What did Santa bring you (gun related)?

[Mike from Texas]

Not specifically gun related but got a new Surefire 6P. Then I turned around and bought a CREE 290 Lumen LED drop in conversion for it.

If you think about it later, please give us a short review on the LED conversion. Advances in LED lights have been moving so quickly, it's hard to keep up. Back when I bought my 6P, it was pretty much state of the art. Then a couple of years ago it went into semi-retirement when I bought a SureFire L5. Now the CREE drop-ins for the 6P are over twice as bright as the L5!

And I think you're on topic because a light should be part of everyone's gear.

Skiprr, I've always been less than impressed by most of the offerings of the LED lights so I just continued to buy the brightest Xenon lamps that I could.

I have to say that I am blown away by the performance of this conversion. Is it truly 290 lumens? I dunno, but it completely overpowers my Surefire M951 weapon light that I have on my AR15, and it has the 125 lumen lamp assembly in it (xenon, not LED).

The spot is tight I would say about a 2-3' diameter circle at 10 yards. The range or throw has always been the weak spot on LED lights in the past. Not so with this one. I was at my deer lease the other day and I could easily put enough light at the feeder 100 yards away, that I could have shot a pig had it been under the feeder. The outer ring or spill is just about perfect as well, not too overpowering but provides ample light to see what else may be lurking in the shadows.

In a nutshell, I am highly impressed. I have found the conversions as cheaply as $11.88 each. The company is in Hong Kong but so far I have had no issues ordering from them and receiving my order in a reasonable amount of time. 7-10 working days.

I currently have 2 more of the conversions on order. I will be buying another 6P and I will be installing the other one in my M951 that I talked about above.

These drop in conversions will also fit the G2 Nitrolon for those not wanting to spend $70 on a flashlight plus the conversion.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11836" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This conversion will work on any Surefire light that uses the P60 or P61 lamp.

[Skiprr]

Many thanks, Mike. At those prices, it seems a no-brainer to give it a try. My little 6P still sees duty around the house, but it might get elevated back to car carry with a CREE conversion. So to keep things on topic, I think that wil be my first New Year's present to myself.

[flintknapper]

Not specifically gun related but got a new Surefire 6P. Then I turned around and bought a CREE 290 Lumen LED drop in conversion for it.

If you think about it later, please give us a short review on the LED conversion. Advances in LED lights have been moving so quickly, it's hard to keep up. Back when I bought my 6P, it was pretty much state of the art. Then a couple of years ago it went into semi-retirement when I bought a SureFire L5. Now the CREE drop-ins for the 6P are over twice as bright as the L5!

And I think you're on topic because a light should be part of everyone's gear.

Skiprr, I've always been less than impressed by most of the offerings of the LED lights so I just continued to buy the brightest Xenon lamps that I could.

I have to say that I am blown away by the performance of this conversion. Is it truly 290 lumens? I dunno, but it completely overpowers my Surefire M951 weapon light that I have on my AR15, and it has the 125 lumen lamp assembly in it (xenon, not LED).

The spot is tight I would say about a 2-3' diameter circle at 10 yards. The range or throw has always been the weak spot on LED lights in the past. Not so with this one. I was at my deer lease the other day and I could easily put enough light at the feeder 100 yards away, that I could have shot a pig had it been under the feeder. The outer ring or spill is just about perfect as well, not too overpowering but provides ample light to see what else may be lurking in the shadows.

In a nutshell, I am highly impressed. I have found the conversions as cheaply as $11.88 each. The company is in Hong Kong but so far I have had no issues ordering from them and receiving my order in a reasonable amount of time. 7-10 working days.

I currently have 2 more of the conversions on order. I will be buying another 6P and I will be installing the other one in my M951 that I talked about above.

These drop in conversions will also fit the G2 Nitrolon for those not wanting to spend $70 on a flashlight plus the conversion.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11836" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This conversion will work on any Surefire light that uses the P60 or P61 lamp.

Or...just buy this to begin with: http://www.batteryjunction.com/premium- ... rrior.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Make sure you get the Cree R2 emitter and buy the optional smooth reflector. Mine will put a very strong beam on objects 200 + yards away (no joke)!

[tarkus]

Or...just buy this to begin with: http://www.batteryjunction.com/premium- ... rrior.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's almost $100. I'm sure it's a good light but you could almost buy two G2 and conversions for that much. It's an order of magnitude more expensive than the $12 the conversion costs for someone who has a 6P laying around.

[flintknapper]

Or...just buy this to begin with: http://www.batteryjunction.com/premium- ... rrior.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's almost $100. I'm sure it's a good light but you could almost buy two G2 and conversions for that much. It's an order of magnitude more expensive than the $12 the conversion costs for someone who has a 6P laying around.

Point well taken. I have read quite a few articles of folks having problems with this conversion though. Perhaps they have gotten better.

But, as you say...if someone already has a 6P laying around, and only needs a single function light, then the Cree conversion will indeed offer greater brightness as well as moderately increased battery life.

If you do purchase this conversion....make sure you understand what are you getting for your money. There is a difference between the Cree Q5 and the Cree R2. Also, some folks are finding out that emitter life is not all that great...because the heat sink is not fully adequate to work in this flashlight.

If you do desire extra features (like the Olight I referenced): Multi-Power levels, reverse polarity protection, tail cap lock-out, strobe mode, excellent heat sink, etc... then you will have to pay extra to buy a multi function tail cap for the 6P. These caps (depending upon functions and mfg.) run anywhere from
$25.00 to $90.00 in which case...I would sell the 6P, add a little money and buy the Olight.

LED technology has come a long way in a short time. Pricing has dropped on some really nice tactical lights. My point is: Unless you just really, really....love some feature about the 6P, then its time to sell them, trade them, put them in the closet....and buy the newer better lights (if you want/require that level of illumination).