What's the appeal of a p60 setup?

Chicken Drumstick

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Please forgive me if this seems an obvious question to answer, but in my defence I don't think I've actually seen and certainly never used a p60 flashlight of any sort. :laughing:

I've just been looking at some SolarForce offerings on Lighthounds website, and I'm still rather puzzled tbh.

If I'm missing something really obvious please point it out :candle: but so far my take on it is this.

For your money you get a flashlight that is neither small and pocket friendly, nor big and solid alla MagLites. The dimensions for L2P for example (140 x 32 x 25) would make it too big for a pocket or EDC unless wearing a big coat or using a holster of some kind.

Looking at the Lighthound offerings it seems you can get a budget HAII host or a nicer HAIII host for a bit more money. Both only have reverse clickies and while there is a forward clicky listed as a cost option, the forward clickies seem to be in HAIII black so either won't match the cheaper hosts anodizing or won't match the colours offered for the HAIII hosts (I was looking at blue and gold ones).

It also seems you'd want to buy a stainless steel bezel as this is pretty standard on most other off the shelf flashlights these days. And of course the drop in. I'm not hugely familiar with what you can and can't get for p60's. But again looking at the options on Lighhounds website it seems you have choice of emitter, all in smooth reflectors and either 1, 3 or 5 mode options.

I'm not really up on the relative performance and ability of these drop ins. I concentrated on looking at XM-L ones and I read claims of 340-350 lumens (I presume LED output as it wasn't stated otherwise).


With the budget HAII host:

Solarforce L2 Host for 18650 Battery - Body with Head and Switch, all Black Type 2 Anodized14.99
Solar Force L2 Tailcap with Forward Click Switch ver L2-S810.99
Solar Force XM-L Drop-In 3.7 - 8.4 Volts18.99
Solarforce Stainless Steel Slight Crenelated Bezel Ring7.99
$52.96



With the blue HAIII host:


Solar Force L2P Flashlight Host for 18650 - L2P Host HA III Blue Finish26.99
Solar Force L2 Tailcap with Forward Click Switch ver L2-S810.99
Solar Force XM-L Drop-In 3.7 - 8.4 Volts18.99
Solarforce Stainless Steel Slight Crenelated Bezel Ring7.99
$64.96


Both these setups above would end up with a miss-matched rear cap due to wanting a forward clicky (maybe this can be solved??). And of course no holster, no lanyard, no clip or the other things you often get with an off the shelf light.


I'm not saying such lights are bad, indeed I suspect they are quite the opposite. I'm just struggling to understand where the appeal lies. For example, buy the time you've added a hoslter, clip and such to the HAIII L2P you are less than $20 from a Klarus XT11, which would appear to offer over twice the lumens and a far more sophisticated user interface.

I admit just over $50 doesn't seem bad for the cheaper offering compared to more well known flashlights. But I'm still not convinced, is there something else beside price?

Thanks. :)
 

ssvqwnp

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P60 hosts are easy to upgrade/adapt. If you have to have the latest and greatest, or need a different light for a different task from time to time, it's quite simple just to swap out drop-ins and go. Also, if you like to mod or make your own pills, etc., it gives you an easy way to do so with pre-fabricated pills, with many drivers and LED to choose from. It gives machinists somewhat of a "standard" to go by, too, due to their popularity among flashaholics.

Having said all that, being able to show your lights off to people that ask where you got it from and seeing the look on their face when you say, "I built it," is fun. :)
 

Gunner12

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The appeal is that you can modify the light easily via a P60 drop-in and that you also have many battery options via different battery tubes.

When something new comes out, all you'll have to do is buy a new drop-in instead of a new light.

As for carrying them, I think they probably work best on a holster.
 

Chicken Drumstick

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Thanks for the info. I guess I can see the appeal of the legoability and modding them. After typing the op I did some research on the Solar Force sales website. Seems I can get a L2M for $12.99 inc shipping and it comes with a forward clicky. It doesn't say on the Solar Force webpage but I've read elsewhere it's only HII anodizing, but I guess that's all my Mags have, so I could probably live with it. With a drop in this would appear to be quite a cheap flashlight. Maybe I should give it a punt and see?
 

badtziscool

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Thanks for the info. I guess I can see the appeal of the legoability and modding them. After typing the op I did some research on the Solar Force sales website. Seems I can get a L2M for $12.99 inc shipping and it comes with a forward clicky. It doesn't say on the Solar Force webpage but I've read elsewhere it's only HII anodizing, but I guess that's all my Mags have, so I could probably live with it. With a drop in this would appear to be quite a cheap flashlight. Maybe I should give it a punt and see?

I say go for it. The biggest appeal for me is the fact that you can swap out the P60 pill for whatEVER type of light you need for the situation. You can have just one host and have a P60 with red, flood, throw, hi-cri, massive output, etc. Granted it's not the best in terms of heat handling (actually probably the worst), but nothing a little bit of foil wrapped around the P60 couldn't fix.
 

ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond

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And if you feel like being nostalgic you can load in a P60/P90 incan and get some 100CRI beauty. Or track down some quality incan drop-ins from FM and pump out closer to 1000 incan lumens.

Check out Oveready and some of the seller on the Custom BST threads. There are some great triple and quad XP-G drop-ins out there that approach 1,400 lumens.

My only wish for the P60 drop-ins is better drivers. Seems many are built off of cheap Chinese drivers available on KD that only offer linear regulation - making them good on 18650s but energy wasters on 2xCR123 or 2x18350.
 

nfetterly

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Surefire 6P fits in by back pocket, but I do have a small holster for it. Long battery life on a 18650 (surefire needs to be bored for 18mm cell). I've also got two hosts that take a 26650 battery for really long life. Quads, triples that "drop-in". Also a M2 head (extra heat sinking) with a direct drive neitral XM-L that I can mate up.

You can get a drop-in from a couple of guys on here - reflector you want, modes you want (or avoid modes you don't want) with the latest LEDs in a variety of tints / CRI.

Yeah it's a bit bigger than an AA or 1xCR123 powered light. But very flexible. If I want even more runtime or more light then I go to my modded Mags.
 

ScaryFatKidGT

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Any emitter in any tint and any beam shape you want. I will admit most are just a little to big.
 

HotWire

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P60 format offers a wide variety of modifications without much work. You just buy what you want and screw it on/in. I only have one Oveready triple, but will soon be buying another. Very bright in a fairly small format. Easy to carry, easy to use. I don't EDC my P60 lights, but they are never far away. SureFire started the idea, others carry on. One advantage of the SolarForce and Overready is they are ready for 18mm cells. McClicky forward switches are fairly easy to install and will carry the current you need for a bright dropin.
 

lightfooted

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Personal observations: Modular nature probably being the MOST desirable aspect of them but despite your own opinion...they really are relatively small for their output. I carry mine in my pocket ALL the time and with the S-7 switches I can get them down to within 5mm of the size of my old Surefire 6P with it's original cap, the one WITHOUT the replaceable bezel ring.

Because of Surefire and the fact that they originally marketed the 6P as a replacement for the minimag that almost every cop I knew had on his belt back in those days, the form factor is arguably a world wide standard. Need a new o-ring? Take a trip to your local hardware store, no need to special order it online.

The best part you already know about...the fact that I can drop in anything from Infrared to Ultraviolet from 5 -500 lumens and from pencil like spot to "wall of light" flood. All able to run on a high capacity rechargeable cell.

I am glad to see that you discovered the Solarforce sales website....until you see the variety right there it is more difficult to imagine how useful the format is.
 

biglights

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I am glad to see that you discovered the Solarforce sales website....until you see the variety right there it is more difficult to imagine how useful the format is.

Yep, good thing Drumstick found this site, lots of choices :sssh:
 

fyrstormer

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These are my P60 hosts:

CIMG5124.jpg


The primary appeal of the P60 format is the ridiculous amount of flexibility it provides. You can get all manner of parts and fit them together with adaptors, and the electronics will never be more outdated than you want them to be. Case in point: see above. :D
 

biglights

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These are my P60 hosts:

CIMG5124.jpg


The primary appeal of the P60 format is the ridiculous amount of flexibility it provides. You can get all manner of parts and fit them together with adaptors, and the electronics will never be more outdated than you want them to be. Case in point: see above. :D

Looks nice, what host is that?
 

simplec6

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Stopped reading at not pocket friendly. I have a 6P in my pocket every day. RA Clicky in the other.
 

fyrstormer

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Looks nice, what host is that?
McGizmo 2x123 battery tube (with E-series threads), a TnC E2C adaptor, and a TnC C-series-compatible "V3" bezel. All made from titanium, with a nice bezel-down pocket clip. When I carry these I usually carry them outside my pocket, unlike smaller lights, which I carry inside my pocket.
 

Chicken Drumstick

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UPDATE:

My first foray into the world of P60's. I ordered a Solaforce L2M and XM-L drop in this morning..... :D
 

ssvqwnp

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You may have stepped onto a slippery slope... We'll see how many P60s you own this time next year... :D
 
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