Malkoff dropin forSurefire G2Z LED Nitrolon Combatlight- help me decide!

Hello everyone. Haven't been around CPF in a little while but I've been obsessing about lights again, so here I am!lovecpf I'm looking for some advice; recently I dug up this old thing:
[hotlinked pic deleted]

It's a Surefire G2Z LED Nitrolon Combatlight. It's kind of old, new enough to be LED but pretty low output by modern standards and biased a bit more towards cool than most SF lights I've owned. But hey, it's still a Surefire! Great build quality and very solid. It occurred to me that I could give this light a new lease on life with a Malkoff dropin. After e-mailing back and forth with the folks at Malkoff (thanks for the help, sir!) it was determined at an M61 is the right model for my light.

Ah, but which one?

I can narrow it down a bit. My G2Z is only one mode, so I only need one output level. And I generally like lights biased towards the warmer end of the spectrum, or at least neutral. So I can probably narrow it down to the M61N or lower down the page. But I'm having a bit of trouble deciding between the various options. Probably I don't want the very lowest (if I did I'd just stick with the current emitter). Ultimately it depends on what I decide to do with the light. I've got some very powerful WMLs so I don't plan on weapon mounting the light. I've got a number of really small EDC sized lights (2 x Surefire E1b, 1 x JETBeam BC10, 2 x Streamlight Microstream and an Elzetta Alpha on the way) so EDC is covered. I've got a couple really powerful (by my standard) lights like a JETBeam BC25 and BC25SE. So this might be a vehicle light, maybe a bump-in-the-night light to keep by my bed, maybe a general utility light. Really I'm open to suggestions!

So what do you, the CPF members, suggest? I'm not sure if I want a light that I can't run for long periods due to head (metal head but nitrolon body). On the other hand, realistically I don't generally use a light that way. If I was using it to change a tire or handle some other roadside emergency though I could see setting it down and letting it run long term.

The more I think about it the harder it is to make up my mind!:sigh:

I could definitely use some suggestions.:thanks:

The most output you can get in that light (with the aluminum Z44) without the risk of overheating is the full-power M61 series, as you seem to have found out.
Just yesterday I put an M61N into my (vehicle light) G2Z, perfect IMO.
(With the older nitrolon bezel, the Malkoff M60/M61 L series were specifically designed for that more limited combo.)

Just a FYI, I deleted the hotlinked pic in your post, furthermore the light that was pictured has the new head design that isn't compatible with the classic P60 format which I'm assuming you have.

i have a M61L hcri in my G2Z. i like it much more than the M61 models because i dont ever have to worry that itll get too hot, which is important for when my family uses it.
it also has better run times, and its bright enough for general purpose.

Kestrel said:

The most output you can get in that light (with the aluminum Z44) without the risk of overheating is the full-power M61 series, as you seem to have found out.
Just yesterday I put an M61N into my (vehicle light) G2Z, perfect IMO.
(With the older nitrolon bezel, the Malkoff M60/M61 L series were specifically designed for that more limited combo.)

Just a FYI, I deleted the hotlinked pic in your post, furthermore the light that was pictured has the new head design that isn't compatible with the classic P60 format which I'm assuming you have.

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Thanks. I didn't realize that the pic link was a no-no, sorry. Just wanted to show what I'm referring to and yeah, it's not exactly like mine just as close as I can find. From the removable reflector and stuff it does appear that the M61 line fits my light.

skyfire said:

i have a M61L hcri in my G2Z. i like it much more than the M61 models because i dont ever have to worry that itll get too hot, which is important for when my family uses it.
it also has better run times, and its bright enough for general purpose.

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Yeah, better run times would be good. People get obsessed by throw and maximum horsepower but most tasks don't require the nuclear option. It sucks when your light dies on you in the middle of something! Run time is an issue.

I just put an Malkoff M361N in my Surefire G2 with McClicky switch and aluminum head. This gives me 15, 75 or 375 lumens in one drop-in.

The balance of brightness and runtime in the L's is amazing. It is still pretty darn bright, but will run for quite a while on full power, then have a nice long taper.

Rob Babcock said:

So what do you, the CPF members, suggest? I'm not sure if I want a light that I can't run for long periods due to head (metal head but nitrolon body). On the other hand, realistically I don't generally use a light that way. If I was using it to change a tire or handle some other roadside emergency though I could see setting it down and letting it run long term.

The more I think about it the harder it is to make up my mind!:sigh:

I could definitely use some suggestions.:thanks:

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If I might suggest, buy a few new lights.

I have an old SureFire that I upgraded. It was fun and entertaining to mod the light with a drop-in but compared to the lights of today, today's lights bury my SureFire. In truth, my opinion, the SureFire is obsolete.

My suggestion, buy three lights. An EDC light for around the house, a powerful flooder for S&R and a headlamp for closeup CSI night-work or tire changing. Currently? Currently I have a general, around the house, EDC, a S&R flooder which easily floods out to a hundred or two hundred yards and soon, I'll purchase a headlamp to complete my perceived needs.

Rob Babcock said:

Yeah, better run times would be good. People get obsessed by throw and maximum horsepower but most tasks don't require the nuclear option. It sucks when your light dies on you in the middle of something! Run time is an issue.

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Better run times can be helped with a cross between extra sets of batteries using batteries with more mAh. I'm sure you know this. And allow me to counter, just saying, max horsepower and throw (nuclear option) are always a blessing when needed.

Rob Babcock said:

[...] Yeah, better run times would be good. People get obsessed by throw and maximum horsepower but most tasks don't require the nuclear option. It sucks when your light dies on you in the middle of something! Run time is an issue.

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fresh eddie fresh said:

The balance of brightness and runtime in the L's is amazing. It is still pretty darn bright, but will run for quite a while on full power, then have a nice long taper.

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The endless debate between output and runtime, lol. My two lumens for a car light, I'd go for the max output M61 and just have extra cells if longer runs are needed.
It's easy to keep extra cells in the car, harder to double the output if that's what you need for a particular situation.
I understand runtime in a carry light, but IMHO a car light doesn't need to be limited in such a fashion.

Full-output Malkoff M31's for the car, 240+ lumens for 16+ hours at maximum output:

Kestrel said:

harder to double the output if that's what you need for a particular situation.

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Sometimes more is not better... like trying to read a map, or just light something up real quick when walking in the woods without completely destroying your night vision. I used to always go for the brightest possible light, but I guess I found my happy place... which may be brighter or dimmer than someone else's happy place. I totally agree that in the car you might as well stash as many batteries as you can, though!

Parrot Quack said:

If I might suggest, buy a few new lights.

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If you read the rest of my post you'll see I have a ton of lights, some of them very new. Again, my newest is an Elzetta that hasn't even got here yet!:laughing:

Kestrel said:

The endless debate between output and runtime, lol. My two lumens for a car light, I'd go for the max output M61 and just have extra cells if longer runs are needed.
It's easy to keep extra cells in the car, harder to double the output if that's what you need for a particular situation.
I understand runtime in a carry light, but IMHO a car light doesn't need to be limited in such a fashion.

Full-output Malkoff M31's for the car, 240+ lumens for 16+ hours at maximum output:

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True, you can't double output. But I'm not sure it will be a car light and for most automotive stuff I've found that too bright is as bad as not bright enough, especially in lights biased too blue. It makes it hard to read writing and discern the color of things (mostly in a wiring harness). But good points! More power is better, I just want to balance that with heat.

If run time is a potential factor, I recommend the M61NL. The visible difference between it and an M61 is minimal, but the increase in run time is not.

I agree with Grizzman that the M61NL would be a good choice for this host, especially since you have other brighter lights. 130 lumens is more than enough for most tasks. It's on sale now with Mr. Malkoff. I actually prefer the feel of the G2Z to the Z2, especially in cold weather.

Thanks for the input, everyone. Lots to chew on. I don't want to do a new tailcap and stuff; although I've read a ton of favorable press on the McClicky I'm really just looking to freshen up an old light that's still in good shape for a minimal outlay of cash. I'm kind of leaning towards the M61NL but I can see the appeal of the super powerful ones, too.

When I got home from work I ordered a M61L. Initially I wanted a warm or neutral but I think balancing runtime, output and color the M61L will be a good option. I look forward to trying it out. And my new Elzetta Alpha should be here tomorrow to keep me busy til the Malkoff drop in shows up.

Hahaha! I wound up ordering the M61N today, too. Got to thinking about it and the neutral tint is kind of appealing. I'll try out both modules head to head, install the one that I like best and use the other in another light.

Another vote for the M61L in whichever tint you want. The combination of brightness and runtime is optimal for a single mode light. If one of your non-flashaholic family or friends leaves the light on for a long period of time, they won't fry the dropin.

Runtime is important for a car light. If you get stuck somewhere, you don't know how long you may need a light. Extra cells are easy to carry in a car, but being in summer car temperatures all day, every day is not great for the cells, so you don't want to keep too many there.

Rob Babcock said:

Hahaha! I wound up ordering the M61N today, too. Got to thinking about it and the neutral tint is kind of appealing. I'll try out both modules head to head, install the one that I like best and use the other in another light.

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Once you get a taste for warmer/neutral tints, you are headed down a rocky path! Haha!

My M61L showed up today. Very nice! Well packaged and it shipped quickly. The module itself is awesome! Luckily it's the correct one for my light and truly does drop in. It's considerably brighter than the stock one with better tint/color. $40 well spent! I expect the M61N will be even better in this light but if I swap them this one won't go to waste.

Definitely nothing wrong with buying two different modules and reselling the one that doesn't fit your needs as well.
Or better yet, just buy another drop-in host. :devil:

Kestrel said:

Definitely nothing wrong with buying two different modules and reselling the one that doesn't fit your needs as well.
Or better yet, just buy another drop-in host. :devil:

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You're on to me! I was thinking about ordering a cheap incan G2 nitrolon to drop the Low into...:naughty: