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Posted: 12/11/2012 4:16:07 PM EDT
| So I picked up a Surefire 951 like new condition for very cheap. I have been looking at the LED conversion kit for these type of flashlights. The benefits are a longer battery life and a much brighter light output. Has anyone ever done one of the LED conversion kits on a surefire weapon mounted light? Just need everyone's input on this before jumping into the middle of it and purchasing the conversion. Thanks in advance! |
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I looked in a thread that "Brightflashlights" has and it stated to notify if its going into a weapon light and they will modify it for you. That's what I did. Contacted BrightFlashlights and told 'em I wanted a Malkoff M61 drop-in for the M951, and they sent one right out. |
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I looked in a thread that "Brightflashlights" has and it stated to notify if its going into a weapon light and they will modify it for you. That's what I did. Contacted BrightFlashlights and told 'em I wanted a Malkoff M61 drop-in for the M951, and they sent one right out. How much was that if you dont mind me asking. I was looking at the surefire conversions but they are pricey....however I know they would work. Does the Malkoff M61 make a big difference? |
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I looked in a thread that "Brightflashlights" has and it stated to notify if its going into a weapon light and they will modify it for you. That's what I did. Contacted BrightFlashlights and told 'em I wanted a Malkoff M61 drop-in for the M951, and they sent one right out. How much was that if you dont mind me asking. I was looking at the surefire conversions but they are pricey....however I know they would work. Does the Malkoff M61 make a big difference? http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_2_142/159367_Malkoff_Devices_M61_260_lumen_LED_dropin_lamps___53_50_del___and_NEW_9_12v_weaponslight_conv__in_stock.html |
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i modified mine to fit a malkoff m61
-first thing remove the head, tailcap, batteries, lamp -remove that black plastic piece in the center of the battery divider -get a drill bit roughly the same diameter as that raised portion that the black plastic piece was 'hooked' on to -drill through that raised portion, you should still have some of the battery divider on the sides -you'll notice the malkoff is slightly wider than the m951 collar. get your dremmel out and put on the round sanding bit with coarse paper, and start running the dremmel around inside the collar until the malkoff fits. -negative contact may be iffy depending on how snug the malkoff dropin is inside the collar. my solution was to use an extra bit of spring and put it on the base of the malkoff, and that contacts that 'battery divider'. you could also get yourself some aluminum foil and shim it between the dropin and the collar to tighten the fit (will also help with heatsinking if you do that). most of the p60 led drop ins will not work without some modification. this was fairly easy for me to do, took less than half an hour and it works very well. 
pic 1 shows the drilled out 'divider' thing (also the negative contact point for the standard incandescent bulbs). you can also see how i dremmeled out the collar a little bit pic 2 shows the spring i added to the bottom of the malkoff to give good negative contact. its from a nailbender dropin for another light and i didnt need the spring on it, so it worked out well. Quoted:
How much was that if you dont mind me asking. I was looking at the surefire conversions but they are pricey....however I know they would work. Does the Malkoff M61 make a big difference? malkoffs will run about 60 bucks, and they are some of the best dropins on the market, period. gene warrants these for life, he says even if you strap c4 to it and it breaks he will replace it. his dropins are measured OTF (not theoretical lumens at the emitter, the same way surefire measures their outputs). he also has cool and warm tinted dropins, i love the warm ones. blue makes me angry. also, his run times are for 100% output (not like surefire who measures output until below 50% or whatever). when malkoff says you get 200 lumens for 2 hours, you get 200 OTF (out the front) lumens for two hours. you can check out his website, malkoffdevices.com |
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No need to break out the Dremel and start removing metal from your $500 flashlight. (I still can't believe they cost that much. They are making about $450 off of each one - its not rocket science).
There are off-the-shelve drop-ins for the 951s sold by TNVC. 600 Lumens and comes with the necessary adapter to mount to a 951. http://tnvc.com/shop/tx-4-cree-led-600-lumen-conversion-head/ Edit: The adapter you select from the drop-down on TNVC's website is +TLS M2C |
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The TNVC replacement head is awesome. Super bright and very well built. I like a really bright light on a rifle. I can see all the way to the road from my porch down my 500' driveway with this head. if very well built means it can't be dropped in a puddle, then yes. |
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The TNVC replacement head is awesome. Super bright and very well built. I like a really bright light on a rifle. I can see all the way to the road from my porch down my 500' driveway with this head. if very well built means it can't be dropped in a puddle, then yes. See below posts Dude, its a O-Ring sealed unit for an otherwise near waterproof flashlight. [imghttp:// http://assets.diylol.com/hfs/724/ae8/857/resized/pinhead-serious-meme-generator-not-sure-if-serious-786ec6.jpg?1345064729.jpg[/img] |
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The TNVC replacement head is awesome. Super bright and very well built. I like a really bright light on a rifle. I can see all the way to the road from my porch down my 500' driveway with this head. if very well built means it can't be dropped in a puddle, then yes. Dude, its a O-Ring sealed unit for an otherwise near waterproof flashlight. http://assets.diylol.com/hfs/724/ae8/857/resized/pinhead-serious-meme-generator-not-sure-if-serious-786ec6.jpg?1345064729.jpg yes, that was a serious comment. i bought the 951 i have with the intention on using the tx4 head until i later found out it wasnt waterproof. tnvc themselves say its good enough for a strong rain, but cannot be submerged. my guns do occasionally get dunked, and there is no place on my rifles for a 130$ flashlight head that can't be dropped in the water. the goth face was a nice touch though, glad you included pictures. |
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The TNVC replacement head is awesome. Super bright and very well built. I like a really bright light on a rifle. I can see all the way to the road from my porch down my 500' driveway with this head. if very well built means it can't be dropped in a puddle, then yes. Dude, its a O-Ring sealed unit for an otherwise near waterproof flashlight. http://assets.diylol.com/hfs/724/ae8/857/resized/pinhead-serious-meme-generator-not-sure-if-serious-786ec6.jpg?1345064729.jpg yes, that was a serious comment. i bought the 951 i have with the intention on using the tx4 head until i later found out it wasnt waterproof. tnvc themselves say its good enough for a strong rain, but cannot be submerged. my guns do occasionally get dunked, and there is no place on my rifles for a 130$ flashlight head that can't be dropped in the water. the goth face was a nice touch though, glad you included pictures. Huh. Well I'll go back and edit my post. I just assumed that it would be as waterproof as the host. *shrug* Kind of silly I guess |
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archived thread just so you know i'm not blowing smoke around.
i think its stupid too. one would assume (especially in this day and age of flashlight technology) an o ring sealed head would be more water tight than that but if the manufacturer says it cant be dunked, i'm going to believe them. |
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The TNVC replacement head is awesome. Super bright and very well built. I like a really bright light on a rifle. I can see all the way to the road from my porch down my 500' driveway with this head. if very well built means it can't be dropped in a puddle, then yes. I don't plan on SCUBA diving with my rifle anytime soon. |
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No need to break out the Dremel and start removing metal from your $500 flashlight. (I still can't believe they cost that much. They are making about $450 off of each one - its not rocket science). There are off-the-shelve drop-ins for the 951s sold by TNVC. 600 Lumens and comes with the necessary adapter to mount to a 951. http://tnvc.com/shop/tx-4-cree-led-600-lumen-conversion-head/ Edit: The adapter you select from the drop-down on TNVC's website is +TLS M2C I hope no one paid $500 for a m951, that is crazy. they are between $75-$125 depending on kit and options with the light. second, that TNVC head and adapter is huge! Iook at the pics of it on the m951. Third, I am all for modifying lights. That is what we are all about here. I bored my m951 to take 18mm cells (18650 batteries) and then bored the lu60 head to take a malkoff/oveready triple and replaced the m2 head with the z44 head for better heat dissipation. I am than going to re-profile the m951 for looks and weight savings, then dura coat the whole thing flat black |
| It would be nice to see a side-by-side comparison between the Malkof, TNVC and Surefire drop in replacement LED heads. I'm planning to upgrade but having trouble deciding. For example, wnich one can take more abuse such as impact, stay on for longer time without deteriorating light output quality, etc. Brightness and resistance to environment also helps (heat, cold, rain, water submersion, etc). |
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No need to break out the Dremel and start removing metal from your $500 flashlight. (I still can't believe they cost that much. They are making about $450 off of each one - its not rocket science). There are off-the-shelve drop-ins for the 951s sold by TNVC. 600 Lumens and comes with the necessary adapter to mount to a 951. http://tnvc.com/shop/tx-4-cree-led-600-lumen-conversion-head/]http://tnvc.com/shop/tx-4-cree-led-600-lumen-conversion-head/]http://tnvc.com/shop/tx-4-cree-led-600-lumen-conversion-head/ Edit: The adapter you select from the drop-down on TNVC's website is +TLS M2C I hope no one paid $500 for a m951, that is crazy. they are between $75-$125 depending on kit and options with the light. second, that TNVC head and adapter is huge! Iook at the pics of it on the m951. Third, I am all for modifying lights. That is what we are all about here. I bored my m951 to take 18mm cells (18650 batteries) and then bored the lu60 head to take a malkoff/oveready triple and replaced the m2 head with the z44 head for better heat dissipation. I am than going to re-profile the m951 for looks and weight savings, then dura coat the whole thing flat black Here is one in the same "family". http://www.surefire.com/m952v-millenniumuniversalweaponlight.html The 952 has an MSRP of $595.00. I'm not positive, but I think I remember certain 951 kits having an MSRP of $500 or more. I'm not saying, that is what people pay. I'm just saying that it is absolutely ridiculous to have an MSRP that high. All these have is high quality LEDs, high quality bodies and some o-rings. The QD bases aren't even that great and a lot of people upgrade them to the Larue mounts. "Weapon" lights (meaning they have a spring on the front and back of the batteries to mitigate the effects of recoil) are one of the biggest rackets I have ever seen. I have an LED company as one of my businesses and I know how much it costs to produce things of this nature. |
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It would be nice to see a side-by-side comparison between the Malkof, TNVC and Surefire drop in replacement LED heads. I'm planning to upgrade but having trouble deciding. For example, wnich one can take more abuse such as impact, stay on for longer time without deteriorating light output quality, etc. Brightness and resistance to environment also helps (heat, cold, rain, water submersion, etc). you can google beamshots. candlepowerforums has alot of the m61 beamshots posted. tnvc has the tx4 beamshot posted on their website. the surefire kx4 head? that thing is crap in this day and age. 120 lumens for 2 hours. and thats 2 hours until below 50% brightness thats not even 120 lumens for 2 hours. i assume its as durable as anything surefire has ever made. cost is about 60 bucks. malkoffs are 200 lumens for 2 hours, with a good taper after that. i have verified runtime myself. there is also a SHO version. this dropin has gone through SEVERAL different drivers or something i assume becuase the output and runtimes are always varying. originalyl they were putting out almost 500 lumens, then 400, now 385. i'm going to ask gene what's up with these, im guessing he cant find a workign combination or something. as i said before, malkoff warrants these nomatter what. they are some of the most durable p60 style dropins on the market. they are only as waterproof as the host used. most surefires are waterproof for 10 meters. if using a cheap solarforce knockoff or similar i dont know how water resistant those are. cost is about 60 bucks. tx4 isnt waterproof, but i know quite a few LEO's have upgraded their old incan weapon lights with the tx4. it is a proven performer as well. runtime on txvc website says 71 minutes, altho i have seen people report lower runtimes than that (40 minutes). if anyone has actualyl done a runtime test, please inform. cost is 120 dollars if you have a light that doesnt need the adapter. 140$ if you need the adapter (951, 6p, g2, etc) the tx4 is the only one of these lights that cant be submerged. all of these products are top notch quality and all are proven performers. the beam on the tx4 is incredible. its also twice the weight, twice the size, and twice the cost of any of the other 2 options. the surefire head isnt even in the same ballpark as these 2 lights. its old surefire led technology. |
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No need to break out the Dremel and start removing metal from your $500 flashlight. (I still can't believe they cost that much. They are making about $450 off of each one - its not rocket science). There are off-the-shelve drop-ins for the 951s sold by TNVC. 600 Lumens and comes with the necessary adapter to mount to a 951. http://tnvc.com/shop/tx-4-cree-led-600-lumen-conversion-head/]http://tnvc.com/shop/tx-4-cree-led-600-lumen-conversion-head/]http://tnvc.com/shop/tx-4-cree-led-600-lumen-conversion-head/ Edit: The adapter you select from the drop-down on TNVC's website is +TLS M2C I hope no one paid $500 for a m951, that is crazy. they are between $75-$125 depending on kit and options with the light. second, that TNVC head and adapter is huge! Iook at the pics of it on the m951. Third, I am all for modifying lights. That is what we are all about here. I bored my m951 to take 18mm cells (18650 batteries) and then bored the lu60 head to take a malkoff/oveready triple and replaced the m2 head with the z44 head for better heat dissipation. I am than going to re-profile the m951 for looks and weight savings, then dura coat the whole thing flat black Here is one in the same "family". http://www.surefire.com/m952v-millenniumuniversalweaponlight.html The 952 has an MSRP of $595.00. I'm not positive, but I think I remember certain 951 kits having an MSRP of $500 or more. I'm not saying, that is what people pay. I'm just saying that it is absolutely ridiculous to have an MSRP that high. All these have is high quality LEDs, high quality bodies and some o-rings. The QD bases aren't even that great and a lot of people upgrade them to the Larue mounts. "Weapon" lights (meaning they have a spring on the front and back of the batteries to mitigate the effects of recoil) are one of the biggest rackets I have ever seen. I have an LED company as one of my businesses and I know how much it costs to produce things of this nature. That m952v is way different than the m951. But I agree about the msrp on these things. outrageous to say the least. That is why people began to build their own lights. cheaper and way better performance than what companies sell today. Dont get me wrong I own plenty of surefire lights but only get them on sales and NEVER EVER pay MSRP. Just like the surefire X300 ultra. MSRP is $299, they are available everywhere new for around $200 The M951 had a MSRP of $380 Surefire but has since been replaced and is outdated in performance and size and since plenty of troops are bringing them back and selling them all over ebay and other websites they are available for around $100 |
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It would be nice to see a side-by-side comparison between the Malkof, TNVC and Surefire drop in replacement LED heads. I'm planning to upgrade but having trouble deciding. For example, wnich one can take more abuse such as impact, stay on for longer time without deteriorating light output quality, etc. Brightness and resistance to environment also helps (heat, cold, rain, water submersion, etc). you can google beamshots. candlepowerforums has alot of the m61 beamshots posted. tnvc has the tx4 beamshot posted on their website. the surefire kx4 head? that thing is crap in this day and age. 120 lumens for 2 hours. and thats 2 hours until below 50% brightness thats not even 120 lumens for 2 hours. i assume its as durable as anything surefire has ever made. cost is about 60 bucks. malkoffs are 200 lumens for 2 hours, with a good taper after that. i have verified runtime myself. there is also a SHO version. this dropin has gone through SEVERAL different drivers or something i assume becuase the output and runtimes are always varying. originalyl they were putting out almost 500 lumens, then 400, now 385. i'm going to ask gene what's up with these, im guessing he cant find a workign combination or something. as i said before, malkoff warrants these nomatter what. they are some of the most durable p60 style dropins on the market. they are only as waterproof as the host used. most surefires are waterproof for 10 meters. if using a cheap solarforce knockoff or similar i dont know how water resistant those are. cost is about 60 bucks. tx4 isnt waterproof, but i know quite a few LEO's have upgraded their old incan weapon lights with the tx4. it is a proven performer as well. runtime on txvc website says 71 minutes, altho i have seen people report lower runtimes than that (40 minutes). if anyone has actualyl done a runtime test, please inform. cost is 120 dollars if you have a light that doesnt need the adapter. 140$ if you need the adapter (951, 6p, g2, etc) the tx4 is the only one of these lights that cant be submerged. all of these products are top notch quality and all are proven performers. the beam on the tx4 is incredible. its also twice the weight, twice the size, and twice the cost of any of the other 2 options. the surefire head isnt even in the same ballpark as these 2 lights. its old surefire led technology. Wait a minute! You got me all confused. In the fourth paragraph you stated that TX4 is not waterproof, but yet in the last paragraph you wrote that TX4 can be submerged. How can you submerge something that is not waterproof? |
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It would be nice to see a side-by-side comparison between the Malkof, TNVC and Surefire drop in replacement LED heads. I'm planning to upgrade but having trouble deciding. For example, wnich one can take more abuse such as impact, stay on for longer time without deteriorating light output quality, etc. Brightness and resistance to environment also helps (heat, cold, rain, water submersion, etc). you can google beamshots. candlepowerforums has alot of the m61 beamshots posted. tnvc has the tx4 beamshot posted on their website. the surefire kx4 head? that thing is crap in this day and age. 120 lumens for 2 hours. and thats 2 hours until below 50% brightness thats not even 120 lumens for 2 hours. i assume its as durable as anything surefire has ever made. cost is about 60 bucks. malkoffs are 200 lumens for 2 hours, with a good taper after that. i have verified runtime myself. there is also a SHO version. this dropin has gone through SEVERAL different drivers or something i assume becuase the output and runtimes are always varying. originalyl they were putting out almost 500 lumens, then 400, now 385. i'm going to ask gene what's up with these, im guessing he cant find a workign combination or something. as i said before, malkoff warrants these nomatter what. they are some of the most durable p60 style dropins on the market. they are only as waterproof as the host used. most surefires are waterproof for 10 meters. if using a cheap solarforce knockoff or similar i dont know how water resistant those are. cost is about 60 bucks. tx4 isnt waterproof, but i know quite a few LEO's have upgraded their old incan weapon lights with the tx4. it is a proven performer as well. runtime on txvc website says 71 minutes, altho i have seen people report lower runtimes than that (40 minutes). if anyone has actualyl done a runtime test, please inform. cost is 120 dollars if you have a light that doesnt need the adapter. 140$ if you need the adapter (951, 6p, g2, etc) the tx4 is the only one of these lights that cant be submerged. all of these products are top notch quality and all are proven performers. the beam on the tx4 is incredible. its also twice the weight, twice the size, and twice the cost of any of the other 2 options. the surefire head isnt even in the same ballpark as these 2 lights. its old surefire led technology. Wait a minute! You got me all confused. In the fourth paragraph you stated that TX4 is not waterproof, but yet in the last paragraph you wrote that TX4 can be submerged. How can you submerge something that is not waterproof? might want to re-read. i said it CANT be submerged. |
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