My flashlight Search turning into an addiction?

[340pd]

I keep a very old Surefire flashlight by my bedside with my gun. It was upgraded to a LED about 10 years ago. Knowing that technology has increased, I did some digging and ran into Malkoff Devices a guy who really makes one tough flashlight plus drop in kits to convert older Surefire and Maglights to today's standards. I bought a drop-in for my Surefire and the results are dramatic. I thought, why not, so then I ordered one of his small edc lights. It is a really nice replacement for the mid-range Chinese lights I have been using. BTW, If anyone is thinking about ordering any of his products, go to his website and subscribe to his e-mail list and you will immediately get a code for 20% off your order. Valuable because they are not cheap but their reputation in the flashlight world is solid as a rock.
https://malkoff-devices.myshopify.com/

Malkoff MDC -small.jpg

[Bawanna]

Thanks for this. I have an old 6Z I've carried for many many years, been thinking of upgrading it to LED for many of those years.
Always balked at price and options. This looks like a very good fit.
I picked up a Fenix PD31 a few years ago but never gave up the Surefire, just carry both.

[340pd]

Looking at flashlights I found there are the cheapies, the mid-range Chinese that are really good products, and then the so-called bombproof products and the maker's list gets rather small. All Surefire products are rated very high. Your flashlight is well worth spending the $40-$50 to upgrade. There are other makers of drop-in components but Makloff's name always ranks high on the list. Lights in that category sell for well over $100. Now, upgrading a 3 cell Maglight with all it's involved length and weight, may not be practical.
Be aware Malkoff charges $9.00 shipping so utilize the discount by subscribing to his e-mail list if you go that way.

[Bobshouse]

Couldn't carry weapons in the prison, so I carried a 6 D cell maglite....

[wyntrout]

I bought an upgrade LED bulb for my 2-cell Maglite and it seems brighter... $9.99 at Walmart or Harbor Freight. I don't carry that, but keep it at the front door.
I have a 300+ lumen Cadet for EDC at night... about $60. And, I picked up something that small and almost as bright for under $10 at Cabela's, I believe.

[ltxi]

Back in the dark ages (yep, pun intended) I was lights addicted to cutting edge technology. High output Surefire incandescents, than early LED conversions, then into building my own best and brightest from components. In the latter years of this, Malkoff was one of my best sources for conversion components and heads. Malkoff is good people!

These days, with LED tech much mainstream evolved, I no longer need to build my own. I still have and use my upgraded Surefires and some of my later custom builds. But for anything new, especially high output subcompacts, my go to default is Fenix. High quality at fair prices.

Haven't been on the forum for quite some time but Candlepower Forum should still be a rich resource for anyone interested.

[Barth]

Surefire

Years ago I took a standard Surefire and upgraded with a crazy LED 400 lumen bulb.
It is the Bat Signal.
So bright it's nearly blinding from behind the light!
Bad boy is still on my nightstand these days.
Just don't see any point in changing it out...

[edw794]

after owning a bunch of surefires for years, i found the fenix line, especially the tk16 very hard to beat.

[downtownv]

Surefire is living off it's name Fenix blows them away!
I have Fenix TK-32 and it is Blinding.

[RustyIron]

I'm only a fan of top shelf flashlights when someone else is footing the bill. I've been using Chicom flashlights for years. The one that's been my primary flashlight for three years can be found on Amazon as a Skysted A100. It's fourteen bucks. And I use it multiple times every day. The main feature I MUST have is single mode. I can't be jacking around going clickety-clickety-clickety as I switch between high-low-flash-SOS modes. I want my light to go ON-OFF, and that's it. Next, I want a moderately-bright light. These flame-throwing mega-lumen lights aren't for me. While doing close up work, these rambo-lights are blinding. Even in a small room, they'll wreck your vision. They're great if you're trying to light up a hillside looking for a rogue possum, but that's it.

So functionally, the Amazon light meets my requirements. But what's better, when you drop your flashlight you're not crapping your pants over the potential loss of $150. It's more like, "Pffft. Fourteen bucks. So what? I wonder how much more abuse this cheap POS will take."

[Scott321]

I've used a Surefire E2D Defender for about 20 years (first LED version... not the nerwer Ultra). Although I really liked it, I wanted to try some other less expensive brands. I have a Fenix rechargeable and NiteCore rechargeable that I keep for trips where I might need lighting (smaller one is in my work bag) and can recharge off of my solar panel (like when I stayed on some remote islands in the Philippines). I recently purchased that Surefire Tactician and was impressed by the wide and bright beam. I now use that for my bedside flashlight (put a rechargable battery in it which reduces the lumens a tad). For EDC, I've settled on an EagleTac Clicky D3A Ti version (I have the CR123 one too but prefer the AA size, shape, and battery availability). Currently I have a single Li 14500 rechargeable in the Clicky D3A light and should be getting around 405 lumen on it's brightest setting. The lower settings are often used at night when I just need to see a bit better without losing much night vision.

IMO, the higher lumen flashlights are very utilitarian when working in shaded areas when it's bright out. For example, if I need to see into a shaded crevice under my hood when it's sunny and bright outside the extra lumens are handy.

[340pd]

Scott, your choices are solid. Surefire makes a first class bulletproof light and I keep a Malkoff converted 6P as a bedside companion.
Oh, this flashlight thing can become habit forming. Since spending time of Candlepowerforums I have learned a lot about the durability of high quality lights, potted electronics, color rendition and CRI, terms like spill and throw, as well as the world of newer rechargeable batteries. Since I started this thread in early April I have given away most of my super bright Chinese flashlights and added two more Malkoff's to my collection. A previously owned MD2 with Nichia 219b LED which makes the colors come alive, and a 18650 Hound Dog which allows me to cover the entire wetlands area in my backyard out to a great distance. Until I actually saw the difference between the traditional blinding bright white light I was used to and the more natural light produced by some of these manufacturers, I had no idea of the difference in ability to pick out detail. The best example is using a bright LED light bulb in a white ceiling fixture compared to the softer white version. BTW, there are now tiny battery rechargers that fit in the palm of your hand and help eliminate the drawer full of Costco alkaline so many of us have.

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[ltxi]

Good to hear Candlepowerforum is still alive and doing well.

[downtownv]

My latest love affair is the Fenix tk32 it small w/ 3 brightness levels 2 red (Night vision) levels and one green lamp about $80

[Scott321]

340pd,

Just thought I'd ask if you (or someone else reading this thread) might know. Would you happen to know of a remote pressure switch for the Surefire E-series? Specifically, I wanted to mount my old E2D to a rifle, but would really like to use a remote pressure switch to activate.