MiniMags are great little lights

[BJE]

I am new to high end lights, I usually liked to edc a factory LED MiniMag. Long story short, it broke and I bought a Surefire 6P as a repalcement. I discovered an odd fondness of incandescent bulbs, and I had an old MiniMag that had an LED upgrade added, took it out and put the stock incan back in. These are very useable lights for edc. I was a little supprised at how much I liked the little thing especially since I have a new SF to play with. I even carried it today in place of the SF, carries much better BTW. I still love my SF and my Fenix P2D, but I have a new found appreciation for these hardy little lights that can be had anywhere for less than $10:twothumbs. I am a knife collector, and I would guess it is the same pricipal as owning many great high end knives but carrying the $20 Swiss Army Knife just because it is so handy.

I am however looking to spruce it up a bit so it will see more use. I would like to keep it incandescent as I like the color better and LED's make things look 2D and ghostly (never noticed this until I got my 6P and started using incans again). I would like to maybe find an inexpensive drop in bulb that will be a little brighter than my current stock bulb. It has to be easy to find because I don't like paying $10 in shipping for a $3 bulb. Any suggestions? Are there mods I can do to the stock reflector to smooth the beam out a little? Any other little things I can do to increase light output, like more powerful batteries, ect.? Please keep it pretty simple as I am new to this, and explain what I will need to do this(such as what kind of batteries would increase output). Thanks for listening and for any help. This flashlight thing is getting a little addicting:eeksign:.

 

[leukos]

It might be difficult finding the parts, but this was a popular setup for the minimag a little while back: http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/auroralite_hotwire.htm These kits pop up on B/S/T every now and then. The ceramic bulb holder and TL-3 can still be purchased from Lighthound though: http://www.lighthound.com/HotWire-Kits-and-Supplies_c_47.html

There is a kit on B/S/T right now, actually: http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=188019

 

[sawlight]

I used to love them!! I still have several, AA's and AAA's, dont use any of them any more. I tried all of the LED mods I could find, I was pretty dissapointed with all of them, ugly angry blue, or nasty God awful yellow. Never did try the Strion bulb change, but it's more than the light, so not what you want.
I gave up the quest. They are just to finiky for me anymore. Turn the head, nothing, tap it on the ground a bit, "Awww, it works now", or the bulb is burnt out, or the batteries leaked and you get to figure out how to get them out.
Sorry, done with that game.
My EDC is now a Novatac 120P.
For you, I would really recomend you look at a Surefire E2E with the low output bulb, or one of the options from Lumens factory. Same size, more money, but no where near the headaches or hassles of the mag! I really don't think anyone can call themselves a flashaolic without one!!
Not what you asked, probably not what you wanted to hear, but the mini is pretty limited with realistic options considering what is available on the market now!
Even the Sportsman extreme 2AA at WalMart for around $20 blows it away for runtime and durability!

 

[metlarules]

I just found a new use for mine. I have a 2aa that I bought a Terralux Luxeon 1w for awhile back. I must have won the Lux-lottery on this one as it is a creamy white with good color rendition.Anyway,I wanted to see what it looked like without the reflector in it. When I turned it on I was rewarded with a complete 180 degrees of pure flood. Its not as bright but I suspect it will make the perfect campsite light.Now if I could get some time to go camping. If you need flood and low level light try it you might like it.

 

[rtt]

I just found a new use for mine. I have a 2aa that I bought a Terralux Luxeon 1w for awhile back. I must have won the Lux-lottery on this one as it is a creamy white with good color rendition.Anyway,I wanted to see what it looked like without the reflector in it. When I turned it on I was rewarded with a complete 180 degrees of pure flood. Its not as bright but I suspect it will make the perfect campsite light.Now if I could get some time to go camping. If you need flood and low level light try it you might like it.

I was wondering if you are using an aftermarket tail switch on this setup. I have a 2aa mag and if I remove the reflector I can not switch the light off. Your input would be appreciated.

 

[jimhoff]

I would like to vent my dismay with Mag lights. I got sick of beating mine - all of them on random surfaces to get them to light up or achieve full power. The last time it happened I dropped what I was doing and drove 10 miles to Sportsman's Warehouse and bought a G2 in black for 36 bucks. 2 months later I'm broke

 

[NeonLights]

I used to carry and use incan MiniMags for years before I found out about better lights (and before LED flashlights hit the market). There are a few things I found that could be done on the cheap to improve the performance of a standard MiniMag. There was a 2-cell Brinkmann bi-pin bulb that improved output slightly, but I haven't bought one for years so I don't know if they are still available. Using Energizer lithium cells also improved output a little, but could shorten bulb life, although it seems like keeping a fresh bulb in helps too, as they darken over time. The biggest thing I found to improve reliability on a MiniMag was to keep all of the contacts cleaned and treated with Caig Deoxit and Progold every few months.

 

[metlarules]

I was wondering if you are using an aftermarket tail switch on this setup. I have a 2aa mag and if I remove the reflector I can not switch the light off. Your input would be appreciated.

Yes. I am using a nite ize iq switch.Some say that the iq switch lowers the light output a little. If it does I can't notice it. I like that it has 3 output levels so I can turn it on the low level to preserve night vision.

 

[lctorana]

Just want to support the OP.

Minimags are great.

The fact that there are brighter and dearer and more modern torches about is neither here nor there. They still do the same job, putting out the same number of lumens as they always did.

If you want a simple, reliable, colourful and handsome twisty, then look no further.

Many of us will be given one of these the day after tomorrow.

Smile, be gracious, enjoy it and USE it. It won't hurt you.

 

[BJE]

Just want to support the OP.

Minimags are great.

The fact that there are brighter and dearer and more modern torches about is neither here nor there. They still do the same job, putting out the same number of lumens as they always did.

If you want a simple, reliable, colourful and handsome twisty, then look no further.

Many of us will be given one of these the day after tomorrow.

Smile, be gracious, enjoy it and USE it. It won't hurt you.

My sentiments exactly. There are better and brighter lights with longer runtimes and fancier names, but it is still a cheap(but still quality), handy light to have and use.

 

[VegasF6]

There is a mineral glass lens availible for only a few bucks. I think I got mine at Lighthound. Get rid of those nasty old scratches. Also, I haven't played with it any, but you could probably find a thread or two on the plastic "marble" thing that they sell at the sandwich shoppe. Make a little aspheric out of it (at least I think it will work with the stock bulb, but again I haven't used it)

 

[Black Rose]

There is a mineral glass lens availible for only a few bucks.

I replaced the lenses in 3 of my minimags with AR coated glass lenses from flashlightlens.com. have to get some more for the latest minimags I bought.

Most of mine have an LED drop-in installed, but a couple of them are still incan.

I still like the minimag....it's well built, affordable, has a simple and mostly reliable design, and can be modded if so desired...what's not to like.

 

[Cydonia]

I read somewhere here once that there were 2 types of MiniMag bulb available. The current draw on a MM bulb is quite low I recall...under 400ma I think?

There is an old minimag clone (2AA) that takes the superior standard PR base bulbs. Made by Lumilite and is called the Metalist. I have one - and with a Xenon bulb on Eneloop cells it is incomparable to the stock incan MiniMag 2AA. Tighter focus too.

There are 1/3 AA cells - slightly larger diameter by .2mm may require boring the MiniMag - so you could pack 6 of them into the Lumilite running a 5 cell PR base bulb etc., 5 minute run time? Something like that. Useless but doable...

Why couldn't Maglite have made the MiniMag use standard PR base bulbs? The "knock off" all aluminum 2AA lights did and they are superb...

 

[Tim Carleton]

has anyone ever come up with a way to get the contacts on the twist mechanism to not flicker so badly? my minimag led suffers from this, same as with all my incan minimags. .

 

[FLT MEDIC]

Lubing usually fixes it, unless it has corroded, in which case you have to keep twisting the light on and off after lubing until it doesn't flicker anymore.

 

[Cydonia]

has anyone ever come up with a way to get the contacts on the twist mechanism to not flicker so badly? my minimag led suffers from this, same as with all my incan minimags.

Attack all surfaces and electrical contact areas with alcohol swabs. You'll have to break the whole light down and clean everything.
The tailcap threads both inside the tube and on the tail cap usually need attention. I've had to use a toothpick to gouge out the gunk sometimes...
I've found that cheap bamboo toothpicks soak up alcohol and can be used as a type of Q tip to scrape out contact points.

 

[lctorana]

There is an old minimag clone (2AA) that takes the superior standard PR base bulbs. Made by Lumilite and is called the Metalist.

Great name.

But it conjures up an image of torches being waved aloft en masse in candle mode by black-clad figures, to the strains of "Run to the Hills" or "Whisky in the Jar-O"...

 

[NeonLights]

has anyone ever come up with a way to get the contacts on the twist mechanism to not flicker so badly? my minimag led suffers from this, same as with all my incan minimags. .

I mentioned what I use in post #7, go back and read it.

 

[Narcosynthesis]

The standard AA Minimag was my main torch for years when I was younger, in the days before led became practical and when my knowledge of lights only ever extended as far as Mag's... (in any case I would have had no chance of being abel to afford anything more expensive anyway)

The fact that I still have my first Mag says something about them, it has been carted around, dropped and battered continually, so is chipped and scratched to hell, yet has never once let me down other than needing the batteries replaced or the bulb switched.

Now I will admit to favouring options like Fenix led lights which win in terms of runtime, smooth beam and brightness, but if I am anywhere that light is an issue, the Mag will almost certainly be somewhere on my person as a backup...

 

[Jake.t]

i also love maglites and carry them everyday