Newbe AA Mag LED Questions

[arrowshooter]

Hi. New here as of yesterday searching for info on the MiniMag AA LED's and am absolutely flabbergasted at the wealth of info on this site:twothumbs.
I recently noticed the AA LED Mag's at a local OSH and thought maybe it is time to quit carrying the D-cell tanks in the woods. I did a search on-line and here I am. I am surprised though at the comments about the AA LED Mags especially the one's about the lack of a heat-sink causing low output. I then decided to call MagLite and ask them that specific question and was told by the sales person that the MagLite LED do indeed have a heat-sink and they never heard of that problem before. (OK it was a salesperson). I then read here that Mag had started using a different LED. So here are the questions:

1) Is MagLite in fact using a new LED that possibly solves the lack of a heat-sink issue?

2) Has anyone here tried one of those push button on/off switches that replace the end cap?

Thanks.

 

[Marduke]

:welcome:

I have recently heard rumors that Mag quietly upgraded the LED in their lineup, but so far no one in this community has seen as such, so it's not on store shelves yet. Until a knowledgable member here can confirm it, I would no count on it.

However, even if they did upgrade the emitter, I HIGHLY doubt they bothered to upgrade the circuit or the light itself, meaning it still has no heatsinking, and will still throttle down once the LED starts to heat up.

In short, there are a lot better lights for a similar cost, especially for anyone living outside the US.

 

[Gunner12]

From my knowledge, Maglite haven't done much, if at all, about improving what they have.

They don't have a heatsink but they do have a tempreature sensor that lowers current to the LED when it gets too hot.

1) No.
2) Some of them seem to work if you stretch the spring. But overall it might be cheaper to buy something else(that is probably brighter too).

:welcome:

 

[arrowshooter]

Thanks guys. The Maglite seems too iffy right now, so I went to Taget. Had the Energizer 2-AA and the River Rock 2-AA 3W in my hands. Bought the River Rock. Mind you, I have zippo experiece with these things but this flashlight has more poop the my std 3-D Mag. I will check more when it gets dark.

 

[Gunner12]

IIRC the River Rock "3w" is pretty much a rebranded Nuwai X-3 with a clip. Not a bad light from what I hear. It should have more output then the 3D Mag but less throw.

Edit:

Check here for Maglite drop-ins/mods.

 

[Gator762]

Check out www.4sevens.com (www.fenix-store.com)

The Minimag AA LED aren't anything to write home about. I have 2 that have seen BARELY any use. Fenix lights are great lights to start out with. Easy user interface, bright, multi-level, good run times and excellent warranty when purchased from 4sevens above. More money but very well worth it.

PM me if interested in an LED minimag, but I'd recommend the Fenix.

 

[Double_A]

Welcome to CPF.

Take a look at some of the LED drop-in replacements for you Maglight 3-D

 

[toolpig1]

If we're talking about alternatives to the lackluster minimag, check out the recently improved Streamlight Jr.(C4). This flashlight takes 2AA, has a tailcap clickie switch, textured reflector, semi-regulated output (not fantastic, but ok), and is surprisingly bright. This light should give you 3+ hours of good output. I picked one up locally for $28 and was pretty darn impressed by the build quality and output. My Streamlight Propoly 4AA Luxeon is still one of my favorites. Here's a link if you're interested:
http://www.brightguy.com/products/Streamlight_Jr_LED_Flashlight.php

The rebranded Nuwai X-3 was put through its paces in May 2006. It proved to be decently bright, but with very short runtime. It dropped to 50% output in only 45 minutes. Here's the review:
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/nuwai_x-3.htm

The Fenix E20 is another great choice in the same arena

 

[kramer5150]

:welcome:

Welcome!! Hope you enjoy your stay, this is a really fun hobby.

Other fun flashlight places that I highly recommend:
shiningbeam.com
malkoffdevices.com
dealextreme.com
batteryjunction.com
lighthound.com

sandwiche shoppe

Dont forget to hit up your local B&M stores too.

 

[arrowshooter]

IIRC the River Rock "3w" is pretty much a rebranded Nuwai X-3 with a clip. Not a bad light from what I hear. It should have more output then the 3D Mag but less throw.

Edit:

Check here for Maglite drop-ins/mods.

The light I bought has a Camo finish. I guess I am not allowed to upload pics or I would show you. Target also had a 2C River Rock that is anodized a green color and is as quoted from The LED Museum (I hope I can do this):

River Rock 2 C cell 1.5 watt LED flashlight. It uses a Nichia Jupiter high-powered LED, and has a convex (magnifying) lens to focus the beam into a type of "moon"-shaped beam - a circular beam with a sharp fall-off at its perimeter

How do you think this would compare to the Task Force 2C?

 

[Marduke]

The Task Force 2C will be MUCH brighter, and is much more efficient. The beam will also be much more useful, since it's not just a perfect spot of light.

To upload pics here, you have to host them on some photosharing site such as imageshack or photobucket and insert them into the reply using the "insert picture" icon when you're typing, and paste the URL of the picture.

 

[arrowshooter]

Thanks Marduke, I will probably replace the Mag 3D I keep in my P/U with the Task Force.

I thought I read in the FAQ's I could upload from PC using the "manage attachments" feature that I could not find. I did find the insert image button though. I will fiddle with that later.

 

[Wyeast]

To try to answer your questions.

Nobody's mentioned an emitter upgrade that I've heard lately. Given Mag's track record, it's unlikely it would be a Cree XR-E. They're glacially slow in LED adoption so it may be a K2 at best.

The heatsinking issue primarily affected the larger D cell lights, which are bulb drop-ins to their existing incan bodies which create the break in thermal flow to the body. The AA's weren't noted to have the same sudden dimming after a few minutes that the larger lights did. (Since they are different bodies than the incan MiniMags, it's hoped that there's at least better heat transfer out to the body of the light. However, it may also be that they're not driven so hard to begin with.

That said, I have to say that I was personally dissatisfied with the 3-AA light that I had bought for daily use at work. It wasn't long before the contacts in the switch got flakey, so that the light would flicker intermittently or go out altogether. Unacceptable for me with a light I carry down into the underground dungeons.

In the same form factor (AA's) I've gotten fine service out of my Inova Bolt and Coleman MAX for the same (or less) money than a MiniMagLED 3AA. Neither are focusable, so they won't throw like a MiniMAG could, but the Cree emitters put out so much more light that it's a wash vs a tighter focus w/ a weaker emitter.

Hope that helped!

 

[toolpig1]

River Rock 2 C cell 1.5 watt LED flashlight. It uses a Nichia Jupiter high-powered LED, and has a convex (magnifying) lens to focus the beam into a type of "moon"-shaped beam - a circular beam with a sharp fall-off at its perimeter

How do you think this would compare to the Task Force 2C?

I can't believe there's still a Target store with these on the shelf. Here's a review of the 2AA version, which will have exactly the same output and beam, just shorter runtime than the 2C:
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/aurora_alj-012aa.htm

This light puts out a spot of light with absolutely zero side spill. Think of going to a live show and the stage is completely dark except for a single spot of light on the performer. Not a useful flashlight, don't waste your money.

 

[VegasF6]

I might suggest you look for the Coleman Max 2AA availible at Walmart instead of the mag led. Here is a thread about it:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=202659

That would be assuming you wanted something local. Another nice light would be the Fenix E20 availible here:
https://www.fenix-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=498
Review:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=205501
In fact, that light is on my short list as well.

*Edit*
P.S. Welcome to CPF!