To host, or not to host

There are so many choices in the flashlight market these days. Various combinations of form factor, battery types/quantity, features, and quality. But then there's the drop-in approach. You have a well built, reliable older host and periodically refresh it with newer drop-ins. Some of those approach the cost of a full flashlight with even higher output. And yet... once a non-drop-in light is bested by newer models with more powerful emitters, replacing an older emitter is a choice that requires the right skills and tools, or sending the light off to someone else to do it (expensive). With a drop-in, the emitter is replaced in mere minutes. And you can also carry a spare as a back-up, on the odd chance that failure happens with the one installed.

I'm just curious as to how many people here are more heavily in the drop-in camp than full flashlight replacement.

I have about six p60 hosts the rest are mostly Fenix and Surefire lights

My answer isn't one of the choices in the poll, so I figured I would answer here. I currently have 8 P60 host lights. This is far less than 50% of my lights - just because I have so many lights. :devil:

Having said that, it doesn't mean that I don't like P60 hosts. In fact, I'm currently in the process of looking for a few more P60 hosts to house some new P60 drop-ins that really have my interest. :naughty:

I very much like the idea of being able to upgrade to a newer technology fairly easily. There are definitely some things to consider - for example, if you want a high-current drop-in you need to be very careful about heat transfer. In my case though, many of my lights are just for play - the regular users are mostly non drop-in lights where heat transfer is part of the design.

A majority of my hosts are surefire and malkoffs. Malkoff drop-ins lured into this deep dark world of flashlights. I have been rotating between multiple drop-ins. Recently I realized the p60 format does have its limits. My Torchlab H3N is limited with the time that it can run on high in a surefire 6p before the termal protection kicks in. I just purchased a wildcat to handle my ultra high lumens with long runtime needs.

I used to think they were really great, but now only own two P60 hosts, a C3 with extender for a 2x18650 P90 setup,
and a Solarforce yellow plastic light, with Nichia high-CRI dropin.

I find most P60 reflectors to be too throwy for me.

EDIT: The P90 with its oval beam is just about perfect in my book.

I have a C2 with a M61L that I am really enjoying with RCR123s, but I could have spent the $150 elsewhere and gotten a more useful light for my money.

We'll see, I have an Oveready custom P6 HA and a Malkoff MD2 Hi/Lo with M61 219 underway to Amsterdam.

I'm a long time Surefire fan but ventured elsewhere for 18650 flashlights but it doesn't feel the same. I joined this forum recently and discovered the world of custom Surefire lights, parts and dropins so to me this seems the best route to take. If the dropin is to my liking I'll buy more of them and might even upgrade the 10Y old E2E Outdoorsman with a VME head.

Also on the agenda is an upgrade for the Fury to accept 18650's, either though boring or custom parts from Ronac.

So for now I'm done with buying throw away flashlights but who knows whats around the corner to lure me back in

I have two incandescent Surefire Z-series lights that I upgraded with Malkoff dropins. Cost was comparable or lower than a new Z-series light, but provided me with two state of the art lights that I anticipate will meet my needs for years to come. P60 type lights are so easy to upgrade that I cannot imagine not doing so.

I would love to see more options for E-series lights. I have upgraded my Surefire E2E with a 2-mode Veleno tower module. The results are generally good, particularly given the challenges of providing a dropin for this light, but I would prefer a better method of switching from high to low so that if I am using high intermittently, I am not constantly switching to low. When these tower modules were available, they were one of the best options, particularly in single mode. I would like to see these come back on the market. Other options for E-series lights seem to be quite scarce.

MatthewSB said:

I have a C2 with a M61L that I am really enjoying with RCR123s, but I could have spent the $150 elsewhere and gotten a more useful light for my money.

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I'm starting to discover that much of this depends upon your needs. If you're a hobbyist and love to tinker with things, then the drop-in approach is a no-brainer to having good fun without caring about cost optimization. If you're not into building flashlight clutter (a wide collection of different lights), "Lego" building provides greater diversity with fewer separate lights. If you have invested a lot in a very good quality host, why let it languish with an outdated drop-in, especially if you have customized it to your specific needs? But if you're into technological improvements outside of the emitter, the drop-in approach ends up leaving you wanting.

I have just one drop-in host, a Pila GL3. It doesn't have as wide variety of choices as a 2xCR123 sized host, but there are still some decent choices. I could spend $90 on a Malkoff drop-in that produces 750 lumens OTF. But then, I just spent $60 on an EA4 that puts out even more lumens, with some advanced features that are absent on the GL3 (obviously a very different form factor and battery type).

i only have a hand full of 2xCR123 lights, and most are surefire p60 hosts with malkoffs. ive set up the family with a couple of G2s with malkoffs as well.
before buying surefires i tried out many other lights and many of those didnt last.
i feel the p60 format offers by far the best longevity when it comes to a light. every part is easily replaceable, and therefore can be easily fixed, or altered.
the p60 form does have its limits and restrictions, but i feel its advantages out-weight them if youre fine with simplicity.

It took me awhile a bit of on CPF to get the first P60 into my hands. I didn't buy it until I knew I wanted to experiment with emitters and tints.

This is really the strong suit of the P60, IMO.....you can try just about any LED/reflector/optic for the price of a drop-in. Then you can sell everything you don't stick with! :thumbsup:

After much fruitful LED experimentation, I've found I really love the OverReady/TL triple hi-cri XPGs (that are out of production). There will always be at least 1 P60 in my collection, just to use this drop-in!

+

Simple upgradability is smart & economic



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I no long have any "hosts". That would imply more drop-ins than bodies. I started off buying Malkoff drop-ins, and for a while had more drop-ins than bodies.

But, it was excruciating to have those awesome drop-ins just sitting there all alone, doing nothing. I ended up with one body for each drop-in.

Think, "Feed me, Seymour!" and you'll understand.

And, like with all cool tools, I never sell things I'd regret letting go. New drop-ins come as complete lights or with a new body.

All is right with the world.

:thumbsup:

I'd add this: FWIW, this policy does force me to be more practical about what I buy. All those lights have to have a place and a purpose, right?

I'm a user, not a collector, so I've got no lights that exist "just because they're cool". Many ARE quite cool, but they're all positioned to do a job of some kind.

At least that's what I tell myself... and Seymour.

Funny to see this, I have several tabs open exploring 18650 hosts. I love my ZL SC600 but am thinking about moving to a host for my one big light. I like AA for EDC these days, but everyone needs a big bruiser now and then. Problem is: I really enjoy modding and factory lights are often unnecessarily difficult to mod. Recently discovered that you can buy blank dropins from Illuminationsupply so I could mod to my heart's content using whatever driver or emitters I desired and then just pop a different one in if needed! The SolarForce L2T is looking good. Love the Surefire Centurion but from what I've seen they get pretty thin when bored to accept 18650.
So yes, I'll be joining the Drop-in club.

That's probably what will really bump me into exploring drop-ins more... my first light failure.

Flexibility, predictability and reliability seem to be really compelling points for going with hosts. So while you may save $$ going with fully built lights upfront, in the long run that advantage may vanish.

I see plenty of hosts for CR123 & 18650 battery types. Are conventional batteries supported much (AA/C/D)?

xevious said:

That's probably what will really bump me into exploring drop-ins more... my first light failure.

Flexibility, predictability and reliability seem to be really compelling points for going with hosts. So while you may save $$ going with fully built lights upfront, in the long run that advantage may vanish.

I see plenty of hosts for CR123 & 18650 battery types. Are conventional batteries supported much (AA/C/D)?

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thats the beauty or 3xCR123 hosts. the battery compartment is the same length as 2xAA. although i prefer the form of 2xCR123 over 3xCR123, i have a couple of single CR123 extenders just in case.

and its not only the electrical components in a light that can fail. many lights use mechanical switches that can fail. i had an Olight, and its switch failed. i contacted authorized dealers as well as Olight, and the switch or tailcap just wasnt offered. ended up trashing it, and replacing the whole thing. the size of the switch was odd too, it was very long, and modifying a replacement didnt seem to be worth it.
if this scenario happened with one of my hosts, and i had another of my host near by, i could temporarily fix it on the spot.

I haven't done the math, but I'm sure P60-host-based lights do not make up 1/2 of my lights. However, they do account for more than half of my 2xCR123-size lights. Between SureFire, FiveMega, and SolarForce, with modules from Malkoff, Mac's Customs, EDC+, VN54, NB, and Solarforce I have 10. I can think of two LuminTops, a modded Tiablo and an Eagletac which don't take modules. However, I have another, oh, dozen or so single-cell, 2xAAA, and keychain lights, only one of which accepts the P60 drop-ins. I really like the size, ruggedness, and modularity of the C2/6P size hosts for use, but they are just too big to keep in my pocket all day.

I recently just fell into the flashlight fanaticism. That being said, I am now looking to get into the hosting dealio. I bought a Solarforce L2 host a few days ago, and am waiting for it to get to me. Also will be getting a cryos cooling head as soon as I can afford it. I owe him a thanks for a giveaway, and need to show support. What are you guys running?

I prefer hosts but I still like some complete 'locked-down' lights. As always, there are pros and cons with each.

I have a few SF lights that take P60 or e-series drop-ins and, even though the stock incandescent drop-ins are obsolete, I still have an option to update to the latest LED dropins - it makes the lights still relevant. i.e. If it weren't for some CPF'ers offering e-series LED drop-ins, my E1 / E2 lights would be collecting dust right now.

On the opposite side, I have some locked-down lights that have features that I really find useful and the LED emitter has enough lumens to make it useful... such as my Maratac AAA and JetBeam RTT-O S2 that are still my current EDC's or my JetBeam Jet-1 V3 that I use as a warning beacon when biking at night. I suppose that I could have them modded one day but they more than serve the purpose right now.