What makes the MagCharger special?

Why isn't this light subjected to the usual hatred directed at Mag products?

Search around CPF and look at Quickbeam's review at flashlightreviews.com. You'll find that it's Mag's best (and most expensive) light by a very wide margin. It's incredibly bright, has a decent runtime, and has rings instead of studs for charging contacts. Of course, like most other Mags, it's an old, tough, proven design.

TigerhawkT3 said:

Search around CPF and look at Quickbeam's review at flashlightreviews.com. You'll find that it's Mag's best (and most expensive) light by a very wide margin. It's incredibly bright, has a decent runtime, and has rings instead of studs for charging contacts. Of course, like most other Mags, it's an old, tough, proven design.

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Has anyone taken an accurate lumen output reading of it?

Yes, but I can't remember for sure.

I think it was around 200.

The simple "upgrade" that can be done to it via dropping in the Welch~Allyn bulb WA01160 increases the output but reduces the runtime. That's okay with me. Besides, fivemega produces from time to time the MagCharger replacement reflectors plus switches for it to make the MagCharger even more "appealing" to some people.

Pricing for the unit isn't too expensive. Here at Fry's Electronics they go for $99—AC/DC + Car Charger

Enjoy!

What others said above. It is trully a good value for the money

Here is a relatively recent thread on the MC

Will

All the above. I have had mine for 15 or so yr's and love it. i run it stock 70%
of the time and it's super bright, very white beam and even focused down to a spot it still will give ton's of spill. ( I rarely move it from this focal point)
I also have the MC60 setup (simple swap of a areo batt stick, WZ 1160, and a mica shield) to go balistic mostly for fun. (stock with the newest
lamp it can still throw farther then I can really see clearly)
Just take the (maddening) time to time to center the lamp and it
will be killer light without having to reduce the throw with a orange peel reflector. (I got a drinking straw i use to do this) My first great light.VDG

CHC said:

The simple "upgrade" that can be done to it via dropping in the Welch~Allyn bulb WA01160 increases the output but reduces the runtime.

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Don't forget that you can upgrade the stock 2.5Ah battery pack with a 4Ah NiMH battery pack that will greatly increase runtime. To me, the 1160 bulb with the high capacity NiMH battery pack brings the MC to life.

It's simply a very, very well-designed light, and since the state of high-power rechargable incans hasn't changed much since 1982, it's still pretty high-tech. It's probably the most physically durable light of its type, it's bright, has long throw, the charging cradle is the best by any maker, it can take a wide variety of bulb and lamp assembly upgrades, it uses standard batteries, it can be focused (if you value that), it's HA III, and it has a lifetime warranty. It's also not too expensive, since you can find them for $69.99 brand new.

Other than the company's legal practices, regular Mags are most often criticized for being outdated. In some cases this is true (the Solitaire and Mini-Mag should have been LED at least a couple years ago), in other cases it's just people wanting to hop on the anti-Mag bandwagon (the C/D cell PR-base flashlight market is still pretty big, and those style Mag-Lites are good for the price and target market.) Others complain about the beam quality, but Mag has acknowledged that it's lousy in order to preserve maximum throw. And of course the company's marketing is nearly pure BS.

ABTOMAT said:

it's HA III

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On that subject, how much tougher (in real life application) is HA III than HA II? My Inova X5 (EDC) is HA III, and is still flawless, but I haven't EDC'd an HA II light so I have no bassis of comparison.

Hi All,

I have two Magchargers I purchased back in 1996. And I only just this week for the first time had issues with it. And that was a simple Battery stick replacement. To say the least I find that to be tremendous.

I did have one question on the Magcharger. Are they indeed all HAIII? I ask as the two I have, which as I say I bought back ten years ago, have a shiny finish to them. Might those be HAIII, or might the HAIII finish still have a matte as opposed to gloss finish, and be restricted to the newer models of the Magcharger.

All My Best,
John

Josey said:

Don't forget that you can upgrade the stock 2.5Ah battery pack with a 4Ah NiMH battery pack that will greatly increase runtime. To me, the 1160 bulb with the high capacity NiMH battery pack brings the MC to life.

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I don't know much about anything on batteries, but where can one purchase the replacement "upgrade" batteries for the MagCharger?

Thanks!

Upgrade the bulb, socket, reflector, battery and you've got one hell of a useful light.

The LEOs I meet always complain about it and like the output from my smaller lights much better, but they like its size since it works nicely as a club.

What are the complaints? I'm curious. The only ones I've heard are having to adjust the focus and the switch being hard to use with gloves.

Only place that I've seen that sold 1/2D NiMH batteries was a web site in Australia. I think that's the place he's referring to. But if you want cheap NiCD replacement sticks, get them from Fox Intl ($10.95 for the Chinese no-names.) As a matter of fact if you need to order some, let me know, I'm going to do a batch order for some colleagues, we can split the shipping costs.

CHC said:

I don't know much about anything on batteries, but where can one purchase the replacement "upgrade" batteries for the MagCharger?

Thanks!

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Somewhere Down Under eh? Okay.

Thanks for the info regarding the Ni-Cds Brighteyez. I have three (3) stock Maglite recharegeable battery sticks that I bought as backup/replacements lying around here somewhere. . .:thinking: