Received Peli M6 2390 Today (Review)

Hi All,

My third 'real' flashlight. I've always liked flashlights but only in the last 4 months or so have been exposed to serious and modern flashlight technology. It all started over the holidays when I bought a Nite Ize mini-mag upgrade. I then got an Inova X1 for xmas and I was hooked. I then bought a Fenix L2P and now a Pelican 2390. On to my thoughts:

Things I like:

1. BRIGHT AND THROWY!!! Just what I wanted. Thanks to everyone here for the advice and thanks to flashlightreviews.com for the numbers. After much research and gnashing of teeth, I feel like I made the best choice for me. I can light up targets 4 or 5 houses down the street (probably a 1/4 to 1/3 of a city block). Pretty good if you ask me, anything further away than that I'm not too interested in anyway. And I can light up tall tree tops with ease.

2. Easy to completely disassemble, no secrets!! I can't say enough about this. The whole thing easily comes apart and you have access to all the inner workings for cleaning, modding, maintenance or whatever. Cheers to Pelican for this!!

3. Nice finish, and I like the knurled handle which provides good grip. The flashlight feels good and solid in the hand and is comfortable to hold.

4. Flat sides on the tail cap and head, anti-roll is good.

5. It's smaller than I thought, it's actually EDCable.

6. I love the small spare battery pouch on the holster. Fabulous idea!!

7. Super flat regulation. Being an EE who works with power electronics, regulated flashlights really float my boat. I won't even consider a flashlight that's not regulated but this one does a stellar job.


Things I don't like (mostly nitpicks):

1. The threads. I had read some complaints here about crappy threads. I wouldn't call them crappy, but there not glass smooth like my Inova and leave something to be desired. The bezel threads for the lens removal on my unit were bone dry and just felt horrible coming apart. Fairly liberal amounts of lubricating grease smoothed things out much, but not completely. I don't really mind as long as the threads don't start coming apart. If I see metal chunks, I'll start to worry but with the Pelican lifetime warranty I feel better.

2. Plastic lens. I think a light at this price point should come with a glass lens, period. Now maybe Pelican really though shatterproof plastic was a better choice from a durability standpoint but I'll take my chances. Even space-age-super-whiz-bang plastics all scratch in fairly short order. I plan on upgrading to UCL glass from flashlightlens.com soon.

3. Mine came out of the box with a slightly hazy lens and smudges on the reflector. Thankfully, this was easy to clean due to the easy disassembly.

4. The included holster is okay, but I'm not crazy about button down flaps and I couldn't get mine to button down without removing the plastic insert designed to hold the shape of the holster. It also fits too tight IMHO, but it may loosen up. I'm considering just cutting the flap off entirely and will be on the lookout for an aftermarket replacement.


All in all a terrific light and I'm extremely pleased with the output which was my chief concern. I must admit during my nightly walk through the neighborhood that having this thing in my pocket just inspired a confidence that I didn't get with my Fenix. Don't get me wrong, I love my Fenix but the Pelican easily outshines it. Two thumbs up!!

Best regards,

Dave

I knew you'de like it. One more thing.... is your finish dull or shiny? I hate to ask buy... PICS! BEAMSHOTS!

-David

Um... Its not... bad

they need to work on the threads,
its massive (WHY SOOOO MUCH ALUMINUM?),
Plastic lens???!! Are they crazy?

Output is pretty good, but the runtime... could be better. Good regulation for the hour and a half you have.

I personally prefer the e2l.

-tom

Cornkid said:

Um... Its not... bad

they need to work on the threads,
its massive (WHY SOOOO MUCH ALUMINUM?),
Plastic lens???!! Are they crazy?

Output is pretty good, but the runtime... could be better. Good regulation for the hour and a half you have.

I personally prefer the e2l.

-tom

Click to expand...

E2l is inferior in terms of throw and output, but wins in terms of build... all depends on preference.

-David

A couple of months ago, I looked at the output and runtime data (from flashlightreviews.com) of several 2x123A Luxeon flashlights. The E2L and Pelican 2390 were included in this data. Most provided the same number of lumen-hours on a set of batteries, with the obvious consequence that brighter flashlights would run for less time. Only the Inova T2 and the Surefire KL3 (new style) were significantly better than average in net efficiency.

To nickelplate, Congrats on the new light buddy.
Not really knocking it, but if the Bezel wasn't 1.47in OD for me personally, i'd get and EDC one too, otherwise my little peli is a coat light.

@Cheapo
Lmao, i guess i know whom is your brother now. I could actually see it in the writing.



IF

cheapo said:

I knew you'de like it. One more thing.... is your finish dull or shiny? I hate to ask buy... PICS! BEAMSHOTS!

-David

Click to expand...

Finish is dull. Is that a good or bad? Did they make some with shiny finish? Check out the 12 pack of Titaniums and case in the background I got with it. :naughty: It's a thing of great beauty. Enough power to keep this thing lit up for quite awhile.




Cornkid, my choice actually came down between the E2L and the Pelican, I went with the Pelican because of the superior output numbers at flashlightreviews.com, even though I'm sure the E2L has better build quality and is an excellent light on its own. Like I said I'm very happy and nothing I mentioned in the dislikes would prevent me from recommending this light.

Regards,

Dave

Yeah, its a nice looking unit alright, nice pic.

Simple solution is, get one of each, and double's of the ones you really like.





IF

Cornkid said:

its massive (WHY SOOOO MUCH ALUMINUM?),
Plastic lens???!! Are they crazy?

Click to expand...

The Pelican M6 form factor is large compared to the Surefire E-series, but the amount of metal isn't too bad. Now, the PentagonLight L2 is a true boat anchor. :laughing:

Very nice review there, Nickleplate.

Your pros and cons square with mine. The Peli 2390 is one tough, nicely balanced light. Its strength is its rare blend of an LED beam with both Throw and Flood. I find its throw "hotspot" practically equal to the Peli M6 incan, yet its runtime is nice and flat for 2 hours.

To articulate its limitations for my uses:

1. Its switch still has the same old Pelican mystery feel... a kind of no-decisive-stroke dead zone that really doesn't let you know whether it's on, or off. Maybe this is related to the rough-threads issue you highlighted... which I agree with.

2. Its flood-beam aspect is wide, yet "thin." I find it washes out pretty easily when competing with any moderate amount of ambient light. However, that still leaves you with a pretty good hot-spot for throw.

Given my druthers, I still grab my SF L5 for most outside (night-walk) tasks. Its wide flood is just much brighter for 25-to-40-yards-out suburban illumination problems where longer throw is rarely needed. The Peli 3 watter requires me to constantly "sweep" it 180 degrees, whereas the L5's brighter spill necessitates little aiming-and-sweeping. (I'm old. My arthritic, pistol-recoiled-out wrists tire easily.)

However, the Peli M6 3W really shines when atmospheric conditions (bad weather) mandate a rugged light with enough punch to cut through the thick air molecules.

Hi TW,

The switch was one thing I forgot to mention. At first I didn't like the almost no feedback. In contrast, the switch on my L2P is a very resounding click. But, I actually got used the Pelican switch pretty quickly and now when I pick it up I know what to expect. Still, a more decisive click would be nice.

Regards,

Dave

At first you dont like the switch, but after a while, it is really nice, and I like how it feels. As for shiny verses dull... the shiny bodies were only sold by batterystation, their finish is much better, but the threads are a lot worse. I would go for the dull any day, but I must say, the HA3 on the shiny lights were very good. I really dont have a problem with the 1.47 inch head diameter, I just stick it in my front pocket with the head poking out. As for the holster, it is very tough, and the spares carrier is nice, it is big, but strong.

-David