The Official Malkoff Junkie thread - Part 2

[INFRNL]

1st pic you can see the blemish, and it is on every surface.

Second pic you can kind of see it next to the typical Malkoff Finish.

3rd pic, look at the ring area of the tricap; this is the area that a standard tailcap fits, Awesome! Only 1/10th" bigger at the ears.

 

[xdayv]

Interesting. I've just ordered my first tricap, on board an M61HOT. I do hope the finish is up to par with the rest of my Malkoff gear.

The M61T and HOT always intrigued me... I'll wait for your feedback/review. Thanks.

 

[xdayv]

I'm convinced, the tricap is seamless and seems like a perfect upgrade.

 

[INFRNL]

Interesting. I've just ordered my first tricap, on board an M61HOT. I do hope the finish is up to par with the rest of my Malkoff gear.

For the record, the tricap that was on my MD2 is perfect, this one pictured was tricap only. Keep your fingers crossed. Not a big deal, I will just use this cap on a light that gets used regularly (whichever that may be, not sure)

Thanks. This thread is hard to keep up haha.

And yeah the LL is my fav, long runtime, bright enough for everyday chores.

Everything you just said is very true.

 

[INFRNL]

Here are a few pics of the cells.
1st 2 pics; 18500's and rcr123. left 18500 is wear from standard tailcap not using head to replace cells. Right cell is just from a few times using Tricap and putting it on with cells in host. RCR123 is from a few uses in an Elzetta Alpha where you have to take tailcap off to replace cells. You can see the Tricap is a bit more aggressive and adds wear a bit quicker. You can easily catch your nail in the wear, it's not just light cosmetic like normal wear.

As mentioned before, i will easily take care of this myself and would suggest to always make sure you take the head off rather than tailcap and/or fix this before use.
The spring does not look out of the ordinary from other lights, but it is/ can definitely be an issue. Hope this helps

EDIT: I din't realize how quickly these get dirty on the inside from just 2-3 times taking off/putting on the tailcaps. I think it's mostly from the o-ring

 

[INFRNL]

I'm convinced, the tricap is seamless and seems like a perfect upgrade.

Yes, if you like this style tailcap, I fully agree. Here is another shot for you which hopefully shows it a bit better. HD 18650/ Wildcat v6.

 

[xdayv]

like a masterpiece ^^ I have an RPM tailcap on my 18650 HD, which is quite a footprint, like a "rocket"...


add: anyone has a pic side by side of 16.5 and 22.3 head? just wanted to see the difference as I don't have both. TIA.

 

[dhunley1]

The spring on my tricap was a bit sharp, too. I change batteries through the head and will be using primaries in this light, so it wasn't a huge issue for me, but I did go ahead and bend the spring a bit to take care of it.

 

[Modernflame]

Are you guys saying specifically that the tip of the coiled tail cap spring is sharp? Seems like filing it down a bit would be easier than bending it down. Thoughts?

 

[dhunley1]

Yes, its the tip of the spring. Without removing the switch from the tail cap, it was easier to get needle nose pliers in than any files I have.

 

[Modernflame]

The M61T and HOT always intrigued me... I'll wait for your feedback/review. Thanks.

And you shall have it, sir. I'm expecting the delivery on Monday, since Cathy was kind enough to expedite my order.

Yes, its the tip of the spring. Without removing the switch from the tail cap, it was easier to get needle nose pliers in than any files I have.

I typically remove the head for battery changes anyway, but only because the head turns more easily. I'm concerned about bending the spring down because I like at least the option of unprotected cells and I need all of the available length of both springs.

 

[INFRNL]

Are you guys saying specifically that the tip of the coiled tail cap spring is sharp? Seems like filing it down a bit would be easier than bending it down. Thoughts?

One would think, but it's not quite that simple. I did a combination of filing and bending. Luckily i have tiny files. Maybe it's me but if you just file it, its like sharpening a knife edge. So I filed to thin it down, then slightly bent it down to be just under flush with the next coil. There is no edge anywhere that could contact the cell.

Basically the end of the spring at the top is sheared off during the making process and it leaves a bit of a rough/sharp edge. Although I looked at my 2 spare mcclicky switches and they are the same. So This is just how the switches come. I guess I never bothered or had issues because i generally take the head off. The only reason why I checked this out is because of the one complaint without any pics to show anything.

This just seems to be the nature of a spring. However, it kind of depends on how the spring ends. I have some that are kind of flat where it's more obvious, and some that have a slight tilt down which makes it slightly better.

Here is my before and after pic: as you can see on the right, it is a perfectly smooth surface now. you can't see how I filed it and made it flush with the next coil, but you get the idea.

 

[INFRNL]

I'm concerned about bending the spring down because I like at least the option of unprotected cells and I need all of the available length of both springs.

You are not losing any length, you are basically just pivoting the very end down. For most this will not be an issue since we use our heads, rather than tailcaps, but someone I thought I'd address it. Maybe mcclicky is using a new vendor and quality is just not quite the same, hard to say but these seem to be a bit sharper/rougher than previous springs.

 

[Modernflame]

Basically the end of the spring at the top is sheared off during the making process and it leaves a bit of a rough/sharp edge. Although I looked at my 2 spare mcclicky switches and they are the same. So This is just how the switches come. I guess I never bothered or had issues because i generally take the head off.

Same here. I suppose it can't be that bad since I've been living with it all this time without noticing. I'll take care to monitor my McClicky springs.

 

[Woods Walker]

Low mode is flawless. Resistor change out was a good play on INFRNL's part. Matches Malkoff just about perfect but with lower voltage.

Low on M31W and M61N.

I had to adjust the camera a bit to capture this image.

MD1 and MD2.

MD1 outside running 1XAA.

Just about everything is perfect. Tint is warm as expected and really nice. Beam is perfect. Very bright running on 1XCR123 and nice useful on 1XAA. Low modes perfect.

 

[INFRNL]

Glad everything turned out as you hoped Woods:thumbsup:

Thanks for the great pics as always and glad the journey was good as well! I'm also glad that the h/l ring ended up working great for you.

On that note, i found a message i sent to a buddy. A 50ohm resistor is the minimum a person would want to use to get an m31 to work properly on low. Granted this will be more of a moonlight low.

 

[marco.weiss]

like a masterpiece ^^ I have an RPM tailcap on my 18650 HD, which is quite a footprint, like a "rocket"...


add: anyone has a pic side by side of 16.5 and 22.3 head? just wanted to see the difference as I don't have both. TIA.

22.3 - 16.5 - surefire 6P

 

[xdayv]

22.3 - 16.5 - surefire 6P

Marco thanks!!

 

[marco.weiss]

Great work with the springs INFRNL
Thank you for the tip.

 

[dhunley1]

I checked my other spare mcclicky switches and they weren't quite as sharp as the one on my tricap. Really shouldn't of been an issue for me, but it was an easy "fix".

I didn't lose any length on the spring when doing it. The positive "nub" on primaries still sits just above the body when the head is off.