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NightCutter M60L and P20 Strategist
A Review by Phil Elmore
Reviewer Note: As of April 2005, NightCutter no longer provides flashlights to the retail market. We at The Martialist are sorry to see them go. Lightship Enterprises, LLC, continues to serve industrial clients.
WARNING! NightCutter and Lightship Enterprises do not market their lights as weapons and neither condone nor encourage their use as such. The Martialist does not recommend you buy tactical lights for this purpose. A utility light is just that – a light, designed primarily to provide illumination.
The official tactical lights of The Martialist are provided by NightCutter. The company's M60L and P20 Strategist are more recent entries in its product line, representing a step forward in technology, finish, and illumination. While impressively bright and useful for a variety of utility scenarios, the official tactical lights of The Martialist could also double as expedient striking implements. This makes them ideal daily carry items for prepared citizens.
Light Emitted
To be perfectly honest, the mathematics and terminology behind the various flashlight fora out there are really beyond me. All of the lights we offer produce useful illumination that is extremely unpleasant to the naked eye. In low light conditions, a flash from the P20 is fairly disorienting and would likely give the well-prepared martialist an advantage in dealing with an assailant (though of course no one can make guarantees of this kind). A zap from the powerful M60L is even more likely to disorient someone. Everyone to whom I've shown my daily carry 5PC has remarked on how bright it is – which makes the brighter, whiter P20 and the much more powerful M60L that much better by comparison.
The carefully selected white-light diodes (a single light emitting diode in each light) of the P20 and the M60L are rated for 100,000 hours and 500 hours of use, respectively. This means the diode of the P20 is essentially a lifetime bulb (you'd have to use it two hours a day for something like 137 years to burn it out) while the diode of the M60L would last for 250 days of two-hour use each day.
The Martialist's tactical lights use the same CR123A lithium batteries commonly used in other tactical torches on the market. The P20 has a continuous-on duration of five hours at full output (24 hours with decreasing illumination) from one set of batteries. The M60 is capable of 60 continuous minutes of full light output and six hours with decreasing illumination. (As with any LED light, brightness declines when the batteries get run down, so the intensity of the illumination drops off with time.) Both lights are competitive with similar tactical lights available from other companies.
Light emitted by the tactical lights of The
Martialist, head to head.
Both lights have NightCutter's full-cap tailcap pressers. With the tailcap twisted to the always-on position, the light stays on by itself. Back the switch off one eighth turn, and pressing the tailcap depresses the entire tail of the light slightly to produce momentary "tactical" illumination. Back the switch off past one eighth and the light is in always-off mode for safe storage. The switch is very subtle. Some users may find it a little too subtle, but I like how it operates. It is essentially silent.
The tailcap switch on my M60L seemed to have very little leeway in its adjustment for momentary-on lighting – much less than that of the P20. I queried NightCutter about this and was told that the on the initial production run of M60Ls, the anodizing process resulted in a variation in the threads on the tail. This affects the leeway in the tailcap switch adjustment. "We have since corrected the problem with the vendor," NightCutter's representative told me, "and we're back to our clean fit and enough play to actuate the switch correctly." My M60L operates just fine in any case, but it was good to know that customers can expect more play in adjusting their own torches.
The M60L (left), P20 (middle), and the popular 5PC (right). All of
the lights are essentially the same size, though the head of
the M60L is larger. Pocket clips are identical.
The M60L and P20 have attractive anodized aluminum bodies. While relatively smooth to the touch, they are slotted to improve traction. The result is a classy, high-tech look that impresses most people to whom I show the lights.
Comparative pocket carry of the M60L (left),
P20 (middle), and 5PC model (right).
The P20 Strategist
NightCutter's P20 is essentially an upgraded 5PC. Roughly the same size (4.75 inches long, comparable to the Inova X5 but with a slightly larger head) and equipped with the same pocket clip (which orients the light head-up in the pocket), the P20 also has a raised lip around its optics that serves the same function as the prominent no-roll head on the 5PC. NightCutter does not market the light for use as a striking tool, but the potential is obvious. Facets ringing the head keep the light from rolling away when it is sitting on a flat surface.
The NightCutter P20 Strategist, with its 1 Watt Luxeon diode.
As is apparent from the comparative beam shot we've already seen, the P20 produces light that is slightly brighter and obviously whiter than the blue-white light produced by the bank of LEDs in the 5PC. My 5PC has been with me for many runtime hours; I've shown it to many people and all have remarked on its brightness. The P20 is simply more so, making it a useful upgrade that any 5PC owner (and anyone contemplating buying either light) can afford.
The 5PC is bright, but the P20 is brighter and whiter. The M60 pumps
out an impressive 60 lumens from its circuit-controlled diode.
Personally, I haven't yet decided if the P20 will replace the 5PC I carry daily, as I'm attached to my original The Martialist light. Both units are reliable, well-designed torches that will serve anyone as well as they've served me.
Tailcap and clip of the P20. The cap has a lanyard hole.
The M60L Tactical Light
The M60 is clearly NightCutter's answer to self-defense lights like the SureFire E2D Defender. The most powerful torch in the company's lineup (as of its introduction), the pocket-clip equipped M60L ships with interchangeable bezels and optics for custom focus and application. It also comes with a wrist lanyard.
The M60L ships with everything you see here.
Most significant is the 60 lumens of light provided by the M60L, which makes it competitive with many Xenon-bulb tactical lights. The diode doesn't get as hot as do Xenon bulbs, either. The two focusing lenses provided with the light allow the user to choose between a focused diamond of light and a slightly broader, more diffuse circle.
Comparative beam shots of the M60L optics provided.
Changing the optics is easy to do. The head of the light is threaded to accept the interchangeable bezels. Removing the bezel allows the transparent cup to fall out of the light. (One of my optics sticks inside the light head when I try to change it, so I use a push pin to lift it out per the instructions provided.) Replacing the bezel and its washer (which is there to provide water resistance by sealing the light) leaves you ready to go once more. I had a little difficulty getting the semi-flexible washers aligned properly, but it was not impossible and I've always been a little clumsy with tasks like that.
The M60L with its bezel removed and its interchangeable optics ready.
I decided to compare the M60L and the E2D head to head for the most meaningful results. The M60L is slightly larger than its Xenon-bulb competitor. Its surface is smoother and therefore does not provide quite as much traction, but it is also less aggressive looking and somewhat "sharper." The E2D has a scalloped head that makes it a very effective striking tool. It has a small pocket clip and, like the M60L, rides head-up in the pocket.
The excellent SureFire E2D (left) and the M60L (right).
Both lights are rated for 60 lumens. Compared to each other, the M60L beam lacks the broad scalloped corona of the E2D and provides about the same amount of light at the center of the shot (using the tight focus optics).
Xemon-bulb lights are usually much brighter than LED lights,
but the M60L produces comparable light from its diode.
To the naked eye, the beam from the E2D appears much more yellow, while the beam of the M60L appears white. In the photos the M60L beam looks more blue (and its diamond shape is readily apparent). Both torches are powerful lights that would provide any martialist with more than adequate illumination in an emergency.
The tight-focus optics (left) provide less peripheral illumination.
Unlike the E2D, the M60L can be converted from "politically correct" to a more visually intimidating profile and back again. A flat bezel and a toothed bezel are provided. Swapping them out to finger-tight is quickly and easily accomplished, once you have the washer inside the bezel properly aligned. The teeth of the M60L striking bezel are short, sharp, and vicious. I showed the light to a friend and he grinned. "That just says 'aggressive self-defense tool' all over it."
The M60L in its aggressive "toothed" tool configuration.
If you're one of those people who worries about just that – the appearance of carrying an aggressive weapon – you can change out the bezel for the flatter head and still have an adequate and expedient self-defense "pocket stick" that pumps out considerable light.
Wielding the striker bezel-equipped M60L feels... empowering.
As the top of the line in NightCutter's "professional" product offerings, the M60L is worthy of the designation. This is a well-thought-out tool that provides the user with several options right out of the box. It is powerful, well-executed, and even looks good. You can't ask for much more from a tactical light.
Preparation for Everyone
Regardless of your needs – utility or self-defense – there's a light in the NightCutter product line that will meet them. When I reviewed the NightCutter 5PC I promised that we'd be adding new lights as they were developed. The M60L and the P20 are just such tools.
Don't get caught without light.
