MMag 3AA vs. LX3->winner is MMag, conditionally.

I gave in and bought a MMag3AA at Wmart. For me that is saying something because I do not love either company.

When I compared it to my Gerber LX3 against the wall, the LX was brighter (although I liked the MMag's more normal spot beam) than the LX. Once I put in Energizer Lithiums, the MMag apeared slightly brighter.

Given the MMag's better adjustable (not usually a feature I like, but in this case not bad at all) beam, and its much lighter weight, I have a new favorite AA led flashlight.

I have not gotten a answer yet if the MMag is safe with lithiums, but considering that Wmart will let me exchange it if I fry it in a week or two, I am not worried. Thanks again to everyone who posted beamshots and runtime graphs. I would have never bought this light without them since I normally am not a huge Maglite fan, and I would have missed out. Thanks again.

Actually, Wal*Mart (Target too) will give you 90 days to return that item. While the use of Lithium batteries may shorten the life of the LED, I think it's going to probably take more than 90 days to burn it out, even if you keep it burning for 90 days straight!

Come to think of it, if you do that, you'll be so broke from buying lithium batteries, that you'll probably switch over to NiMH batteries

woodrow said:

I have not gotten a answer yet if the MMag is safe with lithiums, but considering that Wmart will let me exchange it if I fry it in a week or two, I am not worried.

Click to expand...

Your right, lithiums are expensive, but I love that they don't discharge much over time. I will also have to see if nimh make the light as bright as the lithiums do.

I forgot to explain my "conditionally" win for the MMag light in my first post. I only like the MMag better when burning lithiums. 4 hours of bright burntime and brighter (to my eyes) than the LX only happen with lithiums. As to the cost, cold weather reliability (I am moving back to NE just in time for winter) and less than $2.00 per hour to burn in this light make them more than worth it in my book.

I pretty much figured that there had to be a reason for Mag to make that long 3 cell version as opposed to their traditional 2 cell Mini Mag. Understanding that there was some reasonable motivation, and because my experience with the Mag LED modules also revealed that the 3 cell version seem to perform best; so when the MiniMag LEDs first came out, I just got the 3 cell versions and didn't have to worry about throw lithium batteries in it (just a tad more at a nominal 3.6V compared to the 3.4 from two AA lithiums.) BTW, the 3 cell version also runs well the reduced voltage of 3 NiMH batteries, just as the larger Mag C/D LED modules work well with NiMH batteries.

woodrow said:

I forgot to explain my "conditionally" win for the MMag light in my first post. I only like the MMag better when burning lithiums.

Click to expand...