I’ve pretty much givin up those drop ins. 3 mode output level spacing is horrible. No low voltage protection when they are rated for 3.7-9v? I’d never run multiple li-ions with no LVP. Protected cells don’t fit either. Running a single li-ion results in the efficiency being absolutely horrible.
MDC AA 1-2v and the 2-3.2v MDC’s are the only ones with good mode spacing and the only practical lights that are worth it.
TLDR
Fully agreed, and wanted to add, in my opinion, the spacing should scale logarithmically...depending on how many modes there are, there should be a factor of at least 7 between middle and higher modes, with the factor increasing or decreasing proportionately with the lumens. I.e., if max is 350 lumens, mid should be 50 lumens or less, and low should be 7 lumens or less. Of course, this should also scale against use case, where an AA might peak at 140 lumens, so mid would be 20, and low would be 3, or even sub lumen.
Malkoff's design philosophy seems to be reliability and durability, and is one of the reasons I stick with the L or LL models of the m61. A tough, super bright light is just a blunt paperweight if it runs out of juice.
But TLDR, without owning an MDC AA, I can fully agree that the advertised spacing is the best out of most of the Malkoff lineup.
**I run my m61L in an elzetta, not a malkoff...lighter and slimmer overall, and I use a protected 16650
