Waterproof 6P

Out of curiosity, I pulled out the box from my trusty old Surefire 6P today. I was curious what I paid for it back in the early 90's when there were no online stores to buy from. I paid $57.99 from a gun store. This store was never known to have good prices but they were the only Surefire dealer in town I could find.

The product info sheet and instructions state, plainly and clearly, that the light is waterproof, not water resistant, but waterproof. It's definitely a regular 6P, not the Navy waterproof version with shockproof bezel that we saw at ASPI a few weeks ago.

I wonder if Surefire's were all waterproof when they first came out? Or maybe they claimed to be and found out they weren't later. When did Surefire first introduce the 6P? Anyone know?

Nevermind...I found it in a search

Water resistance is essential for me, does anyone know for sure which SF models are water resistant and which are water proof?

Whenever it rains, I take my magcharger to work instead of my 9AN/M2 combo. It's frustrating, and I don't want to test it myself for fear of damage. I want to be able to put down my 9AN in pouring rain and know it's not going to leak.

Are the N certified lights the only waterproof lights? OR are there other lights that are waterproof and just not certified. From my understanding, the N certification does just tests them right? They don't beef it up any more.

IIRC, according to a conversation I had with a SF tech rep a long time ago, to make a certified waterproof 6P, they would hand select the parts for extremely close tolerances and then use some special stuff on the O rings and then test it. If it passed, it got certified.

This was a long time ago and things may have changed, who knows. I don't think they had their awesome CNC machine back then either.

I got one of the new style from Dan at Tactical Warehouse. (not one of the older ones from ASPI)
It appears to have a shock-proof bezel, but I saw posts stating that the old one did too. Sure wish I would have jumped on those when they were available :-(
Dan also included a 2002 Surefire catalog with my order. There are things in there that I've never heard of, let alone seen. The catalog stated that the M series is waterproof. Not sure about the others, but I'll check tonight.

I've found so many typos in the 2002 catalog that I don't use it for information anymore. The new 2003 model 6PN does not come with the shock isololation anymore I think. The one that I got is designated 6PSN, the new ones are coming 6PN. I could be wrong, but if you got a 6PSN, I think they are the older type. Does it have the hex head?

I would sure hope that my M-series is waterproof, I'd hate to have a $250 M6 leak on me blowing a bulb in the middle of a traffic stop in the rain.

There is an interesting discussion in the 186thousand forum of testing various SF for resistance to water, including an M6 which leaked w/in 5 minutes of immersion in a sink. I personally cannot imagine dunking an M6.

My early M3 packaging said it was waterproof, but I'm not about to test that.

http://186thousand.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=9;t=001832

Surefire M6,
Mine said 6PN and has the hex bezel. I thought shock isolation was the ring of padding between the reflector and outer piece of glass. What exactly is it? This model does have that, so I thought maybe that's what it was. BTW, thanks for the great new toy!;-)

IIRC with the 6P to make it water proof the tail cap had to be screwed down tight and the bezel was used to turn on and off the light. Regardless the 6P (mine dates from about 1990) isn't WP. During fire fighting operations it leaked. My 6C has never leaked, my favorite SF.

Virgo,

I think the 6PN designation does not have the shock isolation. With the Shock isolated bezel, the 6P is just about the same length as the M2. There is about 1/2" of neoprene between the LA and glass. When you screw down the head, you can see the neoprene compress, providing the shock isolation.

This is the new one without shock isolation: 6PN

Shock Isolated Bezel:


Old Style round, not shock isolated:


Hope this helps.

That's a history lesson...

Whether 'tis true or not, I have the impression that SureFire 6C was the first flashlight version after the WeaponLight was made for the LA SWAT teams.

Al

What's a 6C? I've never seen one.

Virgo,

Which one do you have? My curiosity has been killing me!!!

Surefire M6,
Sorry about that! Been away from the computer a little more lately with finals going on. I believe you're dead-on. After looking further, mine is the one with the hex bexel, and it does not have shock isolation. The lens appears to be lexan also. I was told that these lights were extremely limited, with only a few left over for sales to the public after the navy contract. Anybody know for sure? Thanks!