The Surefire 6P is THE classic modern day cop light. It pretty much set the standard for law enforcement, military and emergency personnel flashlights. No longer was it necessary to carry around heavy Cand D-cell lights that started to go dim after the first 1/2 hour of use. The 5" long, 1" diameter Surefire put out more light than the Maglites and was much easier to carry to boot. The original did have a couple of shortcomings, mainly the short battery life and the somewhat fragile nature of the bulb module. The bulbs also burned out pretty often as well.
Enter the age of the LED. The 6P LED model is here and it's a dandy. With a claimed 80 lumens of output and an LED module that is virtually unbreakable and essentially never burns out. The 123A batteries also last longer as well.
The beam of the Surefire is a real delight. It doesn't throw a spotlight like a laser into the darkness like some lights. Instead, it has a very bright center spot with a very wide area surrounding the spot with even floodlight. It's a favorite for most emergency purposes because the beam pretty much fills a normal room with enough light to identify a threat with a quick blip of the momentary-on switch. It's bright enough to light a pretty large area outdoors as well.
But there are quite a few lights these days that compete with the Surefire--some with more power and many that cost considerably less. Why pay almost $90 for the 6P LED? Well, the warranty pretty much covers everything, the build of the light is the definition of over-engineering and the glossy hard anodized finish is immaculate. It's really the Rolls-Royce of flashlights. But it's a Rolls-Royce you can work hard, abuse and neglect and it will continue to function.
It's a great light. ALL the Surefire models are excellent with this being an update and improvement of the classic.
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Black glossy metal, brighter (80 lumens), longer run time, what more could you ask for? The new version of the 6P just got better.
Pros:
*New LED 80 lumens tactical level light. Blindingly bright, good "sidespill", decent "throw."
*Nice, solid feel thanks to the metal
*Lasts longer than incandescent models.
*Same compact size
*Can be used for self-defense either to blind opponent, or to strike individual if things get rough.
Cons:
*I also own a Surefire E1B, also 80 lumens. When I compared the E1B to the 6PLED, the E1B outperformed the 6P. It has a better throw. This was somewhat disappointing.
*The peripheral light ("sidespill") is a bit dim compared to other tactical lights I have.
*Although it is more energy efficient, it still runs on 123A's, which are expensive. Cannot use rechargeable cells because it might damage the circuits.
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i've had this flashlight for just under a year and have had 2 different problems.the first problem had to be resolved at the factory-the light "strobed" for one reason or another. surefire fixed it no problem. the second problem seemed to be the tailcap-the light would flicker with any amount of movement; again sure fire came through at no charge as they sent me another tail cap.i do use this flashlight everyday/night and it is exposed to the elements (rain, snow, heat, cold) as i use it on duty as a police officer
bottom line: great flashlight aside from the 2 "blunders".surefire stands by their products. i wish it were made exculusively in the U.S.A. (surefire says "some" of the internal electrical parts are foreign)
Honest reviews on Surefire 6P LED Single Output LED Flashlight
If these reviews pertained simply to build quality, reliability, and reputation this light would get five stars.
Sadly for Surefire, there are other criterion for reviewing flashlights. A few of those other categories would be output, value, versatility, and runtime.
Output:
This light puts out 80 lumens. The original incandescent lamp was rated at 60 lumens (as well as 120 for the high-powered lamp that drained full batteries in 15 minutes). You'll pay around $20-30 more for the LED version of this over what you'd pay if you got the incandescent version. Even so, 80 lumens sounds like a lot. It's a few more than a 3D Maglite (and though the Maglite has a much longer runtime, it's many times the size of the 6P). But you can get twice that amount of lumens these days for half the price using much cheaper batteries. Olight, Fenix, 4Sevens, etc. They all have lights that beat this one into the ground in terms of output.
Value:
Speaking of beating this light into the ground, let's talk about price. This light sports 80 lumens for $90 (at time of review). My Olight T20-M cost me $70 new last year and maxes out at 220 lumens. The Surefire costs $1.13 per lumen. My Olight cost $0.32 per lumen.
Versatility:
Surefire has historically positioned themselves as offering both tactical products and industrial products. While they do have newer, better tactical lights, this isn't one of them. Now, as far as industrial toughness is concerned, Surefire is hard to beat, although other manufacturers have recently closed the gap. There's no getting around it; these lights are built to be sturdy and last a lifetime. However, in the category of versatility, it falters. Again I'll compare it to my Olight, which has three different brightnesses and two extra modes: a 10 Hz strobe and SOS. If I don't need all the light can give me I don't have to take it. Most of the time I have it set on the lowest mode: 7 lumens. The 6P has but one mode: max. It's battery life reflects that.
Runtime:
Estimates of this light's runtimes fall around 2 hours. The Olight, at twice the brightness, will run for almost 6 hours. Surefire could definitely use a more efficient LED.
Now, that leads us back to those three magical area in which this light, as well as most other Surefires, shine (har har, see what I did there?).
Build quality and reliability: I'd venture to guess that if you purchased this light it will lat you a lifetime. I know there are many LEOs out there who still use their original Surefires.
Reputation: Surefire fans are almost fervent in their devotion and defense of the company. This isn't a bad thing, but overzealousness doesn't make up for a product's flaws.
Don't take this review the wrong way; this is a fantastically reliable and sturdy light that will last forever. But just realize that there are more cost efficient options that get you almost the same exact performance in every category broken down above.
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This is a great flashlight but you can get an even better value by going with the Surefire G2 LED model. It has the same brightness and performance yet has slightly longer run time and is lighter (hard plastic casing rather than metal). I actually prefer the G2 because it's easier on your clothes if you like to keep the light in your pocket (the knurled grip on the metal 6P model can tear at your clothing).
Furthermore, the G2 is a lot less expensive so you get more bang for your buck with it. That said, if you require a metal flashlight, The 6P LED is tops in both runtime and brightness for the size.
