Malkoff MC-E Warm vs SST-90

I have theMalkoff mc-e warm and use it every night walking the dog and running as well. Will the sst-90 throw farther ? I'm content with the throw of the Malkoff I just want more output so as long as I don't lose throw that's fine. I am using a mag host probably with Britelumens heatsink so I can drive the sst to it's full potential and manage the heat. Any other recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Get the SST-50. It can be driven to 6 or 7 amps, anything beyond that is a waste in a flashlight without a custom heatsinking system. That could easily get you close to 1,000 OTF and would stomp a MC-E into the ground.

Of course, if you got a 90 and drove it over 14 amps, 2,000 OTF would be easy as well. But battery life would be very short, and the heatsinking just couldn't do it.

I'm a little underwhelmed with the SST90. I like the Malkoff MCE better. I think that the throw for the SST will probably be better but I suspect that it's marginal. Keep the Malkoff. (Or trade me. ;-) )

curtispdx said:

I'm a little underwhelmed with the SST90. I like the Malkoff MCE better. I think that the throw for the SST will probably be better but I suspect that it's marginal. Keep the Malkoff. (Or trade me. ;-) )

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What do you mean underwhelmed? Watt for watt, the SST-90 will produce considerably more light. How bright it is depends on the driver. It easily scales to over 10 times as bright as the M60W, although the heat would be to much in a small handheld host.

joshconsulting said:

What do you mean underwhelmed? Watt for watt, the SST-90 will produce considerably more light. How bright it is depends on the driver. It easily scales to over 10 times as bright as the M60W, although the heat would be to much in a small handheld host.

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Well, I'm sure not an expert but my SST-90 is in a FM 26500 host and IMR C cell and I'm just not that impressed with it. Don't get me wrong, it's okay but I sure liked my Malkoff MCE better.

That's it, only my personal opinion. (Opinions are like a$$holes; we've all got one and they all stink...)

curtispdx said:

Well, I'm sure not an expert but my SST-90 is in a FM 26500 host and IMR C cell and I'm just not that impressed with it. Don't get me wrong, it's okay but I sure liked my Malkoff MCE better.

That's it, only my personal opinion. (Opinions are like a$$holes; we've all got one and they all stink...)

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I''m just trying to figure out what 'impressed with' means. It's not bright enough? Too floody? Bad tint? Poor runtime?

joshconsulting said:

I''m just trying to figure out what 'impressed with' means. It's not bright enough? Too floody? Bad tint? Poor runtime?

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IMHO: not bright enough, flood was okay but not nearly as smooth as the Malkoff, cold tint, and unknown runtime.

When I would fire up the Malkoff MCE at work fellow cops were awe-struck and would want to know more about it. The only problem I found with it was that it heated up pretty fast; that might be an issue if he's using it to for dog walking.

And that's my simple, non-technical, opinion.

curtispdx said:

IMHO: not bright enough, flood was okay but not nearly as smooth as the Malkoff, cold tint, and unknown runtime.

When I would fire up the Malkoff MCE at work fellow cops were awe-struck and would want to know more about it. The only problem I found with it was that it heated up pretty fast; that might be an issue if he's using it to for dog walking.

And that's my simple, non-technical, opinion.

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Ah, makes sense. I think that might have a lot to do with how floody it is, though. Floody lights look way dimmer - until you have to light up a room or some other enclosed space. Was yours direct drive off the IMR cell?

curtispdx said:

I'm a little underwhelmed with the SST90. I like the Malkoff MCE better. I think that the throw for the SST will probably be better but I suspect that it's marginal. Keep the Malkoff. (Or trade me. ;-) )

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I plan on keeping the malkoff as well I like the output and size.( funny thing is I bought this from you when you got the zepplin I believe) I carry it in my coat everyday.
Are you using Nailbenders sst-90 2.5A
Thanks

curtispdx said:

IMHO: not bright enough, flood was okay but not nearly as smooth as the Malkoff, cold tint, and unknown runtime.

When I would fire up the Malkoff MCE at work fellow cops were awe-struck and would want to know more about it. The only problem I found with it was that it heated up pretty fast; that might be an issue if he's using it to for dog walking.

And that's my simple, non-technical, opinion.

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I use it most nights to walk the dog about a mile and it's never gets hot.(Of course I'm in Indiana and its been in the teens )
It does impress me every time I time I turn the bezel to hi,especially inside.
I do thank you for a great light once again.

Watt per watt the SST-90 will produce more power, but it will not be guranteed more OTF Lumens. The Malkoff MC-E Warm is only 400ish OTF, but it does it with 2.4A at the LED

I noticed Electrolumens has a SST-90 w/ 3 NiMH D cells it pulls 6A for over 2 hours. It has an optic too. Now, this is what I would consider capable of delivering true 1000 plus OTF lumens. The SST-90's at 9A in a Mag D size hosts I am stil not certain they can deliver tons light, but I do agree they can generate up to 40 watts.

FYI: In my persuit for the ultimate lumen monster my Mag light builds with 20 watts and over suffered greatly in the OTF lumens department, but some were proven to deliver up to 28 watts under load too, just not lumens.


bigC

The electrolumens 'blaster' is amazing. It's basically a gigantic block of aluminum with a copper core. Perfect for conducting heat. At 6A the SST-90 would be pumping out roughly 1,500 emitter lumens for ~1,100 OTF. Rumor has it there are ways to get over 9A out of the 3C NiMH setup through the SST-90 for 2,100 emitter lumens and ~1500 OTF with runtimes well over an hour. I may be purchasing one of these in the near future :candle:

curtispdx said:

Well, I'm sure not an expert but my SST-90 is in a FM 26500 host and IMR C cell and I'm just not that impressed with it. Don't get me wrong, it's okay but I sure liked my Malkoff MCE better.

That's it, only my personal opinion. (Opinions are like a$$holes; we've all got one and they all stink...)

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here is your problem:

mc-e is driven at 2.5 or 2.8a, which is at it's max (or close to it), therefore it makes 700lumens...

sst-50 only driven at 2.5/2.8a, which is about 50% of it's potential...

therefore, no wonder....

in the end, sst-50 needs a mag, 2 inch refrector, and 3x18650 imr in parallel, thats 5100mah , driven at 5amps, will produce 2x the # of lumens as mc-e

ptolemy said:

here is your problem:

mc-e is driven at 2.5 or 2.8a, which is at it's max (or close to it), therefore it makes 700lumens...

sst-50 only driven at 2.5/2.8a, which is about 50% of it's potential...

therefore, no wonder....

in the end, sst-50 needs a mag, 2 inch refrector, and 3x18650 imr in parallel, thats 5100mah , driven at 5amps, will produce 2x the # of lumens as mc-e

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Actually, the MC-E DD makes 457 lumens at turn on, 406 warm. The SST-50 2.5A makes 470 lumens at turn on, 405 warm. The MC-E at 2.5A makes 430 turn on, ~385 warm.

So yes, they are fairly close, but the SST-50 has a better beam. The SST-90 is another LED entirely.

I run a Malkoff MC-E Warm tint in MD4 body with 2 x 18650 cells and whilst it does get warm heat is not a problem for extended use while out walking.

joshconsulting said:

Ah, makes sense. I think that might have a lot to do with how floody it is, though. Floody lights look way dimmer - until you have to light up a room or some other enclosed space. Was yours direct drive off the IMR cell?

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Direct drive, yeah. Right now the light I use at work is the MD4 Wildcat. It seems to have the best combination of flood and throw but now I'm off topic.

Gino said:

I plan on keeping the malkoff as well I like the output and size.( funny thing is I bought this from you when you got the zepplin I believe) I carry it in my coat everyday.
Are you using Nailbenders sst-90 2.5A
Thanks

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I don't want to say who the builder was because I have great respect for him as a builder and seller and don't want anyone to misconstrue what I'm saying as bashing his products. All I'm saying is that the SST-90 doesn't do it for me in my particular usage. (But it might if it were in a Mag host powering it properly as suggested. I'm just not interested in carrying Mag-sized lights.)

How much do you want for it, Curtis? I need a room-broom.

Chrontius said:

How much do you want for it, Curtis? I need a room-broom.

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I'll PM you.

Croyde said:

I run a Malkoff MC-E Warm tint in MD4 body with 2 x 18650 cells and whilst it does get warm heat is not a problem for extended use while out walking.

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I burned a whole in my couch with a M60W MCE in a MD2 after it was on for about 6 minutes I think:thinking:. I was trying to get an idea of it's runtime. Great drop in but it does get hot.