Anyone with experience with the Peak McKinley?

I am thinking of puchasing the Peak McKinley ultra power in brass. Anyone with a McKinley, how do you like yours?

Thanks for the info in advanced!

Love it. It's my at-home EDC. I prefer it over the all-the-rage Fenix.

I have an old-style McKinley (7 LED Hi-Power) HA/aluminum and it's a dandy.

PRO:
-- Neat looking
-- Surprisingly bright beam with decent Flood/Spill and very good Throw
-- Good output-to-weight/size ratio
-- Tough, rugged, and bullet-proof (dropped it from 6 ft. onto hard tile floors. No problemo.)

CON:
-- A bit bulky for keychain or neck lanyard (though that's how I use it... when it's not hanging from a D-ring on my safari vest)
-- Gets pretty warm if run for more than a few minutes. Better for intermittent use (i.e., 3-5 second bursts)
-- Might be best used as a jacket-pocket light, subject to your clothing/lifestyle.
-- The heavier brass/stainless steel models (if hung with your car-keys) might be excessively weighty so as to cause damage to your car's ignition switch. I and others had this problem just with metal Kubotan SD devices attached to clumps of keys; depends on your car; a brass McKinley could add to the problem.

Since you're contemplating the BRASS McK, just be aware of its additional weight (3.3 ox. vs. 1.4 oz.). The brass McK is cool looking, almost like "flashaholic jewelry." Beyond that, I suppose its "heft" might even make an improvised/emergency impact (Mugger-Whacker) weapon if swung from a short paracord lanyard -- if you're not squeamish about such un-PC behavior. The brass might eventually tarnish a bit (from normal oxidization, or some poor Mugger's bloody nose) but that's what Brasso is for. However, it'll be more resistant to abrasions/dings from coins/keys/pocket knives.

I suspect the Peak Matterhorn outsells the bigger McK by a significant margin due to its compactness. The resurgent/new Arc (Peak Matterhorn competitor) confirms this. However, if you can handle the Mck's size, it's certainly a brighter light.

Follow-up:

Andrew, a couple of additional points:

1. The NEW version of the Mckinley is much brighter than my "old style" model. I'd guess the Ultra you're considering is nearly twice as bright, initially. It apparently uses both a new regulation system and new LEDs. Also, with the new version's reamed-out holes for each LED, it probably has a bit more "spill" for a better balanced beam.

2. Since my prior post, I decided to try my old McK Hi-power as a "night walk" light (tonight, just for fun, as a supplement to my old Mag-charger!). While the big Mag is clearly overkill, I wanted to see how my eyes reacted after I turned it off and turned on the McK. It was a pleasant surprise... and huge improvement in beam quality! The McK preserved my night vision and "threw" its narrow beam out to approx. 25-30 ft. in ambient-light cluttered shadows, and perhaps 50 ft. in darkness. The NEW McK (Hi or Ultra) would no doubt be much brighter, and with more spill.

Because the McK does run "warm," I'd carefully consider the Hi-power vs. Ultra issue. Remember, there's not much metal there to act as a "heat sink." While the Ultra is brighter, its additional heat build-up will definitely shorten battery life, runtime... and probably LED life. Depends how much light you want/need this illumination tool to produce. I lean toward flatter runtime curves -- especially for any light tagged for potential emergency use.

Perhaps some CPF/new McK owners can add to the discussion.

Thanks for all the info!!! TonkinWarrior, I will think about what you have said about the high power vs. the ultra. I am also thinking that the difference in brightness bwtween the the is not going to be that much visually as well as the possible shorter life span due to excessive heat.

Thanks again!!

The Ultra version has a lifespan of "only" ~1000hours (due to current, not heat). I think that's pretty good, but dropping down to High will get you about six times that, so if you feel you can live with a third less light, that's definitely the way to go. BTW, i think TonkinWarrior meant "3-5 *minute* bursts", not seconds. I had my Ultra HA in my mouth while i was working on the toilet last night and to me it didn't get *that* warm. Granted, perception of heat definitely varies from person to person, but i imagine brass would feel even cooler to the touch.

Yikes, one errant flush and that thing is small enough to swallow!!

Thanks for all of the advice. After thinking about it most of the day, I have decided to go with the high power brass. It is going to be in my pocket most of the time with my keys, so I think the brass will be more forgiving than the HA when it comes to scratches. The added weight of the brass is not an issue to me. Right now I keep an advanced mart 0.5 watt chromed brass cr123 light in my pocket. I want something that will be brighter than the 0.5 watt, but it does not have to be blindingly bright. So, better run time and longer lifespan is more important to me. It seems that the high power fits the bill more than the ultra. The only other question I have is about the body style. Does the new version have the removable keyring? I liked this feature of the old style and the Peak website does not show or state what the body style is. I have emailed Peak a few days ago, but they haven't responded.

Thanks again for all the help!

Yeah, it has the removeable keyring that lets you get to the removeable negative contact.

Anyone have any experience with the McKinley compared in brightness to, say, the Glacier Bay or Caribbean??

Yes,

I have a new snow-29 high power McKinley and a Caribbean. I also had an old style 7-led non-snow high power McKinley.

First of all, output is much brighter with the snow29 than the old style. The beam pattern also has more spill than before. The spillbeam of the new style head has a more irregular "6-pointed star" look to it than the old style, which did not have much side spill at all. I definitely prefer the beam color, additional spill, and brighter output of the new snow 29 McKinley to the old one.

There is a significant difference from the McKinley compared to the Caribbean, in all areas, except for size. The Caribbean has a much tighter hotspot, smoother spillbeam, and overall higher output than either McKinley. (It also generates more heat) The Caribbean definately has THROW! It's hotspot is tighter than my XM-3, and brighter. In fact, for some indoor uses it is too bright, and I reach for the snow29 McKinley instead. In general, the McKinley has a wider hotspot that is excellent for short to medium range.

These lights are quite different, which reflects their very different designs. I really like them both, however. They are also very light with the aluminum body HA-III style, and can use a 2AA battery adapter with Kroll switch, which you can order from Peak as well.

I want to thank everyone again for their advice on the McKinley. I ordered the Brass High Power and can't wait to try it out!

I'm on my second Caribbean and it is just too hot after five minutes or so. The Glacier Bay is better on the heat but the one I tried has acreamy colored warm beam, rather than the impressive white like the Caribbean. The Glacier Bay is no brighter than the Fenix at less than half its cost, although it is smaller in length while identical in width.

I love my McKinley and carry in on my keychain.....wish I had ordered the brass model though.