Beamshoot Review of Malkoff, Q5, R2, & SSC P7

The test subjects drop-ins were done on my Surefire 6P with 2 fresh CR123 3.7V; 1300mAh rechargeables.

1. Malkoff M60 $49.00
2. DX Cree R2 $12.40
3 Tactical Night Vision Company Cree Q5 $ 44.99
4. Ebay SSC P7 1 Cell 18650: 900 Lumens:thinking: $75

First the Hallway comparison:
Cree R2


SSC P7


Malkoff M60


Cree Q5

The 7ft beam Shoots:
Cree R2


SSC P7


Malkoff M60


Cree Q5

50 Feet or so of my backyard:
Cree R2


SSC P7


Malkoff M60


Cree Q5

Commentary:
The SSC P7 is definitely brighter than all 3 drop-ins; yet I very much thought it is 900 lumens. With one fresh rechargeable battery it last 55min. It is $75 dollars and would throw the beam equally as far as R2 and the Malkoff M60 but with more spread at distance. For indoor use it appeared very much brighter then the rest.

The Cree R2: It didn't like the fact that in my Surefire 6P there was a gap, but for the price it can't be beat. Plus with my extension I can use 3 cr123 rechargeables. You can clearly see the circle of the spread. Outside that circle the light stops, granted it has great spill.

The Cree Q5: Tactical Night Vision Company http://www.tacticalnightvision.com/illumination.htm
It has a great deal of spill. The throw was just as good as the R2, with the Malkoff and the SSC P7 being the greatest. This one had really good spill. You could see the circle of light and outside that very wide circle the light just ends like the R2. The maker told me he has this made specifically for tons of spill and still have great throw. Indoor it does have great spill with a wide hot spot.

The Malkoff M60: Very bright Hot spot. It had the best throw of the bunch. The light at 50feet was actually brighter and lid the backyard more then the SSC P7; which surprised the heck out of me. Also, the light spill just blends into the enviorment you don't see the circle around the spill like you do with other lights.



Do you folks think lights that just blend into the enviornment with equal brightness are better then the ones that have a clearly defined spill circle???????????????????????:candle:

bigchelis said:

Do you folks think lights that just blend into the enviornment with equal brightness are better then the ones that have a clearly defined spill circle???????????????????????:candle:

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Interesting review. Thanks for taking the effort. I also doubt that the P7 is 900 lumens.

As to the question you pose, there's a large element of personal preference. I've seen a couple of P60 R2 dropins and a couple of M60s and I much prefer the beam distribution of the M60 to that of the P60 style dropins (the incan P60 or SF P60L are another thing altogether). I found the non- surefire P60 style dropins bright but a little too donutty and as you found they sometimes don't fit hosts that well. The SF P60/P60L both produce lovely wide smooth beams but at the expense of throw. Of course the M60 beam is not perfect either (it has rings and mine has a subtle wall hunting only donut hole) because its beam configuration is due to the optic. The optic also lends it greater throw, which is what you are seeing in your back yard.

Most people prefer somewhere in between full throw and full flood for regular use and I have found that my preference is for the M60. It has great balance - the optic lets it punch out in the dark while retaining a very decent spillbeam.

What do you like?

Which one do I like?

Well, I like the spill of the Q5 but I have to say that I like the way the Malkoff M60 just blends into the night on longer shots. There is not donut. It does have a good combo. I wonder how the Malkoff M60F would look???

Ah, that's something I'd like to know too!

Have you seen an M6 or a hotwire mag? They have interesting beams too... I'm very particular to the beam of the HO-M6R in the M6 at the moment.

But back on topic, perhaps could you tell us a little more about the camera and settings you used to take your shots?

The P7 should be considerably brighter than what the pics show. I have an R2 drop-in my SF 6PL and a P7 Mag and they are light night and day in output. Were all your camera settings locked for all the pictures? I only ask because if they were held constant, then the P7 is no where near 900 lumens.

Robert

Grox said:

Ah, that's something I'd like to know too!

Have you seen an M6 or a hotwire mag? They have interesting beams too... I'm very particular to the beam of the HO-M6R in the M6 at the moment.

But back on topic, perhaps could you tell us a little more about the camera and settings you used to take your shots?

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The camera is an Olympus shock proof digital camera. I disable the flash and thats about it. I think the reason the SSC P7 didn't appear a whole lot brighter is the fact that it is running on just one 18650. I have been trying to find an extention tube for it to add two more batteries in the hopes of bringing this light to life. The P7 did have the brightest and widest spill. In fact it had the hot spot equally as bright as the Malkoff if not more so. What I did liked the best about the P7 was that when I aimed at a tree far beyond my house about 7 backyards away, the P7 was there with all its brightness and spill. Very impressive. The Malkoff; which also reached that distance did not have the same spill at that distance.

Whats up with the SSC P7? Doesn't look like its more than ~300L:sigh:, knowing the M60 emits ~215L.

As good a value as the DX-R2 is, it simply can't compete with the better modules.

Gotta love the Malkoff M60. I love the combination of a tight hot spot and very wide spill. In your first shots the M60 is the only drop in that lights up the image from corner to corner with no visible cut off in the spill.

If you feed the P7 enough to make it as bright as it ought to be in a D26 host it will probably cook to death in 15 minutes.

Be carefull

WadeF said:

Gotta love the Malkoff M60. I love the combination of a tight hot spot and very wide spill. In your first shots the M60 is the only drop in that lights up the image from corner to corner with no visible cut off in the spill.

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With the Malkoff there is no visible cut-off. Outdoors and indoors I didn't notice a donut, but in the 7ft beamshoot I did. Don't know why but it did.

I want to purchase the M60F next to compare it against Tactical solutions Q5 since that particular Q5 is designed for flood it would be a good to see the outcome.

bigchelis said:

I wonder how the Malkoff M60F would look???

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Here you go :naughty: