Best Malkoff Setup for Emergency Bag???

[NH Lumens]

That is a very, very nice charging setup there! Really like the idea of having a couple of converted lamps for household use, too. :thumbsup:

Oh, and sweet lights, too.

Thanks! It was a fun project.

 

[bignc]

Thanks! It was a fun project.

I went lazy and bought a goal zero boulder 50 and Lithium 400 for camping and home. neither of them look as cool as a Pelican sertup! But to your point of panels and packs, all my portable solar is paired with a jump pack/ battery bank and works perfectly with many different chargers- nimh and li-ion. The packs buffer the sun from messing with the chargers as it would if they were connected directly.

As for the bags, they are single celled usually but depends on how far from home I go.... Sometimes a 61WLL in a 3cell with spacers swaps in. Usually an MD1 and Md1.5 with spares - not counting the md-2 I carry...

 

[thermal guy]

I'm going to chime in and go against what I have believed to be one of if not the best emergency lights. My dream was a 4L in a MD3. Solid bright enough and multiple battery options. It's still up there on my list because as we are all finding out now. The MD3 with a 4L fits that bill to a T.

It's looking like 90 plus hours on 2 readily available AA. Probably close to that on just about everything else. So what's better then that?

How about Malkoff's single AA?
Over 9 days on low "I tested that personality". How about 2 hours on high. Down to 30-40 lumens at the end. And it only requires 1 AA. Any AA at that.Hell, you can run a AAA in it if you need/want to.

I love my 4L's in a MD3 and it does have the options to run all different kind of batteries, battery combination. It's substantial in the hand so could be used for "other things "
But honestly I'm struggling to find an argument as to why the MD3/4L is a better emergency light then Malkoff's single AA.

No way would I stop using my MD3/4L's as a emergency light. But also pretty sure I'll have a Malkoff AA in my pocket at all times as well. It's so small there really is no reason not to.

 

[wicky998]

Agreed ^^^

With the right battery adapters , any of the mdx models can be a great emergency light with plenty of cell variations.

 

[Buck91]

...BTW, the very first batteries to disappear off the shelves in an emergency situation will be the AA.
There won't be ANY AA batteries available in an emergency. Anywhere.
It's the WORST possible emergency battery choice, and they are the worst batteries you could ever put into your "survival flashlight".
But, you can accommodate them as a last-ditch possibility if you have to, with a 3-cell body and an M61.
It's MUCH better to actually have REAL batteries.

You raise a valid concern about desirability and availability but I disagree. AA and AAA batteries are so ubiquitous in modern electronics that any scavenging, trading or resupply options would likely turn some up. This is why single AA is such an important part of my kits. You can easily get 100+ lumens for a useful runtime, low or moon modes for very long runtimes and many will even handle being fed AAA cells as well. Mix that with a simple USB solar panel and usb charger and you should be good for a long time off a couple of nimh cells that won't leak.

Now are there better options for specific needs, absolutely. 18650 would offer better results from every category as long as you are able to recharge it. That said, pretty low chance of replacing that cell if needed (unless you gamble on reclaimed laptop cells). This would go for any of the lithium cells.

Personally, my minimalist BOB/whatever setup revolves around a 1xCR123/2xAA weapon mountable light (Solarforce L2M with Malkoff M31L/M31LL options, as much as I love my C3 is doesn't shrink down to 1xCR123 size) along with a single AA handheld and an 18650 OR AA headlamp (maybe both is vehicle transport). That offers a variety of battery configurations as well as a lithium vampire and maybe a AA vampire or close to it.

 

[Kestrel]

For the most part, I have settled on two different P60-body formats; both of which can cover general use and emergency use - depending on their cell configurations & what Malkoff dropins they will be loaded with;

• Bored SF bodies w/ 1x18650; in an emergency, these will utilize 2xCR123's after my LiIon cells are depleted.
• Unbored 3-cell SF bodies; these moderate-output backup lights are generally loaded with 3xCR123's or 2xAA Eneloops. I have enough of those cells to last considerable periods of time, but if needed I can also LEGO them for ultra long runtimes with either 1xCR123 or 2xAA Eneloops/Alkalines.

My SF bodies will LEGO with M91's, M61's, M31's, and M61LLLL's as the specific situation would warrant - I generally choose body/dropin combos that can rapidly transition between two very different cell types.

Edit: As you can see, I am really into fuel-flexibility.
(Also like my camping stove setups - three independent burner setups; using primarily isobutane camping cannisters, but all have been tested with propane (having inventoried both 1lb cans plus a few BBQ grill propane tanks), and general-cookery butane cans as well. Key for this strategy is a nice selection of adaptors.)

 

[thermal guy]

A solid plan. Simple and reliable and redundancy built in.But I just can't see rechargeable lithium ions as a primary emergency battery.But as you say you have primaries to back them up. They can be Solar charged but I'm just not convinced that they are more reliable then standard 123's or L91's. But if we're honest with ourselves we can probably take battery type out of the equation. We all have enough to light up a city😁. That being said after your listing you have I might make some changes.

 

[Kestrel]

Thx; I do see that some folks also like the ability to utilize the ubiquitous AAA in their emergency setups; I am less interested in that because I always keep a 2xAAA penlight handy (currently the Pelican 1920 2xAAA, but also have an LD01 & Muyshondt Mako 1xAAA).

Heavy use of those very convenient lights (w/ multiple output modes) will certainly take their own toll on my supply of AAA Eneloops & Alkalines, so much so that I would have little need to run that inventory down in my less-convenient P60 bodies.

 

[etc]

It's not necessary to expect one light to do it all. Not realistic either.

I have 6P/MD2 , and 9P/MD3 and also an old FiveMega 3xAA body and a ton of AA cells in various stages of decomposition.

the FiveMega has a Triple-L Malkoff in it and that runs decently, I like it overall.

The MD4 bodies can run on 4x123 or 2x18650.

Then I have a non-Malkoff cheap light that I got on a BF sale for 10 bucks and it runs on 6xAA. For a serious situation I have a 3x18650 HD Super.

I am making the assumption that I have access to a charger here.

If I didn't I would probably take the MD3 format with M61LLL and run that off 123x, and 2xAA ad infinitum. It has high-low so I wonder what the runtime is on low.

Actually that's kind of an interesting question.