Surefire 9P Original - Back to the Future!

I wanted to thank the CPF Members for the wealth of information shared here! I bought a 9P back in early 1996, and other than replacing the odd melted lens and a later upgrade to a P91 bulb, I had always just used it 'as-is'.

Then I spent some time here in the forums......and realized that I could easily resurrect it so that I could enjoy much more than those precious 18 minutes of luminosity And the upgrade began!

After 18+ years of service, it is still in decent shape except for the bezel that had taken a fair beating. Here is the original packaging which I had kept:







First up, I had contacted Surefire to see if I could purchase a replacement bezel - support on the phone was great - so much, in fact they sent me a replacement free of charge the same day! It is the updated version, which for me was better since I hated when the light rolled away, and the plastic lenses would get scratched up over time.



After researching all of the various LED conversions, drop-ins and such posted here, I decided to contact Gene and he talked me into going with a Malkoff M61 SHO. He was out of stock, so I managed to source one through Craig at Illumination Supply.



Next up was contacting Jason at EDC+, and ordering up stainless crenulated bezel (as well as a standard one for a spare), GITD rings, AR lens, and the removal tool/diffuser.



Much, much better!










Overall, I am very happy with the upgrade to the 21st century - certainly looks and feels like a whole new light. I hadn't used it much over the past few years, due to the runtime and that I had an ASP Triad 2xCR123 sort of taking over the 9P's duties. But now, the Triad will likely get parked and I can go back to using this for many more years. I think I will likely bore it out and go with 2x18500's to get longer runtimes and get away from using primaries

Again, Thanks to all who have posted and shared their experience, and along with the Thanks also comes the blame for fueling this newfound addiction

Cheers,
Tom

Very nice upgrades!

Awesome! Timeless platform. Enjoy!

Great light. A well maintained tool serves you well for many years.

I still think that the main - the really main - advantage of led is the possibility to have it run on different levels of output ...
... without any negative "outcomings" like when a normal bulb is heavily under- or overdriven.
--> a multilevel insert (high / low; better three level) is a must ...



good idea to go rechargeable
:thumbs up:
PS: 1*18650 (= modded 6P or similar lights) is much easier to pocket and the cell has more uumph, than the 2*18500

Very nice! I have one that I picked upon the forums in a trade and I love it. Partnered it with a couple of 17500 batteries and I'm good to go!

Very nice indeed.

The vintage tailcap appears to be in pretty good shape. If you would prefer a latching switch, instead of twist-for-constant, you have some options. You can replace it with either a Z59 or a Z41 that's been upgraded with a McClicky switch. The existing switch can be stored with the vintage bezel, allowing the light to be returned to the original configuration.

The 400 mAh capacity increase that 18500s deliver over 17500s makes having 9Ps professionally bored completely optional. The significantly increased capacity of 18650 cells is nice, but is of no benefit to someone with a 9P running a high voltage Malkoff.

I personally believe that LED's improved output, run time and durability trump multi-mode capability, especially when possible tint shift and PWM flicker are taken into consideration. The input voltage flexibility of Malkoff drop-ins cannot be ignored, compared to the inflexibility of the incan lamp assembly.

I might go with a McClicky in the future, but for now I'm just getting used to the new light and its characteristics - I had so gotten into the habit of not leaving the light on previously, due to the short runtime and heat/melty issues, it will take some time to change my 'muscle memory'

One question I have is would there be any parasitic drain or cause for concern by leaving my primaries in all the time? The light will likely not be used very often, but I would like to keep it 'ready to go' for when needed. I will be researching more on the 17500 option (or any other recommendations) as well, as a rechargeable solution that would play well with the Malkoff would be very practical.

Cheers,
Tom

I have a similar set-up. No worries about parasitic drain. 10 year shelf life!

HotWire said:

I have a similar set-up. No worries about parasitic drain. 10 year shelf life!

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Thank You so much for the prompt reply! I'll go load up the cells and park it for the night

How are your runtimes with running on just the 3 CR123's?

Cheers,
Tom

Malkoff website says 3x123 primary runtime at full output is 2.25 hours, with a LONG taper.

Here's something to try with your M61SHO - take out your 3xCR123 batteries, and put two AA batteries in the light. See if the M61SHO fires up - if it does, it'll be a very low output, but is great for extended power outages or situations where you don't need 400 lumens.

Welcome to CPF!

"We can rebuild it. Make it run longer, make it brighter..." You should name your light Steve Austin!

I love my 9P! I would not bore out the battery tube. Instead get some RCR123's from Lighthound. Also get a SC1 spares carrier and put in a spare set of topped off RCR123's, a set of primary cells, and your favorite incan LA just incase. I haven't heard of a Malkoff M61 going south but luck favors the prepared my friend!

kelmo

The SHO varieties have a low voltage cutoff at 5 or 5.5 volts, so 2 AAs won't work. I get the best AA performance from M61 219 drop-ins.

kelmo said:

Welcome to CPF!

"We can rebuild it. Make it run longer, make it brighter..." You should name your light Steve Austin!

I love my 9P! I would not bore out the battery tube. Instead get some RCR123's from Lighthound. Also get a SC1 spares carrier and put in a spare set of topped off RCR123's, a set of primary cells, and your favorite incan LA just incase. I haven't heard of a Malkoff M61 going south but luck favors the prepared my friend!

kelmo

Click to expand...

+1, I keep a SC1 with a P60 in it near my yellow G2 which houses a M61LLL 219. Those battery carriers are very nice to keep the batteries and spare LA dry and organized.

Grizzman said:

The SHO varieties have a low voltage cutoff at 5 or 5.5 volts, so 2 AAs won't work. I get the best AA performance from M61 219 drop-ins.

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That's too bad. I've never owned a SHO drop in so I wasn't sure if it was different.

I love my 9P too (although mine was bought from Oveready, who bored it, and reanodized it in a nice thick bronzey green HA3)
mine has a 1000 lumen Moddoo triple in it, and a pair of AW 18500 - runtime is around an hour, but its like daylight !

I also have a M61 HiCri i can drop in it too - which runs on 2xAA in a pinch (such a cool trick)

Cool! This is very similar to what I did with my OG SF 9P.

I got a solarforce head with crenellated bezel, and 1 mode LED lamp, which allows me to use 2 AW 17500 cells, which makes for a VERY bright light, and gives a really long run time. I also rigged a lanyard with a little glow in the dark skull to make the light easier to find when it's dark- which incidentally is a great time to use the light! haha.

Very nice to see. It is even mo-cool that you are the original owner. Nice upgrade choices. Not to mention, the sky is the limit on future upgrades. The flexibility that the P platform offers is one of the reasons I suggest it to so many folks.