4sevens Maelstroms and end of SHOT Show
I have to apologize. I originally intended to liveblog from the show but it turned out that the 4sevens booth was constantly so busy that I didn’t have time to. Now that I am back home I will reveal news from SHOT.
4sevens
At SHOT Show, 4sevens unveiled the Maelstrom lights. These are a larger, high power lineup designed to complement the Quarks. I am allowed to discuss four different models, the G500, M500, S1200, and S1800.
The M500 is designed with a 1-inch diameter body, for compatibility with standard rifle mounts. It is aimed at the tactical market and offers a selection of 4 outputs with a twist of the head. The UI has not been finalized yet, so I can’t comment on it. It has a relatively wide hotspot with a maximum output of 500 lumens which is afforded by its Cree MC-E LED. Runtime on max is expected to be around 2 hours.
The G500 actually did not make it to the show, but it was intended to be. It is the same externally as the M500 but it uses a Cree XP-G LED. Same 500 lumens, but with a much tighter hotspot. This one is designed for some extreme throw, and in testing it threw a visible spot 21 stories down from a hotel balcony to a (well-lit) parking lot. I’m told that it’s coming out in February.
The S1200 is perhaps the crown jewel of the lights presented at the 4sevens booth, with a 1200 lumen output in a tiny package. It’s about half the size of a Maglite 2D, or about 1.5x as thick and as tall as a Surefire 6P. It is rechargeable and extremely floody due to the large die and small reflector. This makes a real wall of light! Runtime is planned to be an hour. It’s expected to be out in Q2 or Q3 this year. I’m looking forward to this one the most. By the way, the hi-res catalog photos of this one is wrong, it is much shorter and smaller than the pictures show.
The S1800 is the largest in the Maelstrom lineup and it puts out 1800 lumens using the Luminus Devices SST-90. It runs on 6 CR123 for about an hour. There is a rechargeable 18650 option being considered, and it will likely have a couple output levels. It should be out in March.
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