Elzetta Upgrade M91B or AVS or M61SHO?

I just got an Elzetta 3 cell light and want to upgrade the M60.

This is a light I will grab to accompany a Glock to "investigate" bumps in the night as well as be a yard light chasing possums and coon's and what not. I am not looking for a monster thrower, mainly looking for some throw and lots of bright spill.

I was thinking of the M91B or the Elzetta AVS or M61SHO

If you have experience with these 2, can you make a recommendation?

Hey les,

I suspect you haven't received any responses because there probably aren't many people who have experience with all three. For myself, I own or have owned many Malkoff and Elzetta products including a couple on your list but not all.

In short, they are all great options. The 3 cell Elzetta host means you have access to the M91 series and the 3 cell Elzetta AVS head which means more lumens. The real advantage of the M61SHO was that it could be run on 2 cells but still provided more output than the regular M61. It also threw better than the M91 that was out at the time but since the new M91B uses the XP-L, it's throw numbers are likely right there with the M61SHO and it puts quite a few more lumens down range to boot. The beam profile of the M91Bis going to be perfect for what you're after. It will light up everything in front of you with a huge hot spot and nice transition to bright spill. Coon's and possums won't know what hit 'em!

As for the Elzetta, you're going to get at least as much output as the M91B (a little more perhaps) but Elzetta claims about twice the lux. It's the one on your list I haven't owned so I can't say for certain but logic dictates that the spot will probably be a little smaller and the spill will probably be a little dimmer, meaning a more stark transition from spot to spill. It's really up to you whether you want that extra light in the spot or the spill.

Another way of looking at it is the Malkoff is cheaper. You'll also be able to stick it in a Malkoff, Surefure, or whatever other host you may wind up with someday while the AVS head will always be destined to ride an Elzetta host. Finally, you have the option of a warm version if you go with the Malkoff (assuming that matters to you).

Good luck and let us know which way you went!

-G

The light I've got paired with the G23 on my night stand is a Charlie with AVS head, with flood optic. It lights up a room exceptionally well.

The M91B is a great drop-in, but I'm not sure how much it throws in real life. If you haven't read the flashlightguide reviews yet, you can compare the M91B directly with that of the AVS Charlie. The AVS with spot optic concentrates the light into a tight spot and relatively small primary spill. The M61's spot is roughly 1/5 the size of the AVS' two innermost light areas, with bright spill that's very usable. The AVS great for medium range throw, but is lacking in the spill department.

The M61 family is a great compromise between spot and spill, and is what I'd grab if I knew I'd need one drop-in to work equally well indoors and outside. I'm a big fan of the SHO family, and own all of the options, so that's what I'd recommend among your listed choices....especially in the 4000K N variety. Don't forget about the standard M61 (or M61N). They run happily from three CR123s, and the throw difference between the SHOs and standards isn't a night and day difference.

I'd go with the Malkof over the AVS.

I should have put my other light in here I'm also trying to fill. It is a 2 cell Elzetta Bravo. It will be a shotgun light and I think I want the M61N in it. It will use 2 Primary cells.

The M91B looks from the Beamshots to be a lot of spill with plenty of throw. It would go in the 3 cell with 2 18500's or 4 primaries.

Those are the 2 dropins I'm leaning towards

2 Cell Bravo: M61N
3 Cell Charlie: M91B

The 2 lights come with M60's in stock configuration.

The "Flood" type dropins look by Beamshots that they just don't cut it for me. I know it's hard to get a good representation from pix.

ForrestChump said:

I'd go with the Malkof over the AVS.

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Looking at Flashlight Guide I'm inclined to go the same direction. I can get the AVS head for the same price as a M91B, but the shots I saw made me think it wasn't comparing well to the 91B. I'll rephrase that, it wasn't comparing that well for what I want which is a lot of spill. The AVS a was better thrower.

The m61n is a great option for any 2 cell host.

les_garten said:

Looking at Flashlight Guide I'm inclined to go the same direction. I can get the AVS head for the same price as a M91B, but the shots I saw made me think it wasn't comparing well to the 91B. I'll rephrase that, it wasn't comparing that well for what I want which is a lot of spill. The AVS a was better thrower.

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I prefer the cleanliness of the Malkoffs, the dropins on their own are a nod to minimalism and I find that especially appealing when it serves a function like unrivaled reliability. Nothing against AVS, Im just a Malkoff junkie and Gene is a solid dude.

I have all 3 listed in the 1st post. I personally love tge AVS head. The tint is awesome, and it throws light like a champ.
I don't think you will be unhappy with it.
But with Malkoff dropins, you have some decent choices.

ForrestChump said:

I prefer the cleanliness of the Malkoffs, the dropins on their own are a nod to minimalism and I find that especially appealing when it serves a function like unrivaled reliability. Nothing against AVS, Im just a Malkoff junkie and Gene is a solid dude.

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I'm curious why Gene doesn't go AL instead of brass? AL transfer heat much better than brass and it's lighter.

I got my 3 cell Elzetta today and was unimpressed with the M60 in it. I'll see tonight when I play outside with it.

RI Chevy said:

I have all 3 listed in the 1st post. I personally love tge AVS head. The tint is awesome, and it throws light like a champ.
I don't think you will be unhappy with it.
But with Malkoff dropins, you have some decent choices.

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It does seem that it throws very well, but I'm wanting way more spill, and it looks like if you are willing to loose some throw for spill that the M91B is the way to go.

I'm not surprised that you were unimpressed with the M60. While I have lots of M61s, I've only got one M60 (with spot optic) and it doesn't live in a host. My M60 is outperformed by both my E2DL LED and LX2, and they're considerably smaller packages.

les_garten said:

I'm curious why Gene doesn't go AL instead of brass? AL transfer heat much better than brass and it's lighter.

I got my 3 cell Elzetta today and was unimpressed with the M60 in it. I'll see tonight when I play outside with it.

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Good question. That would be one for Gene.

Grizzman said:

I'm not surprised that you were unimpressed with the M60. While I have lots of M61s, I've only got one M60 (with spot optic) and it doesn't live in a host. My M60 is outperformed by both my E2DL LED and LX2, and they're considerably smaller packages.

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The light I was comparing to was an older Fenix TK15.

The M60 did better tonight and outside than I thought it would, but the TK15 was a more usable light.

If the 60 were just more everywhere it would be fine. I suspect that's what the 91B will do.

The AVS head also has a decent amount of spill as well. It is a really good all around performer. Especially in the Charlie 3 cell host. I use 2 18500 Sanyo cells.

RI Chevy said:

The AVS head also has a decent amount of spill as well. It is a really good all around performer. Especially in the Charlie 3 cell host. I use 2 18500 Sanyo cells.

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Indeed, don't think you could go far astray with either one.

I'm going to throw my two cents in here. The M91B must be driven with 9 volts to achieve maximum brightness. The AVS head is pretty darned expensive. The M61SHO also has a pretty high voltage cutoff, and a relatively short runtime.

Unless you intend on using the light to light up objects/targets more than 30 yards away, I would just get a Malkoff M61. It'll run for something like 3+ hours in regulation in a three cell host, and it will give you 325 lumens which, with the M61's beam profile, will be plenty to identify a target out to 30 yards. You'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between 325 (M61) and 400 lumens (M61SHO) with your naked eyes.

cland72 said:

I'm going to throw my two cents in here. The M91B must be driven with 9 volts to achieve maximum brightness. The AVS head is pretty darned expensive. The M61SHO also has a pretty high voltage cutoff, and a relatively short runtime.

Unless you intend on using the light to light up objects/targets more than 30 yards away, I would just get a Malkoff M61. It'll run for something like 3+ hours in regulation in a three cell host, and it will give you 325 lumens which, with the M61's beam profile, will be plenty to identify a target out to 30 yards. You'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between 325 (M61) and 400 lumens (M61SHO) with your naked eyes.

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Thanx for the insight and observations.

I'd drive the 91B with 3 cells, rechargeables or primaries. Runtime don't matter that much to me. I can get the AVS head for the same price as the 91B. I'm interested in moderate reach and wide really bright spill. The 91B seems the way to get that done. The 61N seems the best bet for my 2 cell which will be on primaries only. Runtime is not of paramount concern for me because these lights are defensive only. If i need to explore or throw a long beam, I have other lights for those purposes.

I can get the M61N first since I "need" that one and see if the 91B is needed.

les_garten said:

Thanx for the insight and observations.

I'd drive the 91B with 3 cells, rechargeables or primaries. Runtime don't matter that much to me. I can get the AVS head for the same price as the 91B. I'm interested in moderate reach and wide really bright spill. The 91B seems the way to get that done. The 61N seems the best bet for my 2 cell which will be on primaries only. Runtime is not of paramount concern for me because these lights are defensive only. If i need to explore or throw a long beam, I have other lights for those purposes.

I can get the M61N first since I "need" that one and see if the 91B is needed.

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I think that's a great place to start. Get the M61N, run it in your 3 cell Elzetta body and see if you like the output/flood. If you desire more flood, you can always get some of Phaserburn's diffusion film and place it on the lens of the bezel to spread the light more evenly.

I'm not to impressed with the 61sho, but I'm sure something is to be said for being quality and shock proof. It seems more like a true 300 or less lumen drop in. Paired with elzetta would be a kick butt light/hammer/shull crusher. Hummm....now I need to figure what elzetta head/body will work and replace the 6p it's currently in.