How standards have changed

So I just got my Cabela's M6 clone. Wow its not very bright. Even my dorcy is brighter. Good thing I got it with the intention of a putting a malakoff dropin in.

Funny how what used to seem bright just doesnt cut it anymore.

I have been looking over a bunch of twenty - 30 dollar led lights that I have purchased in the last 3 - 4 years and they now look like they are not really working anymore... the batteries lasting for years is not a bad deal... but they are pretty dim lights by my current standards.

See "Losing Perspective?" Recently, my new FM700L ruined me yet again

Thanks, I missed that thread somehow.

Oh, no, I wasn't saying "you should do a search", I was just saying that my previous "spoilages" were posted in that thread, and now again, the FM 700L has spoiled me again. Once I get my Dereelight Q5 pill repaired, it should be my brightest LED light. One year ago, I had not one single Cree light. Only this week did I my first Q5. I want to go find a stock 2D Mag to compare...

kavvika said:

Oh, no, I wasn't saying "you should do a search", I was just saying that my previous "spoilages" were posted in that thread, and now again, the FM 700L has spoiled me again. Once I get my Dereelight Q5 pill repaired, it should be my brightest LED light. One year ago, I had not one single Cree light. Only this week did I my first Q5. I want to go find a stock 2D Mag to compare...

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drop a P7 into a Maglite C or D cell light with a heatsink and don't look into it...

Once PhotonFanatic gets a hold of some CSV0H's, I will

I was thinking a 2C Mag stuffed with 3 Sub-C's

what's the Vf on the H-vf bin? I am running CSVOI that came with the first batch from litemania and runs pretty good on 3 NIMH Ds, not sure if I would want to run an H-bin on 3 sub-Cs.

3.00v-3.25v for H vs. 3.25v-3.50v for I. Well, vF isn't terribly important I suppose, I'm just holding out for a V0 tint. I thought Litemania's bin was CSXPI?

Back on track about standards. I mean, I'm happy with lumen flux. We already have enough light. LED makers should focus on better (read: warmer) tints and LED's with better CRI's. Although, as much as I try to make myself believe that, as soon as I switch my P1D from "primary" to "max", or make the pathway day-lit with the 700L, I find it hard as hell to convince myself to turn off/down the light. It's just too much fun holding the sun in your hands and having something no one else does (unless you're at a CPF GTG).

The only way I've figured out how to *control* myself is to deliberately leave any really bright flashlights in my dorm room and only take an Arc AAA or L0D-CE.

craig333 said:

Cabela's M6 clone

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Do you have a link to this? I putzed around Cabela's website and I didn't see anything that looked like a M6 clone. I saw a somewhat passable A2 clone though...

-Mike

Heck of a deal. Knife is not bad either. Thinking of picking up a few for gifts.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...parentType=index&indexId=cat600427&hasJS=true

For future reference, this is the Surefire M6, that is a 6P clone, a little bit of a difference..

Will the Cabela's 6P clone work with aftermarket Cree dropins? I was thinking that the clone paired with the Uniq Cree Q5 drop-in for the Surefire 6P and the continuously variable tailcap (from Lighthound.com) would make a nice light when paired together. Also, does the clone work with an 18650? I want a rechargeable Surefire with infinitely variable brightness, best bin l.e.d., run up to the maximum 1 amp, and for under $100. Will this combo be everything I want or not? I know it's not a real Surefire, but it might be close enough.

I remember a few years back when I bought an led dropin for my mini maglite (terralux mini extreme2) and maglite solitaire (tektite). I was really proud and I showed to my friends how bright they were ... my friends were amazed, but didn't want to spend more on the LED drop in than the cost of the actual mags. Now when I turn them on, I'm thinking, "are the batteries dying?"

Funny, but true ! I know that my standards have changed as well. I just purchased a Surefire 6P for another project. Just to compare, I turned on the light with the stock P60 (65 Lumen) lamp installed. Geez !! What puny output ! :sigh: I'm spolied by my Q5 & R2 LED drop-ins !

Honestly? I just got a Malkoff M60 and while I love carrying a theatrical spotlight on my belt, I am still a little tempted to go back to the P60 for that lovely warm tone.

Also, I lit up the wall once to check the TV cords, and blinded my friend playing WoW. Matte white wall, you know the kind.

This is definitely going in my CombatLight when I get one for the blinding value, and I think I'm going to bring back the P60 in the 6P.

Well, "puny" might have been too harsh of a word to describe the P60. But I do like alot of lumens, & the drop-in's give me my "fix".

But you do have a valid point about the warmth of the P60 lamps !

your standards for bright today has been elevated 10 fold what they were a few years ago before you witness multiple hundred lumens

i used to think the dorcy led from walmart was bright cuz it was almost as bright as my 3Dcell m@g.
but now my U2 is dim with it's supposedly 100lumens.
and forced me to get a 400lumen LO lamp

Mercaptan said:

For future reference, this is the Surefire M6, that is a 6P clone, a little bit of a difference..

Click to expand...

When I saw the title of the thread, I thought, "M6 clone, how did I miss that!"

Not just the warmth - the efficiency at lighting up outdoor scenes. Until I got a Malkoff, the P60 lit up my back yard with more detail visible than any LED I owned, even ones that look equally bright when doing beamshots on a wall.

I mean, you hear about that but you just can't tell how much it really happens until you see it yourself.

I'm not sure that 'warm white' LEDs are spectrally complete enough to go toe to toe with incandescents in that regard. At some point, you're just throwing lots of photons and hoping a few will bounce off, with LEDs. It's just that they can throw so terribly many photons...