LED Maglite

E

enderwiggin

Joined
Nov 18, 2006
Messages
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Apologies in advance if this has been posted before. But I gotta say, I'm pretty impressed by Maglite's LED AA flashlight.

I bought a bunch of the standard AA Mag's as Christmas gifts this year, bundled with the Night Ize LED upgrade kit. I went to pick up another one at Ace tonight, and figured what the heck, I'll buy one of the new Mag LED's for myself.

The Mini Mag LED is MUCH brighter than the upgrade kit, and seems as bright as my Inova X5. Not that this is insanely bright, but the Maglite also focuses.

I'm still testing it out, but for a $22.00 Mag Lite, it's more than worth the money!
 
The only problem is the short run time and that there is no dimming or warning. When the run time is up, they just go out totally then and there. Kind of a design flaw that can leave you in the dark. I've been using the nite-eze conversion now for about a year as my walk the dog in the woods light for her last walk of the day. So far the run times have been 17-18 hours, with good usable light to see the trail we walk on. Around the house when in blackout, it was more than good enough to find my way to the circut breaker box to see what tripped. I'd hardly call it a POS, its all what you want. If you just want a flashlight to see whats going on, they work great.
 
I just saw a 3w, 3AA LED minimag. The extra length to the barrel really opens ups options for yawara, koppo, or kubaton style techniques. Plus, since the other dimensions remain unchanged, any open bottomed mini-mag holder should still work just fine. Too bad I'm not shopping for myself this time of year.
 
My 3AA came with a belt sheath. I got it at Walmart. It's very suitable for whacking people upside the head and also uses batteries more efficiently than the 2AA.:)
 
I bought the 3AA LED because I have several 2AA MiniMag's and didn't want to get the same just in LED. Works great so far... :thumbup:
kinda embarassing to say I'm a flashlight buff, but...
 
Man. You're all lucky. Ace is the only store around here I've seen carry LED maglites, and they only have the 2AA model.

Although, I'm willing to bet that at 7.49 for a belt sheath, rubber lens gaurd, and batteries, they're clearing stock for more LED mag's soon.

Wait a minute, why am I complaining? It sure made for some easy christmas shopping. :)
 
I use the 2AA converted with the Nite Eyez conversion. It works beautifully. I can't convince myself to spend the cash on the OEM light, because it works as well as it does. Eventually, I'm going to get a 3AA, always wanted a 3AA Maglite.
 
Not intending to go off in a tangent here. But anyone who carries a flashlight for a living or needs one in case of emergencies (and who doesn' t?) should always have spare batteries nearby. Or even a backup flashlight using the same battery type. The concerns about batteries dying without dimming first isn' t necessarily life threatening. If it is then you need another type/ brand flashlight. That being said, the 3 Watt 3 AA LED maglight is a most useful and well made instrument. It will at least run longer than manufactures claim of 4.5 hours for the 2 AA model. As for them being a potential makeshift impact/ trapping device, well... those who know- know. :) There is at least 1 negative about these new AA LED models in that the tail caps no longer have a lanyard hole! What was Mag thinking? :(

N.
 
There is at least 1 negative about these new AA LED models in that the tail caps no longer have a lanyard hole! What was Mag thinking?
Click to expand...
Will the Mag LED models accept the original tailcaps?
 
Unfortunately, they don't accept the upgrade tailcaps, or original tailcaps.

As far as batteries, I'm all on rechargables for most of my appliances now.

I've noticed the LED upgrade from Night Ize has a longer runtime, but isn't as powerful as the LED Mag.
 
The old tailcap will screw in but it's much shorter. Stretch out the spring (or replace it) and it'll work. Same with clicky tailcaps.
 
a lot of folks on here have back up lights for the back up lights lol nakano, i know i sure do.

heck i carry a arc "aaa" E2e surefire w/a KL1 and a surefire M3 in my bag. and spare batts.

is a good idea though.
 
I have an older AA Maglite with a Sandwich Shoppe modded LED unit. It' s original tailcap does not screw into my recent 3 AA LED Maglite. The threads do not mate correctly. If yours does work, then rather than stretching its spring, you may want to try a small drop in magnet (between the batteries) to act as an "extender". I have used these in several light combos that I have and they work just fine.

N.
 
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