeability as possible...

So ENTER the Sure fire G3, with accessories, all easily bought over the counter with out any modifications.

So we start with the Basic G3 LED, fairly bright, fairly long run time. 80 lumens 12 hours.

Then we add, P61L at 200 lumens, run time to be determined.

P90 incandescent bulb, for those times that you need 105 lumens of proper color rendition, one hour run time.

P 91 bulb, 200 lumens for 20 min, when you want extreme tactical blinding light.

All the above with 123 Primarys that have a 10 year shelf life.

Then as a bonus, with the P60 LED, you can use batteries that will not fire up an incandescent light, ie the G3LED can function like a Vampire, with weak 123's...

Also the G3LED will "glow in the dark" with 2 AA batteries, that you can find most anywhere...

AND for everyday [well everynight actually] use at home, or other places, where you are on the "Power Grid", you can use 2 rechargeable AW 17500 batteries.

With the above "accessorized" G3, or other SF lights that take 123 batteries and P90/P60L bulbs it seems to me that this would be a great "System".

Looks like the Ultimate using Utility light to me.

Re: Sure Fire G3 [with "accessories"], it is a Sleeper for the Best All Round?

NE450No2 said:

I have learned quite a bit of on CPF in the short time I have been here.
I learned something that I did not know today thanks to a post by zven.

From my previous posts, most of you can figure out that I am not an experimeter [ie. Modder], and that I want my lights to be reliable, indistructable, and no muss, no fuss.

Also this "stuff" [especially quality stuff] is expensive.

Also I like to keep things simple as possible, with as much as interchangeability as possible...

So ENTER the Sure fire G3, with accessories, all easily bought over the counter with out any modifications.

So we start with the Basic G3 LED, fairly bright, fairly long run time. 80 lumens 12 hours.

Then we add, P61L at 200 lumens, run time to be determined.

P90 incandescent bulb, for those times that you need 105 lumens of proper color rendition, one hour run time.

P 91 bulb, 200 lumens for 20 min, when you want extreme tactical blinding light.

All the above with 123 Primarys that have a 10 year shelf life.

Then as a bonus, with the P60 LED, you can use batteries that will not fire up an incandescent light, ie the G3LED can function like a Vampire, with weak 123's...

Also the G3LED will "glow in the dark" with 2 AA batteries, that you can find most anywhere...

AND for everyday [well everynight actually] use at home, or other places, where you are on the "Power Grid", you can use 2 rechargeable AW 17500 batteries.

With the above "accessorized" G3, or other SF lights that take 123 batteries and P90/P60L bulbs it seems to me that this would be a great "System".

Looks like the Ultimate using Utility light to me.

Click to expand...

+1

I approve this post! Great thread.

Cheers.

Re: Sure Fire G3 [with "accessories"], it is a Sleeper for the Best All Round?

Outdoors Fanatic

Thanks for your +1, as I have read a lot of your posts and respect your knowledge on "things that glow in the dark".

I am a Serious USER of "flashlights" but I am not a knowledgeable "techie/modder". But I learn more everyday.

Re: Sure Fire G3 [with "accessories"], it is a Sleeper for the Best All Round?

Did Surefire finally release the P61L?

Re: Sure Fire G3 [with "accessories"], it is a Sleeper for the Best All Round?

Not to my knowledge...

Re: Sure Fire G3 [with "accessories"], it is a Sleeper for the Best All Round?

I didn't think the P61L was ever released.

While I'm being negative, I don't think the P60L will put out 80 Lumens for 12 hours. At least not in a 2 or 3 CR123A size flashlight anyway. I think that might be 80 Lumens max output and useable light for 12 hours.

That being said, I do agree that the G3(L) is a good flashlight.

Re: Sure Fire G3 [with "accessories"], it is a Sleeper for the Best All Round?

That is exactly it.

It starts with 80 lumes, and drops slowly...

There are runtime graphs around somewhere...

Re: Sure Fire G3 [with "accessories"], it is a Sleeper for the Best All Round?

++1 - Agreed - the SF G3 is one of the most versatile lights around. And you gotta love that 2x17500/P90 config...

Re: Sure Fire G3 [with "accessories"], it is a Sleeper for the Best All Round?

The G3L get about 75ish (Surefire) Lumens for around 6.5 hours of pretty flat regualtion, where as the G2L gets around 80 lumens for 2.5 hours before dropping,and it's pretty well regulated, at which point it sharply declines over thext 6. But 6.5 hours of 70 lumen light from a stock SF is pretty good. I have 2 of these by the way, and my main one is a definite "stand-by" light, which doesn't get used that much, except when I "really" good light for a decent amount of time without the fear of it just dying on me. Great thread, BTW! Like I said in another post...3-Cell SF's ROCK!!!:rock:

Re: Sure Fire G3 [with "accessories"], it is a Sleeper for the Best All Round?

NE450No2 said:

Outdoors Fanatic

Thanks for your +1, as I have read a lot of your posts and respect your knowledge on "things that glow in the dark".

I am a Serious USER of "flashlights" but I am not a knowledgeable "techie/modder". But I learn more everyday.

Click to expand...

Well you know he approves everything to do with surefire, just like I approve just about everything about fenix.

right outdoors?


Crenshaw

Re: Sure Fire G3 [with "accessories"], it is a Sleeper for the Best All Round?

Well, NE450No2, I'm glad to have been able to "enlighten" you, as it were, as to a new possibility with a good flashlight. Your post pretty much sums up everything that, in my mind, makes the G3 (or 9P or C3) about the best all-around utility platform out there. You get all the flexibility of the P60 sized drop-ins, with the full compatibility with the SureFire C-series standard parts, numerous accessories available (filters, turboheads, traffic wands, etc.), and the perfect length to give you about the most flexibility in battery chemistry possible.

The one thing I would add that I like about the G3: the Nitrolon body. First and foremost, this material is far more pleasant to handle if the light has been sitting in freezing temperatures, or baking in the sun. Second, and maybe this is just me, but I find the grip pattern of the body much more secure than any of the knurled flashlights that I've used (particularly when gloved and/or wet). And third, aluminum will show off its scratches and dings with pride (and yeah, that does have a certain aesthetic appeal and charm), whereas Nitrolon will take the knicks and dings and still look like new to all but the most scrutinizing gaze.

On a more technical note - I'm not sure if the high-powered LED modules should really be considered as standard options with the G3. Sure, they'll fit and operate, but at what operating life? The Nitrolon really doesn't conduct the heat away from the module like aluminum bodied flashlights do, so using something like an M60 for more than short bursts will shorten the life of the LED. And for this reason, I suspect that it'll be quite a while before we see such a high output module (P61L) from SureFire - they've got to make it able to operate reliably in ALL the compatible hosts, and that means not dying from extended use in the Nitrolon lights. Seems to me like this is why the P61L has been so far delayed. Anyone care to speculate that SureFire may scrap that module altogether? (I think I might...)

And along these lines: has anyone around here used an M60, Dereelight or other high-powered (i.e., in the 200 lumen range or upwards) LED module in their Nitrolon light (either G2 or G3), consistently running it for more than about ten minutes at a time? And if so, how has the module held up? Does it still work?

Re: Sure Fire G3 [with "accessories"], it is a Sleeper for the Best All Round?

I think the 3-cell SF's are just the tops (check my sig), and that the G3 is highly underrated. With a malkoff M60LL (http://www.malkoffdevices.com/shop/m60ll-lowest-output-to-fit-surefire-p-9.html) a 3-cell SF will do ~140 lumens for ~13 hours on 3 cells (that output sounds wrong I know, the M60LL is specc'd at ~80 lumens, but check the thread by BigWaffles for 3-cell output data, somewhere around posts 230-250 or so) and will also start at ~30-40 lumens on 2xAA in a pinch, and provide extremely long runtimes with significantly decreased output (check the thread by GreyShark, https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/231139).

zven said:

And along these lines: has anyone around here used an M60, Dereelight or other high-powered (i.e., in the 200 lumen range or upwards) LED module in their Nitrolon light (either G2 or G3), consistently running it for more than about ten minutes at a time? And if so, how has the module held up? Does it still work?

Click to expand...

Gene Malkoff has stated that as long as it's in an aluminum bezel, the full-power M60 with a nitrolon host should be OK, but (personally - just my opinion, ymmv) I would still worry about it being borderline in that configuration (I'm an engineer, I get paid to worry ).

Best solution IMO: run the full-power M60 in an aluminum bezel / nitrolon-body G2 with a single 17670 LiIon cell. You'll get nearly the spec'd 240 lumens (probably ~200 lumens or so), the light will be semi-regulated for over an hour, then will provide many hours of declining but still-usable output. This setup should provide a little margin of safety with regards to heat that would make me feel a little better. Again, IMO, YMMV.

SF G3 :twothumbs

K

Re: Sure Fire G3 [with "accessories"], it is a Sleeper for the Best All Round?

Groo here
I have a Deere drop in in my G2.
It does get warm but S far no problems [nice bright light]
PS mine was a sale pill and I think 1.o amp..

Re: Sure Fire G3 [with "accessories"], it is a Sleeper for the Best All Round?

Because you guys mentioned the G2...

I'm running the SolarForce R2 module in my G2, with an AW 17670 cell. I did a runtime test, and the bezel of the light started to get pretty warm (probably felt about the same as the stock incan in my 6P, actually) and I didn't want to let it sit there and cook, so I propped it in front of a fan for the remainder of the run.

After about 2.5 hours the cell protection kicked in and shut off the light.

I'd call it about 2 hours run time in normal use, with a little bit of emergency reserve (meaning I wouldn't normally run it all the way to cut off).


Darn you guys, you're making me want to get a G3 now!! :mecry::thinking:


Only thing stopping me is that I already have lots of AA lights, so I don't really need the 2AA config in the G3, and if I went for the 2 AA-sized Li-ion then that's ANOTHER battery type I'd have to go out and buy, so I think I'll just chill for a while!

Re: Sure Fire G3 [with "accessories"], it is a Sleeper for the Best All Round?

For the ultimate in utility get a malkoff M30 or equivilent, a sure fire 3P and 2 single cell extenders.

The G3 does have that "one piece" thing going for it though.

Re: Sure Fire G3 [with "accessories"], it is a Sleeper for the Best All Round?

Rat6P said:

For the ultimate in utility get a malkoff M30 or equivilent, a sure fire 3P and 2 single cell extenders.

The G3 does have that "one piece" thing going for it though.

Click to expand...

This from the guy who invented the combination of the SureFire 3-cell body with the Malkoff M30 for 2xAA. :thumbsup:

The best setup if flexibility is a priority:
SF G3 ~$50 (alternative is the SF 9P/C3 to use the full-power M60)
Malkoff M60L ~$50 (for the 3xCR123 config.)
Malkoff M30 ~$50 (for the 2xAA config.)
:twothumbs

Re: Sure Fire G3 [with "accessories"], it is a Sleeper for the Best All Round?

Modularity is a huge plus given all the available options in our hobby these days. NE450No2 makes a good point that the G3/L is one of the best out there for modularity.

I'm a fan of nitrolon lights as well. I sort of "rediscovered" the G2Z a few months ago and have been really enjoying pimping it out with AW's soft-start switch, FM's D26 lamp assembly, SS bezel, trits, Novatac clip, etc.

Re: Sure Fire G3 [with "accessories"], it is a Sleeper for the Best All Round?

P61L? I havent been as active on CPF in the last couple weeks, did I miss something?

Re: Sure Fire G3 [with "accessories"], it is a Sleeper for the Best All Round?

gsxrac said:

P61L? I havent been as active on CPF in the last couple weeks, did I miss something?

Click to expand...

You could have been away from CPF for the last 18 months and you still wouldn't have missed anything about the "P61L". :wave:

Re: Sure Fire G3 [with "accessories"], it is a Sleeper for the Best All Round?

Ahh Kestrel, you're making me blush Was it me? I cant recall, but I remember getting the inspiration from Gsnorm and Bullzeyebill.

Just for the hell of it here are some of the different battery types I have run at one time or

another.

I use my M30 in a 6P + detonator extender with the 2AA and this remains a favourite for me.
(love the look of the 6p and detonator!)

Anyway back to the 3P and 2 single cell extenders with which I use a LF dropin.
Obviously with some of these you may need a spacer/tube to stop cell rattle.

3P: 1*RCR123 or 1*CR123 or 1* N cell.

3P+ 1extender(6P etc): 1*18650(if your tube will accept) or 1*17670
also with a small dummy cell spacer(homemade) you can run 1*18500 or 1*17500
or 1*14500 or 1*AA or 2*Ncell

3P+ 2extenders: 2*AA or 3*N cell (3*N will need same spacer as when running 1AA/1*14500 etc)
(9P etc)


I know many other members have also tried these and many more.
Other combinations may include AAA cells.Personally I wouldnt use them on a regular basis when you can use AA instead, but in a pinch its a great option.

The N cells have even less capacity than AAA but in my travels overseas I found they were readily

available and usually really cheap. The best part is with just a little tape on the N cell or some

paper(or whatever) rolled up in the tube of the light these cells drop right in a 3P or equivalent.

So I could use my 3P as a high power light with the RCR123 or CR123 and just drop an N cell in for a handy ~20 lumens
(dont quote me on this figure).


I also have noticed my LF dropin on 2AA will out throw my M30 running a 4.2v LiIon cell.
Of course the M30 in this config puts out a lot more light.
When running the same power source, ceiling bounce tests seem to show same overall output. Just

diiferent beam profiles.
So for those of you "Spotters" out there you may like the Lumens Factory dropin better......
me?..I'm glad I've got both



For those of you with just the G3, C3, or 9P lights and running an M30 another option for running

the LED at max capacity is to use NiMh (CR123 size) batts...you can get them at Battery junction I

think.(3*NiMh@ 1.2v=3.6v)
(I forget who came up with this idea)....then you could still use 2AA.

Stress_Test said:

Darn you guys, you're making me want to get a G3 now!! :mecry::thinking:

Click to expand...

+1


ps.. I also forgot that with a 5*CR123 cell length tube you can run 3AA for full brightness and you can use the same spacer as with the 3N cell or 1AA option. Its quite a long setup though.

and I didnt mean to hijack this thread at all......let me know if this is so and I'll delete post haste