What's wrong with P60 hosts?

I’m new here and just diving into the wide variety of lights and modifications available. And I have to say there are many more options available than I ever expected. I came into this forum because I bought my first P60 because I thought it was the perfect size, balance and function and although I want to push it for more bright (a non-scientific term) I don’t see why people think the P60 is obsolete? Certainly there are other flashlights that have more bright, made of more modern materials, and yes, the head limits the bright options. But overall the P60 particularly the SolarForce L2 series are classics. They never go out of style. So if I don’t want a supersized flashlight but something I can make my EDC. What is better than a Solarforce L2 series?

I like their versatility. I have 2 L2, an L2M, and an L2i. They all work fine.

The main disadvantage of a P60 is the thermal management. The dropin pales in comparison to a flashlight with a threaded pill, or better yet an integrated led shelf.

A great tube light… Take your pick of the Convoy S series (love my Convoy S2+).

A great pocket thrower… Eagle Eye X6. I believe Dale filled you in on this little beast of a light and the group buy.

L2m is still my favorite edc. Overall size, pocket clip and performance are just perfect for my needs. I’m not so crazy to try to get rid of more than 10W of heat in that thing, though. :wink:

The Convoy M1 is very similar in size but has a screw in pill for better thermal transfer and a deeper reflector for better throw. There’s nothing really wrong with p60 hosts unless you want to ramp up the power and that’s when the floating pill design shows it’s weakness. It can be remedied somewhat with a foil wrap but not to the extent of a better designed light. I like my own L2 and just converted it to an 18350 stubby but it’s not a light well suited for a high current mod.

Agreed on the Convoy M1, just built one for a mate with a dedomed XM-L2 U2 1A and Qlite driver at about 3.8A and it’s a fantastic little performer.

I’m not saying P60s are no good, in fact I have 3 Solarforce P60 hosts, but if you want to push the light harder, there are better options than P60 hosts.

Yes, nothing seriously wrong with them. They are good for starters and also understanding how LED works. They could prove to be really useful “throw around” lights.

As I thought, Nothing wrong with them, Just that there are always something Better out there to Explore.

Happy searching.

I guess it all depends on what you get into first. I got into the Convoy, having never owned a Solarforce light, and it was my EDC for a while. They are small and bright, and you can easily add a Qlite driver to give the light more versatility. People also seem to like Solarforce as much too, but I’m not sure if they offer anything that I already don’t have out of a Convoy light or the Sunwayman V11r.

For its size , there is not much better :

But remember , some people are not happy unless they can squeeze every last AMP out of the battery ( Discharge ) .

And for a super high current hotrod , the L2 is not the best choice ( nor any P60 ) ..

But if your happy with sane levels of current , get a P60 pill , a nice 2A driver and the latest XM-L emitter in a tint you like , and build a drop in that works well and does the job .

I was out the other night with my L2 ( I have a few ) , and it pumps an insane amount of light ( not sure what drop in it has - but its XM-L - Just not sure of the current it draws ) , yeah I dont remember what drop in is in what L2 .. ( Might have a Ultrafire (Manafont) drop in - one of the hot ones ) ..

If I sound confused , your right , I am .. + I own a few L2's , maybe more than anyone else ...

Thing is , superbly made , reliable , and with a decent drop in , almost bullet proof ..

You can “lego” most P60 hosts. That is; the bezel, head, tailcap can interchange so you can update or change the light to suit your needs. While the P60 weakness is heat from high-power drop-ins that is also it greatest strength, you can make or buy a new drop-in w/ the LED of your choice rather than buy a whole new light. And in the case of SolarForce you can add a tubohead for throw or output.

I see the two primary advantages of P60s as:

Versatility:
If you want a lot of flood grab an XM-L with an OP reflector, a bit more throw an XP-G or XR-E with a smooth reflector, high CRI, Nichia, UV, driver options, lens options, etc. One host with multiple drop-ins can cover a lot of uses.

Modability:
It’s a great platform for starting down the road of modding lights. Drop-ins can be built easily for short money providing the opportunity to try different drivers, emitters and reflectors.

I have 7-8 SolarForce L series lights up to 4.5 amps with no problems. Of course that’s with well wrapped drop-ins and not left tail standing on high for 20 minutes.

I have the L2, L2M, L2N, L2P and L2T, a couple of each. The very well thought out LT-1 lantern, various extension tubes and a lot of tail-switches, bezels, an L2-CL1 Convex lens titanium lanyard rings, Xeno lanyard rings and a box full of various P60 drop-ins. Plenty of protected good quality 18650’s and a stock of CR123’s. I’m perfectly content with what I have, at the moment they serve all my needs.

http://www.pflexpro.com/ “Truly Bullet proof” Tested, mounted to a Remington Mod 11 12 gauge, Auto Loader, where the barrel recoils to chamber the next round!

I’m going to try making a L2M into a mini using either a 18350 or a 16340. What drop in are you using? I have a Solarforce XM-L U2 and will be curious if I can get enough light out of it.

I think they are going out of style because we like to push the limits on output, and the cost savings of getting a new drop-in instead of a whole new host is getting less and less. Quality hosts such as the ones from Convoy are cheap enough where we can just build another light. I still love Solarforce hosts though.

To me, the P60 format is timeless and can’t really ever go out of style. Versatile, flexible and interchangeable… To me it doesn’t get any better. Besides, if most people here are flashaholics, why would this even come into debate? Can’t you own a boatload of P60 format flashlights and also own a boatload of other flashlights?? In my mind if you’re a flashaholic, you’ve got room for more than one EDC in your rotation and the rest can simply sit in your collection waiting it’s turn to be used.

I like the P60 format in the Solarforce line. They seem to me to have the right feel and balance, small enough to have on my person and available when needed yet they produce plenty of light. My problem however is I want one very versitile light that is flexible, and maybe a second as a back up but I don’t want a house full of flashlights. I guess I am not a true flashaholic because too many lights would bother me. Give me my tool that will work when and how I need it to work, but I don’t want a house full of them.

2 X 18350 or 2 X 18650…your choice

Oh, that problem will solve itself, it's just a matter of time, hang around for a couple of months longer and your bothering about too many lights is over, and you will love each and every one of them :bigsmile:

I love p60’s too. But they do have limitations with thermal management. Although I do think this is sometimes over played.

If you use a flashlight for fun, as in you don’t depend on it and only tend to use it for short periods of time. Then it’s pretty much a non issue IMO.

But for prolonged on time at high outputs it simply isn’t as good.

Also I find it more fun to have multiple different torches for different uses, rather than one torch with lots of different drop in’s.

I quite like the size of the L2’s. They are about as big a torch as I like to carry in my jeans pocket. The larger reflector offers more throw than tube style lights. But for some they maybe are still a little chunky.

As an alternative, have a look at the Convoy M1:

It’s pretty much the exact same size as a Solarforce L2. But obviously doesn’t use a p60 drop in. It has far superior thermal properties, so if you want high output, or sustained use, then the M1 is a more robust torch that will manage the heat much better.

One very neat thing p60’s have though, is modding them to fit old incan Mini Maglites.

P60 are some of my favorite, lots of light in a small size. It the heat management bothers you, wrap the pill in aluminum cut from a soda can.