Review: Solarforce M6

old - .67 with 2 x Solarforce 2400 batteries
2100 - No PWM that I can see on the M8 or the M6.
So, the M6 and M8 just need to be driven a little harder. It’s too bad because they both fall short of true greatness by just a little. Even if they had driven the M6 to just 2 amps instead of just 1.37?
My internet is down so I’m using 4G on my Droid. The connection is fast but typing on this guy is a challenge for big fingers.
Foy

Nice review Foynezel ! Love the pics.

The M6 (without extension) is one of the best looking lights IMHO. Combine low output with difficulty modding, I am afraid it is off of this flashaholics Christmas list.

Thank you .

Not any, just the ones driven much harder than M6. I bet Solarforce with emitter driven at 2A (instead of a little bit over 1A) would outthrow any XM-L equipped P60...

  • 1 pitty a simple driver swap is out of the question but when you nudge this price tag there should be no need

benckie -

(internet finally came back in Las Vegas)

That's pretty much what I was trying to say. At this price, it should do what it looks like it can do and perhaps I should amend; any XM-L P60 that I have can do better than this. Of course an XM-L driven at half an amp can't do as well. (must remember the broader audience)

Foy

It's almost like this is Solarforce's attempt at finally trying to be Surefire :P

It seems like they're intentionally putting out a low driven emitter so it can be considered as "stable" and "reliable" like the expensive brands are touted as by their makers. Screw that! It's multi-mode so have a turbo mode and then a usable high/medium. If you market it right then users begin to understand the "turbo" mode is only for limited use. Why continue to pander?

It's really too bad because the M6 is just so darn sexy! That's hands down my favorite design for a tube. Second place is probably the vertical lines/ridges like on the ITP A3. It has to be done right otherwise it can look cheap.

EDIT: I'm changing second place to perpendicular lines/segments like found on Balder lights. It's simple but gives a sense of durability and toughness.

Good point Foy. I have two C8,s with a low draw of 1.5 amp’s and one P60 that’s the same it would be on par with this light, in honestly a XM-L at 1.5 amps runs cool and works well but a harder driven XM-L like my Jetbeam BC40 would tromp this M6 but that’s around $67 USD shipped and not as sexy. I think even a driver swap would be hard due to the way the light works but I would consider this light on build quality and looks not to mention it would run cool and all night if you wanted it to. Also you might of got a low baller others could draw higher but solarforce drop-in’s or lights seam to be on the safe side with current draw and temps ?

You gotta admit it's hard to settle on a light driven at these levels when you're used to so much more

Realistically it still works just fine. If it was driven at 2.8A I'd probably own it already and expect to get a decent amount back if I decided to sell it down the road. I'm trying to get in a good recycle program with my flashlights

weiser makes a good point; forget about comparing it to an overheating P60/XM-L, it is still a very bright XM-L torch that also happens to be be one of the most gorgeous flashlights ever made. Seriously, I can't keep my eyes or my hands off it and unlike an L2 (just an example) with an UltraFire T6, you can leave the M6 turned on high without worrying about burning the house down. It's just too bad there's not some kind of momentary turbo or something that pulls a couple of amps.

I don't know - hard for me to recommend a light for shelf queen duty.

Foy

when Foy isn't impressed by it it means I wouldn't like it..great minds I guess..love the look of this light but always had reservations with it..thanks for the review Foy!

Ahh...then that's saving grace for the M6 and M8.

1.37A is a little low. But seriously my RRT-2 takes if i rem correctly 1.12A at the tailcap (it's regulated, so a good cell at 4.2V it would be quite lower than at the emitter) and does like 400 lumens OTF. The Ultrafire driven at over 3 amps and not cooled nicely could dip well below this after 3 minutes of run (for me i get about 350 OTF lumens with aluminum foil wrapping). Yes that's the truth that i am seeing. Have you guys run it off a lux meter with ceiling bounce yet?

My Yezl M7X just blows any P60 out of the water even with a lousy cell just doing over 2A by the end of 1 minute....not sure how the heatsinking is designed.

For sure a 3-mode UF XM-L in a P60 is losing lumens after a few minutes and I can tell you that the M6 (and the M8) is very well regulated. I hope I'm describing it correctly . . . when I test tail cap draw on a P60 host with an UF XM-L drop-in, the numbers are changing wildly and the harder I push against the bottom of the battery, the higher the amps. (I try to push only as hard as I think the tail cap spring does) With the M6, it just goes to 1.37 and stays there, rock solid.

Also, I left this out of the review: The M6 stays bright until the battery is depleted (2.8 volts?) whereupon it enters "candle-mode," that Solarforce says is 8 lumens. I didn't try it . . .

Foy

Excellent review and pics (as usual) Foy. I do miss the "cactus" though. That is one nice looking light.

Thanks very much Foy for the honest review! And thanks for setting to rest my doubts about this light, which I have always admired but never decided to buy.

Frontpage'd and Sticky'd.

Foy has this light just got 2 modes high and low?

It has three modes: head tight is high, head loose is low and double click on low is fast strobe.

Foy

Currently on sale for US$22.99 at solarforceflashlight-sales

Currently on sale for US$18.99 at solarforceflashlight-sales.