It's HOT, HOT, HOT! - Int'l Outdoors P60 XM-L U2 Drop-in Gets Put to the ULTIMATE Test!

LED Flashlights – General Info
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As I may have let on to a few of you, I am back on days now managing the upkeep of lost and found for a prestigious North Texas hotel. And while going back to days has been so-so, the first day I’d gotten used to it was marked with a record number of checkouts, and therefore, lots of work.

I don’t know how I did it, but somehow, in checking a room for a missing item, I accidentally acitivated my trusty P60 U2 XM-L light (in a WF 501B) as it sat in my cargo pants. I carry it everyday and don’t know how this happened. Anywho, back to deskwork. I soon noticed my leg getting hot. Because I am part-disabled in my back and left foot and experience shooting pains and occasional nerve “warmth,” I ignored it. And then it got worse no less than 40 minutes later as I sat totally still.

So, I had this thing activated on high, sitting completely still in a pocket, surrounded by rubber gloves, a small energency medical pack, and closed-up black cloth for over 40 minutes! When I went to take it out of my pocket, realizing that the heat now burning my leg was in fact NOT me, I burned my hand as I tossed the (almost now literal) “pocketrocket” onto the desk. The thing was still burning bright as heck! Oh, the misery this little guy would have felt, having been stuck without ventilation of any kind next to my thigh while being tucked up against a large swivel chair!!!

I had to use a plastic bag that I use to store small valuables items in to hold it still to even turn it off. Trust me when I say, there was NO HOLDING ON! In that time, the bag got hot and soft and started to melt. I still could not touch the light until over 5 minutes later, and it was still very uncomfortably warm by then. I gave it 30 minutes to cool off on the desk. The rubber button had flattened to laying around the plastic under-button and its edges.

This was amazing, but could have been dangerous, as the battery used was a Sanyo unprotected which wasn’t about to cut off. I now suddenly see the value of twisty EDCs :open_mouth: I have inspected it and no damage was done. I fired it up several times since then and great light still comes out just as always. Even on medium, this thing has always produced plenty of heat, but I had no idea what 140-160 degrees felt like on steel until now. Needless to say, I’m more than proud of my investment, making this both a warning about unprotected cells and a product plug at the same time!

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That’s what I call pants on fire …….

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Joe,that's a crazy story,glad you are ok.I was almost positive there was a thermal protection on the IO drop-ins?I would look on their website and if it is protected why did it fail,just a thought.

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YUP… EDC an LOTC!!! It can save your hide.

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Wow. That could have gotten very ugly.

I'm glad you're OK.

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I just checked,this should have thermal cutoff @55-60c,states this in the specs on IO website.Possibly a defective module I would contact hank.@kramer LOTC is nice,one of my favorite features of my surefires and pentagonlights.

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Has anyone actually gotten these Intl-O’s to get their thermal management tripping?

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I can’t think of a single person who has.

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WOW… im not the only one.

After a trip outside the other day i came home and I believe i lightly dropped backpack with my flashlight in it on the floor. Changed clothes, ate dinner… went back to get the stuff out of it my backpack. I then see some light coming out of it…
Like OP. WF501B. Did not think it was possible for the light to turn on in the compartment i had it in… But it did go on. Luckily it had a lanyard on it. Managed to get it out of there.
With IR meter I measured it while it was still on. 80 degrees Celcius (176 Fahrenheit) on the head!!
I did not even try to hold it from the tail-cap. The whole light was burning hot!
The voltage had gone from about 4V to 3,2 (battery AW 2600mAh, protected). I guess it had been on for 30 minutes with a bare minimum of ventilation.

This accident actually scared me a little. Luckily, nothing got damaged…
If I have the light in my backpack, from no on ill either have the battery out, or turn it off when its on medium or low. Not on high. I actually feel safer taking out the battery now…

I though the light was safe due to “Thermal management, overheating protection 55-60C”
The only thing I see the light do when getting very hot is to dim for a sec then go back to high… Dims back again after 10-20 sec. But 1 sec on low does not do wonders when it goes back to high right away….
So, what excactly is the “Thermal management, overheating protection 55-60C”? Is it just the “dim-down” future i described? Because that will only work as a “hint” when you use the flashlight. And you dont really need the light to say, “im hot” when using it for a longer period on high. You can feel it in your hand….

Side question some might have the answer to: Is there a switch that is really hard to press that can be changed out on the flashlight? …or is there a mod that can be done to the stock switch?

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Wow. That light has since been accidentally clicked back on at least twice since my original post. But both times, it wasn’t on long. I guess I understand the twistie fetish over at CPF now. lol It may be worth switching to a Solarforce cap with a non-exposed button, or like you say, take the battery out or else keep the light in a respectable case.

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I had the same encounter with my Trustfire MINI. I usually carry it in my 5th jeans pocket, because you nearly don’t notice it there and because I have no other use for it.
One day I probably didn’t unscrew the twisty far enough, so the light went on in high mode. I can’t really tell how long it was on, but when I got it out, it also was too hot to hold. I threw it on the table and used my pullover to hold it. I am really happy nothing bad happend, the cell itself was pretty hot, aswell …

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not to the degree that Rusty Joe had, but hot enough that i’ve thrown it on the floor when i pulled it out of my pocket and had to leave it cool for some time. most recently it was a xeno e03.
its the only time my girlfriend likes my flashlight hobby i think.

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Actually , you were the heat sink …

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It’s actually true. Especially on smaller lights where the heat has nowhere to go but your hand, you are the heatsink.

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I had a similar experience but a few minutes at most. Now i know why surefire uses those damn twisty's that power up after a few twists. I hated them for years always tried to replace them. Now understand why there Ultra smooth, dont make a sound and dead on reliable in your pocket or mounted..

Close one Joe...Maybe go with a low power AA EDC..

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but i still hate twisties