Last mini-mag user?

J

jackknife

Joined
Oct 2, 2004
Messages
17,579
I must be the last neanderthal to be using a mini-mag as a personel flashlight. I will be making the move to a led and want to know what is the closest thing in size( lengh, diameter,) to the mini-mag AA?

And also the maglight solitare? I saw a neat little light at a gun show a while back, the ARCAAA but I understand the ARC is gone.
 
Just get a Surefire L4. Maybe just slightly thicker than the mini-mag.

Great light. I carry it with me everyday. Although it's a little large in the pocket. I just ordered a longbow micra and i think i'll be keeping the surefire in my backpack when i get that. Or maybe i'll just carry both.

All these gadgets are damn addictive. I just want to carry 'em all. My pants are getting lower and lower due to the amount of stuff in the pockets.
 
I have a load of Surefires. I much prefer the "regular" bulbs over LED's. I would recommend a Surefire G2 - under $35 many places.
 
The closest LED version of mini-mag is the Streamlight JR (with Luxan Star LED) for about $30. It's looks almost the same, but is a tiny bit longer. It uses two AA batteries (which are cheap and easily available.)

The closest thing to the Arc AAA is Peak Solutions single AAA light with either 1 or 3 LEDs.

Scott
 
Mag is at least reliable, if outdated... Other than needing bulbs all the time, Mag makes a solid spare light. I average 25-30hrs on batts, 50hrs on a bulb with the 2AA.

*2D mag in my car(4-5hrs so far)
*2AA mag in my workbag(10hrs?)
*3AAA Garrity LED light in my BOB(120hrs on full, 700hrs on flash... and yes I still have the first set of batts in mine, used on full for over a year before relegating it to my BOB)
*Inova X5 on my belt, white LEDs (this set of batts is about 20hrs so far)

In the BOB in my trunk I have a *few* sets of batts... 2 sets of 123a's, 4 AAAs, 2 D, and about a dozen AAs(need to restock it, a guy at work bought a few off me this week, have space for 16 in there)... should be enough power for a while. Also use the AAs in my radio.
 
There's also the EverLed, which is good for replacing larger MagLite bulbs.. you just drop it in and never replace a bulb again, ever ..Much longer batt life too... and LEDs can handle shock when you drop it too.
http://www.leddynamics.com/EverLED/

As was said above, if you snoop on Candlepower forums, you'll find tons of mag conversions of all sizes... but be careful, you might end up with a dozen new lights...
 
The Streamlight Jr. Luxeon is great. It's relatively inexpensive and very similar to the AA mini-Mag. The clicking tailcap switch is handier for me, although you can't use it in "candle mode".

I have a TerraLux MiniStar 2 in one of my AA Mini Maglites. It's a drop-in 1 watt Luxeon LED to replace the incandescent bulb. It's works pretty well and it really kicks butt in candle mode, but I prefer the Streamlight for the same amount of money.
 
I've still got minimags. I personally have 2, one with the Terralux Ministar and one with a Lambda SMD pill. I like the durability of the Maglite line, personally. All of my maglites, except the Solitare on my keychain, are now LED. There are a lot of conversions out there for Maglites, too.

Don't take it as a bash on the Lithium-cell retina burners, though. They have their place as well. At least my SFs do. But for what you seem to want, I'd recommend an LED conversion for your Minimag. And like Scott said, the Peak seems to be the ticket for replacing the ARC in many people's minds, and that's what I will probably do once I figure out how and when I want to do that. .
 
I still use a Mini MagLite. The only reason I haven't bought a SureFire is because they don't use regular, easily available batteries.
 
K Williams, you should look into an LED conversion for your Minimag. Really, for what I use a Minimag for, LED is the way to go. There are kits to make a Minimag pretty close to, if not as bright or brighter than a Surefire, still using AA batteries. And there are some kits that stay about the same brightness as your normal Minimag with a battery life that will simply amaze you. Terralux has a kit, as does InReTec & Opalec, and there are pills and sandwich replacements available from people on Candlepower forums. That's where I got the idea for my Lambda SMD, which is a super great flashlight now :)

I like to keep my LEDs in something fairly tough, which Maglite seems to have a handle on IMO. I've yet to really destroy a Maglite. At many of the big retail stores now, however, there are a lot of offerings in the flashlight world that come right off the shelves with LEDs in them. Brinkmann and Dorcy come to mind at both Wal-Mart and Target, and I'm sure there's other ones out there. For those with no LED experience, I recommend picking up a Dorcy AAA LED flashlight, they're less than 6 dollars at Wal-Mart. They take a single AAA battery, and you'll be amazed at how long they run on that battery. Heck, I took a battery out of my remote that barely worked to change the channel and it lit up the LED, about 3/4 of with a fresh battery! They're amazing, these LEDs. .
 
ACMarina said:
K Williams, you should look into an LED conversion for your Minimag. Really, for what I use a Minimag for, LED is the way to go. There are kits to make a Minimag pretty close to, if not as bright or brighter than a Surefire, still using AA batteries. And there are some kits that stay about the same brightness as your normal Minimag with a battery life that will simply amaze you. Terralux has a kit, as does InReTec & Opalec, and there are pills and sandwich replacements available from people on Candlepower forums. That's where I got the idea for my Lambda SMD, which is a super great flashlight now :)

I like to keep my LEDs in something fairly tough, which Maglite seems to have a handle on IMO. I've yet to really destroy a Maglite. At many of the big retail stores now, however, there are a lot of offerings in the flashlight world that come right off the shelves with LEDs in them. Brinkmann and Dorcy come to mind at both Wal-Mart and Target, and I'm sure there's other ones out there. For those with no LED experience, I recommend picking up a Dorcy AAA LED flashlight, they're less than 6 dollars at Wal-Mart. They take a single AAA battery, and you'll be amazed at how long they run on that battery. Heck, I took a battery out of my remote that barely worked to change the channel and it lit up the LED, about 3/4 of with a fresh battery! They're amazing, these LEDs. .
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I'll have to check out one of those kits.
 
VampyreWolf said:
*Inova X5 on my belt, white LEDs (this set of batts is about 20hrs so far)
Click to expand...

wow.
x-5.jpg


must be awful dim in your neck of the woods when you pull out that X5.
link

focus: i am also a mini-mag user for the simple fact that it is 7$, takes cheap batteries and provides me with more than adequate light. i have also found that most of what the lightsnobs say in degragation of the light hasn't happened to me. i've had a mini-mag in my car for two years with the same set of batteries and they have not corroded on me in temps ranging from 110 degrees to -5 degree Fahrenheit. I have dropped the light numerous times without blowing a bulb, the beam stays the same brightness and color despite how much life the bulb has, only really degrading when the batteries are about to die. I have abused my mini-mag beyond reason and it is still going strong, it is one of the older lights and a lot of the finish has worn off but it's still functionally perfect.

here it is between two new ones i picked up a few days ago at walmart for 7$ with 2 spare bulbs each.


DSCF00192.jpg


i own and use both a surefire G2/6P as well as an X5T but i find that for EDC the mini-mag just works better.
 
I one negative comments on EverLed, if you put the batteries in wrong polarity, you will fry the Led. Learned it the hard way...

Andy
 
Andy, the new Everled has polarity protection built in. And they even make one now for reversed polarity. .
 
you can just get an LED "sandwich" for your Minimag. pop out the Minimag's bulb and bulb-base and slide the sandwich in thru the battery tube b4 you slide the batteries in. there's really no comparison.

here are some pictures from reviews done by CPF member Quickbeam:
Minimag Flood Focus & Minimag Spot Focus
minimagflood.jpg
minimagspot.jpg


and now here are two typical drop-ins for the Minimag:
the Madmax & the Bad Boy
madmaxr2h.jpg
badboy400q2.jpg


as you can see, the drop-ins transform the Minimag into a much more useful, smooth flood of light. he measured the stock Minimag putting out 580 lux overall and 884 lux @ the beam center.

compare that to the Madmax putting out 3200 lux overall and 795 @ beam center, and the Bad Boy putting out 1800 lux overall and 336 @ beam center.

you get alot more light from the drop-ins!
 
Right now I have my E2E Surefire in my pocket.

I still love the Mini Mag too. Like said Seven bucks,and that comes with 4 bulbs,2 batteries and a holster!!

I have used them 100's of times to get into and out from stands in the dark woods.It was the only light I used on canoe trips in the Yukon,BC. etc.

Used it at countless fires,shootings,cpr runs.

Surefires have a nice "wow" factor.But a Mini mag was all I needed to gut deer,set up camps,light up victims,crawl though burning buildings.

Guess they'd be fine for walking the dog or looking under the bed too.....
 
spoonrobot said:
focus: i am also a mini-mag user for the simple fact that it is 7$, takes cheap batteries and provides me with more than adequate light. i have also found that most of what the lightsnobs say in degragation of the light hasn't happened to me. i've had a mini-mag in my car for two years with the same set of batteries and they have not corroded on me in temps ranging from 110 degrees to -5 degree Fahrenheit. I have dropped the light numerous times without blowing a bulb, the beam stays the same brightness and color despite how much life the bulb has, only really degrading when the batteries are about to die. I have abused my mini-mag beyond reason and it is still going strong, it is one of the older lights and a lot of the finish has worn off but it's still functionally perfect.
Click to expand...

Hard to argue with that logic. I still use mine too even though I have newer, more expensive lights.
 
I recommend the princeton tec attitude for maglight substite and dorcy AAA led mini for under 6 bucks at wally world for the solitare substitute. Both put the maglights to shame! the attitude is light in wt and puts off an amazing amt of smoothe white light. The bulbs are a lot tougher also.
 
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