Eagletac M3C4

jhn.holgate

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Mar 13, 2010
Messages
51
Location
Australia
Took delivery of the new XM-L M3C4 recently and I gotta say, I'm real impressed.

m3c4group.jpg


Some of the things that really impress me about this light:

User interface - twist the ring and you get very low, (which is perfect when you get up in the middle of the night and you don't want to blind yourself or need 900 odd lumens), low, med, high, turbo. It's a very good spread of light levels and I find on high, the light has similar output to my M30 with quite a bit more throw. On turbo, it's very impressive with no problems spotting critters at 100-200 yards. And I'm not talking about seeing their eyes. The ring has no detents - it sort of 'glides' from one level to the next and the spacings don't feel identical and while this is certainly no problem, it doesn't quite feel the same quality of the Jetbeam's alloy ring on the rrt series. Very easy to adjust with one hand. And speaking of which it sits in the hand very well.

m3c4hand.jpg
m3c4hand.jpg


I also really appreciate the fact that I don't have to access strobe/beacon/sos if I don't want to. The light tailstands easily and with a deep reflector to shield the led somewhat, it works well for illuminating a room. It's a fairly hefty light which feels well put together. Probably the only thing that doesn't make me go 'oooo' is the battery holder - nothing wrong with it, just not as beefy as the rest of the light.

The parasitic drain on standby is a bit of negative, but I will probably use this most nights and would end up recharging the batteries every week or two so I don't think the standby mode will be an issue. I just have to remember to untwist the head a bit and lock the light out if I'm not going to use it for a while. I could install the clicky tail piece, but then I wouldn't be able to tailstand it.

If I could change this light in any way, I would maybe add some detentes and some labels to the ring and lower the parasitic drain current to something that would take ages to flatten the batteries if left on standby.

The beam itself is perfect for me - excellent punch and throw with good spill. The UI is close to perfect too - no twisting of the head (requiring two hands) or multiple clicks to change mode - just twist to select the desired level (all of which are very handy).

I ummed and ah'd between the M3X, the SR51 and this. The beams are all very similar (according to Marshall's beamshot shootout on youtube - thanks, Marshall) in the end it was the one handed adjustment with five levels that sold me and now that I've used it, I'm convinced I made the right choice.

Helluva good light :D
 

kj2

Flashaholic
Joined
May 22, 2010
Messages
8,082
Location
The Netherlands
Thanks for the (short)review :) This light is also on my list to buy ;)

But I do have a Fenix TK35, and the TK35 and M3C4 are a like.
So the question is; which one is better? TK35 or M3C4 (with one XM-L)?
 

tre

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
May 3, 2010
Messages
1,222
Location
Northern IL USA
One of my favorite lights. The M3C4 and TK35 are very different lights. The TK35 is more of a general purpose "flood" light which the M3C4 has a much more intense beam to really reach out a lot farther (has much more throw).
 

jhn.holgate

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Mar 13, 2010
Messages
51
Location
Australia
Looking at Selfbuilt's TK35 review, there are some beamshots of the Fenix and Eagletac - the M3C4 is much more of a thrower. TK35 looks a bit more like the M30 - plenty of light but not much penetration. I'm on 40 acres and tend to scan the property most nights for foxes and hares which makes the Eagletac much better for my use. The TK41 would probably be a closer match to the M3C4 - looks pretty similar on Goingprepared's youtube shootout.
 
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