So after meandering around the internet looking at all these tactical flashlights and admittedly, never owning one before, I finally bit the proverbial bullet and purchased a black Maglite XL50 from my local Home Depot for a very reasonable $29.99.
I remember thinking "yeah, it's probably pretty close to a lot of these 5-9 5mm LED Chinese jobs that you see kicking around clearance bins at your local Fry's or hardware store...just with fancier package..."
Boy, I was wrong. I was eager to try it out, and it was around 9PM on the east coast when I purchased it, so as soon as I got in my truck I ripped it open, installed the included Duracell AAA batteries into the holder, then fired her up and my jaw must've visibly dropped. What an intense, pure, white beam this light has!
I stood outside my truck and pointed it at the side of Home Depot to see what kind of throw it had, and even though it was still very bright outside (pre-dusk), I could see the beam on the side of the building at an estimated 300ft away.
I got it home and waited around for it to get completely dark and I only became more and more impressed with it. The light outshines my 4-C Maglite with the optional 'better' bulb, by far. I thought the light that came out of the 4-C was pretty white and intense...jeeze...compared to the XL50, the 4-C looks dull and dingy and yellow.
Here are my humble findings about the light:
First, there appears to be a function that automatically reduces the beam from 100% to the lower (is it 25%? not sure..) setting after a few (5 maybe) minutes of runtime. Perhaps this is to preserve the life of the batteries, a safety feature in case of accidental running, or just to help keep the parts inside running cool and to increase their longevity. I don't know. It's probably all three.
As far as battery life is concerned, I can say this thing is likely to eat up some batteries pretty quickly if you play with it like I did. I'd say that the flashlight, in total, was run for about 25-30 minutes on HIGH, and then an additional 15 on low (during testing). During that time, the included batteries dropped down to 1.35v. In all fairness, I cannot tell a difference in beam intensity from brand new batteries to these mostly depleted ones. Perhaps it is because the light has a regulator, or a choke, in it. I.e., as the voltage begins dropping, the choke loosens up and lets more current into the diode. Would make sense. Seems like something Maglite would do. But then again, it's merely speculation, as I do not actually know nor am I an electrical engineer.
Focus? What focus..? I'd say it's as useless as ears on an acorn. All it does is muddle the beam and put a funny looking artifact right in the center. But on the other hand, so what? It doesn't matter one iota, because unlike conventional Maglites, it doesn't need a focus. The beam it throws out is sort of an 'all purpose' beam which is balanced well. It has plenty of spill while maintaining a nice tight center spot.
The only complaint I have about the construction of the unit is that it does in fact have a plastic reflector cover (sorry if I don't know the lingo for this part, heh). Glass would have been preferred because I can foresee this plastic getting scratched and marred easily. Hopefully I'll be able to replace it. But, then again...it's a $30 flashlight...not a $100 Inova or what-have-you.
All in all, with my minimal-at-best experience, I have to say that for the average person this flashlight will meet and exceed everything they could imagine. I can't fathom someone breaking this flashlight under normal circumstances. And even if you do, hey, it's a Maglite - Made in the USA!
(Questions for myself below):
Anybody else have problems with battery life on these things?
Would it be worth it to invest in some of those disposable Li-Ion Energizer batteries? What would the longevity be with NiMH batteries?
Is this pretty much the best flashlight I can get for $30? I saw a Coast LedLenser-something lumen there as well that was $49.99 that used 3 AAA batteries. Anybody know which light that one is, and how it compares? Is it $20 better?? All I really care about is total brightness and batteries. I don't want to have to buy 123A or whatever they're called's. They cost a fortune and for me, it's just not worth it. I'm not beyond taking this light back if I can get something better elsewhere.
Thanks for the read! I hope I contributed at least a bit to this great forum! Maybe I'll do a video review later.
Cheers!
I remember thinking "yeah, it's probably pretty close to a lot of these 5-9 5mm LED Chinese jobs that you see kicking around clearance bins at your local Fry's or hardware store...just with fancier package..."
Boy, I was wrong. I was eager to try it out, and it was around 9PM on the east coast when I purchased it, so as soon as I got in my truck I ripped it open, installed the included Duracell AAA batteries into the holder, then fired her up and my jaw must've visibly dropped. What an intense, pure, white beam this light has!
I stood outside my truck and pointed it at the side of Home Depot to see what kind of throw it had, and even though it was still very bright outside (pre-dusk), I could see the beam on the side of the building at an estimated 300ft away.
I got it home and waited around for it to get completely dark and I only became more and more impressed with it. The light outshines my 4-C Maglite with the optional 'better' bulb, by far. I thought the light that came out of the 4-C was pretty white and intense...jeeze...compared to the XL50, the 4-C looks dull and dingy and yellow.
Here are my humble findings about the light:
First, there appears to be a function that automatically reduces the beam from 100% to the lower (is it 25%? not sure..) setting after a few (5 maybe) minutes of runtime. Perhaps this is to preserve the life of the batteries, a safety feature in case of accidental running, or just to help keep the parts inside running cool and to increase their longevity. I don't know. It's probably all three.
As far as battery life is concerned, I can say this thing is likely to eat up some batteries pretty quickly if you play with it like I did. I'd say that the flashlight, in total, was run for about 25-30 minutes on HIGH, and then an additional 15 on low (during testing). During that time, the included batteries dropped down to 1.35v. In all fairness, I cannot tell a difference in beam intensity from brand new batteries to these mostly depleted ones. Perhaps it is because the light has a regulator, or a choke, in it. I.e., as the voltage begins dropping, the choke loosens up and lets more current into the diode. Would make sense. Seems like something Maglite would do. But then again, it's merely speculation, as I do not actually know nor am I an electrical engineer.
Focus? What focus..? I'd say it's as useless as ears on an acorn. All it does is muddle the beam and put a funny looking artifact right in the center. But on the other hand, so what? It doesn't matter one iota, because unlike conventional Maglites, it doesn't need a focus. The beam it throws out is sort of an 'all purpose' beam which is balanced well. It has plenty of spill while maintaining a nice tight center spot.
The only complaint I have about the construction of the unit is that it does in fact have a plastic reflector cover (sorry if I don't know the lingo for this part, heh). Glass would have been preferred because I can foresee this plastic getting scratched and marred easily. Hopefully I'll be able to replace it. But, then again...it's a $30 flashlight...not a $100 Inova or what-have-you.
All in all, with my minimal-at-best experience, I have to say that for the average person this flashlight will meet and exceed everything they could imagine. I can't fathom someone breaking this flashlight under normal circumstances. And even if you do, hey, it's a Maglite - Made in the USA!
(Questions for myself below):
Anybody else have problems with battery life on these things?
Would it be worth it to invest in some of those disposable Li-Ion Energizer batteries? What would the longevity be with NiMH batteries?
Is this pretty much the best flashlight I can get for $30? I saw a Coast LedLenser-something lumen there as well that was $49.99 that used 3 AAA batteries. Anybody know which light that one is, and how it compares? Is it $20 better?? All I really care about is total brightness and batteries. I don't want to have to buy 123A or whatever they're called's. They cost a fortune and for me, it's just not worth it. I'm not beyond taking this light back if I can get something better elsewhere.
Thanks for the read! I hope I contributed at least a bit to this great forum! Maybe I'll do a video review later.
Cheers!