1W McFlood vs. 5W McFlood

I recall in another thread that McGizmo was surprised by the usefulness of the McFlood reflector with a 5W luxeon and went on to say that both 1W and 5W McFlood lights had their niche to occupy. I was wondering about the specific applications of this reflector under differing brightness regimes. It's never too early to contemplate possibilities for DIY McLux parts.

Is McGizmo lurking these waters? If someone other than Don knows the answer to this, please feel free to reply. And if I've misquoted or misinterpreted the original thread, my apologies.

Steve

Hello? Does anyone know?

Hey, I'd be interested in evaluating the McFlood in my KL1 and KL3 with the 5W Luxeon mod. The 5W LED with the stock collimator (NX05) tends to have a "hole" in the middle. Maybe the McFlood will fix this?

CM,

It would be good if you were willing to try it and compare/contrast it with McGizmo's results.

Steve

I`m fortunate to have "at least one" 1w McLux, as well as a 5w SE McLux built on an E2e host flashlight...compliments of McGizmo.

The 5w is indeed brighter...about 3-4 times more so. Very, very nice. Much easier to see everything in the "flood plain" of light.

I`ll use both, but my EDC will still include the 1w McLux as opposed to the 5w McLux...but that`s because I`m also valiantly carrying at least 11 other flashlights as a part of my EDC, including an Arc LSH-P and Surefire E2e/C2 bezel mod with a HOLA.

And yes...I do have a lot of pockets!

wow! 11 is good!

i carry four currently, but am looking into getting more as soon as money permits.

Carpe Diem, I would sure like a picture of you carrying your lights. Got a digicam?

I`d be the guy in the picture with my legs buckling under the heavy load!

zackhugh,

I no longer have any of the 5W McLux lights I made; seem to have been talked out of them. In the majority of cases, I believe a 1W in the McFlood will be fine for tasks at hand and up close work. The 5W SE's and HD that I tried with the McFlood had similar beam patterns to the 1 W but obviously put out considerably more light. For bright illumination of work close at hand or in cases of ambient backlighting, the 5W in McFlood would be useful. It will also illuminate a very large area out to a further distance than the 1W is capable of.

I think the 5W in the McFlood is ideal for a range of specific lighting needs. I would not consider it as a general purpose light in the same vein as say the 1W in McFlood would be considered.

- Don

McGizmo,

Thanks for your reply. It has jogged my memory about you shining the 5W McFlood in a neighbor's yard (unless my memory is faulty).

Unfortunately, you haven't necessarily dissuaded me from trying to get a 5W McFlood and extended tail for the McLux. I was hoping that I could clearly rule out the expense of DIY McLux parts, but that doesn't seem likely. The 1W and 5W are not redundant at all.

Steve