Surefire host or Solarforce host and high output p60 drop ins

I'm trying to decide on whether to get a surefire host and sand it down to accept an 18650, or just a new ha3 solarforce host..The surefire would sure be super cool.....What would you prefer? Also, is it worth it to get a multi-mode high output drop in for the surefire/solarforce host? I hear bad heat dissipation makes the drop ins kind of flawed. I would most likely would go with a c2 if I choose surefire.

I was going to suggest a C2 but your on it. Just wrap whatever drop in your getting with foil or copper tape/strip for better heat transfer. I ran a moddoo triple in a c2 and it was fine as long as you watching the temp ie holding it. They can get hot. I burnt some holes in my couch with a malkoff mce drop in once while not holding it.

I got a cheap Solarforce host that takes 18650's for 8 bucks on the marketplace. It seemed like a good deal but I dont think its worth it. First off my Malkoff dropins dont make a connection when using a real surefire bezel and tailcap. Apparently I need to do some kind of spring extention on the bottom of it or something. Either way this seems like its not very reliable. Secondly, to my shock, when I was trying to find a solution the other day I put an oring in with the M61, on the lens side of the bezel. My thinking being that it would push the dropin a few mm's back towards the batteries and thus make contact. Well it worked. Unfortunately when I went to take the bezel off, I had hand tightened it too much. The Solarfoce host separated into two different parts. I had no idea this could happen and it freaked me out pretty good. Upon examining however I guess its normal... However when I put the z44 bezel back on, and just lightly hand tightened it, after I had tightly hand tightened the Solarforce body back together, it still got stuck in the bezel. This might be confusing so I will add some pics. Either way, go to the marketplace and grab a bored 6P for 64 bucks or a bored c2 for like 90. They have c2s on clearance right now at lapolice gear for 54 plus shipping (10) so about 64 total, unbored. You could always find a member to bore it for around 25 bucks but probably worth it to just buy the bored host in the first place. I dont know. Its alot of money for a surefire bored host, but its of very high quality. You're other option of course is to get a different host. Malkoff makes some awesome hosts that come standard with 18 mm diameters. With those you can also add a hi/lo ring and run a dropin in low mode for lot longer. They however only take Malkoff drop ins.

I tried going the cheap route at first but just found it was too frustrating. I also value reliability and service, two things that come with a price tag. When I first got into this game I remember a guy saying, eventually you'll have all nice stuff, so you might as well save yourself the headaches and money and just buy it off the bat. I wish I had. I've since flipped all the cheaper stuff I bought and now just stick with a few quality hosts, and my Malkoff dropins and am pretty happy with them.

Im also not so sure how easy it is to just 'sand down' a Surefire host. If you have the knowledge or have done it before then by all means, my mistake. Ive seen how members on here bore hosts and there's alot more to it than just throwing some sand paper in there. They usually have pretty complex computerized lathe systems that leave retention lips in the hosts so the batteries remain. Anyways if you need more advice youve come to the right place. In the end though its just about what youre willing to spend. And just know, I was here a year ago and hadn't spent a dime, and now Im in over $3500. Its ok though, you can always sell stuff on the MP.

I guess it really depends on whether you are using over the counter drop-ins or not. I can make my own drop-ins and stuff so I prefer the Solarforce hosts over the Surefire ones. That's because the Surefire hosts have a tapered cavity for the drop-in as shown in the picture above (look at the shape of the Malkoff drop-in, it's shaped to fit the Surefire hosts) while the Solarforce lights have a smooth cylindrical cavity that I can more easily fill with a form fitting heatsink for better potential thermal performance.

WRT the two-piece bodies, that's only true of the Solarforce L2 bodies. The L2P and L2T have one-piece bodies and their quality is pretty nice. Certainly far nicer than their budget prices would lead you to believe. About the only thing on a P60 host that can fail would be the switch in the tail cap. There are ultra reliable switches available for both (Z41 twisty for Surefire and L2-S7 twisty tail caps for Solarforce) so this is a moot point. The only real negative that I can come up with on the Solarforce hosts is that you cannot lock out the light by simply twisting the tail cap loose by half a turn like you can on a 6P with a McClicky modified Z41. This can easily be resolved by swapping the stock tailcap for a Z41 with a McClicky installed in it.

Jeez, so I'm still torn..thanks for the great posts. Yes 50 bucks for the c2 and I saw a youtube vid of a guy that sanded his...Some of the members probably use the lathes because they have them...I would have to settle for the poor mans way...I wish the malkoff drop ins had more modes..hrm...still thinking..

Well. I pulled the plug on a surefire c2 incan. They're out of production anyway and can always be sold on the marketplace...yeah that's it

Good choice. Plus you will have the absurd surefire warranty for the life of the thing. Ive used their warranty more times than you would think. They cover anything that goes wrong with it just about. With free next day shipping to boot. Not that much can go wrong with it but trust me, anything.

I have a feeling if I sand it down to be able to fit an 18650 that may void the warranty.

How bout trying a 17670.

Jackasper said:

How bout trying a 17670.

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I hear 18650 provides about 1/3rd more battery life

It gets down on whether you like branded items and how much finances are following your wish list situation. I have C2 with Malkoff M61W and love the setup... bored the body to 18650 at my near-door machinist and sanded Malkoff a little bit to avoid annoying gap at the bezel/body connection... lot of other mods (G2L black matt bezel, Xeno stainless steel black bezel ring, black stainless steel ring, G2L-FYL black matt tailcap) and the setup ended up being rather expensive one... great, bomb proof but costly and single level...

But I find myself to chose L2T (small CHEAP mods on it as well, McClicky, Stainless Steel bezel ring, A001 bezel, black stainless steel clip, grinded tailcap to allow gap for a clip) with Nailbender 3-mode 2.8A XM-L more often for my EDC... it's just as awesome looking as C2... for about 40% of the budget...

Oh, yeah... of course you lose warranty on your C2 body if you bore it... but then again, it's bomb proof and there is NOTHING to go wrong with it... unless it goes POOF for some reason (using non SF-genuine drop-ins???)...

yeah. I do line the reliable twist sf tail cap. I'm sure it'll add up. I will get the parts in time. For now just the light and the drop in. An el cheapo to boot. Solarforce drop in.