Maglites with Rubber Armoring & Grip (with pictures)

Parts and tools:

• $5 worth of new bicycle inner tubes - (one size fits all type) from Wal Mart
• sharp blade
• scissors
• hair dryer

Adds awesome grip texture and a matt black "austere bleak desolation look" to M*gs. Anonymous and nondescript is the resulting fit and finish!
A poor man's HA III finish? :laughing:



Step 1: Bike inner tube measured against the Maglite. Cut to length with scissors adding 1" or more than needed.

Step 2: Wash piece of tube in hot water with detergent. Turn tube inside out (can be difficult!) and wash off the powdery dust and haze.

Step 3: Dry tube inside with hair dryer. Place tube and Maglite on table and heat both at same time with hair dryer on high heat for several minutes. The hair dryer heat is the only way the inner tube will stretch enough to fit. Work fast before it cools!

Step 4: Stretch tube and get it down over the Maglite. Can be really difficult if not done right. If at first you don't succeed try try again

Step 5: Measure and cut the second piece of tube for the Maglite head. Wash in hot water, turn inside out, dry, heat, stretch, then fight it over the Maglite reflector. Leave a small ridge over the bezel rim. In the pictures 2 lights have extra layers of tube over the bezel edge.

Step 6: Adjust alignment and trim the join between Maglite tube and reflector head with a razor.

[4C and 3D don't have the inner tube inside out, so that's why there are seams and lines visible. The 3D has the series of inner tube join seams positioned over the switch area to aid grip.]

Sure gives them a strange look. I have heat shrink tubing on my mini RoP. Never thought of using inner tubing from head to toe.

Very cool, what size tubes?

willrx said:

Very cool, what size tubes?

Click to expand...

The inner tube used is 1 1/4 diameter on all the Mags, even the D.
Apparently you can buy different types of inner tube from bike shops, I recall Sub_umbra (who gave me this idea by his examples in various old threads - his use of inner tube was not on Maglites, but smaller Inova lights. As far as I know, inner tube hasn't been shown on this forum used on Maglites) saying they have double thickness inner tube available as well.

Nice work, Cydonia. I haven't used inner tubes on Maglites, but on some of my smaller lights. Thanks for the tip about installing them inside out for a smooth look.

Hey that's right, it was you too who used inner tube on Inova's! I remember those pictures with the bright orange red lanyards...

pretty good mod,,,

they also protect your maglites from venereal disease

No baby maglights in this family.

Seriously, bike tubes are useful for a lot of applications. One drawback is that the rubber will disintegrate over time if exposed to h20. Don't know how it reacts to salt/sweat.

Actually one of the more clever and nice looking mods I have seen in a while. Nice job.

Thank you for taking the time to outline and photograph the procedure for us!

CAVERS take NOTE!!! excellent way to protect your light switch and add some extra protection form moisture.

... But not recommended for high power mod I guess
heat dissipation must be severely compromised

Tried this myself, with excellent results.

I started with a smaller tube so it was TOUGH to manipulate. I didn't find the heat trick to work, so instead I created a grocery bag method. 1-3 layers of the slippery plastic from grocery bags, in between any rubber and aluminum and its instantly easier to move. ie, to make adjustments:

1) roll rubber up, exposing aluminum

2) wrap plastic bag around aluminum

3) unroll rubber

4) slide rubber to desired position

5) roll rubber up

6) remove plastic bag material

7) unroll rubber

8) repeat until perfect


Tough, but worth it...

pour some rubbing alchol inside the tube and immediatley slide them onto the light, let them sit for a bit to allow the alkyhol to dissipate. This is how we cyclists put on rubber grips onto our metal handlebars. Or spray on hair spray into the tube.

Another potential material, with seemingly much easier application is the Heat-Shrinkable Fabric Sleeving sold by McMaster-Carr.

It's woven polyethylene/polyester fabric sleeves, with a 2:1 shrink ratio. It requires 230° to shrink it, has an acceptable temperature range of -40° to 257° and breathes to prevent moisture buildup.

Just got around to prying a section of fat inner tube onto my 4D Mag. Really makes a 4D comfortable to carry. Just put it on the slippery bottom end. The checkering works fine up top. Sorry, not the greatest picture of the 4D and a 4C. The flash makes the inner tubes look gray, but they look black normally.