Looking for Modded Maglite that is powerful, throws well, a little spill & reliable.

Oztorchfreak

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 29, 2010
Messages
1,317
Location
Sydney, Australia
Looking for Modded Maglite that is powerful, throws well, a little spill & reliable.

Hi fellow CPFers,


I am looking for a modded Maglite "D size batteries host body size" that is powerful, throws well, a little spill & reliable.

I cannot place any orders now for quite a while at Lambda Lights as they are always not taking on Custom Builds at the moment.

I would have loved to get a Varapower V2 Turbo.

So maybe I just need something like a good Maglite that has been Turbocharged.

I have a 4D Maglight with the TerraLUX MiniStar31M-EX LED Conversion Kit for 4-6 D Cell MagLites up to 1000 Lumens (TLE-310M-EX) TerraLUX MiniStar31M-EX LED Conversion Kit for 4-6 D Cell MagLites up to 1000 Lumens (TLE-310M-EX) installed and it has three modes and is pretty bright but it is nearly all flood.

I would like to know where or who I can get a Maglite that has been modded to put out a great throw beam with a little flood (to see where you are going still) beam reliably and without overheating with a reasonable runtime?


I have seen plenty of Mag mods but has anyone discovered the best mod so that the Mag still looks mostly like a standard Maglite?

I have the TK70, Olight SR90, TN31 and Dereelight DBS-T EZ900 Asherical amongst some others already.

The 3D LED Maglite is very spotty but not nearly enough lumens or lux to be of real use to a Flashaholic.

I would like to get a Varapower Turbo V2 light but orders are closed as far as I can tell.

When going to the Varapower website I get this message displayed "The Custom Build List is CLOSED.

Sorry, but we are not accepting any more custom build requests at this time"
most times that I look at the website.

I have run both my Olight SR90 and the Fenix Tk70 continuously for over an hour (TK70 running 4 x NIMH 9500mah LSDs) each on the MAXIMUM BRIGHTNESS and never have any battery or overheating issues, but I believe that the Varapower range has shorter runtimes and conditions for using them.

I would like a Varapower in a 3D format as that is the High Quality D size NIMH 9500mah LSDs I already have plenty of.

How long does it usually take for them to start making CUSTOM MADE orders again?

Correct me if I am wrong but does that mean they don't have any standard stock lights except for the custom made ones where you select all of your options?

Update - I just received advice to look in the LEDs section on that website, but there are no 3D size format lights for sale.

I am already crying about it.



Cheers lovecpf
 

StudFreeman

Enlightened
Joined
Sep 20, 2011
Messages
205
Location
Maine
Re: Looking for Modded Maglite that is powerful, throws well, a little spill & reliab

I've made a couple XM-L Mags with the deep LED reflector...nice throw with bright spill due to the reflector.
If you've got an adventurous streak you can follow this Instructable I made for a 3D XM-L T3 Mag with a deep reflector I made for a friend's birthday back in May to make one. I did comparison shots vs. the stock Mag XP-E that should help you decide if it's floody/throwy enough for you :thumbsup:
 

carl

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 2, 2001
Messages
1,483
Location
los angeles
Re: Looking for Modded Maglite that is powerful, throws well, a little spill & reliab

Both vestureofblood and jayrob are still making custom mags in the Custom and Modified Section - here are some links. I'm pretty sure they can custom make what you want at a reasonable price:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?340093-FS-Shorty-C-D-26650-M*glites-XML-and-more

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...-With-Voltage-Monitor-Parts-or-Complete-Light!

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?343116-FS-Custom-Shorty-Maglite-Prototype

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?332453-My-2-Latest-XM-L-U2-Builds
 

Oztorchfreak

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 29, 2010
Messages
1,317
Location
Sydney, Australia
Re: Looking for Modded Maglite that is powerful, throws well, a little spill & reliab

Thanks Guys or Gals for giving me a stack of reading and ideas to look at.

I will make up my mind after I have read all of the posts and links to the other threads.

This is what I like about CPF as opposed to the BLF's motto of "we can get away with anything because we are a clicky bunch at the top of the ladder".

They say they are self moderated, but most of the "clicky bunch" keep other members frightened to say anything about the ramshackle running of that forum.

Sorry CPFers, but I had a bad experience with the "clicky bunch" when I was checking the Gutter Forum, I mean budget forum looking for some cheap and reliable AA lights to give out as presents for XMAS.

CPF RULES!!!


CHEERS fellow CPFers I am off to bed.
 

cbm

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Nov 6, 2013
Messages
6
Re: Looking for Modded Maglite that is powerful, throws well, a little spill & reliab

I know this is an old thread, but I would like to second the recommendation of the Malkoff drop in. I just received it yesterday, and am very impressed with how easy it was to do, and how powerful it is. My 3 D-cell Maglite is almost too bright (wait, this is CPF, there's no such thing, is there?) I debated between the Malkoff 3-6 cell drop in, and the brighter XM-L drop in. I got the cheaper version, and it's certainly bright enough for my uses, at 300 lumens.

A nice side effect is that the LED is really centered in the reflector, without the variation of a bulb, so the beam is tighter.

The link has changed since the post above this one. The new link is: http://www.malkoffdevices.com/drop-in-mod/dropin-for-maglite-streamlight/d-cell-to-fit-mag-lite
 

StorminMatt

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 30, 2012
Messages
2,263
Location
Norcal
Re: Looking for Modded Maglite that is powerful, throws well, a little spill & reliab

I know this is an old thread, but I would like to second the recommendation of the Malkoff drop in. I just received it yesterday, and am very impressed with how easy it was to do, and how powerful it is. My 3 D-cell Maglite is almost too bright (wait, this is CPF, there's no such thing, is there?) I debated between the Malkoff 3-6 cell drop in, and the brighter XM-L drop in. I got the cheaper version, and it's certainly bright enough for my uses, at 300 lumens.

A nice side effect is that the LED is really centered in the reflector, without the variation of a bulb, so the beam is tighter.

The link has changed since the post above this one. The new link is: http://www.malkoffdevices.com/drop-in-mod/dropin-for-maglite-streamlight/d-cell-to-fit-mag-lite

I'll 'third' the recommendation of a Malkoff drop-in. I have a few of them myself, and they have NEVER let me down. My personal favorite is my 3C with the XM-L2 drop-in. The light is fairly lightweight and compact (roughly the size of a 2D Mag, but a tiny bit longer and ALOT thinner). And it puts out a healthy 700 lumens. Of course, this same drop-in is available for the 3-4D if you need more runtime. As the other poster said, the XP-G2 is a good choice as well. If you DO go with the XP-G2, I would personally go for the 2C/D rather than the XP-G2 drop-ins for larger lights. You only sacrifice a little output (270 vs 300 lumens). But even with two C cells, you still get around 3 hours of runtime. And, of course, you get a more compact light. On the other hand, the XP-G2 drop-ins for 3-6 cell lights certainly aren't bad choices if you want lots of runtime, but don't need the brightness of the XM-L2.
 
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