PLI has arrived.
Edit: 1 day later, I turn it on and wth, Its flickering! All modes have a random flicker, very noticable. I tried reseating the battery and same effect. Whats going on with my new PLI?
Edit 2: 2 days later, flicker issue resolved, thank you lightbug(shiningbeam). Details are on the following page.
Condensed Short Review:
Bright, Solid, Useful size and beam.
Better Review & Obsevations:
Forward clicky was installed upon delivery, which was outstandingly speedy , from shiningbeam. I was worried about the UI before I got the PLI because I greatly favor bezel turn mode change, This UI hasent been such a problem like my AKO-ray 106. The 106 encourages you to leave the light off while it remembers the last mode (3 seconds off) the PLI encourages you to leave the light on while it remembers your current mode (3 seconds on), I find this setup much better and a big difference.. I'm not in the dark anymore.
Threads come pre lubed, dual orange orings seal the tailcap. The forward clicky is also orange. It can tailstand but barely, the button sticks out a hair so its the slightly leaning tower of Cree.
Overall shape fits great in my hand, better than my EagletacT100c2mk2, PLI seems more organic to hold, It also has roll stop feature. The finish is camo and just feels extremely durable, although im not sure other than that how to explain it. If I may use an analogy this feels like enamel paint vs normal paint (analogy only, I think its anodized?), I just get a 'feeling' however they did this finish it aint coming off, whereas oddly with the t100c2 it just feels like if I scratch it with my fingernail enough it will give, this dosent. Very smooth. Alittle lighter in weight than it looks, which is great.
The body has a square portion in the center instead of round all the way down the light.. I have an idea for mounting this square portion in a mount to a shotgun, If and when I do this we'll see just how much punishment this PLI can take.
The OP reflector looks as deep and round as the T100c2, 'defensive' bezel is slightly more aggressive than the eagletac and looks about par for the course.
This is my first multi die emitter. When compared to the eagletac, imagine the main 'cone' of light from the eagletac, even out the beam (t100c2 smo is laserishly tight focused) and up the power significantly.
The spill to the sides is also multitudes brighter and much more useful than the ET, ultimatly I'd like some more spill straight to the sides as I intend this to be an up close light, but not everybody can afford a Malkoff MC-E (case in point:me).
This light does actually throw quite good, despite the OP reflector and MC-E and the small shape of the light, It really is a pocket burner. Strangely out to 75ish yards (yes YARDS) with the very much flood oriented beam I would still actually take this over the narrow t100c2, even at that far distance it lights up objects (all of them lol) well enough. This is in pitch darkness though.
I was also worried about the WC Tint before it arrived as I'm outdoorsy and prefer warm -and I still would- over cool. However It dosent look cool to me, just very bright and I havent had any trouble seeing anything. You get a real sense of the amount of light it takes to project a solid cone of brightness, a sense I just dont get with the eagletac. This does have a bright hotspot center, which is phenomenal for such a floody beam, again.. thats a powerful light.
Its 3 modes are in my opinion, Ideally spaced to encompass a variety of tasks, I do find myself blasting this on high most of the time.
Conclusion:
MG seems to have balanced this light so well.. I just may have to get another. They have balanced very usable spill, a supreme flood, plus a significant hotspot in a regulated 18650 rugged lighterweight body, and gave it all to me for under $55.
stealth
