OK, what's the big deal with P60 dropins? I know what a dropin is but is the P60 the best of the best? If so why don't manufacturers make all flashlights with P60 dropins. I know it's another stupid question but I'm just trying to learn more about this new hobby/obsession of mine. Thanks guys!
Just a convenient format, not too big, not too small. Started by SureFire so there was a large base to start with. It has some drawbacks, like not always dealing with heat that well, too small to really throw, too big to be easily carried in most pockets.
It seems to work well by combining the LED, driver, and reflector. The XR-E needs a fairly big hole in the reflector to fit the metal ring while the XP-E is pretty small. So you can optimize the reflector to go with the LED. Also the power demands of the XR-E and XP-E are pretty similar, but there are other LED's that require more or less power so it is good to have the driver in the package as well. Having just swapped out a driver, I think it would be neat to use detachable cables between the LED and driver, like some small computer parts have.
There are other standards not quite as common like D36 which is bigger than a P60 (D28). Also EagleTac has started using drop-ins (not a standard size I don't think), which I think is a great way to match the needs of their users with their lights. If you want a neutral LED with a smooth reflector, the retailer can just take the body and the drop-in and give you the light you want.
No big deal really. Surefire designed this for incandescent bulbs which don't mind getting extremely hot. LED's do. It is not an optimal design for heat transfer.
However, it does give you modularity and flexibility for less cost than buying complete lights. Many P60 designs actually sacrifice a fair amount of light output by their bezels.
Fun to play lego with too - some dropins will take up to 18V and I can also buy any incandescent bulb that can take rechargeables (Not throwing away money on disposable CR123 cells - they cost about $9 each retail here). Some of those have fearsome outputs, just not for all that long.
Thanks guys! I'll just stick with buying full flashlights for now until I get more knowledgeable.
You can go a DIY route easily. Installing properly a drop-in isn't hard at all.
Thanks, Don. I'm doing the drop-in thing from now on :) It's good to have cheap hosts available :)
Any suggestions for low -> lowish power driver + emitter - one-mode -combo?
Got one SMO reflector and pill idling. Got R2 emitter (which is blue so I hate it) and driver (which has low PWM, so I hate it), need also cheap host.
Need low output for NO heat and decent runtime. 80-150lumen is well enough.