SureFire M1 Dissected... and Upgraded!

I've been turning the SureFire M1 into a Project-M light dubbed the M90-M1 Illuminator, for a while now. Someone pointed out that it might be of interest to snap a photo of the disassembled light in that few folks have ever seen the guts. Here it is!



Some quick notes... the window is polycarbonate and press-fit tightly against an O-ring... the little black dot is an IR filter... the circuit board is a resistored IR LED with a spring on the underside... the items from circuit board (left) to IR filter and O-ring (right) all fit inside the body shown above the parts... threading on the tail end is SureFire C Series compatible, and threading on the head end is incompatible with any part that I've ever encountered... seems to be specific to this light, which actually does make some sense given the light was probably designed to be robust, self-contained, and permanently sealed.

Note there's an O-ring seal between body and head that ensures weatherproofness.

Now that the M1 is opened, what can we do with it?

A few things, actually.

1. M90-M1 Illuminator. LuxV white with reflector and glow ring, pumping out a bright, even illumination out to about 20 yards with a soft hotspot that lets you look at things up close (even in the palm of your hand) without hurting your eyes. Estimated output 90 lumens, estimated runtime on single 123 primary or rechargeable 60+ minutes.

2. M90-M1 Cyanator. LuxV CYAN (blue-green, aqua color) with reflector and glow ring, pumping out a bright, even illumination out to about 20 yards with a soft hotspot that lets you look at things up close (even in the palm of your hand) without hurting your eyes. Can help in finding things by virtue of changing the color response of objects... some things appear as blackish silhouettes, some things take on an eerie alien glow. Estimated output 90 lumens, estimated runtime on single 123 primary or rechargeable 80+ minutes.

3. M77-M1 Creemator. Cree white emitter with reflector and glow ring, pumping out a bright, even illumination out to about 20 yards with a soft hotspot that lets you look at things up close (even in the palm of your hand) without hurting your eyes. Estimated output 77 lumens, estimated runtime on single 123 primary or rechargeable 140+ minutes.

Some eye candy...













Which one do I like best? Tough question as they're all neat lights! Guess I like the Cyanator for its combination of good runtime, serious brightness, and otherworldly color... which is also surprisingly useful!

All three versions of the upgraded M1 (Illuminator, Cyanator, Creemator) cost $165 plus shipping built in your M1 host or $225 plus shipping with me sourcing the M1 host.