Hi, and question

Just thought I'd pop in and say hi before I start posting willy nilly on here. I am a 26 year old man from California, just south of San Jose. I am a public safety officer (rentacop) graveyards at a hospital, which has brought me here to CPF by way of calguns.net (in case anyone here is a member there as well). I've been lurking through here a few times and have found it to be the most comprehensive place for flashlight information around (obviously).

I have decided that what I need for work is a 3 cell Maglite with Malkoff's drop in module because of the vastly improved throw and run times, plus I want to be able to disorient people if I need to. I also prefer the extra weight and length of a Maglite, so I assume that going with Malkoff's adapter is the best for me. Otherwise I was considering a Pelican 8060, but it seems that a Mag with Malkoff's is better all around, and cheaper.

I kinda justed wanted to pick up some validation for my plan and to see if anyone thought I would be better served by another set up. Unfortunately they are out of stock at Malkoff's and I don't know when they will get more in, I sent Gene at Malkoff's an email but unfortunately he isn't up at 4 AM answering fan mail:sigh: I was unable to locate any other retailers so I think that Malkoff's is the only place to find them. Is there any Mag dropin that is even close to as good? I got the impression that Malkoff's was the best by a wide margin.

Thanks,
BD

:welcome: Welcome to CPF, B.D. Dubloon.

:welcome:

Hmmm, malkoff does have a huge rep here in cpf.
I think you can't go wrong with the setup u have in mind. Especially if u like ur light to be a little hefty.

Among the several lights I use at work (alarm response officer), one of them is a 2D Rebel MagLED. The light has great throw, can be had fairly cheap and are found in many B & M stores (i.e. WalMart, Lowes', etc.) You may want to check out the 3D version - it should work very well for you. Malkoff drop-ins are outstanding (I have some in a few Surefires), but as I understand it the Mag drop-ins have been out of stock for quite some time and no one knows when (or if) they will return. If you do a search, you'll find discussions on both the 2D and 3D Rebel Mags. I think you'll like it.

Maybe I'll get a 3D Rebel or a Pelican 7060 to tide me over until Malkoff has more drop in's in stock.

In the gun world we call the addiction "black rifle disease," in shaving it's "razor acquisition disorder." What do you call a flashlight compulsion?

B.D. Dubloon said:

What do you call a flashlight compulsion?

Click to expand...

Flashaholism. :welcome:

My dad had to come out of retirement and take a security job. I modded a 3D Mag with an LED for him. He has subsequently bought 2 Malkoff dropins. They are excellent, as are the Surefire compatible Malkoff dropins that I have. If they come back in stock don't hesitate to buy one.

I know this is a really stupid question, but what exactly is the Maglite Rebel? I google "maglite rebel" and all I get are links to cpf threads. Is a rebel just a new maglite in the same body? How many lumens does it make and how long is the battery life approx?

Thanks from a noob!

Rebel is the name of the LED they use in the Maglite Rebel, referring to the Luxeon Rebel. They are manufactured by Philips.

"In the gun world we call the addiction "black rifle disease," in shaving it's "razor acquisition disorder." What do you call a flashlight compulsion? "

Fun!

:welcome:
Suggestion: You get 100s of eyes on your subject line -- so choose it to both interest the right ones (so you get replies from the people who know) and dismiss the wrong ones (so you don't waste their time and make them mad). "Hi, and question" isn't real good in this regard -- a better title for this might be "Malkoff Mag for security work, am I on the right track?" or similar.

B.D. Dubloon said:

I know this is a really stupid question, but what exactly is the Maglite Rebel? I google "maglite rebel" and all I get are links to cpf threads. Is a rebel just a new maglite in the same body? How many lumens does it make and how long is the battery life approx?

Thanks from a noob!

Click to expand...

Might I suggest you skim through some of those threads...
Off the top of my head, I think it's about 2-3x the brightness of the old MagLED, different guts in very similar (and interchangeable, w/ caveats) body, and presumably has similar battery life.

3D Rebel Mag is a dramatic improvement, and it's quite a decent consumer light. Real nice spot beam. Doesn't really satisfy flashaholics, though -- when a 2xAA light can get the same light (literally -- the "pill" with the LED and driver from a Rebel Mag fits right into a Minimag) by going from the Mag's least-common-denominator alkalines to NiMH or Li-ion batteries, it's just not as impressive.

Personally, though I have no experience in security work, I'd consider a two-light approach. Get a handy light (I like 1x18650 Li-ion, but if you'd rather go with more normal cells, 2xAA) using rechargeable cells for 90% of your use, and a 3C or 3D Mag hotwire or (if you can afford it) SST-90 for when you need serious power, or just need to show off.

Of course, as flashaholism takes its hold, it may be more than 2 lights; you'd be surprised how many distinct 18650 lights you can come up with (a thrower, a flooder, a general-use, a UV, a multi-mode with a really low option...), and if you're carrying spare batteries, may as well get a spare light to carry them in, right?

Oh, and you might check cpfmp for second-hand Malkoffs.

hey... another semi-local CPF member.,,, welcome!

if you're looking for quality like that, gene's dropins are the best. perhaps terralux dropins are a distant second.

I don't think there are any other lights that have the maglte's weight and heft, so we'll go with that.