I still love my Dereelight DBS MC-E!

I've recently acquired a DEFT and with that, my collection of LED throwers has hit a wall. Don't get me wrong, I still love throwers and I'll keep my eye out for reflector-based design improvements, but my attention shifted back to my floodier, quad die lights.

I've got a couple of low powered flood lights like the Zebra H30, LS20, and a Fenix E01, as well as a Lummi Wee (Ti). I consider these all flood since they have no real hotspot. I also consider my Dereelight with MC-E pill and Orange Peel reflector my "shotgun" light. When I go out walking, I always carried two DBS's, one for flood and one for throw. I realize that Gene's work is above reproach, but can anyone who has both a DBS and Gene's P60 MC-E drop in shed some light on a comparison between the two? I've put my Dereelight drop-in into a P60 host and I didn't like the results when compared to the DBS's much bigger head, not to mention the smaller host (ok it's not THAT much smaller) did get hot pretty quickly. I'm sure Gene's optics will spread out the beam more than a reflector would (that's one concern) but how about the heat?

Lastly, my biggest reason for titling my thread as I did is because Dereelights were my first real purchase in the flashlight world. Sure I had M@gs that I'd let alkalines leak into once (or twice), but they introduced me into the hobby. Their biggest selling point was upgradability. When I first purchased them, the R2 pills were just coming out. Then Warm pills became the fad. I have three set ups that cater to most my needs (remember the DEFT?) and they're all Dereelight. They don't come out with "new" models often because they don't need to, just put out another pill! Someone was bashing them on another thread and I thought it'd be nice to have a Dereelight owner thread where we can share our great experiences with this light.

I stepped out of my house recently. It's in a pretty new area and before the streetlights come on, there isn't a lot of light around. I whipped out my MC-E and I lit up a HUGE area which just took my breath away. Mind you, I've been on MANY walks with this light so I know what it's capable of, but the truth of the matter is that all lights do this to me in one way or another, but my Dereelight DBS w/MC-E pill (that's a mouthful) is the one I think of when I think of POWER! Unlimited POWER (Palpatine style).

My DBS V3 3SM MC-E is my all time favorite light!
Dereelight was also my first real flashlight purchase.

Im getting excited now haha, my MCE pill with the OP reflector and also an extension tube have been shipped from Dereelight a few days ago im in Scotland tho hope it dont take to long Im Also in the process of purchasing just the DBS body without a pill or reflector as itll b alot easier to have 2 DBS's rather than swapping the pill and reflector over all the time from the same one cant wait tho

Take a look here to see a couple pictures from FlashCrazy comparing the R2 and the MC-E:

DBS pictures

Those beamshots are pretty good ... can i ask a stupid questions? I have a DBS V2, am i able to fit a higher spec emitter in it or do i need to buy a DBS V3 to house the emitter (like a MC-E) ...

I like my DBS but it would be great if i could beef it up a little (grinz) ... the MC-E emitter in my jetbeam is great ... i wonder how the dereelight compares?

would the mc-e be good for hunting in wyoming(long distances) or would something with a smooth reflector be better?

do they have some kind of switch you can activate so it won't get bumpedand turn on by accident.?

grass disaster said:

would the mc-e be good for hunting in wyoming(long distances) or would something with a smooth reflector be better?

do they have some kind of switch you can activate so it won't get bumpedand turn on by accident.?

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Smooth reflector might do the trick, it throws so much better than an MC-E set up, but someone was talking about using aspherical lights for hunting. I'm not a hunter but I do have an aspheric for my DBS . . . it's like having a mini lightsaber. There's no spill and the projected light is a square image of the die focused incredibly. The head is just $40 more but makes it a totally different light. That's what I love about this light!

And yes, both the threads in the tailcap and the body are anodized to allow for tailcap lockout when slightly unscrewed.

Big Dereelight fan here too. My nightly walk light is my 2.4A DBS MC-E 2x18500 setup, Perfect for my needs - LOW allows me to keep some night vision on tight trails with full power just a click away. MID level is 90% of my Malkoff M60's output with over 4 hrs runtime. This lets me tailor the output to the terrain with HIGH used only as needed.

Heat hasn't been a problem despite hot So Cal nights, and I can always go to the 200 lumen MID level if it was.



I also have a CL1Hv4 with the 2.1A MC-E and when used the same as above heat isn't an issue. Nice to have that much power and flexibility in such a compact package.

I also have the Aspherical head on another CL1Hv4 body with a WC R2 pill and it is awesome for it's size. I sometimes carry it with the DBS MC-E when I want to spotlight wildlife waaaay off.

I originally bought into the Lumapower MRV modular hype but that was a dead end so I sold my lights and switched to Dereelight and have been most pleased. And Flashcrazy's topnotch customer service is the icing on the cake.

I think Dereelight isn't fashionable lately due to it's KISS philosophy and practical/functional approach. No eye candy - just form follows function. For value, upgradeabilty and simple UI, IMHO it can't be beat.

SCEMan said:

I think Dereelight isn't fashionable lately due to it's KISS philosophy and practical/functional approach. No eye candy - just form follows function. For value, upgradeabilty and simple UI, IMHO it can't be beat.

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I agree 100%

I started with an R2 DBS V3, which was amazing to me at the time due to its throw. I also liked the modularity of it.

I later wanted an MC-E, and was thinking about just getting the pill and reflector, but decided to just get the whole package, along with 18650 extension tubes, and I'm glad I did! This is my flashlight for using outside and seeing anything in my backyard, and my neighbor's backyard if I want to.

I look forward to purchasing just the XP-G pills when they come out, and maybe an SST pill if they come out with that, or whatever higher power than MC-E pill they come out with.

I purchased an extra head assembly to easily switch between my MC-E and R2. I plan to buy an entire light though, as I find myself wanting to have them both available at a seconds notice.

KD7EIR said:

I purchased an extra head assembly to easily switch between my MC-E and R2. I plan to buy an entire light though, as I find myself wanting to have them both available at a seconds notice.

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Take a look at the flashlightconnection. Jay has bodies and tailcaps for sale, I'm sure. Since you already have an extra head, all you'd need is the body and tailcap!

I'm sorry for being stupid. Where can these be found to purchase? I dont see anywhere in the dealer section?

Try doing a search for flashlight connection

Liteskr42 said:

I'm sorry for being stupid. Where can these be found to purchase? I dont see anywhere in the dealer section?

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It's never stupid to ask about something you don't know. :twothumbs

Liteskr42 said:

I'm sorry for being stupid. Where can these be found to purchase? I dont see anywhere in the dealer section?

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There are no stupid questions, but there is an abundance of stupid answers.... (Not to mention obnoxious answers, intimidating answers, silly answers and of course a few good answers here and there...)

I hope this hint is not intimidating (it is certainly not intended as such): Google is your friend. The first hit on search term "deerelight" is http://www.dereelight.com/ That web site has a "dealers" button on the top. Good luck! (There may also be some used beauties in the marketplace )

jankj said:

There are no stupid questions, but there is an abundance of stupid answers.... (Not to mention obnoxious answers, intimidating answers, silly answers and of course a few good answers here and there...)

I hope this hint is not intimidating (it is certainly not intended as such): Google is your friend. The first hit on search term "deerelight" is http://www.dereelight.com/ That web site has a "dealers" button on the top. Good luck! (There may also be some used beauties in the marketplace )

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Buying direct from them is fine if you're in Europe or Asia, but Flashcrazy has a site that ships anywhere in the world. It's MUCH quicker to buy from him if you're here in the States. Just click his name since I think there's a rule against posting html's.

Thank you guys!!

gnef said:

I started with an R2 DBS V3, which was amazing to me at the time due to its throw. I also liked the modularity of it.

I later wanted an MC-E, and was thinking about just getting the pill and reflector, but decided to just get the whole package, along with 18650 extension tubes, and I'm glad I did! This is my flashlight for using outside and seeing anything in my backyard, and my neighbor's backyard if I want to.

I look forward to purchasing just the XP-G pills when they come out, and maybe an SST pill if they come out with that, or whatever higher power than MC-E pill they come out with.

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I know next to nothing about flashlight building, but from the limited amount of reading I've done on the SST's, wouldn't you need a much bigger head in order to have a larger heat sink? I'll bet that's the new light they're (dereelight) designing. Watch out, DBS . . . which was much smaller than the pictures led me to believe! :twothumbs

Either way, I'm sure Dereelight will make it modular and Jay (Flashcrazy) will stock plenty of them!
lovecpf