Posted: 1/4/2008 3:18:15 PM EDT
So, I misplaced my trusty old Surefire 6P somewhere.  Decided to try the 6P LED as a replacement. So far, I think it's just as bright close in ( flashed the wife with it and she was bouncing off the walls for a while).  Although the beam isn't quite as tight at range as the old bulb. I think I can live with that trade off when you consider the battery life. This is probably old news to some of you, but I don't buy many flashlights. |
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Last summer we had a power outage. It was hot and humid, so my wife and myself decided to take a walk. But before we left for the walk, we started up one of our 2 generators to keep the fridge and freezer going strong. Many neighbors were outside their houses as well talking or drinking. I overheard one lady making a comment about us, since we both had led lights to illuminate our path. The neighbor said "i don't even have a flashlight in my house." I thought to myself that lady needs to get on the 'survivors list' for you are going to have bigger problems down the road than just not having a flashlight. Flashlights? Some of my favorites... My main lighting foundation is an Eveready flip style led camp light I bought at Walmart for $8. Works great, have 6 of them...sorry no links. They are in the flashlight section. Has hi / low setting and claims a burn time of 130 hrs on 4 AA's at low setting. Also has a mirror backing to reflect light and increase power output. CMG Infinity Task Light is a great one to suck the batteries dry after the big lights dim out. I put the just about useless drained batteries in the CMG Infinity Task Light and still get some mileage from these batteries. I hang the light around my neck or it can be clipped on a hat. http://www.taclighting.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=581 Cabelas makes a 1/2 watt 12 lumens led for $10 that is a good basic light with 'claimed burn time' of 12 hours. And this one below for $20 for 65 lumens of power. It has 6 hours of 'claimed burn time' and is pretty bright. http://www.cabelas.com/prod-1/0045670517716a.shtml I have tested the both models and have had no problems. The 3 watt is an outstanding value in my opinion and is my basic flashlight. I also use these for diving. They take 4 AA's and are super bright. http://pelican.com/lights_detail.php?recordID=2010 Surefire makes the best lights...the only problem is the lithium batteries. I don't use them, cause of the battery issue. AA's are all over the place...not so with Surefire batteries when TEOTWAK arrives. Let's just say when Walmart's aren't getting deliveries any more CR123a lithium 3 volts may be in short supply. And even if they still have a few on the shelves, can I get to Walmart 9 miles down the road when my gas has run out? I wont buy anything unless it runs on AA's mini TV's, radios, walkies, flashlights, whatever...all AA powered. I'd rather depend on my NMHD AA's that can be solar charged for many years and I can buy AA alkalines anywhere than odd ball batteries. http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_disp/displ/pgrfnbr/16/sesent/00 I use 3 and 6 led headband lights. Many styles - here is just one. http://www.mountaingear.com/pages/product/product.asp/imanf/Black+Diamond/idesc/Icon+Headlamp/Store/MG/item/112158/N/0 BTW, super bright flashlights make good self defense tools in emergencies if you got nothing else. They will blind an attacker at night for a few moments. I'm talking about 65 lumens and preferably higher! V |
You're probably also going to like the fact that bulb doesn't burn out every several dozen hours of operation (or immediately if you drop it on concrete while it's turned on!). The ability to get usable light out a set of almost-dead batteries is also nice - Instead of the dim, reddish-orange glow of an incandescent bulb, you still get white light (albeit at diminished brightness). LED flashlights are the shiznit. 
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Wal-Mart has started carrying a GREAT $25 3-watt, 80 lumen, 2xAA LED flashlight. It has the Rayovac brand on it, but is made by Nuwai. It is a great deal! There is also a 1-watt version for $18. I have many tac-lights (surefire, streamlight, etc) and have stopped carrying them since getting one of these. Better battery time, doesn't run hot & burn anything, just as bright and more common battery type. It looks like this:  
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This afternoon, I saw the 1-watt version selling for $15 (not on sale, just a "Price Drop") at the Bastrop TX Wal-Mart - even had the spiffy "RealTree Camo" finish!  Not sure if the price drop is in effect at all stores...
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Any idea what kind of runtime for that light? |
Brian, welcome to the 21st century.  I have 1 incandescent flashlight, a Surefire G2 that I keep with my pistol. All of my other flashlights are LEDs. I am definitely going to check out that 3w at Walmart. It looks just right to keep in my skinny carpenter pants pocket for work. 
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The 3 watt is just a little over 2hrs....... it is my edc light now The 1watt was rated at around 5hrs iirc..... |
+1 I have like 3 of these lights. They are solid! -Foxxz |
I've got one as well; I like it. I've been meaning to get out there and get a couple more. |
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Just about all my flashlights are LED or converted to LED now. I've got 2 Terralux Maglite conversions. Rifle light is uses a DX LED, Surefire G2 should have a DX LED soon. Fenix P3Ds have been stolen by family members, Fenix T1 is in the mail... I'd upgrade the old Surefire e2e if Surefire would charge a reasonable price for the LED upgrade... |
If you buy the Malkoff M60 drop in replcement for the 6P you not only get almost twice the runtime of the P60 lamp assembly but also 230+ lumens of output vs the 65 lumens of the P60 lamp. The Surefire LED only produces about 80 lumens and is more blueish tint in color. There is also an extended runtime version called the M60L that produces only 140 lumens for 4.5 hours. |
I just picked one up 'cause I'm a cheap flashlight whore. It has a nice spot with a smooth taper to flood. No notable rings or distortion in the beam. Bright little bugger too! This will be a work light so it will be dropped, submerged, hammered, stepped on, buried and abused in ways that I can not say with out violating the code of conduct of the website.
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| I too have been infected with the flashlight disease, I picked up the three watt described above tonight at big box mart. I got a killer deal over the holidays on really cheap Energizer AA's, so another AA light was a good idea. I really like the quality and solid feel of this light , time will tell if it serves me and if I get my twenty five dollars worth out of it. |
I've had LED headlamps for a long time. Just never made the jump into the flashlights. 
So, now I have two of them. After using the LED one in the field, I think I'll order the LED head for the old one. |
I've went all LED too----probably leave my Surefires behind if I have too bug---I've set a AA standard for the BOB---more common and less expensive. I might have to try that Ray-o-vac. Another good one is the Swiss Army AA made by Inova---got the light and a blue Farmer for $30 from Felinevet---that included shipping----$30 total. Radio---walkie talkies---lights---everything is AA powered. |
Are the reflectors the same? Just asking, because I thought I read somewhere that they were different in the LED models. |
OK, You got me to look. The new LED 6p and original 6p reflectors are totally different. The new one is steeper on the sides with a circular recess in the center with a large hole to accommodate the larger diameter LED bulb. The new 6p LED has a flat high output Cree looking LED not the oblong type LEDs. Tj |
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Try a Streamlight Stinger LED. It's a little bigger than the standard Stinger but the thing is awesome. It's a pretty focused beam, plus it has a power saving mode that will last over six hours. I got it on ebay (seller is a marine going by his screen name) for $85 shipped with both (AC&DC) chargers. //shameless plug |