[Review] Maglite ML300L 6D - worth it in 2025?

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The beam is pretty disappointing, or i'm spoiled. 6D is a good club, but as far as light, there are much better ones for same money.
 
I have an incan 6D from 1982 and aside from the output have always found it to be too long and cumbersome for me. I think the sweet spot for the ML300L is the 3D or 4D. I purchased a ML300L 4D in 2024 and have come to really like it but I do prefer the 3D size. Either way, take a look at this evaluation of the ML300L 4D and 6D.

Maglite Runtime Sorcery (ML300L 6D) and 4D Version
 
Chicken Drumstick said:
Disappointing in what way?
Click to expand...
The light is huge by todays standards, and it's only 1000lm, this focusing thing is carryover from weak bulbs times, today there are lights in same price range that will flood entire area and reach far as practical limit, 500m range advertised while true, however practicality of it is questionable, in the woods you do not need range like that, trees, bushes limit how far you can see, indoors 500m beam is also useless. In real world use you almost never need this throw, you need flood much more often. Disappointing to see Maglite fall behind times again, even in rechargeable line they do not utilize modem solutions and components,
 
alpg88 said:
The light is huge by todays standards, and it's only 1000lm, this focusing thing is carryover from weak bulbs times, today there are lights in same price range that will flood entire area and reach far as practical limit, 500m range advertised while true, however practicality of it is questionable, in the woods you do not need range like that, trees, bushes limit how far you can see, indoors 500m beam is also useless. In real world use you almost never need this throw, you need flood much more often. Disappointing to see Maglite fall behind times again, even in rechargeable line they do not utilize modem solutions and components,
Click to expand...
I think the focus (no pun intended) of Maglite has always been the Public Safety sector i.e. the cop light market. Candella is very useful in that occupation, and the company spent a lot of money defending their designs. Having done that, and having built their reputation on the success of their products, I don't see them abandoning their flashlight designs easily. The bigger a company gets, the slower that it can make changes, especially if the leadership of the company is resistant to change. I'm thinking of how long it took Maglite to adopt LED technology, and adopt new chemistry i.e. lithium batteries. They are making progress, but slowly. Hopefully, with the new tariffs, they will do better soon.
 
I think it's a neat light. But no alkalines for me. I don't want to have to buy 6 nimh d cells, and AA in adapters is a bit of a waste for such a big light. I think 3D is the practical limit, but would prefer 3C instead

Edit: didn't know you were that YouTuber. You have some good videos
 
I have long since realized electronics isn't for me. My brain simply doesn't get a grasp on it for some reason.
But I have one question: Does the lights with a different number of cells use different bulbs?

If the D-cell batteries are in series, the voltage is increased by 1.5 V with each cell, and that only makes sense to me if the bulbs are rated to run at different voltages. But all I have ever heard is, it doesn't matter - you can use any bulb suited for a Maglite D- or C-cell light.

I can agree that can work for LED-versions IF they have an onboard voltage controller, but not the older incandescent models - the bulb is either within specifications, or over- or underdriven, depending on the number of cells.

The concern regarding the bulbs, due to a lack of understanding of it all, is why I have stayed away from the larger Maglites back when they were actually good.

My current "big" lights gives me the same concern, but the manufacturer says it's okay. Got a Fenix TK75 and TK76, both with 3x battery carriers (each in a "2P2S"-config) for a total of 12x 18650 cells. But with 3x the voltage, why hasn't the lights burned to a crisp yet? They either has a controller that absorbs the heat, or the LEDs were wildly underdriven from the start, though I can't see any difference in output power with 1, 2 or 3 carriers. Or there is some magi...I mean, science - which is totally possible, under the circumstances - that I don't understand.
 
alpg88 said:
The light is huge by todays standards, and it's only 1000lm, this focusing thing is carryover from weak bulbs times, today there are lights in same price range that will flood entire area and reach far as practical limit, 500m range advertised while true, however practicality of it is questionable, in the woods you do not need range like that, trees, bushes limit how far you can see, indoors 500m beam is also useless. In real world use you almost never need this throw, you need flood much more often. Disappointing to see Maglite fall behind times again, even in rechargeable line they do not utilize modem solutions and components,
Click to expand...
Not sure I can agree flood is more useful, very much depends on your use. If you are checking animals like horses or sheep across a field, then range is a good thing. And if in semi built up areas you may well want a beam that is more directional, rather than a use flood that lights up the front of all the houses next to you.

Most floody lights also only manage good beam distance by producing insane lumens, but nearly every light like this the amount of time at this output is very limited. Lots of lights will start dimming instantly after turn on or will step down in something like 40-90 seconds, massively reducing the beam distance. Massive output also produces excessive heat, which just isn't needed if you are out for longer periods of time.

And as I said in the video, its not about the PEAK figures, its about what is useful and needed. You can effectively use it a single mode light for 90-99% of the time. Just turn it on and use it. No need to faff about with modes.

To paraphrase, while 400, 500 or 600bhp can be awesome in a car. The reality is, you only need 120-200hp to drive to the shops, take the kids to school, commute to work etc. Easily hitting the speed limits and feeling like you are making good progress.

To me, this is how the Maglite sits in the market, it just works fine for normal use.
 
PaladinNO said:
I have long since realized electronics isn't for me. My brain simply doesn't get a grasp on it for some reason.
But I have one question: Does the lights with a different number of cells use different bulbs?

If the D-cell batteries are in series, the voltage is increased by 1.5 V with each cell, and that only makes sense to me if the bulbs are rated to run at different voltages. But all I have ever heard is, it doesn't matter - you can use any bulb suited for a Maglite D- or C-cell light.

I can agree that can work for LED-versions IF they have an onboard voltage controller, but not the older incandescent models - the bulb is either within specifications, or over- or underdriven, depending on the number of cells.

The concern regarding the bulbs, due to a lack of understanding of it all, is why I have stayed away from the larger Maglites back when they were actually good.

My current "big" lights gives me the same concern, but the manufacturer says it's okay. Got a Fenix TK75 and TK76, both with 3x battery carriers (each in a "2P2S"-config) for a total of 12x 18650 cells. But with 3x the voltage, why hasn't the lights burned to a crisp yet? They either has a controller that absorbs the heat, or the LEDs were wildly underdriven from the start, though I can't see any difference in output power with 1, 2 or 3 carriers. Or there is some magi...I mean, science - which is totally possible, under the circumstances - that I don't understand.
Click to expand...
Maglite use a number of different LED emitters across their range and do periodically update them. But they don't advertise what LEDs they are as a rule.

However, in the LED world, it is rare to direct drive and LED, i.e. connect the battery to the LED directly. Some lights used to do this, but it is not hugely common today. In this instance you would need a battery to meet the voltage requirements of the LED.

Nearly all lights and I believe every LED Magelite (at least any they sell today and in recent years) Use a 'driver'. This is a small circuitboard that will deliver the correct voltage and current to the LED. A driver also allows different output modes and special modes like strobe or SOS. They can also be programmed to extend runtimes, i.e. after 'x' period of time start to ramp down the output gradually. Cycling the light off/on will restore it to full powered.

There are a few main types of drivers and drivers have their own input voltages. More batteries, no matter how configured will give more power overall in terms of Watt Hours. A good driver will be able to make better use of this and offer up more stable outputs and/or longer runtimes than power sources with less overall power.
 
PaladinNO said:
I have long since realized electronics isn't for me. My brain simply doesn't get a grasp on it for some reason.
But I have one question: Does the lights with a different number of cells use different bulbs?

If the D-cell batteries are in series, the voltage is increased by 1.5 V with each cell, and that only makes sense to me if the bulbs are rated to run at different voltages. But all I have ever heard is, it doesn't matter - you can use any bulb suited for a Maglite D- or C-cell light.

I can agree that can work for LED-versions IF they have an onboard voltage controller, but not the older incandescent models - the bulb is either within specifications, or over- or underdriven, depending on the number of cells.

The concern regarding the bulbs, due to a lack of understanding of it all, is why I have stayed away from the larger Maglites back when they were actually good.

My current "big" lights gives me the same concern, but the manufacturer says it's okay. Got a Fenix TK75 and TK76, both with 3x battery carriers (each in a "2P2S"-config) for a total of 12x 18650 cells. But with 3x the voltage, why hasn't the lights burned to a crisp yet? They either has a controller that absorbs the heat, or the LEDs were wildly underdriven from the start, though I can't see any difference in output power with 1, 2 or 3 carriers. Or there is some magi...I mean, science - which is totally possible, under the circumstances - that I don't understand.
Click to expand...
So each light, depending on cells, uses a corresponding bulb. The 4d uses a 4 cell bulb. 6d uses a 6 cell bulb. Ect. You definitely heard wrong if you heard that all bulbs work with all lights.

For more led lights, there is a driver that supplies the correct voltage to the led, regardless of number of cells. I don't mean to say that any light can use any voltage, but your particular light that takes 12 cells is configured in such a way that it uses how many volts it needs
 
Chicken Drumstick said:
And as I said in the video, its not about the PEAK figures, its about what is useful and needed. You can effectively use it a single mode light for 90-99% of the time. Just turn it on and use it. No need to faff about with modes.

To paraphrase, while 400, 500 or 600bhp can be awesome in a car. The reality is, you only need 120-200hp to drive to the shops, take the kids to school, commute to work etc. Easily hitting the speed limits and feeling like you are making good progress.

To me, this is how the Maglite sits in the market, it just works fine for normal use.
Click to expand...
I really like that car analogy. I personally overspend to get lights that can give more output than just "typically needed", in case I would need more.
It's like "I would rather have it but not use it, than need it and not have it."

Though while I cannot afford it, I would like a car with around 400 bhp. Would likely not ever need more, but what I know from my current car, should I ever have a need to accellerate myself out of a situation, I know I cannot do it. But I do have upgraded my brakes, so at least I know I can stop before I get myself into a situation.
And 400 bhp would finish an overtaking faster compared to 100, so that would require less time spent in the opposing traffic lane.

Very much agreed on the "faff with modes". There is a place for everything, and sometimes there simply is no time - and that can range from an inconvenience to disaster - to fiddle with buttons (which these days is mostly just a single button with infinite possibilities) to get what you need from a light.

I am a huge Fenix-fan, and even I don't like what they have been doing with their most recent offerings. Magnetic sliding button, short press vs long press - damn it, is one button for On / Off + a second button for output levels too much to ask for? So as far as convenience go, that's why the light I keep in my car is a simple Streamlight PolyTac. Just a single button, with just a single mode.
 
vicv said:
So each light, depending on cells, uses a corresponding bulb. The 4d uses a 4 cell bulb. 6d uses a 6 cell bulb. Ect. You definitely heard wrong if you heard that all bulbs work with all lights.
Click to expand...
I know I didn't hear wrong, but I have often wondered whether what they said was correct. I just didn't have any evidence or knowledge to say otherwise. So I just stayed away from the lights to be safe. We're taking about 3 decades ago, and I didn't feel comfortable with potentially screwing the wrong bulb into a flashlight, because I had no idea what could happen and I didn't want to find out.

Ironically, what they said is what an AI spews out now, being "confidently wrong". ^^

EDIT:
No, an AI didn't say I could use any bulb, but it is typical of a chatbot to insist a certain answer is correct, despite it being factually wrong.
 
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PaladinNO said:
I know I didn't hear wrong, but I have often wondered whether what they said was correct. I just didn't have any evidence or knowledge to say otherwise. So I just stayed away from the lights to be safe. We're taking about 3 decades ago, and I didn't feel comfortable with potentially screwing the wrong bulb into a flashlight, because I had no idea what could happen and I didn't want to find out.

Ironically, what they said is what an AI spews out now, being "confidently wrong". ^^
Click to expand...
AI is telling you that incandescent bulbs don't care what voltage they're given? Interesting. I've never seen that.

Well I can help out. If you want to try a pretty nice incandescent. Get a 2c. Put 2x button top 18500 cells in there with some type of tube so they stay centered. A 6 cell mag lite bulb. That's it. You can put an OP reflector in for a nicer beam. Or leave it as it is. It will be about 180 to 200 lm. Very nice and white output. And the bulbs last a long time
 
The 6 cell XML2 Mag is worth it and then some. Remember the reason regular Mags are still that big and that reason is run time! The batteries are plentiful and cheap. Put 6 fresh d cells in it turn it on and just leave it there. Come back a week later and it will still be on. For example a single quality d cell has 15000mah now multiply that by 6 and you come out with 60,000 mah. I have had dozens of Mags over the years and the new line of XML2 big Mags are the best lights Mag has ever made.
 
If you look at the Maglite ML300L series on their website you will see that the specs for the ML300L 4D have the most lumens and the farthest beam distance of all their ML's. You would think the 6D would be more but it is not according to Maglite.

ML300L 4D

Brightness/ Beam distance/ Peak Intensity
1002 Lumens/ 511 Meters/ 65,407 Candela



ML300L 6D

Brightness/ Beam distance/ Peak Intensity
694 lumens/ 415 Meters/ 43,067 Candela
 
NotRegulated said:
If you look at the Maglite ML300L series on their website you will see that the specs for the ML300L 4D have the most lumens and the farthest beam distance of all their ML's. You would think the 6D would be more but it is not according to Maglite.

ML300L 4D

Brightness/ Beam distance/ Peak Intensity
1002 Lumens/ 511 Meters/ 65,407 Candela



ML300L 6D

Brightness/ Beam distance/ Peak Intensity
694 lumens/ 415 Meters/ 43,067 Candela
Click to expand...
My 6D ML300 is definitely brighter than my ML300LX 3D, which is supposed to be 746 lumens. The 6D seems much closer to the 1002 lumen rated 4D ML300L.

Still, I think the 6D is more of a collector's item/conversation piece than it is a practical flashlight. I find the 4D ML300L, 3D ML300LX, 3C ML50LX, along with the 2C ML25 to be much more practical. The 6D is too big, heavy (running NiMH or alkaline D cells) and poorly balanced for use strictly as a flashlight - seems that most people get them for other considerations?
 
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