MacTech
Enlightened
I just purchased my first Maxlite, a Maxlite II (#006) from B/S/T, this is a very impressive light
The Good;
the term "Overbuilt" springs to mind when describing the MaxII, this thing has to be the beefiest (mmmm.....beef...) AA light i've seen, the body of the light could probably survive a direct thermonuclear blast at ground-zero, it's thick, hearty and well built, a tank of a light
the grip is comfortable, whether held in a tactical grip, cigar grip, by the rear fins, the combination of the rear fins (which double as a great anti-roll device) and the body fluting allow good grip without knurling
the anodizing is perfect, the reflector and lens are the cleanest i've yet seen, the window is so clear it looks like it's not even there
Beamwise, it's got a nice bright, intense hotspot, the spill could be brighter but it's not bad, but it's clear that the MaxII has been optomized for throw
The Bad;
Not many things about this light are bad, the better term would be "annoyances"....
the design of the light is less pocket-freindly than I imagined, the fins at the back and the crenulated bezel make it somewhat obtrusive for deep-pocket carry, this one's better in a belt holster, or in a jacket pocket
Since the light is optomized for throw, the spill is less useful than i'd like, the tightness of the hotspot make it less useful inside the house than a light optomized for flood
the stock tailcap does not allow tailstanding, easily fixed with a McTC/McClicky tailcap
Overall, the Goods outnumber the Bads, a very well made, solid light
and now, the beamshots;
the beamshot methodology was this; i metered and locked exposure with a Fenix L1P running on a fresh Lithium AA cell, then switched to the tested light, the pics show how much brighter each light is than the baseline L1P
First off, a baseline pic, a Fenix L1P, a very common light that is also a Lux1 powered by a single AA
Fenix L2T on 2 Lithium AA's (Exposure locked with the L1P)
Maxlite II on Lithium AA (Exposure locked with L1P)
Yes, you're seeing that right, a LuxI single AA light is outperforming a 2 AA LuxIII....
And the final pic, letting the camera meter the exposure with the MaxII itself
all pics taken with a Nikon Coolpix 3500, basic exposure settings, all photos unretouched, just scaled down for web size
The Good;
the term "Overbuilt" springs to mind when describing the MaxII, this thing has to be the beefiest (mmmm.....beef...) AA light i've seen, the body of the light could probably survive a direct thermonuclear blast at ground-zero, it's thick, hearty and well built, a tank of a light
the grip is comfortable, whether held in a tactical grip, cigar grip, by the rear fins, the combination of the rear fins (which double as a great anti-roll device) and the body fluting allow good grip without knurling
the anodizing is perfect, the reflector and lens are the cleanest i've yet seen, the window is so clear it looks like it's not even there
Beamwise, it's got a nice bright, intense hotspot, the spill could be brighter but it's not bad, but it's clear that the MaxII has been optomized for throw
The Bad;
Not many things about this light are bad, the better term would be "annoyances"....
the design of the light is less pocket-freindly than I imagined, the fins at the back and the crenulated bezel make it somewhat obtrusive for deep-pocket carry, this one's better in a belt holster, or in a jacket pocket
Since the light is optomized for throw, the spill is less useful than i'd like, the tightness of the hotspot make it less useful inside the house than a light optomized for flood
the stock tailcap does not allow tailstanding, easily fixed with a McTC/McClicky tailcap
Overall, the Goods outnumber the Bads, a very well made, solid light
and now, the beamshots;
the beamshot methodology was this; i metered and locked exposure with a Fenix L1P running on a fresh Lithium AA cell, then switched to the tested light, the pics show how much brighter each light is than the baseline L1P
First off, a baseline pic, a Fenix L1P, a very common light that is also a Lux1 powered by a single AA
Fenix L2T on 2 Lithium AA's (Exposure locked with the L1P)
Maxlite II on Lithium AA (Exposure locked with L1P)
Yes, you're seeing that right, a LuxI single AA light is outperforming a 2 AA LuxIII....
And the final pic, letting the camera meter the exposure with the MaxII itself
all pics taken with a Nikon Coolpix 3500, basic exposure settings, all photos unretouched, just scaled down for web size