All too often we flashlight junkies get so caught up in our collection, sometimes used, sometimes just collected, that we forget to pay due attention to the great majority of simple users of flashlights. This is the story of a simple cop who relied on and used his light every shift for hours each night in the most demanding circumstances.
Louis Altic was a school teacher, but he saw the need in his community so changed jobs to work as a cop in Eureka California. It is a small town with a very high rate of drug abuse, mentally impaired, elderly, out of work and homeless people. The police officers who work there have about twice work load of cops in other towns. They rely on their lights heavily each night. Knowing that his selection of a flashlight was an important part of being able to do his job well and safely, he asked me, his brother-in-law (an admitted flashlight junkie) to help him with his selection. After asking him how he intended to carry and use his lights, I recommended and set him up with a pair of Malkoff MD4s, with Malkoff M91s, Surefire tail caps with McClicky switch installed run by made in Japan Panasonic 18650s. One of those became his primary and the other a backup.
Here is that light after almost 17 years of constant real world use.
It has been held so much that the anodization is rubbed off and it has been dropped hundreds of times. The rubber clicky button has worn through. But, the light continues to function perfectly. It goes on and off the same now as when it was new.
The Bezel of the Malkoff MD4 shows the real world demands of an active officer, and it has held up amazingly well.
Here is the light in parts. Note how unblemished the M91 appears after all this use.
Louis Altic was a school teacher, but he saw the need in his community so changed jobs to work as a cop in Eureka California. It is a small town with a very high rate of drug abuse, mentally impaired, elderly, out of work and homeless people. The police officers who work there have about twice work load of cops in other towns. They rely on their lights heavily each night. Knowing that his selection of a flashlight was an important part of being able to do his job well and safely, he asked me, his brother-in-law (an admitted flashlight junkie) to help him with his selection. After asking him how he intended to carry and use his lights, I recommended and set him up with a pair of Malkoff MD4s, with Malkoff M91s, Surefire tail caps with McClicky switch installed run by made in Japan Panasonic 18650s. One of those became his primary and the other a backup.
Here is that light after almost 17 years of constant real world use.
The Bezel of the Malkoff MD4 shows the real world demands of an active officer, and it has held up amazingly well.
Here is the light in parts. Note how unblemished the M91 appears after all this use.
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