Pelican M9 or M11

Found at cases4less, the Pelican M9 and M11, in addition to their special pricing, there is also a $20 rebate on them. I'm having trouble as to which one to choose.

M9 - Rated @ 20,000 candlepower and 122 lumens $39
M11 - Rated @ 40,000 candlepower and 151 lumens $59

The M11 is brighter and its runtime is longer at only $20 more, but so is the length of the light. The M9 is smaller, weights half as much, so it is easier to carry, and is $20 less. Does anyone know how the M9 compares to the Streamlight Scorpion?

I have a Pelican M7 rechargable...

<runs to the back room to grab it and some other lights>
<shines it up at ceiling by itself>

The M7 makes a beam that is approx 12 inches across at 6 feet out to maybe 24 inches at 12 feet. It is NOT as round and smooth of beam as my MityLite 2AA, while having a pretty much identical LM as seen from the front. It is slightly lumpy edged with some artifacts visible lightly outside the spot. Not really a factor outside in the real world, but bears mentioning.

It has a VERY nice clickie switch, with momentary on the tail. It snaps securely into the charger it came with.

As compared to G2/P60... P60 blows it away!

As compared to Brinkmann LX.... Brinkmann SLAUGHTERS it!

As compared to MityLite 2AA (with Lith AAs)... M7 is brighter, but MityLite has FAR nicer beam.

I know this doesn't exactly answer your questions. But it gives an idea of the quality of the light and charger at least.

I keep the M7 in it's charge/holder not far from my bed... although I keep a nice 3D 1W LED light VERY close to bed!

Good luck!

DAMN! I just surfed that site!

At WW Grainger these two lights are almost twice the cost before rebate!!!

I would grab one or both, but a: don't need and b: CAN'T AFFORD!!!

Whoops! I just read my thread over, and I meant to compare M9 to Streamlight Stinger, not Scorpion.

Does anyone have an M9 or an M11? I would like to know how the M9 compares to the Stinger. I think the M11 is probably closer to the Tigerlight (I own one) and the Ultra Stinger. Anyone know if the M11 performs as well?

Still a tough decision, as I can only get one. I don't know when the special pricing ends for cases4less, but the $20 rebate ends 9/30/03. I wouldn't want to miss out on this great deal, but which to get???

I got one M9 from cases4less.com. very impressive service. I wish I could share this earlier but I am still evaluating this light. I like the M9. The size is very good. Just a bit longer than Steathlight or Responder 4 AA. The handle is about the same size as PM6's head. The beam is not very round on the wall but very bright. The spot is not as nice as SL6 but good enough. I can notice only on the wall. talk about throw, it will absolutely beat PM6, Surge or those 2 4aa mentioned above. I am not sure about SL6 but I think it may be very close. I live in the city and I still looking for a chance to compare it to SL6 side by side.

So if the M9 throws very well, the same can be said about the M11? Would the M11 outthrow a Magcharger?

The end date of the rebate special is nearing, but I still haven't decided on which light.

Right now, I'm leaning towards the M11 due to its brightness and superior throw. I'm still having second thoughts because I prefer the M9's size. But I do plan to get a Stinger in the future, so I think I may not need the M9. Decisions, decisions.

How many has owned or tried both? What are your opinions on them?

I just got an M10 (4C) from Alan L and I would have to guess it's fairly close to an M11s output. I find it to be pretty bright, with a tight hotspot with spill. I however have Writerighted mine, and am QUITE happy with it!

Box says 30,000 CP... also says 68.3 Lumens. See how that compares.

I'm going to have to make my decision tomorrow (Sunday). Any more info on these lights? I don't want to buy a dimmer version of the Black Night series when I could have gotten a brighter one, and I don't want to buy a large light that I could not easily carry. The M11 is currently winning my vote by a fraction of a decimal.

The body of the M10 has two spots on it that are for a charging station IF the body was to be used that way. This makes me almost sure that it is the body an M11 uses.

It's kinda big... 11 1/4" long, 1 1/2" body width and 2" head. So it's kinda hard to carry (except held in the hand the whole time).

It's undoubtedly too late for your choice. But if carrying means anything, you probably want an M6! Or given the two lights you've asked about, maybe the M9 would be slightly better than the M11 given portability issues.

Re: Pelican M9 or M11? Comments please

Nope, I have not made the purchase yet. I will do so later tonight.

Man, I played with my Tigerlight FBOP and a 12" ruler for hours, trying to create scenarios of carrying the M9 and the M11. I just want it for novelty reasons and for emergencies. I do not plan to use it as an EDC or any of that sort. I have plenty of other smaller powerful lights for my EDC. Only on rear occasions will I carry it with me, such as a flashaholic get together, or for showing off at special event or party.

The last time I have such a hard time trying to make a decision was during the Tigerlight special: trying to choose betweent the FBOP or OC version. I eventually got the FBOP due to the primary reason that I have no use for OC, and the secondary reason that it is smaller. This is even tougher, since the much brighter M11 (I like bright) is offset by much larger size and weight, and the smaller M9 (I like small) is offset by less brightness and power. If I get the M9, I will never get the M11, and vice versa. Since I plan to get a Stinger in the future, I think getting the M9 would be a waste since they are closer to each other?

Re: Pelican M9 or M11? Comments please

[ QUOTE ]
Catapult said:
... Since I plan to get a Stinger in the future, I think getting the M9 would be a waste since they are closer to each other?

[/ QUOTE ]

If I hadn't trashed the lens of my new M9 I could have compared it with my Stinger, but it's supposed to have great throw, which the Stinger (not the Stinger HP) doesn't have.

Brightnorm

Re: Pelican M9 or M11? Comments please

I went with the M11, becuase it was the mother of throwing. Well, it came today, and testing after sun-down was quite a disappointment. I thought it would show some throwing competition to the Tigerlight, but how I was wrong. Apparently, the Tigerlight out-threw the M11. What a pity. A light for its size should perform comparably to the Tigerlight. The M11 sacraficed some brightness for a runtime longer than all other rechargable lights of its class. It's a fair tradeoff, but I was looking for more throw, not more runtime. The M11 is big I tell ya, big! There are others that are bigger, but for a light of this size, I expected more.

Looks like I will be returning this to the original vendor and trading it for an M9. Put that satisfaction guarantee to work.

Re: Pelican M9 or M11? Comments please

I have just compared the M11 to the Streamlight Scorpion (haven't returned it yet). Tell me if I'm wrong here. They almost performed the same! The M11 out-threw the Scorpion just a little bit, but not by much. The same can be said about the intensity of the light. I really hope the lamp in the M11 is defective. Unbelievable how a small high performance light can almost match a high performance light three times its size.

Re: Pelican M9 or M11? Comments please

Something doesn't sound right with your M11. Mine is 2yrs old, and will out distance just about every duty light I own. The flood capability is the pits, though. Maybe Pelican has changed something with the lamp assembly to make it more flood like, and more in line with a Police style light...Or maybe I just have a really pin point LA by accident?

--dan

Re: Pelican M9 or M11? Comments please

I'm taking a look at the lamp assembly. It's a textured reflector. Quite small too. The diameter of the widest part of the reflector is 1 3/8". On one side, it says SE-4. Turn it to the other side and it says 4"C"#8054. Looks like it's the correct lamp assembly to me. There is a decent amount of flood light (not as much as a Tigerlight but enough to see by). Perhaps Pelican did change the design? I'm going to call Pelican to make sure.

Re: Pelican M9 or M11? Comments please

Okay, I contacted Pelican CS. They said the lamp assemblies have undergone a design change, and there should be no difference in performance between the old and new one. The person on the phone was unable to tell me what has changed though. As for my M11 the person said I should send it to them so they can check it out.

I don't know what I want now. Send it to Pelican to see if there's something wrong, or send it back to the dealer for an M9 instead? I think there's another way...

Re: Pelican M9 or M11? Comments please

Textured??? My M-11 lamp assembly is smooth...Very interesting. The numbers on my M-11 LA are: PF-2 and 8054-M11.

Pelican CS has been outstanding, and they should help you out.

--dan

Re: Pelican M9 or M11? Comments please

My M-10 (4C) has a rather beefy aluminum reflector with a slightly crooked bulb in it. It has a sticker that reads "8044 - M10".

It is not bad at all with a piece of Writeright on the lense. I don't know however how it throws compared to my other lights. Will have to go testing some time....

Re: Pelican M9 or M11? Comments please

I think it's the texturing of the lamp assembly that makes the difference between throw and flood. There's a good amount of flood and a rather nice beam, contrary to what I have heard. Maybe my M11 is fine after all, and the lose in throw is accounted for by the textured reflector?

What still puzzles me is that its performance is still too similar to a smaller light like the Scorpion, with the Scorpion's output trailing the M11 by only a little. If I turned both of them on and only look at the output, it takes a bit of effort to tell which is which. If I did not know about the subtle difference, I would not have been able to tell at all.