EDITOR’S NOTE: I am trying this as a new review format—more of a diary of use as opposed to a pure list. If it doesn’t work, I’ll drop it.

If I am going camping or on a long hike, or if I am doing some yardwork to tame the weeds around my shed, I will usually carry a fixed blade. If I can’t, I default to a heavier duty light&saber pair. For the past few months that pair consisted of the PM2 Ultra and the Malkoff MDC v2. Both items are revisions of previously reviewed items. Here is the PM2’s review. Here is the MDC v1’s review. This review will focus on the MDC.

The thought process behind this particular pairing is that I wanted some more robust than my normal carry, but also still very portable. I don’t think anyone would consider the MDC a huge light, and the key to the PM2’s success has been the fact that it is a big knife that carries like a small one, so while this stuff is robust, its not silly.

Additionally, I wanted to revisit some stuff. I really, really loved the PM2 but the Compression Lock was just so pinchy for me. Getting rid of that flaw made the knife so, so much better. I am not a fan of bling and so this version of the PM2 with the button activated Compression Lock, is pretty much the perfect big knife for me. The Malkoff was similar in that it had one trait that drove me batty. Here is the quote from the original review:

The pocket clip here is a design abortion. It is horrendously bad. Not only does it ding everything it comes in contact with, it is TOO deep seating to easily retrieve the light and borks any possibility that the light could tailstand. This is grounding-into-a-triple-play-with-the-bases-loaded-and-no-one-out bad.

So, yeah, that clip sucked. The bones of the torch itself were exceptional. Very, very few lights have the build quality and attention to detail that a Malkoff does. Does the maker of the light you carry list debounce times in their specs? Right. Since the review of that light Gene and Co. revised the maching on the body tube and seem to have made the light a bit smaller, though I can’t say for sure. The clip is now allows for a rock-solid tailstand. In all, it is a marvelous gem. And unlike the disco lights often sold and reviewed on the net, the high here is real—it will maintain the high (within 10% of output) for the full runtime. No 90 second turbo bullshit. Its output, at 300 lumens isn’t the best on the market, but on night hikes and evening walks it is plenty thanks to some really good optics. Compared to some of my Hi CRI lights the emitter produces a noticeably green-tinted beam (note, I opted for the non-Hi CRI option to see how bad it would be; it was bad). The MDC is not a tank through being merely overbuilt, this is a bulletproof light because Malkoff is a very good flashlight designer. The end is potted (meaning the electronics are sealed in resin), the edges are rounded over or chamfered to limit dings and dents, and the clicky and boot are durable. Only a few lights have the solidity that the MDC does—the HDS Rotary being the one that comes to mind first. This isn’t a flavor of the week, cheap aluminum body tube; instead what you get is an imminently practical tool that does exactly what it is designed to do very well without frill or flourish. That’s a great product in my book.

But there is more to like about the MDC. I believe, though cannot confirm, that, like many if not all of Malkoff’s products, it is compatible with the “E” series platform. For those not aware, Surefire developed a modular system of tubes, heads, and accessories around the E series of lights. There are still some in the Surefire line up, but many have been phased out. In this gap, many companies, Malkoff and Overready to name the two that come to mind first, produce lights that work with E series stuff. The fact that Surefire hasn’t made modularity a central tenant of their product line up is strange (nothing makes tactical dudes open their wallets like accessories). But for some hardcore folks the ability to change heads is huge.

Other than the tint the only other criticism I would level against the MDC is the fact that it still runs on primaries only. While dual fuel is best, if you are going to commit to only one, commit to rechargeables. They give you more flexibility and lower use costs over the life of a light.

In the end, the MDC v.2 is a glorious tool, like a heavy, precise, and long-used block plane. It will always work and always be useful.

Overall Score: 18 out of 20 (1 off for output for the comparatively low high and 1 off beam quality for the noticeably green tint).

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Spyderco PM2