The Malkoff Front Porch

[thermal guy]

My goto for night walks is the wildcat minus the diffuser film. ton of throw and huge hotspot. Best of both worlds 😁

 

[3oni]

Afternoon Malkoff gurus! I have recently ordered a Neutral MDC HA LMH Li-ion Rechargeable Head with the Luminous SST-20 4000k emitter, because I'm a fan of that led. Thing is, I'm not sure which of my MDC bodies to run it on. I'd like to run a 16340 battery in the 123 body, but not sure if run times are that good. I also have the 16650 body available. Anyone have experience with this head on either?

The neutral MDC 16650 is my daily driver, and it's great. I don't have the CR123 body, so my only point of comparison is the MD2 body. I like the form factor of the MDC on the 16650 body, long and slim and not overly heavy.

 

[Duster1671]

Afternoon Malkoff gurus! I have recently ordered a Neutral MDC HA LMH Li-ion Rechargeable Head with the Luminous SST-20 4000k emitter, because I'm a fan of that led. Thing is, I'm not sure which of my MDC bodies to run it on. I'd like to run a 16340 battery in the 123 body, but not sure if run times are that good. I also have the 16650 body available. Anyone have experience with this head on either?

I have a couple of those MDC HA LMH heads with the SST-20 4000K. Excellent head.

I like it on all the body sizes (16340, 14500, and 16650). There is no clear favorite.

I get 25 minutes of perfectly flat output on high with a 800mAh 16340. The 14500 and 16650 cells I have are ~1000mAh and ~1800mAh respectively, so that would give:

16340: ~25 min
14500: ~30 min
16650: ~1 hour

Note that the popular 16650s from KeepPower are only 2500mAh if you charge them to 4.35V. At a normal 4.20V charge, mine measure more like 1800mAh.

 

[scalpel_ninja]

two nights ago I was carrying around my E2XT on the 16650 MDC body ( as you would ) and it was dead in the night, we were walking next to a field/crops with my dog and I was looking around, and as the E2XT throws 200-300 yards easily I was willy nilly looking at everything in the distance when I spotted something around waist height in the middle of the field. I thought it was something left behind by the farmer and covered with some rags or foil or something, so as I was walking past on the road I kept lighting it up, to try and figure out what am I seeing ( I don't have the best of eyesights ) When I got around 30 yards away from it, walking past the road, I heard "STOP SHINING THAT FKIN LIGHT IN MY EYES" followed by other expletives... Well turns out it was a dude taking a dump in the crops... So I've learned that even tho my lights can shine up stuff half a mile away, my eyes won't necessarily make out what it is

Lesson learned, I need a wildcat and a MD4 body for night walks

Next time pack an LEP. 😂

 

[turbodog]

I just got a 123-based 3 level malkoff. The levels... sometimes they are starting up on level 2 or 3. It favors level 1, but I do get some 2/3 startups in there also.

 

[knucklegary]

^
Another example when you don't need or want a throwy light. More of a toy than a tool.

Moral of the story, watch out where you're stepping in the farm field

 

[ledbetter]

Moral of the story, watch out where you're stepping in the farm field

Sheeeeeeeet…the fields are safe compared to Venice where I used to live. If it wasn't dog it was human poop or vomit. You could always tell the locals because they were looking down when they were walking, trying to avoid the mess. M91 on two li-ions on low for the sidewalks, on high for everything else.

 

[Duster1671]

I just got a 123-based 3 level malkoff. The levels... sometimes they are starting up on level 2 or 3. It favors level 1, but I do get some 2/3 startups in there also.

This behavior puzzled me for some time.

It happens because the Malkoff driver switches levels based on "on" time. Under normal use where you turn the light on and use it for some amount of time and then turn it off, the light always starts in level 1.

However, if you flash one of the levels for a short time (<1s) and then turn the light off, there will be a mode change cued up for the next time the light is turned on. This can create situations where the light is off for an arbitrarily long period of time and then starts up in a level other than 1, despite the driver not having mode memory.

 

[turbodog]

This behavior puzzled me for some time.

It happens because the Malkoff driver switches levels based on "on" time. Under normal use where you turn the light on and use it for some amount of time and then turn it off, the light always starts in level 1.

However, if you flash one of the levels for a short time (<1s) and then turn the light off, there will be a mode change cued up for the next time the light is turned on. This can create situations where the light is off for an arbitrarily long period of time and then starts up in a level other than 1, despite the driver not having mode memory.

That's what I figured out also... but even then it's inconsistent. Maybe there's a switch debounce issue.

 

[Duster1671]

Hmm there could certainly be an issue like that.

I just spent a few minutes playing with one of the MDCs and it behaved predictably when I tried to induce the "cued up mode change" in various situations.

 

[thermal guy]

Ya it works with on time. Can be kinda confusing. His older ones 1-3 volts 3.4-5 have to stay on 5-7 seconds in order for this to work. Much longer then his new models.

 

[Robot Mania FU]

Malkoff goodies just arrived. MD2 with the grip ring extender works nicely. I had to forego the z26 with the grip ring and a pocket clip on there, as it pushed the tailcap too far away from the water sealing o ring. The clearance is sufficient for the 1200 mah 18350's to work just fine and the hi/low operates smoothly. An 18650 requires both of the smaller o rings to prevent rattle and flickering but that is doable for a battery swap "in the field". The low profile extender does all the same things but I get to keep the z26. CR123's are too short to make a connection with either extender.

I get 75 minutes of high runtime in the m61t with these 18350's. The increased voltage also makes the low mode much, much more useful than with an 18650. That's good, but practically speaking it would have been better to just get shorter cells and not have to mess with all this. They do perform well for their trouble though and I'm a gonna use 'em.

I run my m91bw on an md1 with a single 18350 as my normal light I carry, but sometimes its fun to throw it on an md2 with the spacer and 2x 18350's to power it up a bit. Might not be the most efficient, but it's a powerful little light....like a wildcat mini.

 

[greatscoot]

I run my m91bw on an md1 with a single 18350 as my normal light I carry, but sometimes its fun to throw it on an md2 with the spacer and 2x 18350's to power it up a bit. Might not be the most efficient, but it's a powerful little light....like a wildcat mini.

It's amazing how versatile the M91's have become. I have a 5000K in a Z3 with 2xAA's and it's plenty bright.

 

[Robot Mania FU]

Even on just a single 18350 it's decently brighter than an m61 with what I feel is a better beam profile and feels like it runs forever. I still say that's the best deal in the line up.

 

[Megalamuffin]

The m91bw actually does alright on two 18350's, I got 38 minutes with them on high before the shut off.

I've got an md3 body on the way and can't wait to pop the m91bw in there with two 2300 mah 18500's.

 

[tex.proud]

Woohoo! The 4000k goodness has arrived! Mailman brought me a replacement lens for my MD21700 head, and the Neutral MDC HA LMH Li-ion Rechargeable Head with Luminous SST-20.

Checking the tint in the closet is one thing...I need darkness to arrive!

Carry On!

 

[Steve1]

Malkoff MD21700 body with the awesome Hound Dog Super!

 

[Steve1]

Multi Holster Michigan finally retired after 14 years hard Malkoff service! Time for new carbon fiber holster, precise fit for the MD 21700!

 

[Steve1]

What the best carbon fiber custom flashlight holster? Malkoff.

 

[Steve1]

Next time pack an LEP. 😂

Funny! Did you pass the dude some paper or perhaps a old frizzled corn stalk💩👍🏻