Recieved first Malkoff today....M60L.

Its ok. For whatever reason I was expecting the most spectacular beam of light from this thing from all the hype here on CPF. ( In fairness, the hype was from other CPF members, NOT Gene.) I certainly wasn't dissappointed by the thing, but I wasn't feeling flashlight "nirvana" either. I took it into a dark room (ok, the bathroom) and did a ceiling bounce test with my E1B and they seemed exactly the same as far as output which means one of two things: The M60L isn't putting out 140-ish lumens as stated, or I have a over-achieving E1B. I'm 95% certain the latter suspicion is correct. Independent testing showed that the E1B is pumping out around 120 lumens per another CPFers' testing ( I don't remember who). Coupled with the fact that I still have the Lexan lens in the G2 since the UCL I ordered hasn't arrived yet, I'd say the output claim is pretty legit. Kudos' to Gene for that. And I must say that the build quality is excellent. This thing looks and feels like it could survive almost anything. The emmiter is PERFECTLY centered. And of course the E1B won't go 4.5 hrs like the M60L. Even with 2 batts (using ultra simple math here) the E1B would "only" run 2.6hrs on high. Still good for a little light though. But my point here is that the driver Gene is using must be kick-azz. And it still has plenty of throw for throw junkies like me. My only real complaint is beam quality. From the beamshots all over here is seemed like it would be more uniform but its similar to the optics in the E1B. Its not bad mind you. Just not what I was expecting.

Well this is just one CPFers' thoughts on the M60L. YMMV of course!

maybe because you got the m60L, not the original M60.

I am completely floored by the quality of the beam from my M60. It is not perfect like the beam from a reflectored light like the Novatac, but it does a better job than any other optic or reflector of lighting stuff up around me.

I want to get the M60L or the LL next and I am also thinking of the "flood" versions.

Now to buy more Surefires for my Malkoff's.

The M60 optics usually have a soft ring between the outer spill and flood outside the hotspot. The manufacturers have a pretty good handle on cree optics these days, so the beam quality isn't quite as impressive as it was when common practice was to use luxeon reflectors with crees. The balance between bright hotspot and useful flood was and still is among the top tier of led dropins.

Yeah, its definetly because of the optics. I guess we may never see them get reflector perfect. I may sell it here soon but I'll give it a few more days.

There's some slight variance from optic to optic, some folks do indeed get perfect beams, most seem to have the ring. This NEVER shows up when it's being used, annoying if you seek the loveliest white wall in the land, but it doesn't affect function at all. If you check the surface of the optic with a straightedge you may find the surface is not perfectly flat. Mines got a slight dip in the center, maybe from casting or some hand polishing after they're molded. I haven't been brave enough to polish it perfectly flat to see if it fixes it. I know I could get it much flatter than it is right now, and I'm confident in my ability to get it optically clear, but for all I know it could have been designed that way on purpose.

I have the M30. One of the things I like is the mostly smooth spill with no annoying reflector cut off.

Bill

:)> said:

Now to buy more Surefires for my Malkoff's.

Click to expand...

:hahaha:

-Trevor

I have the M60F and I have to say that I am very pleased with the flood of light it produces, running from 2 x 17500 AW cells. It compliements perfectly the Lumens Factory 3.7 volt special, which provides a good throw with useful side spill.

If you truly want to see a "spectacular beam of light" buy the M60!! Truly awesome! I'm sure the quality of the light on M60L is nice but if eye retina melting is what you were shooting for than purchase the M60!! Worth the money!!!

I bought and sold quite a few lights, such as Fenix P2D,

P3D, NOVATAC 120P, SUREFIRE G2, G3, G2Z , Z2 etc..

Only one light stop me from buying anything else.

That is Gene`s original M60. I place it in my Surefire

Z2 with 6P defender bezel. It does have a great throw

and a blinding light output. Your M60L is anemic

compare to the original M60. It doesn`t have the WOW

factor the M60 can bring....

Sometimes it pays to have the longer runtime.............................

Deleted - double post.

-Trevor

Different priorities - tac lights like the Z2 focus on high output for, well, tactical reasons. Tactical encounters tend to be short affairs, not a constant engagement.

Work lights can trade off output for run time, depending on the job function.

Of course, your mileage may vary.

-Trevor

Kdog, I can't speak to the M60L, but I'll echo what AWGD8 posted. That is the the M60 continues to impress me after a year of use. It has absolutely spoiled me and I after using it exclusively for a while, I don't appreciate it so much... until I go change to another light and then come back to the M60; then it's just "Wow!"

And just so I don't sound like I'm drinking all of Gene's Kool-aid, I'll tell you that I just got one of the single emitter drop-ins from him for a 4-cell mag.That sucker left me *slightly* disappointed - but that was based on my unrealistic expectations. It puts out a LOT of light, but in a different way than the M60. I had kinda thought it would stomp all over the M60, but this is not the case. If someone pinned me down on output, I'd say total output is about the same, but the beam shape of the M60 is optimized. I'm saying all of that to say that the M60 spoils me, and while there are brighter set-ups out there, the M60 absolutely hits the sweet spot with output, tint, beam shape, runtime, all in a quality build.

When I think of the M30, I think of a utility light in a very tough and reliable (SF) package with plenty of runtime - not an eyeball scorcher. FWIW, my M60 is less impressive white wall hunting than when is actual use. YMMV.

I have a Mag 3D with Malkoff, before I got M60. I use M60 mostly but the Mag Malkoff offers much greater throw. It also offers much greater runtime.

Pick 2 out of 3:

Runtime
Size
Lumens


Mag Malkoff is good all except for size.
M60 is good on but runtime (2+ hours is "OK" but not exceptional) -- I personally bring spares, 3 sets, so I have 6+ hours in addition to what's in the lite and that suits me just fine.

I have a Mag 3D with Malkoff, before I got M60. I use M60 mostly but the Mag Malkoff offers much greater throw. It also offers much greater runtime.

Pick 2 out of 3:

Runtime
Size
Lumens


Mag Malkoff is good on all except for size.
M60 is good on all but runtime (2+ hours is "OK" but not exceptional) -- I personally bring spares, 3 sets, so I have 6+ hours in addition to what's in the lite and that suits me just fine.