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- Jan 21, 2002
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Click on the thumbnail to see a larger pic.
Part of the Black Knight series, the PM6 Lithium runs on two CR123 lithium batteries with a rugged body and far-throwing xenon lamp, but Pelican decided to take an already great light to another level by recently introducing the Pelican M6 LED. As you can see in the picture, the host body of the PM6 LED (bottom) is nearly identical to the original PM6. Currently the PM6 LED is only available in black, with silver bodies on the way.
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The picture above shows the PM6 after disassembly. The parts include the clickie (more on this later) switch housed in a lockout tailcap, the main body tube, the LED lamp assembly which screws into the body, a plastic washer, the reflector assembly with spring which is housed within the octagonal bezel, plastic lens and bezel ring.
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The tailcap is one of the improvements made to the PM6 LED. The new switch (right) is a clickie switch that is activated by pressing the red switch button on the tailcaplightly for momentary and all the way for constant on. The original PM6 used the button for momentary with the tailcap requiring rotation for constant on. The clickie switch is not very reactive (i.e. there is not much click to it), but it works well. The tailcap can be unscrewed to prevent accidental discharge.
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Here we see three examples of PM6 lamp assemblies. The assembly on the right shows the stock 1 watt (high dome) PM6 LED module, while the middle shows the PM6 xenon lamp assembly and the left module is a custom made 5watt McModule. While the bin code of the LED is unknown, the 1 watt LED of the PM6 LED is extremely white and bright and I have yet to hear anyone describe their own PM6 LEDs as anything but bright and white. Pelican must have been sitting on quite a large quantity of quality LEDs for this project.
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This next picture shows the difference between reflectors. The reflector on the left shows the larger opening for the PM6 LED while the left shows the smaller diameter opening for the original xenon lamp assembly. The xenon lamp assembly will work with the LED reflector but not the other way around. The PM6 reflector has been touted as one of the best reflectors out there and the PM6 LED just reinforces that idea.
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The left beamshot shows the PM6 xenon at its tightest focus with the PM6 LED on the right (tightest focus). As you can see in the picture, the LED is much whiter than the PM6 xenon which has a yellowish tint to it. The bluish tint is only apparent in the picture, when viewing the beam in person it is quite white. Both beams have quite a bit of useful spill that is not visible in the pictures. While the xenon lamp still appears to out throw the LED, the LED reaches quite far and it is doubtful that you will find a production LED light in this small a package that throws as far as the PM6 LED.
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The last picture is a comparison between the PM6 5 watt McModule (left) and the PM6 1 watt LED. As you can see, the 1 watt LED has a much tighter hotspot which results in greater throw. This particular 5 watt is actually a very high quality 5 watt (W3V bin code) and while it doesnt appear so in the picture, is actually one of the whitest LEDs I have seen. The batteries in the 5 watt McModule were not new at the time of the picture which accounts for the relatively dim quality of the beam. The 5 watt does put out more light overall, but the smaller die of the 1 watt in conjunction with the Pelican reflector allows for much greater throw.
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With an MSRP of $95.95 and an (Internet) street price of less than $60 (under $50 if you look hard enough)this light is well worth the money. It comes with Pelicans lifetime warranty and is very well made. The LED means that the bulb will not die if you drop it and you will not have to replace any dead bulbs. The light comes with two Energizer CR123 batteries and a cordura belt sheath. The sheath is not mentioned in the review because it is rather cumbersome and I feel it is too large for the light (in other words, Ive never used it). Pelican rates this light at 41 lumens with a 40 hour burn time but I have not done any runtime tests so I dont know how accurate that statement is. For this price and quality, I dont think you can go wrong with this light.
I believe that the newer PM6 LEDs will be coming with a black switch button and the head will no longer allow for focus.
Sorry for the lengthy post, Im no expert but I thought Id try my hand at a thorough review of this new light since I have gotten many questions on my 5 watt PM6 conversion. Keep an eye out for a review of the new Pelican M8 LED and the new Pelican SabreLite (when Pelican finally decides to send it out). Any questions, comments or suggestions are welcome.
Part of the Black Knight series, the PM6 Lithium runs on two CR123 lithium batteries with a rugged body and far-throwing xenon lamp, but Pelican decided to take an already great light to another level by recently introducing the Pelican M6 LED. As you can see in the picture, the host body of the PM6 LED (bottom) is nearly identical to the original PM6. Currently the PM6 LED is only available in black, with silver bodies on the way.
---------------------------------------
The picture above shows the PM6 after disassembly. The parts include the clickie (more on this later) switch housed in a lockout tailcap, the main body tube, the LED lamp assembly which screws into the body, a plastic washer, the reflector assembly with spring which is housed within the octagonal bezel, plastic lens and bezel ring.
---------------------------------------
The tailcap is one of the improvements made to the PM6 LED. The new switch (right) is a clickie switch that is activated by pressing the red switch button on the tailcaplightly for momentary and all the way for constant on. The original PM6 used the button for momentary with the tailcap requiring rotation for constant on. The clickie switch is not very reactive (i.e. there is not much click to it), but it works well. The tailcap can be unscrewed to prevent accidental discharge.
---------------------------------------
Here we see three examples of PM6 lamp assemblies. The assembly on the right shows the stock 1 watt (high dome) PM6 LED module, while the middle shows the PM6 xenon lamp assembly and the left module is a custom made 5watt McModule. While the bin code of the LED is unknown, the 1 watt LED of the PM6 LED is extremely white and bright and I have yet to hear anyone describe their own PM6 LEDs as anything but bright and white. Pelican must have been sitting on quite a large quantity of quality LEDs for this project.
---------------------------------------
This next picture shows the difference between reflectors. The reflector on the left shows the larger opening for the PM6 LED while the left shows the smaller diameter opening for the original xenon lamp assembly. The xenon lamp assembly will work with the LED reflector but not the other way around. The PM6 reflector has been touted as one of the best reflectors out there and the PM6 LED just reinforces that idea.
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The left beamshot shows the PM6 xenon at its tightest focus with the PM6 LED on the right (tightest focus). As you can see in the picture, the LED is much whiter than the PM6 xenon which has a yellowish tint to it. The bluish tint is only apparent in the picture, when viewing the beam in person it is quite white. Both beams have quite a bit of useful spill that is not visible in the pictures. While the xenon lamp still appears to out throw the LED, the LED reaches quite far and it is doubtful that you will find a production LED light in this small a package that throws as far as the PM6 LED.
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The last picture is a comparison between the PM6 5 watt McModule (left) and the PM6 1 watt LED. As you can see, the 1 watt LED has a much tighter hotspot which results in greater throw. This particular 5 watt is actually a very high quality 5 watt (W3V bin code) and while it doesnt appear so in the picture, is actually one of the whitest LEDs I have seen. The batteries in the 5 watt McModule were not new at the time of the picture which accounts for the relatively dim quality of the beam. The 5 watt does put out more light overall, but the smaller die of the 1 watt in conjunction with the Pelican reflector allows for much greater throw.
---------------------------------------
With an MSRP of $95.95 and an (Internet) street price of less than $60 (under $50 if you look hard enough)this light is well worth the money. It comes with Pelicans lifetime warranty and is very well made. The LED means that the bulb will not die if you drop it and you will not have to replace any dead bulbs. The light comes with two Energizer CR123 batteries and a cordura belt sheath. The sheath is not mentioned in the review because it is rather cumbersome and I feel it is too large for the light (in other words, Ive never used it). Pelican rates this light at 41 lumens with a 40 hour burn time but I have not done any runtime tests so I dont know how accurate that statement is. For this price and quality, I dont think you can go wrong with this light.
I believe that the newer PM6 LEDs will be coming with a black switch button and the head will no longer allow for focus.
Sorry for the lengthy post, Im no expert but I thought Id try my hand at a thorough review of this new light since I have gotten many questions on my 5 watt PM6 conversion. Keep an eye out for a review of the new Pelican M8 LED and the new Pelican SabreLite (when Pelican finally decides to send it out). Any questions, comments or suggestions are welcome.
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