No battery-carrier in the EOS that can break. 50 lumens from a headlamp is quite good. There are lights smaller than the XL100 that also offer multi-modes, but are brighter on high.
It's a Maglite. I doubt anyone was expecting mind-blowing, envelope-pushing, performance. But still, to cheap out with a 3AAA format in a battery-carrier . . . Yeah, I was expecting more from Maglite than the cheap trick used by No-Name, Made in China, .99 cent lights.
Why? 2 points to remember, that so many don't seem to: A) Mag makes lights for The Public. And for whatever reason, the public likes to buy 3AAA lights (otherwise no one would make them). B) Mag makes lights specifically for alkaline battery consumption. Who makes screamer, CPF-level output lights using alkaline cells? No one. It's not the light; it's the power source. Public=alkalines. Go into Walmart; it's what all the lights have in common. Any that advertise higher output are killing their runtime (a tradeoff), or are using lithium cells (or are rechargeable, usually nicads internally).
I think Maglite acted rationally. It may not be my cup of tea (probably isn't, but I may end up trying one), but I understand what they did as far as form factor and power output. And they will do it again.
The options using alkaline cells (the anchor point for Mag development in a retail/general public use environment) are not exactly huge. Their new D cell led lights draw just about as much power from their cells as is realistic (over 1A), a serious departure from their luxeon models. The public doesn't like to buy lights with more than 4AAs (for cells in parallel), either. Remember, most of the public buys alk batteries in 4 packs, not by bricks of 36 like you and me. Well, me, anyway... And, those packs have a per cell cost that is 3 times more than buying them in bulk. Apparently, manufacturers feel that they can get equal by hitting 3AAAs more gently than socking 2AAs harder (wasting alot of current to boost the voltage), and thus benefit from the marketing advantages of a smaller light (the public, like us, likes this) and giving consumers the 3AAA shorter vs 2AA longer choice.
Virtually every model we love in almost every category here on CPF depends on rechargeable or non-alkaline cells. If you're shopping for a light that is designed to use alks, you should expect a limited CPF experience as far as output, etc. It's also why Mag uses that crummy (for beam quality) SMO reflector; they are trying to maximize throw and percieved brightness.
