Malkoff M60F - Different Versions?

Just scored an M60F to drop in my 6P-GM from a friendly forumite in the Marketplace. Fantastic beam & tint, just as good as I'd expected from reading about it. Mine is the newer version w/ the sticker instead of the hand-scribed part # which leads me to my question:

The pictures I'd seen of the M60F show it with a simple frosted lens, but mine has a VERY cool looking honey-comb pattern. Is this just not obvious in the pictures I've seen or is it an update/change to the M60F? If the latter is the case, does anyone know what changes, if any, the honey comb pattern had on the beam? I can't stop picking up the light to look at the pattern. . .

2nd unrelated question, for those lucky enough to have an M60 + M60F - is it true that simply applying tape across the lens on an M60 = an M60F or is there a bit more going on there? For the way I use my 6P I don't want to attach a diffuser, and putting tape on a light isn't a very permanent solution, so the M60F is right for me, just curious if anyone can say, from personal experience, that the M60F is nothing more than a simple diffuser. . .

I have both plus the M60LF. The diffuser on the F versions is WAY more effective than the Surefire diffusers. I can't say I've tried tape as you mention, but I will tonight. I can't believe it's anywhere as effective. Since I got the M60F, my L4 (famed for its "wall of light") has gone into hiding and never sees the dark of night anymore. The diffuser in the F Malkoffs is much more than a "simple" diffuser! :thumbsup:

I've got a M60 Led drop-in in my 6P and use the Surefire FM34 beam diffuser. I wanted the option of both flood and throw and the FM34 does exactly that. The only problem with the FM34 is the bulk but for those occasions when I want two options from one light the diffuser is the way to go.

JNewell said:

I have both plus the M60LF. The diffuser on the F versions is WAY more effective than the Surefire diffusers. I can't say I've tried tape as you mention, but I will tonight. I can't believe it's anywhere as effective. Since I got the M60F, my L4 (famed for its "wall of light") has gone into hiding and never sees the dark of night anymore. The diffuser in the F Malkoffs is much more than a "simple" diffuser! :thumbsup:

Click to expand...

Cool - I'll look forward to your findings. Are your 'F's the honey comb as I described, or just a fogged/frosted pane?

My M60F and my M60LF are from the first batch of each, and they are like a very fine Orange Peel look to them, not a honeycomb.

I'm sure it's just a different optic than he was originally using. I don't expect any difference in performance.

divine said:

I'm sure it's just a different optic than he was originally using. I don't expect any difference in performance.

Click to expand...

I may shoot an e-mail to Gene to find out. The honey-comb pattern reminds me of a bike reflector and has a neat prism effect that just seems like it MUST do something cool to the light!!!

Don't put scotch tape across a M60 optic and get it all sticky and then watch it yellow and get ruined as one poster talked about the tape getting hot. Gene has some diffuser filters coming that just pop right in under the bezel. I am testing them. I am taking too long but I have other things I have to do in life that I don't want to discuss here. These little filters are going to be real cool, I have already tested and shown some of the larger ones in my Beamshots comparison of the Malkoff Triple Drop and M60/M60F thread. It will be really nice to just drop a filter in behind the bezel and voila, you have a 30 degree beam or a 30 by 5 degree beam, nice and smooth, or others that are in the works.

I am doing the same thing with rounds of Roscolux LDF.
Cost me 4 bucks to get the giant sample pack sent to me.
Loads of different types and strengths of diffusion film.
Makes it easy to find just the right one for each light.

Only as hard to do as cutting out a disk!

d_rasp said:

does anyone know what changes, if any, the honey comb pattern had on the beam? I can't stop picking up the light to look at the pattern. . .

Click to expand...

I've owned 4 separate Malkoff's in total (M60, M30, M60F - sticker, M60F - etched), but I'm certainly no expert. In the ones that I've used, the M60 seems to have the bluest tint of all, while the M30 has a relatively close to the same, if not more, output but in a more neutral tint. The M60F's that I've used, whether the engraved one with diffuser or the labeled one with honeycomb, had exactly the same output and tint between them, and in my experience they were aqua-neutral if there is such a shade. There was no difference at all to my eyes at least between the two M60F's.

That being said, as with any drop-in there are going to be variances in output and tint based on the emitter bin used. I will say though that I prefer the M60 w/FM34 over the M60F by itself because of the two-lights-in-one aspect of it. As one poster has already pointed out though, the added bulk of the FM34 is a force to be reckoned with especially with EDC.

MrGman said:

Don't put scotch tape across a M60 optic and get it all sticky and then watch it yellow and get ruined as one poster talked about the tape getting hot.

Click to expand...

Oh don't worry - I won't! Each time I'd seen it mentioned I wondered who would be happy with that kind of solution.

Brief, unscientific test - tape as a diffuser doesn't work very well. Doesn't diffuse very well, cuts output and as someone noted is likely to get sticky.

My M60F and LF are very recent and have the half-diamond pattern similar to a flourescent ceiling fixture panel.

The M60 and M60F I've got are very warm, almost creamy in tint. The LF by comparison is much bluer.

The diffusion filters sound like a great idea and better solution.