Pelican news!

JML

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Jun 18, 2003
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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pelican not only makes excellent lights, but they have excellent customer service and respond to suggestions and inquiries -- directly and fast. Quite unlike Inova and a few others...

I sent them, via the website, suggestions on some things to upgrade and change re: the M-6 LED. Most of my suggestions are noted in the Review thread on the M-6 started by Aten_Imago: Pelican M-6 Review

Anyway, in response to my first suggestion, a 3W Luxeon version of the M-6, they said, "We are in the development stages of exactly what you request a 3 Watt version of that very light. I have seen a prototype and it is magnificent. If I do say so myself. We anticipate release of said light in the latter part of this year."

This rep passed on my other suggestions to the engineering department, including an HA-III finish and a glass lens. She also liked the idea of packaging the uprated light in a Pelican case with room for extra batteries.

I made some suggestions about the holster. But they're already coming out with a new holster, with an extra pocket for the spare Lithium batteries. One is in the mail to me right now! I'll report on it as soon as I get it.

Of course, I did suggest that they read CPF for ideas and reactions.

Wow!
 

JasonC8301

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Cool,

Good to hear a company is working with the people.

Forget glass lens, go UCL from flashlightlens.com I can only see the lens at a few different angles. Straight on it looks like its not even there. A good $7 investment.

HA-III, 3W Luxeon, Pelican case with space for extra batteries, new holster, hmm, how about a black rubber boot for clickie and full regulation??

but at $45 from battery station..what a deal...
 

idleprocess

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decamped
UCL is going to be a case of high-cost diminishing returns for most of the customer base out there. If Pelican wants to produce 10% more light, I imagine that going for the next-best Luxeon bin will produce far more bang for the buck.
 

daloosh

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Wow, great to have responsive customer service! It's that personal touch and interaction that can set a company apart. I have resisted the PM6 LED so far, but with a 3watter in there? I dunno....

daloosh
 

Delta_FHInX

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Feb 2, 2004
Messages
119
The UCL in my M6 has already cracked at the edges, so I would recommend a Lexan. Of course HA3 and 3W is great. Don't know about the holster though.
 

357

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I already have a PM6 LED holster with spare battery compartment. I like it.
 

Billson

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JML,

Did you suggest making the 3W regulated? They could also make some minor changes to make it completely waterproof. Some creative o-ring placements should do this easily. It would make the M6 the complete light.

By the way, does the current M6 have a lanyard attachment?
 

luxlover

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Feb 17, 2004
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Brooklyn, New York
[ QUOTE ]
JasonC8301 said:
Cool,

[ QUOTE ]
HA-III, 3W Luxeon, Pelican case with space for extra batteries, new holster, hmm, how about a black rubber boot for clickie and full regulation??

but at $45 from battery station..what a deal...

[/ QUOTE ]
It will not be $45 after the new version is released. All these improvements cost money, and it will surely be passed on to us. I am sure that Kevin at The Battery Station will be gentle with us, when he prices the new light for CPF members.

Luxlover
 

JML

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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
I didn't make any suggestions about regulation or further waterproofing. I figured that a specific suggestion along those lines might reduce the likelihood that they'd listen to anything! Given their receptivity to suggestions, and that I know they've listened to input from Kevin and others, I wasn't going to push my luck. That doesn't mean that others shouldn't send suggestions to Pelican -- obviously, they listen to users and are interested in improving what is already a great product.

I believe from a few postings and a message from Kevin that the clickie will be changed to a black one in the future, but I actually like the red one. I think I read somewhere that the red color was to allow users to differentiate between the incandescent and LED versions of the light.

There's no lanyard attachment on the M6. Given the way the light is built, esp. the tailpiece/clickie, I don't see any way to do that unless they come up with a variation on the SureFire lanyard attachment method of a ring that fits around a recessed portion of the body. I wouldn't like to see a lanyard attachment like that unless the ring wouldn't abrade the anodization. There doesn't seem to be sufficient clearance to do a version of the 5 mm paracord hole in the tailcap that Inova and LongBow use, but I could be wrong.

As far as the lens goes, Inova and SureFire have glass lenses (tempered glass, or sapphire, sometimes with an AR coating -- Pyrex is tempered glass). While Lexan and other polycarbonates can be scratch resistant, most of what's out there comes poorly polished, untreated for AR and scratch resistance, and are marred and scratched right out of the box. I can't see why someone can't design a housing for a lens that reduces the likelihood of edge shatter -- all it would take proper edge finishing/polishing and an O-ring or gasket combination that cradles the edge of the lens from the bezel.
 

Aten_Imago

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JML
RE " I can't see why someone can't design a housing for a lens that reduces the likelihood of edge shatter -- all it would take proper edge finishing/polishing and an O-ring or gasket combination that cradles the edge of the lens from the bezel. "
I agree- but only as an option. The added cost versus obvious benefits to the majority of customers would diminish ROI for the company. However, taking an upgrade/crossgrade approach would allow them to do anything (within reason). So here's what I suggest. Why not start a poll to gather feedback on what most people would like to see in the next 'stock' P-M6 LED and then what upgrade/crossgrade accessories they would also like to see. If you end up with 1,000 requests for a special lens at a premium price- Pelican will jump. Otherwise, such an accessory would have to start life as a 3rd party upgrade. Those are the hard economics of the game. By the way, I notice that the same rules go for the CPF 'committee' designed flashlights. Minority suggestions don't get to make the cut- there are those however that failed to listed to the din of majority demand- to their detriment.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 

Stainless

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[ QUOTE ]
daloosh said:
Wow, great to have responsive customer service! It's that personal touch and interaction that can set a company apart. I have resisted the PM6 LED so far, but with a 3watter in there? I dunno....

daloosh

[/ QUOTE ]

Ditto that. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
 

357

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So,

Any word when the 3-watt PM6 LED will be available???
 

JML

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I was only told what I put in the first note: "We anticipate release of said light in the latter part of this year."

I posted a short note about the new pouch in the Review string noted in my first post here. I didn't like it too much. The spares holder is disappointingly executed, and all the problems I noted with the original are still there.
 

PhotonBoy

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I'd guess that despite the change from a 1.2W to a 3W Luxeon, the light won't likely be a whole lot brighter than the 41 lumens they now claim, since the 1.2W is probably running at 2W right now. The runtime would suffer considerably too if they ran it at 3W or greater. JMHO.
 

JasonC8301

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luxlover - I was refering to the M6 LED available now. For $45, thats a great price for a nice light. I love mine and will not give it up.

The price will go up with all these features being suggested, but I wouldn't mind spending $100 if the PM6 was fully regulated.
 

357

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usa
[ QUOTE ]
PhotonBoy said:
I'd guess that despite the change from a 1.2W to a 3W Luxeon, the light won't likely be a whole lot brighter than the 41 lumens they now claim, since the 1.2W is probably running at 2W right now. The runtime would suffer considerably too if they ran it at 3W or greater. JMHO.

[/ QUOTE ]

The runtime is already bad right now. IIRC,the PM6 LED is at half brightness at 2 hours and then nosedives dramatically. It does NOT stay high brightness 4 hours like Pelican claims.

This is why I'd prefer regulation. I'll give up more runtime (quantity) for better QUALITY runtime. If the PM6 could stay at near peak brightness for 1 hour, I'd be okay with that (rather than constant brightness loss).
 

357

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Any updates on when the 3-watt Pelican M6 LED will be released?
 

PeteBroccolo

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Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada
As far as a lanyard goes for any version of a Pelican M6, try what I did with my Dorcy Spyder - check with pharmacies or other places that sell supplies for people that use walking canes. I found a black cord wrist strap that connects by a chrome snap hook to a black elasticized flat loop strap. I was able to stretch the elasticized loop strap over the body of the Spyder and use it on my weak hand side to hold the Spyder while checking "client" vehicles. Even with the loop strap on, the Spyder still fits in one side of a basketweave leather double mag pouch that I wear on my strong side back hip position on my duty belt.

I trashed the display hanging card that this strap was plastic packaged onto, and the strap is unmarked, so I do not know the manufacturer, but any business that sells to elderly or infirm or recently-injured-and-recovering customers could probably sell you one of these items. I got it for less than a dollar at a going-out-of-business sale, but it could even be available at a bargain store.

If it can fit a Spyder, it should fit a PM6, although you may have to remove the tail cap to save stretching the elasticized loop too much.
 
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