Surefire C3 LED upgrade

Hey guy's I am looking to replace the stock incan bulb that came in my Surefire C3 and am wanting to go with an led "If this is the wrong forum please move it, I only put it in here since the C3 is technically an incan light"

However I am a total newb when it comes to adding different drop in's to my light as I have only ever gone with the surefire p91 upgrade but I hate the whole 20 minute runtime at 200 lumens as those cr123's are WAY to expensive to be needing replacement after 20 minutes...

I am wanting to do one of the led upgrades that I see on deal extreme but I have a few questions

1) I see one of them is rated for 320 lumens but am unsure if that is actually true

2) I also see that some of these drop ins have different modes for different levels of brightness, How would I switch between the different modes with the stock tailcap switch that comes with the C3????
I know how it works with my streamlight stinger but dont see how it would work with that switch that I have on this light

3) which model on the page is going to give me the BRIGHTEST output of any other??
I dont care about the color temperature so much as I do sheer brightness for when I am walking the dogs or when I edc it with my gun and knife I want it to be able to blind any possible attacker before I shoot him LOL

This is deal extreme

** Edited: DX # 11836 **

OR would I be better with this
http://www.lighthound.com/Lumens-Fa...ssembly-for-SureFire-C-P-Z-Series_p_1006.html
OR something else on this page
http://www.lighthound.com/Bulbs_c_46.html

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated, I also have to say that I am fairly new to this site but I am already addicted and am going to be adding many more flashlights to my collection soon
My current lights are
Surefire C3
Surefire 6P
Streamlight stinger led
Surefire tlr3
I also am ordering a Fenix tk35 next Friday

Welcome! 1 word...Malkoff. Do a search for "Malkoff C3" and grab a beer!

Re: Surefire C3 drop in upgrade

I did look at the malkoff devices but I didnt see there output "Maybe I missed it" but are they that much better?
I mean for 20 bucks the ones I linked to seem pretty good, Oh and MY GOD I had NO IDEA there was such a large "aftermarket" section for lights...Hell just on lighthound they have a TON of cool stuff for my little C3 and 6P

*edit* I see the ouput now I guess I missed it before, I think the M91 is what I want as I want it stupid bright are they really that good to justify the 125 dollars?

Re: Surefire C3 drop in upgrade

The M6x models (M61/M60/M60F) put out around 240-280 (M61 may be a bit more?), while the L models (M60L, etc.) are about half the out-put, double the runtime, and same is true for the LL's (half the out-put, double the runtime of the L's). Malkoffs are that much better for mass produced Drop-ins. Some of the custom ones are brighter/better quality, but the Malkoff's have a standing reputation for a reason.

The M60 is all throw, the M60F is all flood, and the newer M61 uses a reflector and is a good mix of both.

Re: Surefire C3 drop in upgrade

tinctorus said:

I did look at the malkoff devices but I didnt see there output "Maybe I missed it" but are they that much better?
I mean for 20 bucks the ones I linked to seem pretty good, Oh and MY GOD I had NO IDEA there was such a large "aftermarket" section for lights...Hell just on lighthound they have a TON of cool stuff for my little C3 and 6P

*edit* I see the ouput now I guess I missed it before, I think the M91 is what I want as I want it stupid bright are they really that good to justify the 125 dollars?

Click to expand...

If you don't require the super rugged malkoff and just want to try out massive XM-L LED output, you can get the XM-L T6 dropin from Kaidomain for $15(just google it), but do keep in mind the KD XML will not be able to dissipate heat as well as the Malkoff and the life of the LED may be cut short if you continuously run it for long periods of time.

Re: Surefire C3 drop in upgrade

If your willing to spend the money, you could buy a Malkoff M91 which can run on three CR123A's; I'm not too sure on the runtime though but it should be more then 30 minutes.

Edit: output is 1 1/2 hours

Re: Surefire C3 drop in upgrade

Malkoffs are all single mode in a C3.

The way you switch modes on other P60 drop-ins is by turning the light on and off. This isn't so bad with two or three modes, but with five mode drop-ins, it can get irritating to cycle through the levels to get to what you want.

If you go to DealExtreme or LightHound, you can pick up a few different drop-ins and try them out. Be aware of the voltages, because many only take up to 8.4v, which is two Lithium Ion rechargeables. An inexpensive drop-in that you fry on 9v is a complete loss.

Re: Surefire C3 drop in upgrade

The malkoff M61W @ 240 lmns is more then enough for my dog walks. Nice flood and has a nice warm hue that is less yellow then the stock incan"s. It doe's have plenty of throw also. Also your going to like the TK35, very bright with a useful low and a wall of light when you need it.

I just ordered a C3, and this upgrade for it from batteryjunction.com:

ThruNite P60L Style CREE THRUNITE-P60-XML-3M-9V 1 $24.95
Drop-In Upgrade Engine -
460 Lumens - 3 Mode
(3.5-9V Input)


... I also have a Malkoff M91 on the way, and will test them side-by-side... It will be interesting if the single-mode Malkoff is worth 5x the triple mode Trunite, running basically the same LED... The winner will reside in my Surefire C3, the loser will go in a 2x18650 Solarforce lego I have the parts for.

I have them both as well, Chris. In my opinion, the M91 is worth 5x the Thrunite and is substantially brighter, with a cleaner and more useful beam.

Yeah the M91 would serve you very well but it could be too bright.
You might have trouble stepping that far up all at once. :naughty:

Haha!
Sgt. LED's signature is really according to you, tinctorus

Mathiashogevold said:

Haha!
Sgt. LED's signature is really according to you, tinctorus

Click to expand...

Me too, I found out the same thing after buying a couple hundred bucks worth of budget knock off stuff

Yeah I think I am just going to go with the Malkoff drop in, I may also change up my 6P for my wife if I like it

NICE!
Which Malkoff will you go for?

Kestrel said:

Moved to /LED Flashlights/ and changed the thread title slightly.

Click to expand...

Thank you for moving it and not playing games with my title like some mod's do on other boards I am a member of

Mathiashogevold said:

NICE!
Which Malkoff will you go for?

Click to expand...

I think I am just gonna go with the M91 for my C3 and if I like it alot I may order another for my 6P or I may try something different and get something less bright like the M61, But I am a lumens whore so I will most likely end up with another M91 if it is really that bright

Chrisdm said:

I just ordered a C3, and this upgrade for it from batteryjunction.com:

ThruNite P60L Style CREE THRUNITE-P60-XML-3M-9V 1 $24.95
Drop-In Upgrade Engine -
460 Lumens - 3 Mode
(3.5-9V Input)


... I also have a Malkoff M91 on the way, and will test them side-by-side... It will be interesting if the single-mode Malkoff is worth 5x the triple mode Trunite, running basically the same LED... The winner will reside in my Surefire C3, the loser will go in a 2x18650 Solarforce lego I have the parts for.

Click to expand...

The Manafont or Kai XM-L would be brighter than Malkoff but get hotter quicker. You chose one of the few XM-L only driven to a paltry 1.5 amps. Malkoff will be brighter at 2.1 amps. A drop in driven to 2.1 amps with no lower mode isn't useful to me since it will get hot and then no lower mode to drop to.

recDNA said:

The Manafont or Kai XM-L would be brighter than Malkoff but get hotter quicker.

Click to expand...

Good luck running those two at ~7.4 - 7.5 Vin from the OP's SF C3?
There are very very few XM-L P60-type dropins rated for 3xCR123 and/or 2xLiIons, as far as I know: Thrunite and Malkoff?