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Maglite LED upgrade?

I haven't used that brand but I did upgrade my D cell maglites to LED and it a heck of a lot better than the old bulbs. I do have to say it's a bit expensive to get the Maglite brand so I found a different brand at the local Walmart and bought those.

You'll be happy, that crisp white light is a heck of a lot better than that yellow narrow beam light you've been used to with your old bulb.
 
I have the Nite Ize upgrade on my mini mag and I love it. A huge improvement on brightness and battery life over the original bulb. I got it in a set that also included n end cap with a push button on/off switch but I didn't like that so much. It was too easy to accidentally turn on when it was in its holder on my belt. I found mine at Target and I've seen them around a few other places as well.
 
Salamander42 said:
I have the Nite Ize upgrade on my mini mag and I love it. A huge improvement on brightness and battery life over the original bulb. I got it in a set that also included n end cap with a push button on/off switch but I didn't like that so much. It was too easy to accidentally turn on when it was in its holder on my belt. I found mine at Target and I've seen them around a few other places as well.
Click to expand...

I too have the Nite Ize LED upgrade for two of my mini-mags and so far I like them much better than the regualr bulb, although they are on "house duty" and not had any real outdoor hard-use. I have the 3-LED module and not the single 1 watt Luxeon model which wasn't available at the time, but is probably even better still...

I also have the "IQ Switch" and I really didn't care for it, not sure if it was my imagination or not, but it seemed to kill the brightness a bit, and was unintentionally being turned on in my bag all the time. I've gone back to the regular end-cap
 
The Nite Ize is a nice cheap upgrade, the Terralux module is the best IMO, better beam pattern and light color. You can check out the Terralux here
 
I have an eye on one of those upgrades because my mini Maglite just EATS the batteries in no time... I will try to get one on eBay. After reading your experiences with them... they sure seem like a good idea.
Mikel
 
i did the nite ize conversion a couple of years ago and love it. the only problem i've heard is that if you get the switch and bulb conversion the switch is poo. aside from that no problems.
 
Mikel_24 said:
I have an eye on one of those upgrades because my mini Maglite just EATS the batteries in no time... I will try to get one on eBay. After reading your experiences with them... they sure seem like a good idea.
Mikel
Click to expand...

It really is worth hunting down the Terralux TLE-5EX Ministar2 Extreme. I could nip down the road for a cheap nite ize, but there's a very good reason why I go for what translates as $40 USD here instead. No contest.
 
I have the LED upgrade made by maglite as well as a new 4-C LED maglite. All I can say is HUGE improvement! The led upgrade is about $15 and a new 4-C mag was about $30.

My favorite maglite is the 2-C model. Mine is old well worn and has marks that tells many stories. When you buy the LED upgrade make sure you buy a replacement lens, $2, cheap and improves output.
 
I use a nite ize conversion, and I'm very content with it on my 2aa mini-mag. It is a fine utility light, that works with a minimal amount of juice. I don't need 140 Lumens- when I need something uber-intense, my Surefire e2e (60 lumens, incandesent) isn't too far out of hand. With filters, the Nite Ize unit is an excellent ambient map/land nav light. Very minimal output. I have found that I prefer using my Surefire e2e filters (which are compatible with the mag) more than the OEM mag filter set.

I have used the OEM LED conversion in the D cell as well- it's nice, runs off virtually no juice (it's so fun when dead batteries work again), but I wouln't put it in the same ballpark as the Nite Ize 2AA conversion.
 
Ironic . . . I just post a few days ago about my experience with the nite-ize upgrade. I LOVE the mini-mag design because it's a twist on/off instead of the usual push button end cap. I standardized on them with nite-ize inserts a couple of years ago & have had great service.
UNTIL, a recent camping trip to Edisto Island (south of Charleston). Great trip, but one night I had been using one of my mini's around camp, turning it on & off as needed. A few minutes later I began to feel it heating up (really heating up) in my pocket. Pulled it out & found the led would't work & it was getting hotter & hotter.
I unscrewed the tailcap, dropped the batteries out, & found that the whole led insert had been fused & damaged from the heat.
Pretty confused at first, til someone suggested checking those two little wires that stick out of the back of the led insert to see if they had gotten twisted together somehow & basically shorted the whole thing out.
Couldn't tell for sure due to the heat damage, but that's the most likely explanation.
Replaced it with one Dorcy (Dorcey?) & one Garity to test them both. Lots of light from both, but I'm not sure they're as water resistant as the mag-lite design & I REALLY dislike the endcap on/off buttons. They're just begging to get bumped in a pack, turned on accidentally, & me finding out hours later that the batteries are drained.
Any suggestions on how to pack these to prevent that & yet still leave them easy to get to?
 
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