Not sure which mag upgrade I should get

I want a powerful flood light but not too expensive so I was thining a mag dropin would be a good way to go.
Everyone says malkoff is the best, but why?
How is the aspherical q5 kit from dx? I know that is more for throw, but how is the beam when the head is untwisted
The p4 terralux doesn't seem too bad either, what is the real run time output on that though?

My personal and admittedly biased view is that for a Mag C or D drop-in you can't beat a Malkoff. Why? Malkoff drop-ins are a relatively simple but very well engineered module. They were designed to obtain the best performance from the LED by controlling unnecessary thermal degradation. This provides a long LED life without premature colour shift and deterioration of the LED itself. A Malkoff should provide you with exemplary performance and reliable and long life. In my book that is the sort of thing I look out for when I claim I've made a good investment. If you go the cheaper route like a Terralux (which I have several of) you will quickly see the colour shift I refer to above. Whilst it is impossible to predict when a LED failure will take place it is easy to read the manufacturers suggested maximum operating temperature for a specific LED. If the LED isn't being cooled enough by a good heatsink (like the Malkoff does) then it is a certain bet that the LED will have a shorter life than it should.

I suppose it depends on whether you want to have the drop-in live a long and productive life being used for prolonged periods without fear of failure or you want to go the cheap route with other less impressive drop-ins?

sol-leks said:

How is the aspherical q5 kit from dx? I know that is more for throw, but how is the beam when the head is untwisted

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I think you meant the KD kit.. but wouldn't it be better to buy the emitter module without the aspherical lens if you don't need throw? I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing that you wont get to adjust that beam much by screwing the head..
So maybe OP reflector instead of the lens.. or do those reflectors have too much throw too?

I'm running a TLE-300M in my 2D with 6xAA ni-mh cells and I'm impressed by its performance. It gives my Wof-Eyes M90-13v(rated at 700lumens) a close run for the money! For around US$60, the TLE-300M is the best upgrade I reckon for 6-9v Maglites.

jupello said:

I think you meant the KD kit.. but wouldn't it be better to buy the emitter module without the aspherical lens if you don't need throw? I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing that you wont get to adjust that beam much by screwing the head..
So maybe OP reflector instead of the lens.. or do those reflectors have too much throw too?

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The KD kit is impressive. You can screw out the head to get a round beam with more flood but it is not a Malkoff. When you go for tight focus, revealing the square die (and beam) it is truly amazing. Saabluster has one that is supposed to be impressive as well but I've not seen it.

Nothing I have can even approach the aspheric for pure throw. I've had a lot of fun with this drop in.

On the malkoff website it says:
"In order to use this module the rear end (cam or tube portion) of the stock reflector must be cut off within about 1/8th inch of the base of the cone. Just make sure not to cut into the cone itself when making the cut."
Can someone explain this to me? Sounds like it could be beyond my skill level

It means cutting off that "tube" from the end of the reflector(I think it's pretty clear what it means when you take the reflector out from the maglite).. I don't think it's too hard if you have some tools for it and do it carefully. You can also buy reflectors that have the reflector and "tube" as separate parts if you don't want to start cutting your reflector

If you can use a hacksaw, you can cut the reflector, it is very easy to do. Or you could buy one from Malkoff that has already been cut and save yours.

oh nice, I hadnt seen that. Yeah Ill prolly just buy one.

Any Cree Q5 drop ins?

I think KD sells one don't know how good it is though
http://www.kaidomain.com/SearchResult.aspx?SearchKey=4323&CategoryId=-1&SiteId=1

The Malkoff in flood mode is similar to the Maglite in flood mode, with the rings and holes(that happens with all defocusable reflectored lights). A diffuser, a heavy textures reflector, or a wide angle optic, might work better.

argh, so difficult to find a nice floodlight it seems.

I have a Malkoff in a 3C with a KD OP reflector. This is NOT a flood light. You can defocus it, but that just makes an ugly beam, not a flood light.
The closest I have to a flood light is the Romisen RC-T6. It has a hotspot, but it's pretty darn wide, and the spill is massive and bright.
In a ceiling bounce test, my RC-T6 produced 38 lux and my 3C Malkoff produced 12 Lux.

Could you not use a P7 instead of a Q5 in the KD M*g CREE Q5 LED Drop- in Aspherical Lens Kit?

The P7 itself is a flood monster but with the aspherical lens who knows....?
200 lumens out of a 2 or 3 cell maglite is not much.