Incandescent vs led

nitrolight

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Mar 3, 2007
Messages
13
hey

i've got a few (3d,6d) maglites (Incand) and i am looking to replace them with a led light that will give me the same throw..any suggestions? the thing i dont like about my mags is the fact that they only have 1 brightness level. the other option i have is to simply replace my mags bulb with an led one but will this give me the same throw??and should i go for the original maglite relacement bulb?

i am new to the led world so sorry for the ignorance:sssh: !
 
Last edited:

magnum70383

Enlightened
Joined
Feb 16, 2007
Messages
556
Location
Toronto
Hi, I'm new as well to all these crazy flashlights... ok, you got a few maglites right? WHICH ONES?!?!?
And If you like maglites so much, why not get the maglite LEDS?!?! I've got maglite 2AA LED and is GREAT! I'm not sure by replacing the bulbs will give you the same throw...but I'm pretty sure it WILL be brighter and give you MORE throw. lol why don't you just BUY all the maglite LEDs.
Check out Fenix L2D CE! 135 lumens from 2AAs. plus multi-brightness levels and modes like strobe...lol...time for seizures:barf:
 
Last edited:

scott.cr

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 10, 2006
Messages
1,470
Location
Los Angeles, Calif.
The Surefire U2 is a real nice little multi-level light. Even though it's a small light, the beam throw is very good, and it's also very floody for close-up work. Honestly, the U2 is a very tough light to beat in terms of all-around use.

If you want max throw from an LED you might consider an ArcMania LED tower in a Surefire Turbohead... hard to find though...
 

nitrolight

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Mar 3, 2007
Messages
13
i checked the l2d ce but i hear it cant compare to the trow of the mags.........i've got the 3d and 6d mags and i love their battery life! if i go for the bulb relacement,should i go terralux or the original mag led replacement bulb?
 

mossyoak

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 7, 2004
Messages
3,122
Location
The Southland with a RedBull in one hand and iPhon
first off what model mag is thelight? is it a mini? (AA powered) if it is this then your best bet is to buy a nite-ize module for it from walmart. it wont throw as far but its a much more useable beam.
is it a D or C powered model? if it is then mag makes led drop in modules for it its a three watt luxeon which is brighter and better light (whiter tint,longer running, better beam shape and no annoying rings).

if you have any questions PM me ill answer what ever you want to know.
 

EssLight

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Oct 11, 2006
Messages
176
Location
near Philadelphia, PA
LEDs in Mags maintain the throw, since it is the same reflector, in some cases the LED is brighter, and the throw improves. You can read reviews and compare data here:
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/maglite_3d.htm
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/maglite_mag-led.htm
I do not have any experience with Mag drop ins vs. Terralux, so I cannot recommend one over the other.
From the data in the reviews, the Mag LED in the 3D is a significant improvement over the incan 3D. For the Mag 6D, I think most drop-in LEDs will be dimmer than the incan bulb.
 

MattK

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 30, 2004
Messages
3,027
Location
Connecticut Shoreline
Admittedly I'm biased but the LumaPower M1 seems like the obvious answer here for a new flashlight or a TerraLUX TLE-6EX SSC P4 drop-in to upgrade the old mags.

L2D CE? U2? Both nice lights but neither is much of a thrower, especially compared to an M1.
 

GeorgePaul

Enlightened
Joined
Jul 2, 2005
Messages
553
Location
Southern California
nitrolight said:
i've got a few (3d,6d) maglites (Incand) and i am looking to replace them with a led light that will give me the same throw..any suggestions?
You might consider the Sears Craftsman Variable Power L.E.D. Upgrade (see https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/1891617#post1891617 for a discussion about it), which will work with your 3D light. You could also use this upgrade in your 6D with a dummy D cell. I have one in my Mag 2D and it definitely has good throw at tight focus. And it only costs about $15.
 
Last edited:

Lit Up

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 8, 2006
Messages
1,231
nitrolight said:
i checked the l2d ce but i hear it cant compare to the trow of the mags.........i've got the 3d and 6d mags and i love their battery life! if i go for the bulb relacement,should i go terralux or the original mag led replacement bulb?

If you think you love the incan's version of battery life, grab a MagLED drop-in. You'll grow bored waiting on it to die.
 

2xTrinity

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 10, 2006
Messages
2,386
Location
California
MattK said:
Admittedly I'm biased but the LumaPower M1 seems like the obvious answer here for a new flashlight or a TerraLUX TLE-6EX SSC P4 drop-in to upgrade the old mags.

L2D CE? U2? Both nice lights but neither is much of a thrower, especially compared to an M1.
I would throw in another reccomendation for the TerraLux SSC P4 if you want to upgrade your maglite. The Maglite LED module, Whcih I have, is a big improvement in brightness over the stock bulb, and does preserve throw and focusability, in additoin to providing more useful spill/flood at the same time. There is just more overall light output.

In the case of the module with SSC (for Seoul Semiconductor), it will cost a littlle bit more, but it uses an LED that is twice as efficient as the older one that was in the Maglite modules, so it will be very, very bright.

Runtime is also a big improvement for a number of reasons -- for one, the LEDs draw somewhat less power to begin with. Also, as batteries wear down, LEDs continue to produce light, but worn out batteries won't be able to power an incandescent bulb hard enough to cause it to glow, just to heat it up, while LEDs will produce useful light on a tiny trickle of power. If you like to keep some good incandescent around for other reasons (they still have an advantage for color rendering, and throw in foggy situations), LEDs might not be a bad idea to have either, as they can run fine off batteries that are too "dead" to run the incandescent flashlights.

As for buying a new flashlight outright, there are a lot of options, though I woudl recommend buying one with SSC, Cree, or Edison LEDs as those are the most efficient on the market.

i checked the l2d ce but i hear it cant compare to the trow of the mags.........i've got the 3d and 6d mags and i love their battery life! if i go for the bulb relacement,should i go terralux or the original mag led replacement bulb?
Throw entirely depends on the size of the reflector. If you compare the l2d against the minimag (2AA) category it can hold its own for throw, but not against the D maglites with much larger reflectors.
 
Last edited:

Lobo

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 31, 2005
Messages
1,577
Location
Sweden
nitrolight said:
hey

i've got a few (3d,6d) maglites (Incand) and i am looking to replace them with a led light that will give me the same throw..any suggestions? the thing i dont like about my mags is the fact that they only have 1 brightness level. the other option i have is to simply replace my mags bulb with an led one but will this give me the same throw??and should i go for the original maglite relacement bulb?

i am new to the led world so sorry for the ignorance:sssh: !

Hey Nitrolight, and welcome to the forum!

Depending on your budget, if youre thight on cash, the MagLED-upgrade around 20USD at most local stores, will do wonders for your old 3D Mag (not sure there is one for the 6D?).
Or if you want a even brighter light in smaller form factor and still have good runtime, the 3W CREE 1x18650 from dealextreme, with charger and one battery for a total of 36USD shipped seems to be an outstanding choice.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1285
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.936
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1213

If youre not that thight on cash and want some higher quality gear, definitely go with MattKs suggestions.
The Lumapower M1 looks rock solid, check out the review at FLR if you allready haven't.
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/lumapower_m1.htm
And the TerraLUX TLE-6EX SSC P4 drop-in will improve your old mag even more than the regular MagLED drop in!
 

XtreMe_G

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Mar 2, 2007
Messages
87
Location
naptown, USA
if u want a real quick and cheap upgrade for the 6D, just buy a maglite xenon bulb. i got one off ebay for 6 something shipped. if u wanna push it a bit more, get the xenon bulb for the 5D and put it in the 6D maglite. its really bright, but then u're not gonna get the 3 gazillion hours runtime that you get with the led upgrades.
 

davenlei

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Feb 5, 2007
Messages
161
I have the 3D Mag and when I upgraded to the Mag brand MagLED, it was a good jump in brightness. I then switched the LED on the unit with an SSC LED and the jump was even better. I really like my Mag now. It is very bright with a very strong and tight hot spot that throws far.
 
Top