I have a perfectly good P60 XP-G R5 3 mode single 18650 light that I have some diffusion film on. It's the perfect general purpose light/beam for me.
Yet, I rarely use it! If there was a loud boom in the yard I'd grab if off my desk. Luckily there's rarely a loud boom in the yard :) So, I always pick up something smaller where I think I may or may not need some light.
P60 used to seem like a small light but now it seems like a medium sized light. With a 18650 it has a long runtime but I don't generally need a long runtime. Size is generally more important/convenient.
P60's are everywhere and drop-ins for them are everywhere. Do you use yours as much as you thought you would?
Pretty soon my ITP A3 will probably be what I consider the proper size for a flashlight :)
Kind of similar with my Ultrafire MCU WF-1200L, a 2x18650 light with a P7 LED. Really bright and throws very well, but just too big to carry around. I upgraded the LED to a XM-L which eliminated the donut hole the beam always had, but I still don't use the light that often. Not using the light very often is why I've held off getting any 3xXM-L lights. Even if my 1200L was 3 times as bright, I just don't think it's that practical to carry around. Still a good light though, and not really much bigger than 2xD old timey light.
I do use P60 hosts, but more in the winter when I can carry them in a coat pocket. They have a lot better throw than more compact lights. In the summer I have been carrying a compact 18650 light and I have a iTP A3 on my keychain for EDC.
I have an L2i with a Manafont UF XM-L 3-mode, but I don't use it much. I think I'm done with P60 all together. I figure if I'm going to update a light I might as well get a new body to go with it. Since I'm a budget buyer the extra cost is marginal anyway. Then I can also get better heatsinking with a better form factor.
I use my WF-501b a lot; it's my go-to around-the-house light. It's the XR-E R2 model and has a 5 mode driver, of which only two get used. The low mode is good for around the house at night use, and the high mode is bright and throwy enough for most other use. When I go walking in the evening before it gets dark and I might be out after the sun sets, it gets dropped in my pocket. My P60 gets used on almost a daily basis!
On the other hand, my larger lights (TR-1200, Aspheric 3D Mag thrower) see a lot of use as well.
I'm a commercial plumber as my day job, and carry an L2T on my tool belt, or clipped in my front pants pocket, daily. It's got a foil wrapped manafont/ultrafire 3 mode XML running off a 2600 XTAR. It has been absolutely perfect from day one, and there is always a suitable amount of light with the choice of modes. Also, no retarded disco modes to have to click past.
For fun at home, I like to bust out the MPP-1 with XRE on an L2P body and extension, or the KD C8 XML 5 mode. Neither one gets used daily though.
The light that doesn't ever get used is the L2i. I just can't be bothered with the AAA batteries, when the 18650s are so convenient. Maybe I'll change my mind once I get some single AA or AAA lights, but for now, I like the 18650 P60 form factor.
I have P60 fever. A couple of weeks ago got my first one, an Ultrafire WF-504B host with an Ultrafire Cree T6 3 mode drop in. I LOVE IT! Since then I ordered a Solarforce L2 host with a Cree L2 3 mode drop in, a Solarforce L2T drop in with another Ultrafire T6 3 mode, and now a Solarforce L2P host. I really need to stop spending money on this stuff!
I've gone the other way: I have a couple of p60 lights, which I used a lot at first, but now I'm trending towards bigger, brighter lights like the Dry triple XM-L I have on the way. As long as it'll fit in my jacket pocket, I'll carry the brighter light. The p60s sit in or on my desk but I rarely use them.
I wandered into CPF a few months and a few $hundred ago looking for a shotgun light.
I currently have 4 P60 hosts - one lives on the shotgun.
Here's my approach to flashlight life:
P60 CR123a for standby, emergency use. Occasionally flicked on to test.
Rechargeable AA/AAA for everyday use. I have a nice Fenix ? 2xaa that almost never gets used. A long thin 1xAAA keychain that almost never gets used. A handful of 1xAA that are used daily, depending on which one I can find first.
I am fighting the urges for more exotic battery types to keep my life simpler.
Before I found BLF I was all into Mini-MagLites w/Niteize 1W upgrades. Several of them failed in short order. BLF member "Match" warned me of Alkaline batteries leaking, what a bummer.
I will avoid them like the plague from ow on, lithium's or nothing, that's what I say!
Just received my Solarforce L2P today with the Solarforce Holster. When the weather gets cooler and I'm wearing my blue jeans, I'll EDC it. I've got the Manafont Cree T6 3 mode installed ready to go. I'm still waiting on the L2T to arrive :)
