New Mini Mag???

[AKCamper]

Maybie i missed someting.
I was just at a chademy and i saw a 2AA Mini mag but this one had a longer focusing head. It was also equiped with a factory LED.
Dose this lite still have the focus ability of a regular mag and since the head is longer what is the beam pattern like.
And what kind of numbers can i expect from this LED?

 

[pipspeak]

the mini-magLED has been around a while now and it does indeed have a longer head than the incan version. It still focuses and output is OK but waaay behind the better AA lights from the likes of Fenix, Nitecore, Eagletac, Jet etc. No idea of actual lumens, however. Are you suggesting there's an even newer minimag version?

 

[Marduke]

FLR did a good review including beamshots on it before the site closed it's doors. Kinda surprised you never heard of the MagLED lineup, everyone was shocked when they came out years ago. In short, they are rather poorly designed (flaky switches, thermal issues, etc) and very outdated.

 

[AMRaider]

I had a couple of theseonce upon a time. They use a Luxeon III LED and yes, you can focus them by turning the bezel. I would estimate them being just a tad brighter than the Luxeon III Fenix L2T with better throw (when focused).

Maglite advised me directly that lithium Engergizer L91's would shorten the life of the LED in the Maglite 2x AA LED. I like using lithium cells myself, so I eventually sold the lights.

The newer Cree and Seoul based lights are much brighter than these LED Maglites. Hope that helps.

 

[Black Rose]

Maglite advised me directly that lithium Engergizer L91's would shorten the life of the LED in the Maglite 2x AA LED.

Seriously? Did they say why exactly?

I got bored yesterday and tested all my AA based lights to check the current draw for alkaline, L91, and Eneloops.

The 2xAA MagLED pulls less current from the L91 than an alkaline.

My 3xAA MagLED is a freak of nature when it comes to current draw from various cells...still trying to figure that one out :candle:

 

[cfromc]

I got bored yesterday and tested all my AA based lights to check the current draw for alkaline, L91, and Eneloops.

The 2xAA MagLED pulls less current from the L91 than an alkaline.

It pulls less current but pulls more voltage.

The 2AA runs for about 5 hours with no moon mode and the 3AA about 11 hours with a moon mode. The LED versions have much better beams than the incan and are relatively smooth considering the mirrored reflector. When first turning the lights on the beam is wide with some artifacts. Once focused for throw the beam has no artifacts beyond a couple feet. I bought several 2AA and 3AA for about $10 or less - one of the best deals for flashlights right now IMO. They are not barnburners but offer cheap and useable light using a common battery but I'm upgrading a MM LED 3AA, 2AA and a full size Mag D LED drop in with better LEDs. It costs $6-10 depending on which LED will be used. I ordered some SSC P4s and will be doing some TFFCs in the future. It is a cheap upgrade and results in the same runtime but much more light. The original LEDs come off easily with a small screwdriver or knife. The new ones I'm putting on will have thermal grease underneath them and a good amount of epoxy around the sides. I think it will be more durable than stock once epoxied on.

I've used lithium AAs in my 2AA with no problems so far. The 3AA can be used as a Kubaton effectively also. Many people complain about the lack of heat-sinking and the thermal throttling of the LED. From a true flashaholic perspective this is a problem, and I agree. However, for a "user" light this has never been a problem for me.

If you are looking for glass-breaking tailcap capability and/or a custom bezel, well, those options are available too.

 

[AKCamper]

Ok now i feel like a dumbass. I know that mag had a leg lineup but i just now noticed that the head was a little bit longer.
So are there any good simple mods for this thing? I would think with the increased room in the head that there would be more room for mods.

 

[TMedina]

Surefires, they're not.

Readily available, cheap, reasonably bright and reasonably durable, yes.

And you likely won't break down in tears if one goes .

-Trevor

 

[Jarl]

So are there any good simple mods for this thing?

You can swap out the emitter for a seoul, but you've still got thermal issues and flaky contacts to deal with, IMO it's not worth it.

 

[Black Rose]

It pulls less current but pulls more voltage.

I kinda figured something like that was happening.

My 3xAA is the oddball of my lights.
It is the exact opposite of every other AA powered light I have; all my other lights pull less current from the Eneloops, but the 3xAA pulls quite a bit more (510 mA from alkalines and L91s, 700 mA from Eneloops).

I tried another set of Eneloops and got the same result.
I just finished discharging the Eneloops (all had around 1700 mAh capacity) and am now charging them up to see if a full charge has any affect on the results.

 

[Black Rose]

You can swap out the emitter for a seoul, but you've still got thermal issues and flaky contacts to deal with, IMO it's not worth it.

And if you do an awesome modding job like I did on my first 2xAA MagLED, you end up with a nice flashlight body without functioning electronics

 

[Jarl]

And if you do an awesome modding job like I did on my first 2xAA MagLED, you end up with a nice flashlight body without functioning electronics

erg, don't. I'm doing my first mod soon, and it can't go wrong because it's a present for my dad

 

[cfromc]

My 3xAA is the oddball of my lights.
It is the exact opposite of every other AA powered light I have; all my other lights pull less current from the Eneloops, but the 3xAA pulls quite a bit more (510 mA from alkalines and L91s, 700 mA from Eneloops).

Interesting. Perhaps because the Eneloops are 1.2V and the others are 1.5V? Do you notice any difference in output?

 

[Tesla]

Maglite advised me directly that lithium Engergizer L91's would shorten the life of the LED in the Maglite 2x AA LED. I like using lithium cells myself, so I eventually sold the lights.
quote]

Possibly it would, just as driving faster and more will wear out your tires prematurely, but I don't see that many people slowing down because of it. I run lithiums in mine because it's infrequently used and their shelf life is long and they don't have the same leakage problems as alkalines. Mag has never quantified how much lifespan you would sacrifice...even if it's half, you'd probably never exceed it. If it were an expensive item, I might feel differently. I will say that the Magled AA is a better thrower than many AA lights..mostly because it focuses tightly. Newer LED's have upped the efficiency of lights. Who knows, maybe one of these days Mag will decide to put a current LED in the Mini. I've never encountered any reliability problems reported by others, but anecdotal data is meaningless anyway. You always hear from people who have problems, not as much from those who are (relatively) satisfied.

 

[Marduke]

Interesting. Perhaps because the Eneloops are 1.2V and the others are 1.5V? Do you notice any difference in output?

Eneloops start out at about 1.42v, not 1.2v. They also have lower internal resistance than alkalines.

 

[cfromc]

Eneloops start out at about 1.42v, not 1.2v. They also have lower internal resistance than alkalines.

Isn't their under-load voltage rated at 1.2v? Alkalines start out at over 1.5V and lithiums even higher; I've had some around 1.8V unloaded but the alkalines and lithiums usually state "1.5V" on the battery or packaging and I assumed that was their rated voltage under load.

 

[Jarl]

Isn't their under-load voltage rated at 1.2v? Alkalines start out at over 1.5V and lithiums even higher; I've had some around 1.8V unloaded but the alkalines and lithiums usually state "1.5V" on the battery or packaging and I assumed that was their rated voltage under load.

Well. This is where it gets either very interesting, or very boring, depending on your outlook

Alkies start out at about 1.55V, but under load can drop ridiculously low, so the manufacturers thought "well, lets just stick 1.5V on the side, that's a nice number, it's not the real working voltage, it's the voltage they'll be at for about 10 minutes under a really light load, but hey"

Then NiMH were invented. Despite being interchangeable with alkies, the manufacturers thought "well, let's put a decent load on these that would drag alkies down to about 1V and give about 20 minutes runtime... oh look, our batteries stay at 1.2V. Yipee, lets stamp that on the side!" and hence, NiMH have been forever relegated as "worse" by anyone that doesn't know quite a lot about batteries... "well, they've got to be worse, they've got a lower voltage... innit" (BUT IT DOESNT MATTER!)

Then L91's came out, and thankfully, anyone who knows they exist generally knows enough to know they're at a slightly higher voltage, but again, it doesnt matter!! :thumbsup:

Its possible to go into it even further, but I'm currently loosing the will to live

 

[Marduke]

Isn't their under-load voltage rated at 1.2v? Alkalines start out at over 1.5V and lithiums even higher; I've had some around 1.8V unloaded but the alkalines and lithiums usually state "1.5V" on the battery or packaging and I assumed that was their rated voltage under load.

No, by the time they reach 1.2v, they are nearly dead.

 

[Black Rose]

Interesting. Perhaps because the Eneloops are 1.2V and the others are 1.5V? Do you notice any difference in output?

I just retested with a freshly charged set if Eneloops, and the light only drew 500 mA from the cells, so the state of charge had something to do with that original reading.

I now have that set of Eneloops discharging to see how much capacity they had. Those cells had a forming charge about 6 months ago and then were placed in the battery box as spares, so they were sitting for about 5 months before being put to use in the light. Shouldn't be an issue, but seems a bit odd.

BTW, I didn't notice any difference in output of the light.

 

[jams002]

really is there an new mini mag is beautiful??





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