I don’t own any maglights and haven’t looked at many mods of them, but I see the head and tail both come off. In that case, I’d chop the tube, file off the threads from the tail so it slips into the body, then glue it on. You could use a little CA glue, silicone, epoxy, etc. CA glue can be removed with acetine if you ever want to disassemble it.
Just be sure you’re certain about your measurements before cutting.
Here’s a mod to use a P60 drop-in.
hey thanks!, I read through that post and its great! Id like to be able to keep a high and low mode, is there an LED that can do that thats drop in? if not its ok.
I’m not very familiar with dropins either, but they are sold as a package with driver, LED (mounted to an MCPCB), reflector, and spring. They’re meant to be used with a P60-compatible light.
What Match did in that post was use one with a removable reflector (you can see the threads where the P60 reflector unscrews), remove the spring, and put it in the bored-out minimag head.
So you just need to source one with the LED and driver that you like. I imagine you can find one with two modes. Kaidomain and Aliexpress both sell them, among other places. Just make sure the reflector unscrews - I’m not sure if that’s standard or not.
interesting thats more helpful information! https://www.amazon.com/XPL-V6-Flashlight-Replacement-Surefire/dp/B0BC37VPFX/ref=sr_1_11_sspa?crid=3SXJZDWDGIN63&keywords=p60&qid=1690048400&sprefix=p60%2Caps%2C134&sr=8-11-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY&psc=1 this is the same module i keep seeing on different sites. The outer spring is removable but im not sure about the reflector. Id also like to see if they make one in a different tint. cool white is not exactly my jam.
Id like to try to mimic Kyfishguy’s modding path, but that seems far more advanced. He used Lh351D’s and 219cs in his builds i saw but i dont know how what other parts id nee .
I bet it unscrews since that makes sense from an assembly standpoint.
P60 Drop-ins can be had with different configurations. They can be had with several LED options and modes. I know that there are single level options. From there they usually go to 3 or 4/5 level options. The 4/5 can be set for either 4 levels or 3 levels with strobe/SOS (IIRC). I don’t recall seeing 2 levels offerings. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any.
Here are some places to look (in no particular order)
(I see they offer a two level driver version)
http://kaidomain.com/search&search=p60%20drop-in
I think Malkov sells direct and also on Amazon. For a long time they were considered the premium P60 option.
Do you have access to a machine shop? If so, things like trimming the tube, boring it for the drop-in, and threading the tube should be relatively easy. I would also consider adding a tail switch. There used to be several places that offered them for the MiniMag. I think Nite Ize . Here is an example (not NiteIze, but looks nice. Looks like it is a forward clicky:
Just for clarity, the LED is not what gives you level control. That is the driver that is used.
One more thing. If you don’t want to cut the tube… maybe think about using a 14500 with a dummy cell.
Or if you want to keep it closer to the 3 volts of duall AA
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RGQX6W7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
dummy cell:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08SWBBQXB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Either an option depending on the driver you get in the P60.
Pretty much. You open up the conical head to fit the base of a drop-in.
http://kaidomain.com/KDLITKER-Quad-Nichia-219BT-1400-Lumens-High-CRI-LED-Drop-in-Module?search=p60%20drop-in would this fancy 219b version work? I cant quite tell but is the lens built into this or do i still need a lens and reflector on this model? Thanks for all the input and help everyone and sorry if its a simple answer I just don’t see.
It is all built in. Well the part that would be the reflector in some of these drop-ins is part of the body/pill. There is only a thin ring that holds the optic in that is removeable. I have a couple of them. Pretty sure they don’t meet the lumen claims, but they are a nice option. Of course, if you need something that allows the reflector to be unscrewed, this is not it.
All that from even a 14500?
Ummm, no.
That’s like a Hellcat with a lawnmower engine…
You’ll need some measurements. The question is whether the quad optic on that dropin will replace the stock mini mag reflector. I suspect it won’t fit but just a guess.
Yeah… I guess I should have mentioned that I use them with either 18650 or 21700 cells.
Though they claim regulation and don’t drive the LEDs very hard. It also has three levels. So, something like an H10 (10 amp rated) would probably be OK, just not for very long.
I got myself a coupla H10s for my GTmicro, and swapped back’n’forth with a generic 14500. Zero visible difference to me. Granted, not a fast A/B test of switching back’n’forth rapidfire to compare, but still, no visible difference.
Twice the lemons only appears ~30% brighter, so even if the difference were appreciable and measurable, I doubt I’d notice. And at the wads of extra current, thus power, being drawn, I’d dare say most of it would be as extra heat than light anyway. (My TS10 starts cooking really quickly at anything above medium, so I tend to use it at lower power anyway.)
To that effect, that’s why I just go for capacity over Being A Super-Cell. As long as the cell itself won’t cook itself to death on the light’s highest rating, I’m fine with it. That’s why 30Qs were always my go-to cell for 18650s. 3000mAH is good capacity, and good current handling capability.
If that 3-up drop-in is rated for X current, yah, okay, maybe the H10 might be worth it, but it’ll get hella hot really fast, and there’s only a shiite thermal path to cool the module, so I’d definitely not be cranking it up for more than a few seconds at a time.
Ahh so what about like a single emitter Nichia 519a or 219? Would those be able to efficiently run off a 14500? If not I’m totally open to suggestions. Kaidomain offers single led p60 in nichia I didn’t see before and I’m only wanting to go with Nichia because I like them ij other lights. What would you guys put in there?
Most LED/driver combos in a P60 format would run on a 14500. Maybe not for long on high levels, but they will work. Something like the H10 has 1000 mAh of capacity… well more like 800 to 900 per my tests. They are rated at 10 amp draw (but I don’t think long term, more like a few seconds burst). So you can figure out what it would do if you know the current draw at different levels for the drop-in that you like.
I personally like the 519A emitter. Maybe not huge output, but good tint and high CRI. For this mod, I don’t think you want anything with huge output. The light will be challenged to get rid of heat.
But it really depends on what you need. However, if you could get the unit that you linked to work in the MiniMag, it would be far superior to what you have been using in it so far. Probably as good as anything in the AA/14500 class of lights currently available.
Thanks for that! I ordered a single mode Xm-L2 p60 from amazon to try out on a mini mag i have. If it fits and im competent enough to drill out the head and cell tube with a stepped bit, ill try a 519A or something else. Those will probably take a few weeks to get here from Kaidomain. I dont have access to a machine shop so chopping the battery tube down may not be in the cards right now. Im also not exactly sure how it was done in the first place. I understand kyfishguy cut a length out of the middle in order to keep the threads but how to keep the two pieces together? anyone chime in on this?
This shows how he did it:
It requires opening up the ID of the tail part and cutting down the OD of the threaded (head) part. Then gluing them together.
He talks about replacing the spring too. Maybe the switch linked above would mean you didn’t have to do that. You would just need to contact the seller to find out the current rating of the switch.
I prefer having tail switches on my MiniMags anyway.
The pill in this KD P60 module is not the same as the one used in the Match mod.
With the module used in the Match mod the reflector screws onto the outside of the pill, this module is an updated KD design in which the reflector screws into the inside of the pill.
I’ve not seen one in person, and have yet to do the Match mod (despite having all the bits ready for a few years 
) but i’d guess this pill is deeper than the original pill, but as the extra depth raises up past the LED and therefore would raise up past any optic used it may still work.
However, i don’t know if there’s any difference in diameter.
Is there anyone with both pills that can compare the two?
I’ve been using Acebeam’s Pokelit AA/14500 and Rider RX here and there with their included 14500’s. They use a Nichia 219F. I wanted the copper Pokelit for it’s 100 lumen mode but never bought it. That version uses a Nichia 519A.
I recently replaced ther internals in an older LF E-series head with a Nichia 219C and Q-lite driver and it seems to work fine with the Acebeam 14500 in a Malkoff AA body. I also often swap that setup to run the Bodyguard V2 and MCD E2HT, although I don’t use those heads more sparingly (they are not used as task lights).
I guess I should also mention that Malkoff offers a VME head for P90 drop-ins that fits his AA body, but at that point it’s only a hair smaller than the 2xCR123/16500 SF body and would be much larger than a custom Maglite 1xAA.
