Can you upgrade a 2AA Maglite to LED?

[LEDninja]

Honestly I think you should just buy a Rebel or XP-E LED M@g. Sometimes on sale for 10.99 and very often under 25.00. Keep the old incan. I like to run them just to being back those pre LED hot wired days. You can have your cake and eat it too.

The OP uses thetorchsite.co.uk. That is a dead giveaway he is on the other side of the pond where prices are more than that in the USA.

Still is a good idea to check out.

Terralux TLE-5EX £12.95 (OP's site)
Minimag LED £21.99 (amazon.co.uk)

 

[Chicken Drumstick]

The OP uses thetorchsite.co.uk. That is a dead giveaway he is on the other side of the pond where prices are more than that in the USA.

Still is a good idea to check out.

Terralux TLE-5EX £12.95 (OP's site)
Minimag LED £21.99 (amazon.co.uk)

If you don't want the multimodes of the genuine Mini Mag LED the TerraLUX drop in is a lot brighter and the addition of a TerraLUX clicky makes it far more usable IMO.

Also the new Mini Mags are quite a bit bigger if you plan to EDC or pocket it. 146mm long for the incan one and 168mm for the LED version.

 

[sween1911]

I stumbled on the NiteIze 1W dealy in the impulse section of Lowe's the other day and snapped one up. Since I do have an emotional connection to my Mini-mag, it was a worthwhile upgrade for me as a utility light around the house, it's much brighter than the stock bulb. But the cautions above are well founded. The connection between the module and the light is not very solid. Trying to use candle mode usually results in the module popping out. And then you have to make sure you have the pins in the right holes or it won't light. I found that using the cool IQ tailcap is neat, but if you drop the light and the connection between the batteries and the light is disrupted, it goes off and resets, so you have to click it back on. I much prefer using the original tailcap regardless of the module.

 

[sniper]

deleted

 

[sniper]

Honestly I think you should just buy a Rebel or XP-E LED M@g. Sometimes on sale for 10.99 and very often under 25.00. Keep the old incan. I like to run them just to being back those pre LED hot wired days. You can have your cake and eat it too.

WHERE on sale for $10.99? I could find one, I'd be on it like a Turkey on a June Bug!

 

[moodysj]

Anyone tried this one? Claims 140 lumens...


http://www.thetorchsite.co.uk/TerraLUX_TLE-5EX.html

I have that one. It's nice and bright.

 

[ScaryFatKidGT]

Now that mag kinda got there crap together id just go get a LED mini mag. The drop ins were cool 5+ years ago

 

[Chicken Drumstick]

Now that mag kinda got there crap together id just go get a LED mini mag. The drop ins were cool 5+ years ago

But as already stated, the TerraLUX drop in is still brighter than a LED Mini Mag and an incan one is smaller than the latest ones.

 

[think2x]

Anyone tried this one? Claims 140 lumens...


http://www.thetorchsite.co.uk/TerraLUX_TLE-5EX.html

80 lumens at best. My daughter has one in her pink MM. It's ok but compared to todays offerings IMO a waste of $

 

[alpg88]

for 29.99 home depot sells 3d magled, and 2aa magled in one blister pack. for a bit more than price of (140lm) drop in you get 2 lights, and new minimag led is a lot better than old inc. mm with drop in.

 

[alpg88]

Anyone tried this one? Claims 140 lumens...


http://www.thetorchsite.co.uk/TerraLUX_TLE-5EX.html

description says xr-e led, but on the photo xp-e.

 

[think2x]

Here are my daughter's lights.

Xeno E03 warm and Pink Minimag with TLE-5EX





Here is a side by side beam shot. The Xeno on the left and MM on the right.



I don't know what the TLE-5EX goes for now but I paid $27 for hers and the Xeno is around the same price, is brighter and is 1xAA instead of 2xAA. Both lights are being ran on Duraloops in the photo.

 

[Chicken Drumstick]

for 29.99 home depot sells 3d magled, and 2aa magled in one blister pack. for a bit more than price of (140lm) drop in you get 2 lights, and new minimag led is a lot better than old inc. mm with drop in.

Nice but not that useful if you are in the UK.

 

[alpg88]

Nice but not that useful if you are in the UK.

yea, i agree not much use, but op never put location, so it might be useful, if he happens to be in us.
i just looked up prices on maglites in uk, damn, around 30 pounds for 2d magled?!?!?!, that is almost 50 bucks. 2x of the price here. is that with maglites only or every light in uk 2x the us price?

 

[LEDninja]

description says xr-e led, but on the photo xp-e.

XR is an old discontinued case size, XP is the current one.
-E indicates the LED die inside which in this case is the same.

 

[ScaryFatKidGT]

But as already stated, the TerraLUX drop in is still brighter than a LED Mini Mag and an incan one is smaller than the latest ones.

yeah I guess but then I would get a Klarus ST20 or something similar there $40 right now.

 

[Chicken Drumstick]

yeah I guess but then I would get a Klarus ST20 or something similar there $40 right now.

I certainly don't disagree that the Klarus is better. But it's all about cost.


The MiniStar2 drop in can be yours for £12.95 and only £15.90 if you want the tail clicky switch too.

So if you already have a tidy Mini Mag, then it's an economical way to get a much brighter better performing flashlight.

A genuine LED Mini Mag will set you back £21-23, so quite a bit more money and for less lumens.


The ST20 you refer to would cost you £44. Even a Klarus P2A is £34. Both excellent flashlights, but 2 -3 times the cost of the drop in.

 

[yazkaz]

Found an old 2AA Maglite, can they be upgraded to LED?

Yes it can, but at a very dear cost.

The cheapie bi-pin drop-ins (eg. TerraLux) won't do much good as they don't yield good output and good regulation. Non-modders may be happy with that at first, but after using a generic light (eg. Fenix), most of them will just ditch the Mag.

On the other hand, custom sandwich modules require a of TLC, and will involve a lot of trial-and-error in the process of building them. Also adapting an LED system on an incandescent flashlight body is not as easy as expected. You can run a low-output module which is gentle to the batteries and yields a cool system, or you can go the other way round -- running a high-output module with less runtime and more importantly, heatsinking problem. For an average custom MagAA modder/user, striking a balnce between the two has been a problem.

To run a good custom MagAA LED system, you'll need a lot of things. Lens, optics, driver boards, custom heatsink (I sold some clones a while back), LEDs, clicky switches... all these will add up to a huge amount.

I too have been asked many times why I still stick to MagAAs. To be honest I've been carrying one as EDC for the last 15 years and I'm just being attached to this model. Even after I've lost one (with custom module and parts) I still insist to have a replacement (plus replacement module and parts). It definitely feels better than any modern style generic Chinese-brand light, especially given that such MagAA system are user-manageable and servicable (except the module, which must be maintained by serious modder/builder/etc.).