Recently took over a small SureFire collection, would like to know a little more!

Hello good people. A few months ago I took over a number of lights from someone (mostly SureFire it seems) and would like to know whether these lights are worth keeping. There is a 6P, 9P, M6LT, UBR INVICTUS and UNR COMMANDER. There are also a few lights branded as Darpa (with the model DEF3A I think it is). For the SureFire lights I was not able to find most of them on their website. Are they all discontinued? There is a website address on the Darpa lights but it seems to have been taken down.

I have not decided yet what I should do with these lights. I used to have a small collection of Mag's a long time ago and I guess this is a hobby I would not mind taking up if I am able to wrap my head around the huge variety of lights these days!

<3 Anita

Re: Recently took over a small collection, would like to know a little more!

Hi Anita. Welcome to CPF and thinking about collecting flashlights. :welcome:

I don't collect lights but I do play with them. Currently I'm working with a Nitecore TM16GT and when I get a few extra dollars, I'll have it modified to improve output. To me, it's about as cheap of a hobby as I can find. I'm a Nitecore fanboy. Find a light you think is per-ty, play, buy the up grades as they're released and have a good time.

I hope the above gives you some ideas.

Re: Recently took over a small collection, would like to know a little more!

In a few years you might be looking at all the lights you've collected, and wonder what the blank happened.

I can't help you out with surefire, as I've never owned one. I have HDS, McGizmo, Zebralight, Jetbeam, Foursevens, Nitecore, as well as a couple of others here and there. Someone here can help you out though.

Re: Recently took over a small collection, would like to know a little more!

The DARPA (DEF3A) is collectible list amongst a lot of flashaholic. And refer to your question whether discontinue or not- the DARPA series has been discontinued for quite a while , and the M6LT, UNR and UBR are still available.

you can do a bit of research over candlepowerforum and you will be able to find lots of infomation here.

Re: Recently took over a small collection, would like to know a little more!

Hi Anita, welcome to CPF. Please don't make any decisions until you've spent a couple of hours searching the CPF archives for information on your newly acquired treasures. I've seen Darpa's sell for $500 or more. Enjoy!

~ Chance

Re: Recently took over a small collection, would like to know a little more!

KEEP 'EM!!!

Re: Recently took over a small collection, would like to know a little more!

Oh wow thank you everyone for your replies and comments! I have not decided yet if I will keep these lights, but will research more for sure. There are a few which I had not mentioned yet as I have yet to open all the boxes. I did try to get more information from the SureFire website but most lights seem to not be listed there anymore.

In total I think there are three of these Darpa lights. The rest are SureFire. Before this I had an Olight given to me which I used for my night time walks with my partner. So these new lights will definitely be useful as some of them are really really bright! These do look like they will last me a lifetime though considering how many I have now.

<3 Anita

Re: Recently took over a small collection, would like to know a little more!

You may edit your title to state you have a Surefire collection you need help with, it will get more attention from the Surefire fans who can provide more info.

I'm not a Surefire expert but I know the Darpa models were built as military prototypes and can be worth big bucks. I would definitely hold onto them until you get more info.

Re: Recently took over a small collection, would like to know a little more!

The 6P and 9P have been discontinued because in stock form they use incandescent bulbs which have taken a back seat to LED technology. Luckily, the Surefire lights are so popular that a whole industry has popped up making replacement LED "drop-ins" to upgrade them. This still makes the older Surefire models quite desirable.

Re: Recently took over a small collection, would like to know a little more!

Welcome, Anita! You have some very nice lights there! They're very much worth keeping and some are quite collectible. As fresh eddie fresh pointed out the incan lights are so well regarded that there are lots of products out there to mod them. You may want to 1) keep them as a collectible, 2) use at least some of them as is, 3) mod the 6P and/or 9P with LED dropins or 4) sell some of them. There's no wrong answer! Surefire has made great products for decades and will serve you well if you decide to use them (especially if you get some Malkoff dropins to update them). Lots of folks collect them so if you're inclined to sell some of them you can learn a lot about them here to avoid being ripped off (or even sell them at CPF).

At any rate it's good to have you aboard!

Hello again! I've finally had the time to play with all the lights and they are definitely working well. The 6P and 9P models already seem to have been modified. The 9P especially is bright! Definitely something I will keep since it is so much smaller than the UNR COMMANDER. Is there a way to run the 9P off rechargeable batteries though?

The three Darpa lights are quite underwhelming in terms of brightness and the light is too tight to be of much use. But one has red and blue lights, another red and green, and the last one all green. So if there is any which I may consider selling it's probably these three. I did some searching and they seem super rare. I was trying to find a previous listing on eBay and only saw one for 888$!

If you are able to post pictures of the lights, especially the DARPA lights, some of the members can probably help with identifying them or pointing you to more info on them.

The 9P if im not mistaken runs on 3xCR123A batteries so you should be able to run it in 2x16500 rechargeable batteries. You will need good batteries (Panasonic, AW, Sony, LG, Keeppower are a few) and a good charger (Xtar or Nitecore). Also make sure to read the using lithium batteries safely thread in the battery forum before using lithium rechargeable batteries.

Anita said:

Hello again! I've finally had the time to play with all the lights and they are definitely working well. The 6P and 9P models already seem to have been modified. The 9P especially is bright! Definitely something I will keep since it is so much smaller than the UNR COMMANDER. Is there a way to run the 9P off rechargeable batteries though?

The three Darpa lights are quite underwhelming in terms of brightness and the light is too tight to be of much use. But one has red and blue lights, another red and green, and the last one all green. So if there is any which I may consider selling it's probably these three. I did some searching and they seem super rare. I was trying to find a previous listing on eBay and only saw one for 888$!

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Sounds like you have managed to acquire a wonderful collection. You can run Li-ion cells in any of them I would suspect, barring any voltage restrictions of some of the more obscure lights. As has already been mentioned, Surefire mods have become an industry all to themselves.

You might even want to open them up and see what has been installed already, just to get an idea of what has been spent on them.

I am new to Surefire lights as I have just aquired my first (a 6P). In my opinion, the 6P is a great walking light as it fits in my hand really well while walking the dog. As others have said, you have found a great collection and a great forum. CPF is very friendly and there are plenty of folks here who will love to discuss your new treasures.

If you decide to sell anything, make sure you post here first to find out what they are really worth. Welcome to cpf!

Anita said:

Is there a way to run the 9P off rechargeable batteries though?

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Anita, in certain ways, I think that the 9P is the most versatile light that you have mentioned. As Tac Gunner mentioned, you can run it on 2x rechargeable 16500 Li-ions, but you can also run it on two of the slightly larger, and longer lasting rechargeable 17500 Li-ion cells. I would suggest AW brand Li-ion cells. They are not cheap, but they are about the best there is. Please don't scrimp on a charger either, and please read the horror stories in the battery section. The 9P also just happens to be the right length for 2xAA cells: 2x alkaline [in a pinch], 2x lithium primaries [non-rechargeable], 2x14500 rechargeable Li-ion cells [larger cells would be better], or rechargeable AA NiMH cells. Except for the alkaline (only in a pinch) and lithium primary cells, all of the rest are of different voltages, so which "light engine" (incandescent bulb assembly, or led module) you will put in and use will depend upon the voltage of the cells that you are using. You could use an extremely dim, energy-efficient, long-lasting led module for extended use, or for walking outside when it's dark, you could use something much brighter, so you can see possible threats much farther away. If color rendition outdoors is important, you can use an incandescent lamp assembly. Even though Surefire incandescent lamp assemblies are out of production, a company called Lumens Factory produces a wide range of lamp assemblies for the Surefire family.