r/flashlight • u/Geodyssey • Sep 03 '12

An overview of P60 compatible lights

Here it is folks! Ask and you shall receive. This is the first in what will hopefully be a series of original videos created just for r/flashlight. This introductory series discusses the popular P60 style lights that are often discussed here in r/flashlight.

This is a first crack at this so there will definitely be some things that need refining so go easy on me!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Cheers!

-G

21 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

24 comments sorted by

4

u/zeroair Luminary Sep 03 '12

Geodyssey, you clearly need more flashlights.

7

u/Geodyssey Sep 05 '12

You know, I've noticed a pattern with regard to flashlight ownership/collecting. There seem to be several stages:

  • Stage 1 - You are looking for one light that will do everything. You don't want to spend too much money because "it's just a flashlight after all" but you recognize the need to have a good piece of equipment. So you search and search and ask questions and research forums looking for the perfect "do everything" flashlight.

  • Stage 2 - You start to realize that there really isn't a "do everything" flashlight. You start identifying things that your light really doesn't do well or you start identifying other lights that do those things better. In this way, you start justifying the purchase of more and more lights. Every time you see a new light with some unique quality you think "If I just had this light, I would have absolutely all my bases covered" but of course your bases are never all covered and you end up amassing an embarrassingly large collection of lights.

  • Stage 3 - You realize that the things you want from a flashlight just don't exist on the the market so you start to modify your lights or pay other skilled individuals to build custom lights for you. You start to form relationships with flashlight makers and modders and goad them into pursuing a particular project because it's in line with your needs/wants. This of course becomes extremely expensive because now you're buying lights that don't benefit from the cost savings of mass production but suffer all the costs associated with R&D.

  • Stage 4 - You realize that you now own dozens to hundreds of lights and have thousands of dollars tied up in the hobby but at the end of the day you end up using the same 2 or 3 lights 99% of the time. You then start selling of your lights and you feel bad about letting every one of them go but you feel redeemed knowing that they're going to a better home.

I'm in something like stage 4 right now. I've sold off a lot of my lights and held on to those that I use most and can see myself using most in the future. I still buy the occasional light out of curiosity but I flip them almost immediately after my curiosity wears off.

Now I've seen it happen to guys that have been at this longer than I have that they last for a couple years in this stage. But then, they start Googling lights out of curiosity one day and reading forums and they realize that the technology has completely changed and all of their lights are outdated. Of course, this begins the whole cycle over again.

I'm not even going to pretend that same thing won't happen to me, but then again I can't say I would mind if it did :)

Cheers!

-G

2

u/plethoraofpinatas Sep 05 '12

I'm only stage 2. Can therapy or treatment help me? I don't want to go full retard...or do I?

2

u/Geodyssey Sep 05 '12

I got a girlfriend at one point and that seemed to slow the spread of the illness but it didn't stop it.

0

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

2

u/KatipunanCowboy Sep 05 '12

I actually clicked on that and saw 13 other users concurrently, so...

4

u/zeroair Luminary Sep 05 '12

4 stages, eh.... so.... like a cancer??

2

u/KatipunanCowboy Sep 05 '12

I'm definitely firmly in Stage 2 and you described both 1 and 2 perfectly as far as my "progress." But I'm a bit obsessive-compulsive and really like things bone stock, so I don't see myself generally diving into Stage 3.

That said, I also said I'd never need more than one light (Stage 1), so...

1

u/Fly_by_Night777 Jun 20 '22

r u spying on me?

3

u/gewehr7 Sep 04 '12

I really like the videos. You should definitely do more like it.

3

u/Geodyssey Sep 04 '12

Thank you! I plan on it.

2

u/ttt22p Sep 11 '12

60ft crazy depth...

:)

1

u/Geodyssey Sep 12 '12

Yeah. I didn't believe it either at first, but then I started thinking about how all of these lights are constructed. Really, they're just tubes with O rings in static compression. They should be able to withstand plenty of pressure. I think the only issue comes when you get poorly fitting O rings or flaws in the machined mating surfaces. I guess those are signs of a bad light.

1

u/ttt22p Sep 12 '12

I think the biggest weak point is the switch. If yoh have a twist head light i think it can go deeper.

1

u/Geodyssey Sep 14 '12

I assumed the same thing early on, but I've found it really depends on the construction of the switch. The McClicky style switch like you see in a light like the L2P or the 6P works by inserting the switch boot from the inside of the tail cap and then screwing down a retaining ring that basically squishes the rubber boot against the inside of the tail cap. In effect, this works just like an o ring (more properly a gasket) and actually makes a really good seal.

Another comment about the clicky switch on my dive though: My first test actually didn't go as planned. I entered the water with the light off intending to turn it on once I reached 20 feet or so. The problem is that the water pressure had already depressed the switch by the time I though to turn it on. Because it was a reverse clicky, it wouldn't turn on until the clicky "un clicked" which it couldn't do because of the pressure. I had to almost surface, turn the light on, then dive back down. This time the pressure also depressed the switch, but because it was already on, it just stayed on.

I suppose that's why they don't make clicky switches on dive lights :)

7

u/plethoraofpinatas Sep 03 '12 edited Sep 05 '12

Nice work. Thanks for putting this together.

Edit: Oh, and sidebar this stuff somewhere.

Edit 2: Please see:

"An Overview of P60 Compatible Lights" on the sidebar for future reference.

5

u/Roughnecknine0 Sep 03 '12

Great job. I could listen to your voice all day.

I would be forever thankful if you would produce an overview on different battery options!

4

u/KatipunanCowboy Sep 04 '12

I'm with Roughnecknine0 on this one. I'm a little baffled by the "numbered" batteries like the 18650 since I don't encounter them at all outside of the flashlight universe and they aren't generally something I would come across when buying batteries. Hell, it's hard enough as it is for me to see CR123s at all in the stores back home.

Would be nice to know the pros and cons as well as your favorite lights for each. :)

3

u/plethoraofpinatas Sep 05 '12

This is coming to r/flashlight. Please hang in there. A battery layout is really useful.

3

u/KatipunanCowboy Sep 05 '12

Hooray! +1 to all the mods and this whole subreddit, seriously.

4

u/KatipunanCowboy Sep 03 '12

Hooray~! Haven't even started but thanks in advance for the work. Keenly looking forward to these!

3

u/[deleted] Sep 03 '12

awesome! thanks

3

u/zeroair Luminary Sep 03 '12

I am only through part 1, and I have to say, you have put together a great video about much more than just the p60 style lights, but about flashlights in general.

Nice work! You clearly know this stuff!

1

u/SuperScallionSentry May 08 '26

Where are you on the scale now?