New MiniM@g 2AA 3w LED light...I'm Impressed!

I bought one of the new(?)2AA 3w LED Minimags this weekend at Lowes.

This thing is really a d*mn good light! For $25, I think it is the best bang for the buck around, especially for your average person.

I don't really want to start a discussion on the merits of different LED replacements for the Minimag, but rather just how any of you feel about this light.

I'll probably buy one or two more, to put in the vehicles and the kitchen.

This thing is really impressive; it uses the ubiquitous AA, pretty decent LED (by our standards here), a nice DEEP reflector for throw, little to no artifacts in the beam, splash resistant, great form-factor, really nice output, very good runtume.

This thing, for the money, should be in everyone's collection.

It certainly won't replace anything in my collection, but it fills a hole; that of a relatively disposable torch with good-to-very good performance.

Anybody else as impressed as I am?

It seems like a very decent light, but I haven't picked one up on impulse yet because just one of those lights would put me back nearly $80 (USD) if I were to buy one from a store over here in my part of the world

You will get a lot of heated debate on this one. Some people really like it, and other hatre maglights and this one included.

I have to replace mine, I gave it to my father in law for a trip he was taking to Vegas for his car light. My father has one also and loves it. For the majority of the non-flashaholics I know, Mag means flashlight, and this one will fit their feeling of what a light should be very well.

Even for many flashlight fans this light will be a perfect fit, myself included, I liked the one I had very well, and it was familiar to use.

Overall, I think it is a nice light, for a decent price and should be a huge hit and seller.

Anybody know what kind/type of emitter they are using in this light?

I think it's a great light for the money. There's one thing to warn you about, though. They're regulated flat enough that it's hard to notice them get dimmer. And when the batteries get too low, the light cuts off abruptly. I've gotten 5hrs & 15-30 minutes out of good alkaline batteries. But when it dies, it just winks out with no warning. So be prepared for that. I haven't done any NiMH run time tests. I remember that someone did, but I can't find it right now.

If the MiniMag's could take Lithium AA's I would have one already. And the "wink out" fade mentioned above is a real bummer leaving you suddenly in the dark. Really bad. The 3AA does not fade out so fast though...

Yeh, I've heard of the flat run and sudden drop-out. As well, there is no reverse-polarity protection.

Lithiums: I am running Energizer Lithiums in mine; I wonder what the run-time will be? Thanks for the info on the alkalines. And tit should run on any standard form (AA size) rechargable. I'm assume youi were meaning the over-sized Lithiums often used in projects here.

But again, for the money, this is a great light; maybe the best for the money.

Still no info on the emitter?

Cydonia said:

If the MiniMag's could take Lithium AA's I would have one already.

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What are you talking about? When I had one I ran Lithiums AA's in it all the time with no probs. I have a TLE-5 Ministar2 in another one and that works fine as well.

KDOG3 said:

What are you talking about? When I had one I ran Lithiums AA's in it all the time with no probs. I have a TLE-5 Ministar2 in another one and that works fine as well.

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Well, according to the review info at http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/maglite_minimagled.htm it says "2 X AA alkaline - no others per manufacturer instructions". I just assumed that meant it would be unwise to try Lithiums...
:shrug:

And when was the last time that ANY of us paid attention to manufacturer's instructions or recommendations? :laughing:

see, the light makers can't win. You have a flat regulation, people complain about it leaving you in the dark. if you have a gradual slope toward the end, then the other crowd ***** baout it lacks regulation. It's tough being a light maker these days.

That aside, I had a pretty nice 3-AA one in my car until some, um, underpreviledged urban youths decided to pry my door open and relive me of the Mag along with a Elektrolumens XM3.

Cydonia said:

If the MiniMag's could take Lithium AA's I would have one already. And the "wink out" fade mentioned above is a real bummer leaving you suddenly in the dark. Really bad. The 3AA does not fade out so fast though...

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Lux III

Anyone know how to dismantle the head? I'm assuming they're not using UXOJ's

That deep reflector has some possibilities!

270winchester said:

see, the light makers can't win. You have a flat regulation, people complain about it leaving you in the dark. if you have a gradual slope toward the end, then the other crowd ***** baout it lacks regulation. It's tough being a light maker these days.

That aside, I had a pretty nice 3-AA one in my car until some, um, underpreviledged urban youths decided to pry my door open and relive me of the Mag along with a Elektrolumens XM3.

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My L2p with absolute rulerflat regulation has made me a very happy camper, thing is, that after it has gone out of regulation, it stil has some 30min of usable ligth for emergency. The magled leaves you completely in the dark, as I understand it. That's not good. But seems to be a brilliant light otherwise (though I dont like the twistie).

Well said! I'm surprised that there hasn't been discussion/rants about this topic before the MagLED 2AA came on the market. The sudden loss of power is also often characteristic of flashlights (both incandescent and LED) that use protected LIon batteries (regulated or not.)

As a matter of fact, it has been a Streamlight FAQ item about their Strion light ever since it was introduced. Oddly, there hasn't been an all-knowing soul who has pontificated over the "potential dangers" to public safety personnel who choose to use this product.

270winchester said:

see, the light makers can't win. You have a flat regulation, people complain about it leaving you in the dark. if you have a gradual slope toward the end, then the other crowd ***** baout it lacks regulation. It's tough being a light maker these days.

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Cribbage, I am glad you like your MMag led. I am on my second 3AA. Useing liths fried my first one after several hours. That is too bad because the lithiums made it so light to carry. Now I just use Energizer titaniums or duracell ultras.

The one thing I like about the MMag that none of my other lights will do is the candle mode. Not bad for $25.

I'm quite impressed with mine, the 3AA is just as good

I got mine for $14.99 at shopkoe, they had them on clearence and now they don't have any m@g stuff.

I bought one as well and I am also impressed. Will using NiMH rechargeable batteries ruin the flashlight? I noticed the post about burning up the flashlight using lithium batteries, and the manufacturer states rechargables should not be used.

Thank you,
Fred.

if you're going to buy an ordinary over the counter flashlight from walmart, the minimag 2aa LED or the brinkman maxfire are the two best bets.