Have you even seen the 18650 Hound Dog?
Gene is terrible with the naming convention but basically it's a MD2 (1x18650) with the full size Hound Dog head. Should have named it something else as it leads to confusion. It's not much bigger than Surefire 6P and yes you can EDC it. I did at one point until my posterity, being so impressed with it, wanted it for himself and took it. I already had 2 full size Hound Dogs and decided I don't need 2 18650 HD in the family. The MD4 Hound Dog is hard to EDC but the MD2 one disappears in the pocket. It's compact.
It's a thrower and the only light that evokes OMG ever time I use it. Made me realize anything P60 sized is dead.
Translation: Modlite like many cheaper lights which advertise xxxx lumens do not deliver because after a few minutes the output is dethrottled to sustainable levels. Therefore the stated figure is meaningless and cannot be compared to Malkoff numbers.
Surefire does it too with its Fury. Malkoff Hound Dogs, etc all sustain the stated output, because they are fully heat sinked and fully potted- that's why they are so heavy. I want heavy because I want a real heatsink. So to translate the above, a modlite is a 700 lumen light, if that given sustainable operation beyond 3 minutes because it's not properly heatsinked.
Not only that I will go on a limb here and state that long-term reliability will suffer as well. LEDs don't like heat.
Cheap chinesium lights with inflated lumens will deliver them for a few minutes with a reduced lifetime. That's how they sell them.
Frankly I do not even believe the advertised lumens anymore unless the source is reliable.
Let's not go into the return policy either.
Once you compare a disasembled SF next to a Malkoff, the above point becomes eye-opening.
Malkoff's lights are a performance bargain.
His lumens are at a sustainable performance level and he strikes just the right balance between output and runtime. There is now way to have a super high output device by any brand without paying a penalty in drastically reduced runtime.
There is no free lunch and it's just Physics 101.
If I want max throw, I will grab Hound Dog Super with 1400 lumens. It's runtime is not great with 2 cells but more reasonable with 3.
One of these Hound Dog is what I would take if my life depended on it.
In response to a few of your points.
1) I do own a few malkoff lights, including the Hound Dog Super light. Which is big and zero chance of edcing with the 2x18650 config. (Even with a smaller body the head is just too big for edc) -- I know the other heads are smaller then this one, but still a bit too large for it to be comfortable to carry.
2) I totally agree with you when you say that malkoff sustains its stated output, hence why Gene rates his lights considerably lower than modlite rated their lights.
3) I disagree with you trying to say that modlite is a "cheap" brand of light, as they are fully potted, and quite honestly seem to be good quality or at least the ones I've been using have been holding up quite well. Also, their customer service is phenomenal. The lights are 100% covered for life, you don't even need to have proof of purchase for them to help you out.
4) I also disagree with you insinuating that the modlite LED is likely to burn out just because of the higher output level, that's been a non issue for me at least, I've been running a modlite at work for the past 4 years. It's been dropped, been left out in the elements, including rain and snow/ice and it keeps on working, and a sidenote I really don't baby my gear, these things are tools and I use them as such. Also, the company has been around for 5+ years now, and I'm decently active in the community, and have never heard or seen anybody posting about their LED burning out once. Has it happened? Possibly for sure, but I havn't seen it, meaning its not likely an issue in general.
5) I disagree with you saying the modlite steps down to 700 lumens, after 3 minutes. I've seen 2 charts from 2 different guys and It's more like after 5 1/2 -6 minutes that it settles at about 700 lumens. -- For my specific needs with a flashlight such as this, work related. I am 80-90% of the time done with my light within 3-5 minutes. -- So basically for all intensive purposes, and for my needs when I reach for my light I have 100% of it's capabilities for the duration that I need it for. So for me, this isn't a 700 lumen light, because 80-90% of the time I am finished with it before it starts stepping down. (This may not be the case for everyone obviously, but for myself it is) So I view this light as max output and stronger then most of whats on the market, for the entire duration of when I need it to light everything up for me. In a small as can be package. Without weighing myself down, or taking up too much space in my pockets or on my belt.
6) This is the biggest point I'll make. Lately I've been using the smaller 18650 Modlite head, attached to a HOG body (21700 battery) via an adapter modlite sell. This has been a game-changer and completely changes our conversation I believe as well.
--> Due to the fact that It's MARGINALLY larger then the 18650 version, but honestly barely noticeable in hand or in pocket. Upgrading to a 21700 from an 18650 allows my PLH-v2 to run for 5 hours instead of just 1 hour 15 minutes like with an 18650. (So thats a HUGE improvement alone). The 21700 battery running the smaller light head also means that it is actually sustaining the max output for a longer period of time then the 5 1/2 -6 minutes that the 18650 is able to sustain the max output for. I'm not 100% sure on when it starts stepping down with the 21700, and what it steps down too but I'll be working on finding that out.
--> Lastly, I have also noticed using the smaller head on the 21700 body the light gets significantly less hot (actually not hot at all) vs the 18650 which does get quite warm while running for extended period of time. Heat is a non-issue running it on the 21700 body.
All in all, I cant really see myself opting to carry the modlite with an 18650 body anymore. I haven't ever since receiving the 21700 body / adapter. This setup is perfect for my needs. I carry 1 addition battery in my bag at work, and have 10 hours worth of light which is far beyond what I need while working.
