Elzetta- The industry's best kept secret.

[scalpel_ninja]

It should be:

Head (like the one you have pictured)
Drop in (Malkoff or similar P60)
Body (Bravo or Charlie)
Tail switch (any variant, such as click, rotary, hi/lo, etc)
Battery (however many that will fit in the body with the correct total voltage for the drop in's voltage range)

These will make a complete light.

 

[LED1982]

Why is ZLF better

It should be:

Head (like the one you have pictured)
Drop in (Malkoff or similar P60)
Body (Bravo or Charlie)
Tail switch (any variant, such as click, rotary, hi/lo, etc)
Battery (however many that will fit in the body with the correct total voltage for the drop in's voltage range)

These will make a complete light.

Ok thanks. Yeah I kept thinking that ZFL-M60 meant a fully packaged head that isn't made anymore, oh ok so it's only the shell that's not made anymore, and M60s are drop ins that are still made. I'm so clueless about drop ins I never saw one up close in my life. Ok I think I'm FINALLY catching on lol, so ZFL is sought after because of drop in ability, and it has nothing to do with the specific ZFL insides that I see in any ZFL pictures.

 

[muichimon]

What parts are there in total? I'm not sure why but in a parts bag I think I have what looks like the crenellated shell of the ZFL head like pictured earlier. Do you put drop ins into it or something? I never had a drop in before.

It is a head part. The body and switches can be adapted from the latest models, and the M60 and M61 from malkoff can be incorporated.
It is a unique light design, but I like it because it is the origin of elzetta.
I remember that 2 years ago, the ZFL parts available from the official store were the standard head and the crenellated head. I remember that the low profile heads were sold out.

 

[scalpel_ninja]

Yes, you're correct. Technically the M60 is a drop in sealed with a TIR optic and no longer being made. The current M61s are mostly open-ended with the reflector and emitter exposed and might require a glass lens and O-ring to work correctly and seal out moisture. I don't have a ZFL on hand (yet) to confirm if the head has anything to seal the M61s.

 

[muichimon]

Yes, you're correct. Technically the M60 is a drop in sealed with a TIR optic and no longer being made. The current M61s are mostly open-ended with the reflector and emitter exposed and might require a glass lens and O-ring to work correctly and seal out moisture. I don't have a ZFL on hand (yet) to confirm if the head has anything to seal the M61s.

I have an M61 built into my ZFL using malkoff's VME Head Lens and Gaskets. If you are handy, you can cut out a circular shape from a clear acrylic sheet. I'm clumsy so I bought the malkoff's if I could get them for $4.with $4.

 

[scalpel_ninja]

I have an M61 built into my ZFL using malkoff's VME Head Lens and Gaskets. If you are handy, you can cut out a circular shape from a clear acrylic sheet. I'm clumsy so I bought the malkoff's if I could get them for $4.with $4.

Thanks for that piece of information. So it is the same as the VME setup. I have a lens I bought from a watch parts company. They have all sorts of sizes and of course some that fit the face of the M61 really well.

 

[fulee9999]

Thanks for that piece of information. So it is the same as the VME setup. I have a lens I bought from a watch parts company. They have all sorts of sizes and of course some that fit the face of the M61 really well.

I went the exact opposite direction for one build... M60 in an MDX head with an MD1 body:

The ZFL-M60 floody drop-in is pretty good for area illumination and in small form factor can be pretty handy.
I don't particularly like the clear M60, too narrow hotspot for my liking.

 

[scalpel_ninja]

I went the exact opposite direction for one build... M60 in an MDX head with an MD1 body:

View attachment 34029

The ZFL-M60 floody drop-in is pretty good for area illumination and in small form factor can be pretty handy.
I don't particularly like the clear M60, too narrow hotspot for my liking.

Nice! I see you have that $5 clip on it too. 😁

 

[fulee9999]

oh yeah, that Maglite clip is amazing for these smaller builds!

 

[desert.snake]

Has anyone tried their HC reflector heads? I don't see any review.

 

[nmiller]

I have one on a Bravo. I prefer it over the AVS head. A bit more throw but still very usable flood. For my uses it also makes the low on the Bravo more usable for me. At some point I'll get another for my Charlie and turn the AVS into a flood head. Overall the HC is a great all around user. Tint and beam are very nice.

 

[muichimon]

I've been using the elzetta alpha M31 custom for a month, and it's fixed all of the elzetta alpha gen1's flaws. Light distribution, color temperature and runtime are perfect thanks to the malkoff M31L 219B. It also looks cool. The diameter of the reflector and the diameter of the bezel opening are the same, so there is no discomfort.
High Low Tailcap works too. Low mode can be used in darker illuminance.
I highly recommend this custom.

 

[neutralwhite]

doesn't this look a lot like the bones?.

 

[vento611]

Hello fellows

Does anyone have both older and newer AVS heads?
I had an older avs bravo and I liked it a lot, I'm ready to order another bravo but after reading in another thread about the newer AVS.. I'm on the fence between ordering the newer 850lm vs older 650lm, I found 1 retailer still sitting on old stock.

Any thoughts?

 

[rwolfenstein]

I just got my Elzetta A112 (Alpha Size, Gen 3, standard bezel, standard lens, click tailcap). The images are kinda deceptive, its super small and easy to conceal even though it looks chunky. Its super bright and tough as nails. I love it.

 

[AstroTurf]

I just got my Elzetta A112 (Alpha Size, Gen 3, standard bezel, standard lens, click tailcap). The images are kinda deceptive, its super small and easy to conceal even though it looks chunky. Its super bright and tough as nails. I love it.

ConGrats!!!

 

[nmiller]

Vento: I'd go with the old AVS. This is assuming the new are still cool white. I like the neutral tinted older heads.

Rwolf: I carry one daily. Enjoy the light. One day perhaps pick up the hi/low switch. Makes a great light even better.

 

[vento611]

I got my old stock new AVS head and a bravo body with a hi/low switch, I'm glad that I purchased the older AVS before they're gone for good.
for anyone interested in purchasing the older model. I would say email them 1st like I did and make sure to ask for the old stock.

 

[bykfixer]

I like the new offerings by Elzetta and hope they are successful in their future but....

The wall was hit a couple of years back where physics had reached its plateau. Running a safe demand on the primary fuel source had gotten things as bright as practical using a somewhat neutral tint without a bunch of heat causing things to step down. It was industry-wide.

To target new markets they had to raise the numbers of output. Draw more current or have thermal step downs. In other words hold steady at 650 with a neutral tint or go to 850 with a whiter tint and thermal step down. Well, with the step down approach having been the norm the last couple of years, Elzetta made the safe bet. Good move for drawing in new buyers.

But for some of us that received a thumbs down because we liked the old way better. My old Bones for example gets it done with a nice tint. So I chose not to "upgrade" to the new Bones. The old AVS was awesome. So I've chosen (thus far) not to acquire the upgraded one. That new high candella head however has the voices in my head whispering "you know you want it" but so far I've managed to squash them. So far so good......

 

[aznsx]

I like the new offerings by Elzetta and hope they are successful in their future but....

The wall was hit a couple of years back where physics had reached its plateau. Running a safe demand on the primary fuel source had gotten things as bright as practical using a somewhat neutral tint without a bunch of heat causing things to step down. It was industry-wide.

To target new markets they had to raise the numbers of output. Draw more current or have thermal step downs. In other words hold steady at 650 with a neutral tint or go to 850 with a whiter tint and thermal step down. Well, with the step down approach having been the norm the last couple of years, Elzetta made the safe bet. Good move for drawing in new buyers.

But for some of us that received a thumbs down because we liked the old way better. My old Bones for example gets it done with a nice tint. So I chose not to "upgrade" to the new Bones. The old AVS was awesome. So I've chosen (thus far) not to acquire the upgraded one. That new high candella head however has the voices in my head whispering "you know you want it" but so far I've managed to squash them. So far so good......

Two questions hit my feeble brain (and that's always dangerous).

• Do you happen to know if the Alpha Gen3 I have incorporates a "thermal step down" or thermal regulation of any kind? I'd wondered about that, but don't recall anything about it in the product descriptions. I'm very familiar with the output/time design it uses the first couple of minutes following power-on (which I personally consider perfect (to use a word I don't often use) for my specific use(s), but that's as much to do with the intended application (TAC/TAC backup/WML), and others with similar requirements, and secondarily batt conservation, as anything else. I know you don't have that specific model, but you might know if it's temp-aware. I haven't really heated it up much yet (low duty cycle use), but since I sometimes operate in 3-digit ambients, I should probably know this I guess. I've gotten some lights extremely hot in this here desert at times.

• Could you put some approximate color temps on those 'whiter' and 'nicer' adjectives? I might not ask, but I happen to know you're pretty darn good at doing that, so I will. My Alpha is spec'd at 4500K, and to my eye looks dead on that when compared with my 'cheat sheet' reference I use. None of my other lights are at that CT (AFAIK), however I'm finding it to be a very good all-'rounder CT; perhaps more so than I thought it would be. How 'bout you?

Edit: Added missing parenthesis.