Surefire G3

Hey all,

New here. I picked up a Surefire G3 "kit" today at Goodwill for 15 bucks (came with this nice holster) . Looks to be brand new and unused. I would like to upgrade the bulb and get a little more output. I was looking at this XM-L T6 which the seller says puts out 650 LM.

Is this a good choice or place to start? Thanks for your help everyone!

Wow - seriously good find.

I wouldn't recommend anything that bright - the G3 is made from Nitrolon and doesn't handle heat very well - anything that bright is going to run very hot.

I'd recommend looking at a Malkoff M61L drop-in. A little expensive, but absolutely worth it.

I agree, the brighter drop-ins might overheat in a Nitrolon host. I have one G3 (mine has an aluminum head) and I run an M61NLLLL in it with three CR123s. I use it all the time for a while now and never have had to change the batteries. The beauty of a host that size is that you can also run an M31 with two AAs in it. M31LL is one heck of a drop-in!

Great score!

Thanks guys! I will certainly look into that. I appreciate the input. I normally pull out my phone and do a bit of a search before making Goodwill purchases but this time around thought I found a pretty awesome find and jumped on it!

The good deals are out there - the G3 host will continue to be a very good host for the forseeable future.

Much useful information on upgrading the SF G3's is available here in CPF and can be found via the 'Google' search function.

Please note that the three-cell body means either 3xCR123 @ ~7.5V or 2x17500 @ ~7.4V.
Either battery configuration precludes many 'single-cell' LED upgrades due to voltage issues.

If the G3 has a Nitrolon head/bezel assembly the highest rated LED module will be the Malkoff M61L - the 'L' series were developed specifically for the Nitrolon Surefires due to heat conduction issues (or more specifically, the lack thereof).

If the G3 has an aluminum head/bezel it will supposedly handle the full-power M61 (but not the M61HO, M61SHO, M91, etc).
This has been confirmed in-forum by Gene Malkoff himself but I happen to be rather conservative on this application and would prefer the M61L for my personal light in this regard.

Hope this helps,

Good advice in this thread, and you got a steal on a great light!

Depending on what you're after, here's what I'd suggest:
1. for sheer runtime, get a Malkoff M61LL. 10+ hours of flat regulated runtime
2. for color rendition and throw, keep the P90 incandescent bulb and buy two AW 17500 rechargeables, and a decent charger. this will let you run the bulb as much as you want without eating through three CR123 batteries every hour.