Mag failed me stories

[flownosaj]

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SarcoBlaster said:
The bulb in my minimag has gone out when I dropped it and when a fresh set of batteries weren't even used up yet.

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I believe that is the problem for me. All my other 2AA and 2AAA incan lights have lasted a LONG time on the bulbs wheras the mag's went out ALL THE TIME! And that's with cleaning the finger oils off with an alcohol wipe before I put the head back on.
As far as having a spare in the tail, I think that it was one of the smartest things they did for the m!n!-gag.
I don't fault the light--I fault the cheap bulbs.

I have a mitylight that's more than 6 years old, WAY brighter and has seen much more use (and abuse), and is only on the second bulb/reflecor.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif rock-on competitors

-Jason

 

[Tombeis]

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BullPar said:
OH yes i have been waiting for a thread like this.. I work in corporate aviation, as an avionics specialist. I had a mini mag a couple of years ago. When i get on the aircraft to work some areas are very hard to get into because the planes are so small. some areas you have to get stuck in to work. now imagine this. you squezze into the hell hole of a lear 35. hark as crap, and hot. you get cut on wire bundles and metal. grab your mini mag light and turn it on.. dammit the bulb blew. craw back out cusing. get another bulb and you drop it because its so small.. i can go on and on. lots of people hate these crappy junk lights. I bought an ARC aaa and it is absolutly awsomw small so i can hold it in my teeth. and way brighter than the mini crap light. also run time is longer... God i hope mag light goes out of buisness..

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Now here is a man after my own heart!

Uses a led flashlight,and holds it with his teeth while he works.

Each day, I am more amd more convinced that the led flashlight is the working man's friend.

Great post Bullpar.

 

[paulr]

I haven't noticed Mag bulbs failing faster than other bulbs (maybe they do, I just haven't noticed).

The spare bulb in the light is a VERY good idea. I wish all incandescents had that.

Changing the bulb in the dark is a PITA. You should always carry some kind of spare light anyway, like a Photon II on your keychain. That makes changing your Mag bulb a lot simpler.

I've found the smaller Mags (Solitaire especially) to have unreliable battery contacts. That hasn't been a problem with the big Mags that I've tried (I have a 3D).

I also find the smaller Mags to be stupid lights these days. The Arc AAA is superior to the Solitaire in every way. The Princeton Tec Blast is brighter than the Mag 2AA and weighs a lot less and is much smaller. It has less runtime, but that usually shouldn't matter.

The bigger Mags are of limited usefulness because of their size. I took my 3D to work on something a couple blocks away and got tired of carrying it rather quickly. I don't see how LEO's can stand lugging those things around all the time, when a rechargeable Surefire is so much smaller and brighter. The 3D is a good light for around the house though, cheap to run (16 hours on three D's) and big enough that it's hard to misplace.

Overriding all the above, though, is Mag's horrible litigious behavior towards companies like Arc that are making better lights. See the Mag Lawsuit thread for details. Because of that, I'm boycotting all Mag products including mods. I will not buy or recommend any new Mag stuff. Some CPF'ers have even sent all their Mag lights back to Mag with advice about where Mag can shove them. I haven't done that yet but I agree with the sentiment.