Dimensions & Weight
Case Material
Case Features
Case Access Type
Switch Type
Reflector Type
Lens Type
Bulb Type
Circuit
Beam Type
Beam Characteristics
Overall Output
Nominal Color
Battery / Power Type
Battery Life (advertised)
Environmental Protection
Accessories
Special Items of Note
Warranty
Retail Availability & Cost

1- Classic hand-held flashlight form. Geometry is a radially symmetrical round cross-section/featuring an octagonal cross section anti-roll head / smoothened contours, functional and decorative 'O' ring accents, highly aggressive diamond pattern body knurling and functional tailcap octagonal faceting.
2- Head of Light is wider than the body & tail-piece which are the same diameter.
3- The flashlight feels larger and heavier than some flashlights of comparable output but this is offset by solid construction and heft that are ideal for individuals with medium to large sized hands. The Pelican M6-LED is a formidable mass of flashlight.
4- One's hand surrounds the aggressively knurled body section.The body of the light easily fills a medium (*1) sized palm with no protrusion.
5- Eight facets on the head effectively prevent the light from rolling on a smooth surface.
6- The aluminum wall thickness of the battery tube is 4 mm.
7- All sections fit together extremely well with smooth threading action.
8- Type II (Matte) anodizing on the outside and throughout the inside offers protection against corrosion.
9- Matte finish minimizes reflections and visibility at night (Black version).
10- There is no 'play' or rattle anywhere. Substantial 'O' ring seals provide some shock absorption, a snug fit and a seal against the elements- especially water.
11- The included medium-weight cordura nylon sheath with snap closure, is highly form-fitting, sleek,elegant and an effective stowage and carry compartment. A smooth nylon inner liner/stiffener aids in flashlight deployment and stowage. A fixed belt loop accommodates belts up to 3" wide / vertical carry only.
12- Very rugged look & feel with substantial heft. It 's a gentrified interpretation of a well known 'tactical' style flashlight's profile.

1- Ambidextrous.
2- A medium palm completely surrounds the body of the KC-1, with the thumb and first or second fingers- naturally positioned on the front of the body section just behind the head-portion. Its ideal for medium and large hands but hold-able by small handed individuals as well . It may be hand-held in various positions including: Harries Flashlight Technique, forward, upward and downward pointing 'standard' flashlight hand-held modes.
3- A 'soft-touch' momentary On /Twist On/Off tail-piece switch allows for constant or intermittent light activation.
4- No native mounting options for fire arms use are evident, though the mid-section may allow for dedicated clamping brackets or other improvised and custom designed attachment solutions.

1- Stowage- The included medium-weight cordura nylon sheath with snap closure has a smooth nylon inner liner/stiffener that aids in speeding deployment and stowage. A fixed belt loop accommodates belts up to 3" wide. There is no provision for horizontal belt mounting.
2 - Activation- In normal use, light is emitted from the front of the flashlight when activation occurs through a full clockwise turning of the tail-piece till it stops. There is no 'follow-through' position. De-activation is implemented via an anti-clockwise turning of the tail-piece. In the 'Off' position, a partial (soft) activation of the momentary button switch causes the light to turn on. An immediate release of pressure, causes the light to turn back off.This is known as 'momentary' mode. Intuitive use involves one hand holding the light while the free hand turns the tailpiece or with the light in 'Off' mode, one hand may be used to activate the light in the Harries hold for example. The tailpiece may also be turned with the fingers of the supporting hand. Locking out the momentary button requires a full anti-clockwise turn of the tail-piece.
3-The head is threaded to the body section, allowing for easy user accessibility to the enclosed lamp module.
4- The removable tailpiece protects the battery compartment from the environment by a single 'O' ring and thread lubrication.
5- The front bezel is removable to allow for access to the lens and retaining 'O'ring.

1-Matte silver (or black) anodizing protects a surface that is finely machined throughout. In addition, the anodizing and smoothened contours of the KC-1 give the surface a luxurious- gripable feel.
2-One small 'logo-flat' cut-in along one side of the body section serves the purpose of branding the light without in anyway affecting the otherwise uniformly knurled cylinder.
3- Two accessory 'O'rings located near the front end of the body section, appear to be exactly the same size as other 'O'rings used on the light- suggesting that these may be 'spares'. In addition, they may also act as decorative accents as well as providing additional 'indexing' and purchase for a forward hold position.
4- We did not perform a 'pull' test but we judged the combination of pointed diamond pattern knurling, combined with matte anodizing as an effective preventative to hand slippage. Even wet, the KC-1 was easy to manipulate securely.
5- The weight and bulk of this light make it suitable for the home or workshop tool box, inspection, camping, with the black version being ideal for law enforcement and security.The head is too elegant for driving in tent stakes- yet that option is possible in a pinch. It is certainly suited for outdoors,and rough environmental exposure .It's viability in water-sports or underwater is probably good (untested)-due to the impressive, medium duty 'O' rings and precision threading both at the head and tail sections.
6-Due to it's comparatively heavy weight to some bantam weight 2,CR123 cell lights in its class- it really deserves to be used anywhere where heft, and not a bantam weight- is a preference.
7-The toggling push for momentary On and click for On/Off activation procedure is smooth,nearly silent and highly user focused. Unlike a competing brand of switch, the Pelican KC-1 style switch requires about a third of the 'throw' and pressure for activation . From an interface haptics point of view, the bright red, texturized rubber switch button provides just enough 'blind' texture-click and resistance to signal that successful activation has occurred. It does this without requiring the substantial displacement that other switches such as the Kroll types- demand of thier users. This makes the Pelican KC-1 flashlight more easly activated by adults with weaker fingers as well as to youngsters. The switch is relatively intuitive to use and the cognitive model is simple and easy to remember.
8- The design of the holster/sheath is such that the tailpiece is supported inside at the bottom, without a risk of unintentional switch activation- even if the lock-out switch is not in fact 'locked-out'.
9- As with the head of the KC-1, the tailpiece may be removed for maintenance- by unscrewing it from the body section.
10- Due to a slight protrusion of the bright red, textured rubber switch button- the light may not be stood on its tail for ceiling bounce mode. Candle mode is also not an option due to the use of a separate spring-supported lamp assembly.
11-The integrated lamp assembly (emitter module + reflector + spring) is not user accessible.

The Pelican KC-1 scored Maximum Distance for Object Identification or MDOI at 155 feet -more than adequate for general searching, as well as tactical applications.
Beam-shots Page >>

1- The Pelican KC-1 is a medium/heavy duty personal flashlight that's ideal for general flashlight tasks in a number of everyday and several demanding applications including: security,law enforcement (police), EMS,hostage rescue,and tactical. Due to its robust waterproofness combined with punchy beam , we judge it to be an excellent choice for outdoor activities.
2- This light begs for some minor modifications that include:
- a wider variety of anodizing colors including Olive Drab Hard Anodizing III
- voltage regulation
- a tail-end lanyard hole or attachment point
- optional color filter / front cap attachments
3- Adding a 1/4 Blue CTB filter behind the lens neutralizes the very slight yellow bias and puts the KC-1 on par with lights containing purer white emitters at a lesser cost and with only a slight (10%) potential decrease in subject illumination.
4-Value. With new flashlights in the 1 & 2,CR123 / 1W Luxeon market space -being released weekly- it's hard to define a relative value when comparing non-comparables. At this point in time, the Pelican KC-1 rates 4.5 stars out of a possible 5 stars.
Our gripes were... A) Unnecessarily heavy B) Lack of lanyard attachment point C) Lack of voltage regulation

4.5 Stars- Highly Recommended

Footnotes:

(*1) Medium Men's glove size- Also, a Standardized Flashlight Hand Size Metric (SFHSM)

		Small A-B = 4.5" or Shorter
		Medium A-B = 4.5"-5"
		Large A-B = 5"-6"
		X-Large A-B = 6" and Longer

(*2) Maximum Distance for Object Identification (MDOI). The maximum distance that a person without the aid of magnification-can with normal or corrected vision, under a given ambient level of light, identify an object of known size, and clearly distinguish it from its surroundings. We have tentatively identified the following scenarios for such measures:

• A single average sized person/body identification scenario
  • Urban (city, inside buildings, dark alley, lit streets)
  • Rural (countryside,farm residential backyard)
  • Environmental (dessert, woods, wetlands, over water)
  • Natural & manmade disaster (fire, flood/mudslide,earthquake, hurricane /tornado,bombing scene, collapsed structure etc)
• Small Inanimate Object (smaller than a shoe-box)
• Medium Inanimate Object (Black Plastic 33 Gallon (124Litre) Garbage Bag stuffed with a big sleeping bag)

(*5) Context Inclusive Illumination Window (CIIW) as compared with a Context Exclusive Illumination Window (CEIW) .

• CIIW describes a subject illumination paradigm wherein the illumination target is the focus of the beam's brightest disc or 'Hotspot' and peripheral objects to the target are more dimly illuminated in a larger disc that surrounds the focus or hotspot. This outer region is also referred to as a corona or penumbra.
• CEIW describes a subject illumination paradigm weherein the illumination target is the focus of the beam's brightest disc or 'Hotspot' and peripheral objects to the target are not sufficiently illuminated to be easily discernable at the periphery of subject beam's focus or hotspot.

© 2004 - Imägo Metrics - All Rights Reserved
Original standards designations (including acronyms) depicted in this, as well as all of our evaluations are the exclusive intellectual property of Imägo Metrics LLC and subsidiaries. Reproduction without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.

All Photographs © 2004 - Imago Media