Mag Light Discussion

[radioactive_man]

I think they should abandon the focusing ability on their LED models and work on improving the beam pattern. About the unneccesary length, very true. I just got the TK50 and was taken back a bit at the size of it. It's definitely smaller than a 2D Mag by a couple inches. I'll have to compare but I think it may even be shorter than the ML100 2C. Love it.

For the flashaholic the TK50 is a better light than any Maglite. However Joe Average Consumer doesn't care, he shouldn't have to, and he can get a beater light with a good warranty for a third of a price of the Fenix TK50 ($85 vs $29 ... or even cheaper). Again you are comparing Toyotas to Porsches and complaining, that they are not the same.

@yellow: Their target market doesn't care about length, heat sinking, regulation, multiple levels and disco modes, spare parts or modding. They care about getting a cheap light with a good warranty.

[Lit Up]

For the flashaholic the TK50 is a better light than any Maglite. However Joe Average Consumer doesn't care, he shouldn't have to, and he can get a beater light with a good warranty for a third of a price of the Fenix TK50 ($85 vs $29 ... or even cheaper). Again you are comparing Toyotas to Porsches and complaining, that they are not the same.

They could probably save in manufacturing costs by getting rid of the cam; it's pretty useless with an LED unless they can find a way to morph the emitter from an X-RE to an X-ML as you twist the head from spot to flood. They try to be both at the same time and it fails. I have an old Brinkmann 2D (1 watt/ Lux I, I believe), and even the older Dorcy 3D (remember those?), that has a more workable beam by providing a bit more of a hotspot and some brighter spill by having side-stepped the silly focusing and just using a workable reflector/emitter combo instead. I guess that's one instance where Maglite litigation did some good - for the other guy.

As far as the TK50, the 4 lumens low mode lights up the living room quite sufficiently for 'don't step on the cat' navigation during a blackout, and will do so for hours and hours and hours. (480 stated) Plus it tailstands without the need of being crammed between the couch cushions. The ML100 has multiple modes which could have easily incorporated a very low lumen mode and the tailcap could have been redesigned easily enough to make it flat, both options at no considerable cost, especially considering they did a head redesign on the ML series that will call for all new accessories they'll have to manufacture since the current ones won't fit. (Traffic wands, filters, etc.) Yet they didn't bother with some useful improvements and the low setting only gets 48 hours. Maybe one day they'll get it right, and it won't cost them any more than it did to create the ML series to do so.

[SimulatedZero]

side-stepped the silly focusing and just using a workable reflector/emitter combo instead. I guess that's one instance where Maglite litigation did some good - for the other guy.

Most of the people who see my lights for the first time ask "Does it focus?". The two thing that people seem to care about is the battery and does it focus. It has become so ingrained that a good flashlight focuses that it is actually counted as a negative among basic, non-flashaholics when the light doesn't focus. Also, to be fair, the new XP-E emitter Maglites have a fairly usable beam. On full focus it is pretty clean as far as a tool goes. I'm sure you would still hate it while whitewall hunting, but in the real world it does just fine. The flood on it isn't bad either and the beauty is that you can make as floody as you want depending on the situation. If you are inside a house you can flood the light a lot before you get the infamous hole in the middle of the beam.The focusing really is useful, the Maglite D-Cells put out in excess of 30,000 candela. Granted it is a fairly small spot, but people only fully focus it when they want to see something far away. The only thing I would like to see updated on the D-Cell lights is a bigger hotspot, with the same throw, so it doesn't feel so laser like on full focus. But that's just my personal preference.

I could never see a non-flashaholic getting the TK50. While it is a great light, they will take one look at it and go "It doesn't throw any farther than my Maglite, doesn't focus, takes the same batteries, it does have some cool modes and run for a really long time but I can just get the 3 D-Cell which runs for 72 hours at 131 lumens instead of 4 lumens, 85$ vs 30$, I think I'll get the Maglite" Most people don't care about the extra care and thought put into the higher end lights, not for the price it costs.

[yellow]

I do think, that the lenght is a point for the ppl which are looking at a 2*AA light,
with the rest, You all are right.

Still, there is no need to have the 2*AA led version to be long enought to house 3 cells,
its simply a bad construction
Pretty sure this prevents really long scale sales

[AnAppleSnail]

I do think, that the lenght is a point for the ppl which are looking at a 2*AA light,
with the rest, You all are right.

Still, there is no need to have the 2*AA led version to be long enought to house 3 cells,
its simply a bad construction
Pretty sure this prevents really long scale sales

I'm not sure what a long scale sale is.

Minimag LED 2AA: 168mm
Quark 2AA: 147mm (Twice what the Minimag costs)
Romisen Rc-N3 in AA mode: 156 mm (Similar price to MiniMag LED)
3AAs is 150 mm in length. The Quark almost holds that many, the Romisen does, and the Minimag is a short stack of nickels longer.

21mm is a noticeable difference in length, but not a dealbreaker to the average joe. The flood/zoom interface is comforting to the average person who wants to work up close sometimes, far away other times. If a company doesn't listen to the voice of the customer ("Does it zoom? No? No thanks") won't be in business for long.


Lit Up:
What do you mean by a Mag3D not tailstanding outside the couch cushions? I mean, it won't remain upright on the roof of my van while I drive, but it will stand solidly on a table in candle mode. Without taking off the top it's a bit wobbly, but I would use a mounting bracket if I wanted the mag lite to illuminate my boat.

[justang1997]

I just read about the new mini maglite pro+ and came here looking for info. If I read this right, it is longer than it should be but that's about the only con? I want a laser like focus beam to throw out past my back fence and my 2 D won't fit in my pocket as well. The + model has the low mode. Has anyone played with the plus?

[AnAppleSnail]

I just read about the new mini maglite pro+ and came here looking for info. If I read this right, it is longer than it should be but that's about the only con? I want a laser like focus beam to throw out past my back fence and my 2 D won't fit in my pocket as well. The + model has the low mode. Has anyone played with the plus?

There's a whole thread on the Mini Pro+. I don't know that it's "Longer than it should be," because comparable lights (Price and lux readings) are similarly sized. For example:

Home Depot Rayovac DIY2AA-LED has almost as high lux as a focused stock Minimag LED, and is only 8mm shorter. This light costs $15 instead of $20, also runs on 2AAs for about as long, with about the same output.

[SimulatedZero]

If I read this right, it is longer than it should be but that's about the only con? I want a laser like focus beam to throw out past my back fence and my 2 D won't fit in my pocket as well.

The MiniMag Pro isn't too long for an AA light in my opinion. If that 2D you are talking about is the new LED one then you will be hard pressed to find something that will throw as far for the same price. If I remember correctly the MiniMag Pro+ has somewhere in the neighborhood of 5600 cd, which will not throw any where near as far as the 37,000 cd 2D Maglite. As long as you back fence is with in a couple hundred feet of your house then you should be good with the Pro+. Despite what others may tell you, those two Maglites should do you well.

[justang1997]

Thanks. Just read the long mini mag pro thread. I should have searched. I'm gonna order one tonight. I have a long back yard with a cow field behind it so the 2d (new version) is my back door light for any noises. But normal chores in the back yard have me wishing for a smaller light and I hate using my edc lights for yard work.

[AnAppleSnail]

Thanks. Just read the long mini mag pro thread. I should have searched. I'm gonna order one tonight. I have a long back yard with a cow field behind it so the 2d (new version) is my back door light for any noises. But normal chores in the back yard have me wishing for a smaller light and I hate using my edc lights for yard work.

You might consider a headlamp (Or one of the hands-free techniques for using a normal torch) for chores.

[sniper]

Wow!
Things haven't changed much in the last 6-7 years...back then we even had a kid whose username was Maghater. He was 14, passionate, and a nice guy, I wonder whatever hapened to him? Anyway, the discussion seems much more reasonable now.

You either like or hate MagLites. Truly, they are the pick-up truck of flashlights. I've owned 3D Mags since the '80s, and MMags since the 90's. I like them...as was stated, they offer what I wanted, and still do... reliability, weather resistant...you can use' em in the wet!... reasonable cost, and good looks.(IMO) I've upgraded all of my standard Mmags with LEDs, for the improved run time and better light, tho. But, the advances in flashlight technology in the last 6-7 years are amazing!

I like the switch on the C and D bodies, but have never seen the usefuleness of the focus, so I just set mine and forget it. Multiple levels...low and high, and maybe "firefly" are a goodness. Could they maybe offer two ot three lighting levels like others do, using a similar switch? Of course, strobe and SOS seem like a bit of snake oil to me, but everybody's doing it, soooo...

I don't like the twisty head switch on the minis, which is why I outfit mine with a clicky.

The twist-on-mulitple-function-focus head on the newer Mmag LEDs is a mess...a real turn-off. (no pun) I'm selling mine.

I think that Mag could offer a water-resistant two-level tailcap switch in their Mini LED models that would cost about the same as buying an aftermarket clicky, and the customers would be happy.

But, that's just me.

[0dBm]

In the 80s, Maglite was the best handlheld flashlight product. Their technology has remained stagnant since that time.Over the years, there have been many criticisms about Maglite; none of which appeared to have encouraged that company to innovate. I don't really care about their products anymore. Maglite can do whatever it wants.

That individual that criticized Maglite recently is free to do so and at any level. I don't care about those comments. They are as relevant as Maglite's technology.

[budynabuick]

I'm going to unleash on facts here:



So, go do what you want. But I think I'll go buy a few more LED Maglites now and give them out to family members and close friends, to give a few Americans a job.

P.S. If you want a XP-G LED outting 200+ lumens on easy to find and cheap to replace AA's and AAA's, you can go find an XL200 or a MiniMag Pro (or Pro+). With multi-light settings, it can stay on for days, close to a full week. If you want a Luxeon Rebel LED at a little more than 100 lumens, you can get an XL50. Batts available at any gas station or grocery store.

Now, that's a flashlight every person needs that'd I'd be proud to give as a gift.

Not some over priced and over bright Chinese light that won't last in an emergency and for maybe 2+ decades.

What he said

Keith (who just bought 3 mags)

[Labrador72]

Sorry, I'm a bit lazy tonight...

(answer to magmans post, ragweed typed to quickly)
such a single sided point of view could have been expected from someone bearing such a nickname

the FACT is: those makers did provide us with lights that the big player was not able to give for years
(and all those claims then, that "a led light is in the makes and will be released shortly" - which I personally have been told from the Austrian representative for a total of three years - and then this release is a joke, light that simply is too long and offered nothing, which the chinese makes did use as "standard" already.

Plus the machining, materials used, finish (HA anodizing), UI, ..., of the better makers is not yet offered.

imho that answer from that mod is a bit hard but completely true.


Adapt or become extinct, thats what happens to dinosaurs

[LostCove NC]

Maglites get the job done, but it ain't gonna be pretty. I have several mags, they are durable and strong, but they are strictly glove-box duty. Nothing against them, but my definition of hell is perpetual darkness with only a (stock) maglite to light the way...

OK maybe thats a little strong...those $2 lights are waaaay worse. I guess we are all a little spoiled.

[nikon]

Maglite in the early '00s sued Peter Gransee and the much loved Arc AAA and effectively put Arc out of business.

Untrue. By his own admission, Peter Gransee caused ARC to fail through his poor business practices such as not paying the company's bills.

[sniper]

Untrue. By his own admission, Peter Gransee caused ARC to fail through his poor business practices such as not paying the company's bills.

Yes, that'll do it every time!

[Samy]

I have several 4D mag lights at home and work. The plain old Incan 4D's still sell on shelves here for $89.95 which is about $95USD, they have the name so they have the price. However I picked up a couple of brand new blister packs with 4xD duracells on runout for about $15ea at my local supermarket, too cheap to pass up. I don't use them but they get used strictly as loaner lights for my staff and family as they won't get lost, won't get easily damaged, simply turn on or off, batteries last ages even though they get dim pretty quick.

They're not for me, I prefer chinese type modern lights, and I would never pay $89.95 for a basic 4D mag light but for the $15 I paid they've come in handy and well worth it for that price.

Cheers

[M@elstrom]

I picked up a couple of brand new blister packs with 4xD duracells on runout for about $15ea at my local supermarket, too cheap to pass up.

+1


I've got one of the $20 clearance 3D/2AA (plus batteries) packs from Coles still in the packaging, as you say too cheap to pass up and I'll always need another Maglite 3D host for modding...

[squareapple]

Thank you Maglite, you produce a durable and
economical product, Modders everywhere are
forever indebted. Now evolve, broaden your
product line and compete; we all benefit from
having better lights. As for the others, thank
you for the wake up call; your aggressive
innovation is raising the bar rapidly.
The criticisms of both are valid but so what;
we just want more and better lights.
The last decade has been amazing, let's keep
it rolling:-)

[JerryM]

My bedside light has been a 3C Mag light for many years. I prefer the C size as it fits my hands better. It provided the brightness and throw for my own uses including camping. I recently installed a LED bulb, and it is even better. I would miss the key chain size lights, but other than that if all I had from now on was that light plus a couple of AA Mag Lights I would have all I really need in flashlights.
I also have used a 1 cell Streamlight Twin Task Light on my nightstand for normal night time use, until now I have a Thruite Ti.
Jerry