It’s a big EDC market out there, and tons of awesome gear is released all the time. We made The Drop to help you discover the latest and greatest essentials worth a spot in your EDC.
You know you’re at the top of your game when your products start competing with themselves. And in the high-performance space of tactical flashlights, it’s Cloud Defensive sitting at the top. We think their lights are some of the best and toughest ones you can pick up right now, but that hasn’t stopped them from raising the bar even further.
Their latest light is one designed to take some serious abuse. The aptly named MCH Duty (officially the MCH-Duty-HO-DF, the latter standing for High Output and Dual Fuel) is their largest handheld light yet, sporting a larger 1.4″ head, wherein lies the meat of its new features. Cloud Defensive doesn’t specify the LED, but they rate its new specs at a top end of 1,800 lumens and 50,000(!) candela at a neutral 5000K temperature, powered by its included flat-top unproptected 18650 battery. Paired with the larger head and, logically, a larger reflector, the MCH Duty can throw light downrange even better than its predecessors. With the programmable interface and battery compatibility from the Dual Fuel, the Duty continues to be an all-in-one solution where the original MCH had to divide its functionality across two lights, EDC and High Candela.
But that’s not all, as the MCH Duty‘s wider noggin is also built to take even more punishment. Rather than being built from 6061 aluminum like the rest of its body, the head is instead shrouded and protected by S7 tool steel. It’s heat-treated to 51-55 Rockwell and finished off with black nitride plating resulting in a nigh-indestructible shell that’s more than up to any task. As a fun tidbit, S7 is a shock-resisting tool steel usually applied to jackhammers and concrete breakers, so yeah, that definitely makes the grade as a handheld tactical light.
What we like: There are a lot of tactical flashlights out there, but few have the experience and pursuit of performance that Cloud Defensive has behind them.
What to watch out for: The Duty‘s wider head means it’s less pocketable than its predecessors, but it’s not designed or optimized to be stowed in them. That said, it does come with a clip as needed, or upgraded with a Thyrm Switchback for more tactical applications.
Final verdict: Cloud Defensive continues to be the one-stop shop for the best tactical lights in the business.
