Review: Solarforce L2M

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
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Pictured is the old or original L2M with the new 2012 version …
And there have been improvements made , fit and finish has has been improved , in fact the fits are now very much comparable with the Surefire , machining is really clean and precise .

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There have been changes : The battery tube is now shorter [ original was a little long ]
The rubber tail cap is larger , and the clicky switch can handle more current , and is now forward clicky
And some very slight external changes :

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The changes made , are minor , but simply taking what was a very nice host , Solarforce has matched the standard by which all P60 hosts are measured by , the Surefire 6P .
In 2012 Solarforce has come of age , the 2012 Host line up is simply the best so far offered , and anyone looking for a P60 host would be seriously remiss to not look at the Solarforce line up .
The L2M is two flashlights in one [ or more if you wish ] , It can run on a 18650 or 16340 [ 18350 ] , and if you ran a low voltage drop in , with the 18650 extension in place of the CR123 extension [ or two CR123 extensions ] you could run 2xAA [ which I do with one of my L2m’s ]

I cant recommend the 2012 line up enough , the quality has improved , the finish has improved , I like the dull finish , I like the improved fits , the improved machining .
There is very little if anything left wanting …

I really like the 2012 L2M , it quite imply is a superb host for the money !

Mine is fitted with a very old drop in [ bout 3 year old tech ] for now [ Luxeon ] , single mode and pulls about 0.55A on a 18650 , the drop in is not important , but I like the combination …
Single mode low current drop in with a very slick host and forward clicky … Forward clicky does seem to work well with a single mode drop in , how about that …
Im now tempted , to build a single mode XM-L low current drop in for this host … But I digress …

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Solarforce 2012 line up = They Rock , fantastic value for money , and ………………. just buy one !

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Nice review, I would have to agree the L2M is a very nice host for multiple applications. Nice all around usage from this little guy.

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I totally agree with you. The L2M can be bought for $11 USD, and the ability to mix and match is just wonderful. I myself have an L2M and an L2T on the way. So much versatility. Just get one!

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I have a couple L2M's and love them!

Thanks for the review old4570!

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A little on the short side [ review ] , but there have been several .
Knurling is more defined - deeper - without being aggressive , and the L2M is really tight [ threads ]
Im amazed at just how Solarforce has pushed the quality further …

Really is a lot of value …

Cant wait to finish school [ Diploma ] and get back to some serious flashaholism !

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Well Spoken :slight_smile:

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Thanks for the review.

I would have had mine more than a week ago were it not for a packing error. It will be my first one, ’cause although I have several L2Ps, I had never seen the need for a convertible light.

Having seen the error of my ways :stuck_out_tongue: , I had ordered it along with four tail caps. I received the tail caps more than a week ago, but no L2M :~ Now I get to wait some more…

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I have an L2m without logo’s and bought another with logo’s. I don’t have the 2012 model yet. Problem is everytime I order from SF I usually buy more than I intended to!

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Just received my L2M & L2P with the NW drop in from IO.
It’s has really nicely spaced out modes and I’m really warming up to NW now.

The only bad thing was that my L2M didn’t work at first, I found out it was the tailcap by pressing my DMM lead on the negative end of the battery and the end of the battery tube. I fixed it by taking it apart and putting it back together nice and tight.

I wanna test the runtime on moonlight mode with a panasonic 3100 18650 now :slight_smile:

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Any recommendations for a budget L2M Drop-in ? (3 Modes with low-low, XP-G, one cell).

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Just got my first solarforces last week, 2 L2T’s and 1 L2M with 3A IO NW dropins and 1 manafont UF 3 mode dropin. I’ve used the soda can strip technique for better heat sinking. One thing I’ll add is the new L2M has the same kind of Mat dry finish as the new L2T, I quite like it. The L2M looks great with the L2T head as well:

With a fully knurled body it Kind of looks like the XPower wildfire. Damn, now I have to spend more money and get some SS belt clips, Foy Bezels and A001 heads. This is turning out to be quite expensive!

And old, one of your pictures on the candlepower forum made me buy 2 L2T’s, the one with 3 L2T’s side by side and one had the A001 head. just saying

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Frankly, while I find the design and appearance of some $urefire models nice and dandy, their machining on their latest E2L series was a big letdown for me.

Comparing my old-style L2M against my vintage Laser Products Sure-Fire 6P, Solarforce has always been on par with CPF’s preferred $urefire brand.

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Thanks very much for the review! Frontpage’d and Sticky’d.

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I think Im to blame for quite a few Solarforce addictions over the last few years , sorry guys , Flashaholism made me do it !

The L2T head looks fantastic , especially on a stock L2 body
Solarforce sales should offer the combo …

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Might this be the picture !

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Might this be the picture !
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No, but that is another cool pic. Here’s the culprit:

This was practically my desktop wall paper while anxiously waiting for my Solarforces, I’m really bad at waiting. Really happy now though that I have them :bigsmile:

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I recently sent Solarforce an email about putting the L2T head on the L2 body - cos its so sweet !

Nice combo if they do it @ the right price , rather than charging a premium .

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Good job. I’ll be watching for the answer. Man, that Sforce is putting out some nice product.

Keith