The illusive CD O.W.L. (1 of 2) finally arrived!

[WS6]

All of you saying OWL is too heavy should take a look at Modlite.

www.modlite.com

I am not affiliated with the owner at all, other than via brief conversation.


-100% US made, save the LED itself
-100% US assembled (again, minus the LED)
-They weigh what they look like they weigh, around 4.5-5.5oz
-fully potted
-beam color is around 5800K, which I would prefer it be warmer, but...
-"head" size is pretty much splitting the difference between the HL-X and the Surefire M600U
-They have been run the hell out of by some legit LE guys.

I was pretty pissed at the weight of the OWL, the Malkoff heads just don't have the horsepower I'm looking for, and the Surefire DF and 1000 lumen scout offerings will take up 2-cell space on my rail, and have only around 10-13K Candela. This cuts my rail space to a 1-cell length, and gives me over double the candela at 1500 lumens, with 30 minutes runtime, and weighs around 4-5oz or so. I think it's going to answer the mail for me, personally. YMMV.

[Canonshooter]

All of you saying OWL is too heavy should take a look at Modlite.

www.modlite.com

These look good. Smart move not limiting the output to the current-handling capacity of a standard CR123 lithium battery.

[zombiescometh]

All of you saying OWL is too heavy should take a look at Modlite.

www.modlite.com

I am not affiliated with the owner at all, other than via brief conversation.


-100% US made, save the LED itself
-100% US assembled (again, minus the LED)
-They weigh what they look like they weigh, around 4.5-5.5oz
-fully potted
-beam color is around 5800K, which I would prefer it be warmer, but...
-"head" size is pretty much splitting the difference between the HL-X and the Surefire M600U
-They have been run the hell out of by some legit LE guys.

I was pretty pissed at the weight of the OWL, the Malkoff heads just don't have the horsepower I'm looking for, and the Surefire DF and 1000 lumen scout offerings will take up 2-cell space on my rail, and have only around 10-13K Candela. This cuts my rail space to a 1-cell length, and gives me over double the candela at 1500 lumens, with 30 minutes runtime, and weighs around 4-5oz or so. I think it's going to answer the mail for me, personally. YMMV.

Definitely interesting that amount of candela is pretty amazing. But looking at lights that take up less rail space this is how I see options and comparison


Surefire M600DF $269
Thorntail mount $50
Total $319 can use cr123 & 18650 and it’s ready to start using

Modlite head $250
Modlite 1 cell body $67 2 cell $69
Total $317-319 has amazing candela but still needs tailcap, mount, and battery


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[boomer223]

All of you saying OWL is too heavy should take a look at Modlite.

www.modlite.com

Now we're talking. Thanks for sharing this!

[WS6]

Definitely interesting that amount of candela is pretty amazing. But looking at lights that take up less rail space this is how I see options and comparison


Surefire M600DF $269
Thorntail mount $50
Total $319 can use cr123 & 18650 and it’s ready to start using

Modlite head $250
Modlite 1 cell body $67 2 cell $69
Total $317-319 has amazing candela but still needs tailcap, mount, and battery


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Don't start adding up numbers yet, they are going to sell them as a package with the batteries, chargers, etc. It's just not up yet. I asked about it and was not given any numbers in concrete, but I think you'll be happy with it given the charger and batteries(2) it will come with, and given the math you did above. I bet you'll say something like "Hey, not bad, that's legit".

[Canonshooter]

Definitely interesting that amount of candela is pretty amazing.

Be aware that candela/lux or lumens by themselves indicates nothing about the shape of the beam. You can have low lumens and high candela (such as with the Streamlight Super Tac X, 200 lumens/40,000 candela), which produces a narrow beam with limited spill. Such a beam profile might be good for long range pest control, but may not be ideal for closer-range defensive use. Of course you can also find lights with high lumens and low candela (flood pattern), which might be preferable for a pistol WML.

This is another reason I like the approach of using single body that can accept different heads with very different beam characteristics, runtimes, etc. The ability to Lego a variety of Malkoff pieces to fit specific uses is definitely a plus.

[Canonshooter]

[boomer223]

Super-clean!

[TheTick]

Though I only have a tiny fraction of the low light shooting experience of some other members of this forum, based on my research, experimentation and low light training experiences (Sig Academy), I feel comfortable making the following observations;

A simple, intuitive UI is mandatory. For lights using tailcap activation, the SF twisty-style seems ideal. I used a standard clicky tailcap in training and there were a few occasions I inadvertently pushed too far and clicked the switch on without realizing it. When you let go of the button and the light stays on, it's not good.

Any light that can be set to different output levels (regardless of the method of changing mode) ends up so in the stress of a training class (much more so I'll assume in an actual armed confrontation). I've seen it happen first-hand where lights end up in Nordic SOS mode, Disco Flash or some other ridiculous gimmick mode that Asian-made lights seem plagued with. There's a reason top-tier WMLs are single output only.

Sorry for the de-rail...

Clicky-caps are fine, so are pressure switches... the main thing I've found is that you need to use something that doesn't require you change your grip to turn the light on. I've used a clicky-tailcap at 11 o'clock and hit it with my thumb and I've now moved over to favoring a pressure switch at 12 o'clock for a light mounted at 1 o'clock. I like both, but I strongly prefer the latter as it gets the light further out of my field of vision (right handed) and the 12 o'clock switch allows either hand to press it if I have to shoot left handed for some reason. I also prefer the tape switch at 12 o'clock because it lets me wrap my thumb over top of the handguard.

The "constant on" is fine and that's what gets used the most *** for me ***. We throw our lights on as we make our entry because, let's face it, they know we're there so screw it, we might as well see as much as we can. It's easier to just throw a light on and leave it on for a building search than it is to keep pressure on the light through-out. I do prefer the momentary on/off if I'm trying to creep around and/or I'm stationary in a perimeter or defensive position, which pushes me back to the tape switch because *** for me *** it's easier to use momentarily than a clicky-cap (think bad guy is creeping around and I'm going to ambush him (or her... it's 2019) if he reaches a certain point.

*** To me ***, the only switch that I'll say sucks is the toggle switch of a pistol light (think TLR-1) mounted on a rifle as they are more prone to AD, especially if they're on the same side of the gun that hangs against your body (left side for a right handed shooter).

Anyway... I've been using Streamlight Pro-tacs (3 of them) professionally for a while now to include a rail mount hl-x way out on the end of a 13" rail on a 16" gun and it's 7 ounces doesn't register to me. That light's 1,000 lumen/ 27,000 candela has suited me well both indoors and outdoors.

*** I'm fully aware that there are high speed(ier)-low drag(gier) guys than me that like "momentary only" lights, etc and that just goes to show that you need to really try different things until you find what works best for you which is why I detest "pool guns" for work guns.

Okay, I'm done... sorry, again...

EDIT TO ADD: I also programmed both of my Pro-tacs that are on rifles to "high only". My duty belt Pro-tac still has low and disco functions that get used regularly.

[1168]

I also have no problem with constant-on lights, and never liked Surefire’s non-clicky tailcaps. In fact, I used to replace the tailcaps on my issued Surefires with ones from older models that clicked, and were protected from accidental activation.