Choosing which of the Malkoff and Elzetta

I would like to get two lights that primarily serve specific purposes, but maybe can be used in all-around purposes.
The challenge for me is making purchases that make sense and compliment one another, since I have to buy before I try...and really don't have a clue as to what i need vs want.

I would like a "nightstand" light, and an EDC light that would most likely be holstered. I already wear other items requiring holsters and my belts are steel-core just looking to be weighted down more.

I've browsed Elzetta's and Malkoff's sites...I guess the easy button would be just order a M61 variant and a Bravo/Bones, and be done. The Alpha is neat.

I like with the Elzetta I can get a flood lens. I live in a neighborhood so I'm not needing to shine a beam 287 meters away. But never say never.

I don't have many specifics or characteristics other than quality, and I like boutique-brands. But I'm open to anything.

I'm not driving over the light with a tank or swimming an ocean with it....but I do want the most reliable i can get for my money.

Thank you

If you picked up a MD2 with a hi/lo ring and whatever M61 you had a preference for you could get by with just the one light. The low ring would give you huge runtimes and won't ruin your night vision for a beside light and on high you would get up to 400 lumens which is plenty for your purpose. It's not to big to edc especially on a belt holster.

thermal guy said:

If you picked up a MD2 with a hi/lo ring and whatever M61 you had a preference for you could get by with just the one light. The low ring would give you huge runtimes and won't ruin your night vision for a beside light and on high you would get up to 400 lumens which is plenty for your purpose. It's not to big to edc especially on a belt holster.

Click to expand...

Thank you. That is the route I'll go. I like the idea of one light better...it allows me to be most familiar with just one light.

So are you saying I don't need 3,000 lumens and 21700 batteries? ha

thermal guy said:

If you picked up a MD2 with a hi/lo ring and whatever M61 you had a preference for you could get by with just the one light. The low ring would give you huge runtimes and won't ruin your night vision for a beside light and on high you would get up to 400 lumens which is plenty for your purpose. It's not to big to edc especially on a belt holster.

Click to expand...

If I may slip another question by....What other available-brands are known to be most reliable? I'd like to read about them. Thank you

My money has been better spent on Elzetta lights vs Malkoff MD2 lights.

The head mounted high/low switch in a Malkoff MD2 makes it wobbly. The high/low tail switch on an Elzetta is much much better.

The fit and finish on an Elzetta is much better too. IMHO.

Jim

thermal guy said:

If you picked up a MD2 with a hi/lo ring and whatever M61 you had a preference for you could get by with just the one light. The low ring would give you huge runtimes and won't ruin your night vision for a beside light and on high you would get up to 400 lumens which is plenty for your purpose. It's not to big to edc especially on a belt holster.

Click to expand...

I ended up getting an MD2 hi/lo ring with M61, then I couldn't resist the M61Hot.
I see why Gene's customer service is well liked...he will answer any question.
I can't imagine how many new people he has to deal with just like me. lol

kerneldrop said:

I ended up getting an MD2 hi/lo ring with M61, then I couldn't resist the M61Hot.
I see why Gene's customer service is well liked...he will answer any question.
I can't imagine how many new people he has to deal with just like me. lol

Click to expand...

You chose a perfect light from a wonderful company.

Great choice! Yes that M6HOT is a good one. Malkoff is absolutely great to work with I agree. Good people. If your not Familiar with gene and how he got started read up on it. It very interesting.

340pd said:

You chose a perfect light from a wonderful company.

Click to expand...

Thank you

thermal guy said:

Great choice! Yes that M6HOT is a good one. Malkoff is absolutely great to work with I agree. Good people. If your not Familiar with gene and how he got started read up on it. It very interesting.

Click to expand...

You were spot on... that MD2 with 450 OTF w/ a low switch is perfect for me.
I got the M61Hot, too, because there's times I'm better off with a "one-button-turbo", but the 450 is a better all-around performer for me.
I thought it was going to be buy once cry once....but then i found a "situational need" for others... so yea, that happened. lol

But I will say that I've realized my lack of flashlight preparedness for quite sometime...so it's been something I've wanted to work on...as silly as it sounds, I didn't know where to start.
I suppose the easy button is go to Bass Pro and get a couple Streamlights and call it done. My LGS sells Fenix and Surefire. So there were those options, too. I guess I like it hard on myself, ha

Now I'm reading about other brands' overall differing characteristics-- so that I know which brands are a better fit for what I'm looking for. That's not so easy as threads are dated and quality can rapidly change.
It's interesting that some brands have ultra-high lumens, and others refuse to go there. I asked Gene why he doesn't have a 3100 lumens offering. I really wanted his opinion because I'm not sure how to compare --for example -- his Hound Dog to something like a Streamlight Protac HL 5-X with "3,500 lumens."

There's a lot of similarities in flashlights and race guns for sport competitions.
I can build a high-performance race gun on a 1911/2011 platform that is absolutely spectacular in its intended environment....but take it outside its intended environment and it becomes a terrible option.
It's utterly reliable in one environment, and awfully unreliable in an other environment.

Since you mentioned holster, the MD2 hi/lo is made smoother for rapid deploy. Plus you have the option of using an 18650 battery if you choose to.

I bought that and a Bravo hi/lo and actually prefer the Bravo for the grip and anti-roll aspects but either is a good choice.

bykfixer said:

Since you mentioned holster, the MD2 hi/lo is made smoother for rapid deploy. Plus you have the option of using an 18650 battery if you choose to.

I bought that and a Bravo hi/lo and actually prefer the Bravo for the grip and anti-roll aspects but either is a good choice.

Click to expand...

Thank you. I've read through your posts on the Bones and Bravo. I really like the "One button Full-Send" on the Bones...I feel like that's the configuration I'd mostly use anyways, but like you previously mentioned, the versatility of the Bravo low mode makes it more appealing. My hesitation on the Bravo --and prob not a good one --was I didn't want them coming out with a Bravo V2 next month that takes a CR123A or 18650. And I needed to dive into batteries more to understand the pros/cons to (2) CR123A vs (1)18650 in a non WML. A good friend of mine has a machine shop that can bore the Bravo body to accept 18650. I went down a rabbit hole with that...decided I needed to learn more about it before spending the $. My preference is to keep things simple and stock...I'm not necessarily big into modding stuff.

In reality, a pair of CR123a will probably last me a year. I'm not trekking jungles at night. But that's not as much fun to accept as it is to come up with "needs" for a flashlight built to withstand the harshest environments.

In my other hobby, everyone has a mentor to bounce ideas and gain knowledge from...I need a flashlight mentor. lol

I would recommend both brands. The Elzetta Bravo with AVS head is a bit longer and the head a bit bigger than the MD2. It is shorter and smaller than an MD2 with 18650 Hound Dog head. No tail standing with the Elzetta, if that is important to you. I use 16650 in my Elzetta often. I like the Elzetta Alpha a lot also and it works well with li ion 123, which is nice, but I don't really care for the tint. If it had the same tint as my Bravo, I would use it more.

Dicaeopolis said:

I use 16650 in my Elzetta often

Click to expand...

Oh cool. For the Bravo - What is the intensity and runtime differences in a 16650x2500mAh vs (2) CR123a?

Do I have a generally correct understanding in that (1) 16650x2500mAh is 9.25 watts, and (2) CR123a 3x1500mAh is 9.00 watts? So, the 16650 out performs (2) CR123A in intensity and duration, at least on paper?

thank you

Someone probably did the graphs on that. I just use a multimeter to check the battery every so often and charge it when it gets low. I have the high/low tail cap, so it depends on how much you use it obviously. I have the AVS with 650 lumens I believe, now it is 850 for the Bravo. It seems plenty bright with the 16650. I have never ran them side by side.

Like you kernel I don't go through a lot of batteries so I still use CR123's. I do have a one cell light that uses a rechargeable. But that is because that one actually "burns" a little brighter with the 3.7 volt rechargeable cell.

I also keep circling back to the Bravo because I like the idea of a 850 Lumens output from a CR123 flashlight.
I don't have a CR123 light that will come close to matching that 850.

Elzetta confirmed the 850 is measured out the front. How do they get 850 Lumens from (2) CR123?

I assume it's electronic related as Surefire gets 300 from their AAA NiMH Titan Plus.

Elzetta does not do changes to their lineup very often. It's doubtful that in two weeks they'll have one that holds an 18650. If I recall correct the 650 AVS lumen version came about around the time the Bones did in 2016. Back then the AVS head may not have been standard but may have been an option, I don't recall. But the AVS head and Bones use the same lens, which is called an optic.

If you buy from Malkoff or Elzetta be sure to toss in some Battery Station batteries in the cart (if you haven't already).

Edit
The LED makers are able to get more and more lumens per watt as they tweak them. That stuff is above my level of thinking but what used to be awesome is now just same ole stuff. 500 was huge at one point. Heck 100 was huge at one point.

Malkoff is out right now, but you may like the Bodyguard V2. The Bodyguard MDC is awesome too. The Bodyguard and the MD2 with high/low ring, would be a cool combination.

bykfixer said:

If you buy from Malkoff or Elzetta be sure to toss in some Battery Station batteries in the cart (if you haven't already).

Click to expand...

Ha, that already got me. Apparently I buy things in stages...flashlight first, then batteries to actually use it. Maybe i just need one of those hand crank lights.

Dicaeopolis said:

Malkoff is out right now, but you may like the Bodyguard V2. The Bodyguard MDC is awesome too. The Bodyguard and the MD2 with high/low ring, would be a cool combination.

Click to expand...

The Bodyguard V2 is cool. I couldn't figure out how it would fit in my light plan (I know a plan takes the fun out of things). After 8 seconds it goes down to 250 Lumens. If I need full-send light then I want it the whole time. I wasn't sure how to use it. His MDC 16650 with an E2 900/850 continuous lumens high output only head sounds pretty neat.

I just thought you might like the lumens on the Bodyguard. It does step down. I do not have the E2 Super Scout, but it does sound good. I have an E2XT though, and it's awesome. I do generally prefer a light with a reasonable low mode option. Lights on firearms though, are single mode for me. My most used Malkoff is the [FONT=&quot]MDC XP-L 16650 500 Lumen Flashlight. I use it at work daily though. Whatever you get, Malkoff or Elzetta, I think you will be happy with or you will be able to sell it. [/FONT]