McGizmo question

[onceupon]

I am new to McGizmo lights but have been drawn to them ever since I have seen them.

I have a couple of questions and since Lights are not my expertise I hope you will bear with me.

I am torn between these models Haiku, Mule and a Sundrop.

What I am looking for is a bright light for general use in the outdoors and when I am out around town.

Can anyone tell me which light is able to produce the most Lumens?
(Everything seems to be in LUX which I am not really familiar with)

Another thing I am mindful of is the overall size of the light, the smaller the better.
(I am currently using a 4sevens Quark Mini Ti)

If you McGizmoits can enlighten me to my best choice I would be grateful.

Thank you

 

[McGizmo]

Welcome onceupon! :wave:

If you seek the most lumens then you would want one of the three mentioned lights with a XM-L light engine. The lumens will be about the same whether the light engine is in a Mule, SunDrop XR-U or Haiku, What will differ between the lights is the beam pattern and resulting lux. I leave it to the others to comment more on the differences here but I will add that the SunDrop XR-U XM-L is a very impressive light albeit with a less than a perfect white wall impression.

 

[bmcgators98]

You are looking for a Haiku XP-G or XM-L depending on your preference between hot spot (XP-G) or more flood (XM-L) both LED are about 180 - 200 lumens.

The Haiku is slightly larger than the 4sevens.

The Mule and Sundrop are more specialized lights and you would appreciate the Haiku more for general use.

 

[kaichu dento]

Well in the first response to your thread you got some info from the guy whose owned more McGizmos than anyone else here and you probably couldn't go wrong following his advice. Otherwise you could go with what is probably the most popular model which I believe to be the ubiquitous Haiku, and if you did, I highly suggest the high CRI Nichia 119 Haiku, with it's beautiful color rendering.

If you get into lights much, you'll become very sensitive to what you like and don't like, and this in itself is very good reason to go straight to high CRI right away. One thing that many members here don't like (and many more of us do like) is the warmth of most high CRI emitters, and the Nichia 119 is very, very pure and white but shows reds in a beautiful fashion.

Here's a little food for thought in this thread called Not all high CRI's are the same - V10R Ti & Haiku beamshots where I took some beamshots using this light and another popular high CRI emitter.

 

[onceupon]

If is get a McGizmo light can I get an upgrade emitter to put into the light?

Asking because I may a line on a Sundrop but looks like it may be an older one not including the XM-L

Would you be able to tell me the wait time to get a McGizmo light?

Thank you so much for the quick rep us everyone!

 

[tsl]

If is get a McGizmo light can I get an upgrade emitter to put into the light?

Asking because I may a line on a Sundrop but looks like it may be an older one not including the XM-L

Would you be able to tell me the wait time to get a McGizmo light?

Thank you so much for the quick rep us everyone!

In regards to upgrading the McGizmo with a new emitter, it depends on the McGizmo and the emitter.

In regards to the Sundrop, I believe that the XM-L will only fit in the Sundrop XR-U and NOT in the original Sundrop head. Don can provide the definitive answer, but you should at least check whether this Sundrop that you are considering is the XR-U version or the original Sundrop head.

In regards to the waiting time, my experience is that if Don has the parts available, the wait time is quite short.

 

[nbp]

The Haiku is a great mid to long range light, and delivers what has been described as "punchy flood".

The Mule produces pure, 100% smooth artifact free flood of light. A short range wide angle illuminator.

The SunDrop is in between. It has most of the smooth even beam qualities of the Mule but with more collimation and throw, though not as much as the Haiku. It makes a "disc" of light.

For a general EDC light, you won't do better than the Haiku XP-G (most throw) or XM-L (good throw, slightly more flood, slightly more lumens). If you are very picky about color rendition/tint even at the expense of some lumens, then go with the Haiku Nichia 119.


Don's lights do boast the ability to swap out light engines so long as the ones you pick do not create a situation where the light engine will crash into the reflector or lens. You can put an XM-L engine into a SunDrop so long as it is a SunDrop XR-U. I believe the heads of the original SD are too short to accomodate the taller profile of the XM-L.

Wait time is pretty short. Don usually ships within a day or so and ships Priority so things usually get to me in 3-4 days. His customer service is top shelf!

 

[jumpstat]

Any one of the Haiku would be a good starting point basing on your requirements. Like Nbp have mentioned, its a matter of preference on the beam pattern that you are after. I myself is a proud owner of the XPG Haiku. Having edc'ed a PD-S for sme years, I opted for the HP-G as it has similar beam pattern however with the Haiku it has more lumens. The ability to use both rechargeable and primary batteries is also a plus point. Simple 3 speed operation that is very useful in many situations and I find it very difficult to part with my Haiku nowadays unless something better comes along.

Anyway there is a lot of information that you can read up on so do spend some time to check it out. All the best in your choices..

 

[onceupon]

Thank you everyone for your responses.

I think I know which light I want to go with just need to figure out how to send a PM now :)

 

[pjandyho]

I love Haiku. Love the high CRI for color rendition where I use it mainly for my hiking trips, and love the XM-L for a nice flood light for use on a daily basis. If you want a general purpose beam, XM-L is the way to go since it covers a bigger area. If you are after color rendition, go for the high CRI version.

To send PM, click on the user's profile name and select Private Message. If you are thinking of PMing McGizmo, I suggest you send him an email instead.

 

[kaichu dento]

I love Haiku. Love the high CRI for color rendition where I use it mainly for my hiking trips, and love the XM-L for a nice flood light for use on a daily basis. If you want a general purpose beam, XM-L is the way to go since it covers a bigger area. If you are after color rendition, go for the high CRI version.

So the beam coming out of my Haiku would not only gain a larger hotspot, but wider spill as well?

 

[pjandyho]

So the beam coming out of my Haiku would not only gain a larger hotspot, but wider spill as well?

Not so Pete. When I say cover a bigger area I mean the hot spot. Sorry about the confusion. But the truth is I do see a wee bit more spill on the XM-L than on the high CRI, but quite negligible and useless difference IMO. However, the transition from spot to spill is nicer. Not sure how the XP-G would compare to both emitters.

 

[kaichu dento]

Not so Pete. When I say cover a bigger area I mean the hot spot. Sorry about the confusion. But the truth is I do see a wee bit more spill on the XM-L than on the high CRI, but quite negligible and useless difference IMO. However, the transition from spot to spill is nicer. Not sure how the XP-G would compare to both emitters.

My hopes are dashed! This is a perfect light for someone who desires this balance of levels and this beam pattern, and I find it to be a joy to use, but my best all around light would have a bit wider spill in addition to a wider hotspot, all at the expense of throw, but the tradeoff would be good for me.

One place this light just kills is when riding the bicycle - it's a great headlight for biking!

 

[onceupon]

Got something special in the mail yesterday!!!

My first

Hidden ;)

Here she is :)

 

[nbp]

Congratulations!

What emitter did you get in your SD? How do you like it so far? Tell us, tell us!