Old to flashlights, but a noob to flashlight building

Sffred

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 11, 2016
Messages
14
Hello CPF members,

ive made an impulse buy and bought an eBay 5mode 1000lumen LED drop in for a Surefire 6p, but then I bought a Solarforce L2 (2011) body, bezel, and tailcap also. Hopefully I made a good purchase for a host. I'm looking into 18650's and see that there are so many types mAh's. Lowest I seen was 1800mah and the highest was around 8-9000mah. From what I'm reading online it looks like 3000, 3400, and 4000mah seems to be most used. I know I should only go for a protected 18650 is there a particular name/brand i should be looking for?

This would be an alternating EDC flashlight with my Insight HX150, and streamlight stinger LED DS. And maybe a couple pistol classes.

Since I am a noob to CPF please school me on the items to purchase.

thank you for your time CPF members,
sffred
 

lightfooted

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
May 6, 2010
Messages
1,017
I personally have an AW and 4 Nitecore brand 18650s. The Nitecores are a bit long at an actual 69-70mm OAL which is fine in either of my two Solarforce lights (L2P and L2T) but put a lot of unneeded stress on the spring in my JetBeam Jet IIIM.

I'm gonna recommend against anything stating more than 3400 mAh...it's likely a lie anyway but also could turn out to be half a battery. I tried the Solarforce drop-ins as well and while they are not high quality potted varieties, I haven't had any problems with my mine in the 3 years I have had them.
 

Sffred

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 11, 2016
Messages
14
Thanks, I have a buddy who uses a terralux tt4-ex and he loves it and uses it on duty, and he was saying Surefire and streamlight flash lights are underpowered for the comparable market now. So I made an impulse buy with the solar force L2
 

bykfixer

Flashaholic
Joined
Aug 9, 2015
Messages
20,347
Location
Dust in the Wind
Check out Malkoff Devices for a better drop in for your 6P.
Also look around at the lights they offer. Many in your situation find the MD2 the ideal light for their tastes and duties. Consider the hi/lo version where a slight twist of the head gives you 14 or 320 lumens.

If you like that Stinger check out the Strion LED. Same setup and very similar beam in a 6P sized light.

If you absolutely need 1000 lumens to be happy give the PowerTac Warrior a look see.

And the Elzetta line up is great as well.
 
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emarkd

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 16, 2014
Messages
1,193
Location
Georgia, USA
LG MJ1 cells are 3500mAh. Panasonic GA cells are 3500mAh. Anything claiming any higher is lying, and could even be dangerous. I personally don't play around with my cells because counterfeits are out there and they're bad news. So while I may buy lights from cheap sites on occasion every battery I buy comes from either illumn.com, mtnelectronics.com or goinggear.com. Those sites are ran by reputable folks who've shown that they tightly control their battery supply and don't tolerate fakes.

As for the light itself, I love Solarforce hosts. My Solarforce L2P is my favorite P60 host and, while not trying to start a holy war here, I think its just as good as anything Surefire makes. Drop-ins are a different matter but those can be found in a million different configurations from all over the place. You've got a good host, just buy several drop-ins and see what you like. You can even build them yourself if you're so inclined. Its fun!
 

Sffred

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 11, 2016
Messages
14
Thanks CPF members!

so for batteries I should look for the 3000-3500mah in Panasonic GA, and LG MJ1. (Protected obviously)

Hopefully this Fleabay drop in 1000lumen doesn't kick me in the @$$, and become one of those "you get what you paid for" things.

Ill lol go ahead and check out Strion LED, Ntecore, and powertac warrior. I own a couple malkoff's on my Arisaka 300's.

thanks again
Sffred
 

BLUE LED

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 15, 2008
Messages
1,922
Location
UK
Eagletac 18650 3500 mAh 10A protected cells. Works well with high drain mods including your Solarforce 6p setup.
 
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