For the past few years as a midnight cop in a big city I’ve carried a 9P and a 6P as a back-up, both modded with DealExtreme drop in’s and AW 17XXX cells. I’m now in the specialized training school for ESU in my department and as I’m stepping it up and hitting the holy grail of my department I’d like to step up my lights to be on par with what will be my everyday tasks in ESU, everything from SWAT to rescue and in between. I’d like to carry 2 versatile, bulletproof 6P sized lights, one will be my go to light and the other in my pocket as a back-up (w/ a high/low featur and bezel down pocket clip), both with momentary/twist tail caps.
I was originally thinking of picking up a 6P host and a bored body (for my current 6P) as well as drop in’s and cells. But, these new Surefire X series lights look very intriguing because they have tons of output and would not need to be modded so there will be no question of reliability. I could carry a combination of 2 6PX’s (tac & pro) or 2 P2X Fury’s (the dual-mode & tac) or for a great all around set up of having 3 awesome outputs, I could carry a 6PX Tactical as my go to and a P2X Fury as my back up which would give me a total of 200, 15 and 500 lumens!
I currently have a Pila charger and some AW 17500 and 17670 cells. Could 17670’s be run in these newer lights without a problem? What about having them bored out for 18650’s? What will runtime’s and output be like on the various rechargables? I obviously want the longest runtime and the most output. Being a newbie and coming from CPF I purchased AW cells as they came highly regarded, are there other reliable cells that you guys recommend? What about other chargers?
Besides liking the aesthetic badassness of the ‘old’ 6P’s vs these newer style SF lights, is there any reason why I shouldn’t go with these newer lights vs modding some 6P’s? Could I realistically mod 2 6P’s to have the same versatility and reliability of running a combo of these newer lights for the same investment???
Will these newer SF X series lights fit in the same holsters designed for 6P lights?
I have a bezel down Blackhawk holster which I love and would like to continue using.
Are there any bezel down pocket clips for these newer lights? (…for the back up)
If I go with 6P lights, which drop in will suite me best as my main light? I need something BRIGHT, dependable and versatile. Something that can run on both rechargables (18650’s?) and regular SF primaries if need be. Tint is not really of a concern. What will runtimes be like?
What about a high/low drop-in for my back-up???
Sorry for all the questions, but I’m a newbie looking for a GOOD reliable set-up. Because of the nature of the unit I’ll be in, I need the ultimate in performance and reliability. Nothing finnicky or unreliable at all will suffice.