Elzetta M60 450 Lumen Flashlight Mod and Review

So those who know me on here know I'm a huge fan of Elzetta flashlights, which are 235 lumens, water PROOF, and indestructible by nature (more so than surefire).


I recently did a mod for those who thought the elzetta did not have enough lumens or spill for CQB applications (i.e. night shoots, shoothouses, house clearing, etc).


I Dropped in a Malkoff M61SHO LED module, supposedly rated at 450 lumens with an orange peel lens for great flood with no visible rings. As shown, it suits the purpose beautifully.


Pros:
-Much more output than the M60 module--blinding in fact
-No visible "rings" or hot spot. Even light output for the entire illuminated area
-Very easy to install
-Rather inexpensive upgrade for $60
-Still shock proof


Cons:
-Same throw as the m60
-not water Proof like the M60, only highly water Resistant
-cuts down on run time from 2.5 hours approx to about 2 hours run time.
-The LED is not fully encased with a polymer cone like the M60, only has a thin lens, which can be shattered by direct impact


So the gist of it? The Elzetta M60's LED module is a lot tougher than the regular Malkoff M61SHO modules because of the polymer cone vs the thin lens of the SHO. The polymer cone seals out water and provides incredible protection against impact.



M60 on left, M61 SHO on right with glow ring



M60 module



M61SHO module



m60 left, m61SHO on right



m61
Much brighter, but more diffuse beam



M60
Much more focused beam



m60



M61


Final impressions: I would recommend the Elzetta for ALL applications, but for the selection of Malkoff units: the M61 SHO is Excellent for CQB/House clearing because of its blinding light and excellent spill.

This is the polymer cone as referenced

This going to be and interesting thread.

Bill

I love my M60 in my Elzetta 3-cell.
But that M61SHO is looking REAL good! I have been holding off getting one. This might have pushed me over the edge.

Guys

I've got an Elzetta 2-cell crenellated high-low flashlight (love it!), and currently have an M61SHO in it - it is an unbeatable combination (especially with high / low)! The output is much brighter overall than my M60N (neutral from Oveready), with a beautiful nice hotspot and bright flood.

M61 modules used in the Elzetta / MD2 / VME heads should be very similar in ruggedness to the M60 modules, if used with an acrylic lens such as the ones provided by Malkoff specifically for this purpose!! You should be also able to get AR coated ones made up from flashlightlens if you wanted, and they are affordable to replace and definitely will not crack (acrylic is very strong).

Of course the reflectored modules are more "delicate" (in terms of the reflector being easily scratched) than the optic modules, BUT unless you go deep sea diving with the Elzetta (water pressure could theoretically push the acrylic lens into the reflector allowing water ingress) the M61 modules with acrylic lenses will provide just as tough a performance.

FYI: The M60 cool white module that originally came with my Elzetta leaked water BEHIND the optic and inside the drop-in after I rinsed my (fully assembled) light to get dirt off. The componentry was damaged and the flashlight was only a week old! So ... even the M60s aren't always "bombproof".

TIP: Drill out the opening of the Elzetta head to allow more light output from your M61 modules. I used a small "grinding cone" from my local hardware shop, attached to my drill, to widen the opening ... now my Elzetta has much more spill!

Bullzeyebill said:

This going to be and interesting thread.

Click to expand...

Methinks that silverphoenix is mistakingly assuming that the polymer optic that the M60 uses, offers substantial protection for the LED.
Rest assured, the M61SHO is potted and shock-insulated as well as anything else out there currently. The lens that the Elzetta uses, is also as durable as anything else, as well.
Regardless, the SHO addition to the Elzetta is nice - but you need not worry about any compromises in reliability/durabilty.

All I've said so far has been a credit to Elzetta. They are by far the most rugged and reliable lights made, as they are built. This malkoff M61 SHO unit comes with just a thin acrylic lens. It does not SEEM near as impact resistant as the full cone that Elzetta ships their lights standard with. It also does not nearly as well seal the LED as the cone does. This should not affect the reliability of the light in 99% of the situations anyone would ever be in. Granted, the only time it probably would fail would be if it were used for diving (I'm sure the water pressure would force water into the unit) or it took a very hard impact directly to the lens. Granted the LED would also have to be impacted. You'd pretty much have to shoot it in the lens...

M60 isn't nearly water proof to my standards. My weapon light is currently an m300a (e1b for you non weapon light guys) with a VME head and an xp-g2 m31. The vme is o ringed, as is the m300a body. You place a lens in the m31, and a thin rubber gasket is impinged between this lens and the lip around the front of the vme. I lightly coated this flat rubber "washer" with silicon to ensure weatherproof performance.

The problem with the vme lens kit...is the lens. It's made of pmma. Just like the m60's optic. I don't like pmma. It's outdated and very sensitive to organic solvents (alcohol destroys it), etc. My solution was a 22.8x2mm sapphire ar coated lens. This should live just fine near the muzzle of my sbr, and heat nor solvent or concussion won't be an issue.