Maglite LED now using Cree XP-E

IsaacHayes

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I could not find for the life of me any posts or topics about this. I picked up a couple 3D maglite LED models over black friday from lowes for modding purposes because of their excellent deep reflector. On one of them I noticed it did not have a luxeon rebel, but a cree XP-E. The module is labeled 484. Am I the first to report this, or is this old news??



Kudos to mag for continuing to switch to better LEDs. I just wish they had some better heatsinking but I guess that would kill the fast focus with the cam system they have. I have yet to power either one up to compare to my modded mags but will when I get some D cells. I plan to mod one with an SST-50 and NiMH D cells to supplement my 3C Seoul light.
 

R983

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Treek13, I was just wondering how you teell the difference between the 2 leds by only looking at them. Any help would be great thanks.
 

PCC

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Here's a picture that I took for this thread originally that was lost in the recent crash:
DSC_2214.jpg


Cree on the left, Rebel on the right, both on 3D emitter modules.

It would appear that MagLite has reduced the output to the more efficient XP-E emitters on these lights because I measured about 100mA less current at the tail cap on the Cree version compared to the Rebel version. Going by this logic the Cree emitter using the slightly harder driven Rebel driver should give slightly more output. Extending that logic a bit more, combining the Cree XP-E LEd with the hardest driven Rebel MagLED, the 2D, would give me even more output. I did just that and measured 150 OTF lumens on bigC's sphere. The stock 2D Rebel MagLED measured 110 lumens in his previous sphere and the hotspot is slightly smaller, too, which helps with throw.
 

R983

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Thanks for the replies , I was able to find a 3D version Mag with the new Cree. It was in the same packaging as the other rebel equiped Mags. However there was one silver 3D with new packaging stating"new brighter led" and an orange sticker saying something about extreme throw distance of 380 some odd meters. That unit had the same 484 cree as the one that I bought. This helped me out quite a bit... I was going to go with a Poly Stinger led or the pelican LAPD light. This Mag out throws my G2 led and TRL-1 mounted on my AR. For how often and what it will be used for, Im really glad i came accross this info... I think I got what I wanted and saved over a hundred bucks in the process. (I know the streamlight and Pelican are brighter and have many advantages, but for my purposes i couldn't justify the cost. )

Thnaks Rich
 
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LEDAdd1ct

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I was in Sears today poking around the flashlight aisle (of course), and I noticed the XP-E Mags. Another guy was there looking through them, and was about to walk away with a Mag incandescent. I stopped him, and told him he would be better off buying the Mag XP-E. I handed him the 3D XP-E light, but he said he preferred the 2D since it was smaller.

I feel proud.
 

LEDAdd1ct

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So, this new 3D Maglite with Cree XP-E:

1) How much runtime per set of three D alkaline cells are we looking at?
2) How flat is the discharge curve?
3) How much current draw at the tailcap/per cell?

:)

LEDAdd1ct
 

Tana

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I am also interested in info on this new Maglite 3D LED... just to take some "vacation" from Surefire's and clones, I wanted to purchase blue 3D, incan version and install TerraLux-6EXB LED... however... still cannot find info if TerraLux solved heating issues they had before... Then I read about Maglite 3D LED and at first they had HORRIBLE reviews due to emitters droping to about 50% after 1-2 minutes working, due to poor heatsinking... By using more efficient XP-E, this might improve significally (maybe they did few other mods to heatsink, or replace plastic one with aluminum)...

Either way... blue is for a newly purchased vehicle for my wife - blue compact station wagon... would look great installed inside as emergecy ligth/window breaker...

Anyway... any new info on these new LED's ??? I read an review on amazon and one customer with rather new review date is mentioning 2nd generation Maglite 3D LED which is superior to 1st generation... I wonder if this 2nd gen he's menioning is indeed XP-E model...
 

LEDAdd1ct

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I thought there were three generations of Maglite LED "D" size flashlights:

1) Luxeon III emitters, also available in the "dropin" module which could be purchased separately
2) Rebel emitters (see PCC's great photo in post #5)
3) XP-E emitters, available contemporaneously with the Rebel

*scratches head*
 

Robin24k

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Your type 1 would have serial number D..., which is no different from an incan model with a drop-in so it's not really an LED light. The dedicated LED model has serial number DL..., and that one has two generations.
 

dantsai

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I've been thinking of purchasing a new 2D MagLED off of amazon or something. Does this mean if I get a new 2D MagLED it'll be the new Cree LED module? Or are they still selling Rebels? Anyone know? I previously had a first generation 2D MagLED with the Luxeon emitter and found it to be embarrassingly weak.
 

treek13

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They are more of the Rebel edition Mags out there than there are ones with the Cree. I still even occasionally come across those old first generation Luxeon models in some stores.

I would recommend buying it in person so you can check the model yourself. If that isn't possible, try to find a online retailer you can trust to check it for you.
 

Robin24k

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It would depend on how much volume Amazon has. They probably sell more than retail stores so their stock shouldn't be too old, but there's really no way to predict which version will show up. Their price is much better than retail stores though, so it might be worth taking a chance. Besides, there's really not that much difference between the Luxeon Rebel and Cree XP-E...
 

uknewbie

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This does seem like progress for Maglite, and given that a 3D Mag LED costs, what about $22, I think they are very cheap. Good budget light that I think Maglite cleverly aims at a large audience in terms of pricing, availability and marketing.


I am always a little surprised to see how popular they are on here though, given the things they lack such as HAIII anodising, proper (or any) heat sinking, glass lenses, metal switches/reflectors etc etc


Not that you can expect these things for this kind of money.
 

PCC

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I previously had a first generation 2D MagLED with the Luxeon emitter and found it to be embarrassingly weak.

If that's the case then you're not going to be any happier with this one over your previous one. The only real difference is that the hotspot can be focused to a smaller spot with the Cree MagLED compared to the Rebel MagLED. They both put out pretty much the same amount of light in terms of lumens.
 

treek13

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According to Quickbeam's numbers, the first generation 2D MagLED put out about 50 lumens.

Both the Rebel model & the Cree are going to look good compared to that.
 

bulldog_shotgun

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i had a first gen dropin wasnt impressed. i have 2 of the 2D rebels and just bought a 3D Cree, there both great for the money.
 
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