Does a Mag still suck after MOD?

I know just the name MagLite /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsdown.gif is a touchy subject, but I have a burning question (which leads me to other questions) that I just have to ask:

Does a Mini-MagLite /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsdown.gif still suck after modifying it?

Here's some fodder to get you going before you reply to the post:

The way I see it, it's like a good vs. evil thing. On one hand, Mag's suck in MANY different ways. On the other hand, they seem to be a pretty good place to start for a pretty decent all-around light. An example is taking a Mini-Mag /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsdown.gif ($8.84 at Target [pronounced tar-JHAY]) and gutting the sucker out and dropping in one of Dat2zip's MadMax /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif Luxeon units, a sapphire lens /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif, and powering it with those kick-*** RedCell /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif batteries from CompUSA.

Once it's modded, is it really actually a Mag Instrument /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsdown.gif product any more afterward?

This also brings up a couple more questions:

1) How watertight are they, really? I dropped one in the lake may moons ago in about 8' of water while trapsing around on the dock. The only way I found it was it was still burning strong when I got back out there with my swim trunks. Is this uncommon?

2) Can a Mini-Mag finish be stripped down and re-anodized with something like, say, Type III Natural Hard Anodization? If so, where would something like that be done? How much would it cost?

So my point /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/sleepy.gif, and I do have one:

Once you've actually made all these mod's, add up how much you've spent: $8.84 (Mag) + $20 (lens)+ $35 (MadMax) + $30 (guess at HA cost) and you've just tricked out a Honda Civic for what you would have paid for an Acura NSX.

I had a chance to check out a click tailcap, madmax Mag, and it was very impressive. Have you ever seen my MagBorg mod?

I haven't had a chance to see that. I'm still kinda new (member #3242).

"Once you've actually made all these mod's, add up how much you've spent: $8.84 (Mag) + $20 (lens)+ $35 (MadMax) + $30 (guess at HA cost) and you've just tricked out a Honda Civic for what you would have paid for an Acura NSX."

yep /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

the main appeal of the dat2zip sandwhich is the availability to transfer bodies. you don't want to get an expensive arc ls and get it all scratched up, but a $8 *ag body isn't all that bad.

another thing is the <font color="red"> coolness </font> factor. you pull out a mini, and people think they know what they are getting, but they don't.

also, while if you add up the body, and the pill, and the lens...it seems like a lot, but most people have crappy old mini's that they want to put to use.

the watertightness should be pretty good...uses o-rings and all.

the finish could be stripped down and reanodyzed, but at much more than $30 i think.l i expect you would have pay setup fees and everything...my guess would be more like a couple hundred.

btw, most people don't buy the $20 lens /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I think the Minim@g sux because the body is so thin. It gets too hot when I leave my BB500 inside there for 20 mins. All because there's not enough material... sighz. Bigger ones like the Cs and the Ds are okay though. I think that the 2C has too thick a switch and too big a head. My friend commented that look like a dumb bell with one end chopped off. Lol!

Conclusion: 2AA Mini sucks. Cs and Ds are alright, but could be improved. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif

well I have seen resin covered moose nuggets in a real mixed drink glass.....would anyone look at it normally?
or shall I say if a dog turd was painted and covered in roses it would be qualified to adorn my desk?
from an engineering standpoint maglites are becoming archaic, poor knurling,thin anodizing, no chem-kote, poor quality reflectors, etc.

Since_1526,

This is a good read:

http://www.focuser.com/atm/anodize/anodize.html

Dan

you should post that link elsewhere as how a modder can make his own anodizing equipment on a budget, great website and very informative, I actually have everything at my shop except for the dyes, thanks for sharing it percadan /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

I would just like to say... "Mag's don't suck." IMO

for $8 you get a damn nice light. (for $8.00)

It's all relative to Ca$h... if the Mini Mag were to cost more than $8 hooks then yes, I would agree with you. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Point me to any light for $8 that is better.... ??? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif

On the same note... I have an E2e and I must say that the delta in cost for that light is much greater then the delta for quality vs. a mag.
My short point is the E2e lights and similar "tactical" branded light's are wayyyyyyy over priced vs. the labor and materials that are put into them. The markup is almost as bad as Car stereo equipment.
What do you suppose the cost (actual parts\labor) to mfg a Mini Mag vs. an E2e is? (or similar lights like it.. Ex ARC)

Sure, I would bet there is a difference in cost somewhat and that is expected... but I would bet it's nowhere near the sales price delta. ("including" the cost to retrofit a Mini MAG to the equivalent of an E2e with a KL1.)

$8.84 + $35 for the MadMax = $43.84
$56.00-KL1 + $95.00-E2e = $151.00 DOH!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
Bottom line... you don't always get what you pay for.
I realize there is an apples to oranges thing here in my comments but the principal is the same.... the markup on lights like these are sheer robbery.. but hey, I'm not knocking it, as I bought one and I also believe in getting what the market will bear and free enterprise.
However, companies like the Surefire's out there should be wary of new light companies as if someone were to produce a similar light for lower cost and the backing of a quality company.

Heck, I am actually suprised that none of the pro modders on this site have not challenged surefire or ARC yet.

Long story short...I like the Mini MAG for $8 an change.

Sorry for the long drawl.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif

I consider the Mini-Mag a very good and basic flashlight which is well worth modifying. I would suggest that most of us would be hard pressed to find such a good 'host' body for a modification? I also appreciate that accessories for this light are really easy to find and that makes it IMHO especially useful. As to whether it sucks after modification , well that depends on what is used to modify it...doesn't it?

Doug

The D-Cell mags are a wonderful chunk of machined aluminum just waiting to suck up heat produced by an LS emitter /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

The only thing better would be a textured reflector for a smooth beam.

-Darin

I have to admit, despite all my "high-end" lights from all the brands we love around here, my MiniGag with Opalec is the light I reach for and use every day, more than any others. Probably because of its handy "grippable" size (too small can sometimes be just as unwieldy as too big), its decent output (yet not overkill; it doesn't overpower night-adjusted eyes) and it's extraordinary battery life.

This may change when my McLux arrives . . . . we'll see!

The only thing that I find really sucky on Mags is the reflector. In all other respects, I would say that the Mag has the best price-per-quality advantage on all other aluminum flashlights. That's why almost every great mod that you read about on the forum uses a Mag body as a base. Many mods don't even use the original Mag reflector anyway and so there is removed the only real weakness of the Mag design right there.

Mags are cheap in price for what you get, they last about half a lifetime if they are not overly abused and they have an easy to use, high quality switch, unlike many other lights that I could mention (even when compared to some of the super expensive flashlights out there). So far I've never had a switch go bad on a Mag, but I have on several other brands of flashlights over the years.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the only thing that I really have against Mag is their Micro$oft type corporate tactics of using an army of lawyers to crush & destroy their smaller competitors that are unequipped to fully defend themselves legally instead of just fairly competing with them. Basically, if you sell an aluminum focusable flashlight, it's round and it has light that comes out of one end and the batteries go in the other, then you are in danger of being sued by them over patent violations. I mean, dang, you would think that they invented the flashlight if you were to read what their patent lawyers have to say about it.

Now that I've got that out of my system, back to the mods! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Yes, but it will suck less....

Seriously, the Mag C & D are about as good of a light as you can find for the price.

However, the Brinkmann AA size lights are far superior, especially when you consider that you DON'T have to purchase a tailcap switch (that will also be inferior to the Brinkmann switch).

surefires are a lot more expensive, (and there certainly is a higher markup), but consider the following:

higher-grade aluminum
ha3 anodyzing
chemkote inside
more complicated design
better reflector
pyrex lens
lower quntities
better bulbs/la's
-----higher r&d costs (*ag hasn't done this since...?)

now those differences certainly don't accout for the extreme difference, but it explains at least a little. also, you get the better customer service and better reliabilty...a better overall light.

Brinkmann 2AA superior? IYHO, I'd have to say. I finally found one ($10 at REI) and bought it for a MadMax mod. It'll be good for that, since I can't stand the way that Kroll switch looks, but for incandescent use I far prefer the MiniMag.

I'm not crazy about the rubber, the metalwork inside looks a little rougher, the tailswitch makes it longer and less stand-on-end stable...<shrug> I mean, it's not bad but you'd have to really hate the mini to call it "far superior".

I had a Brinkmann 2 AA years ago (the model that looks almost identical to the Mag) and I had no end of trouble out of it. That's why I went over to Mag-Lite in the first place. For one thing, I've never had a Mag switch go bad on me but the Brinkmann 2 AA's switch did (that's why I finally chunked it). Also, with the old Brinkmann that I had, I had to constantly tap it and beat on it to keep the light from flickering and cleaning the contacts didn't help much either. The light just didn't contact with the batteries as well as the Mag did. Now all of this was on a Brinkmann from many years ago so maybe they've improved their design in recent years, I really don't know, but the one that I had was just a piece of junk and that's when I decided that I would not buy another one. I've been using Mags for most of my mods ever since and have run into zero defects in them. Well, unless you count a crappily designed reflector as a defect, that is.

[ QUOTE ]
radellaf said:
Brinkmann 2AA superior? IYHO, I'd have to say. I finally found one ($10 at REI) and bought it for a MadMax mod. It'll be good for that, since I can't stand the way that Kroll switch looks, but for incandescent use I far prefer the MiniMag.

I'm not crazy about the rubber, the metalwork inside looks a little rougher, the tailswitch makes it longer and less stand-on-end stable...<shrug> I mean, it's not bad but you'd have to really hate the mini to call it "far superior".

[/ QUOTE ]

Consider that I answered the question from the perspective of which light is better suited to being a mod base - which was primarily what the question was asked about...

That being said, the Brinkmann ALREADY HAS a tailcap switch - which incidentally, is better than either the Ram or Kroll offerings..

While I don't dispute your observation that YOU may prefer the minmag over the Brinkmann, consider that OTHERS may feel differently - without necessarily "disliking" the other option. IE: some people LIKE the rubber on the Brink's grip.

My intention here is to post the information that I know, so the person with the question can evaluate the information for themselves.

I personally prefer the Brinkmann 2AA and 3AA bodies for modified lights. I really like the tailcap.

BUT, there are so many accessories for the mini-mag. It is readily available world wide. People know how to use it. Co-workers are less likely to walk off with your "mini'mag" (they don't know that it is a mod), as opposed to some exotic, different light.

If you were someone makine a drop in product (Like InReTECH or OPALEC), you would pickl the mini-mag because of the millions of products already out there.

hey
also don't forget that mini's can be in candle mode too
and it is very good for the case of electrical shortage. Or if you want an even beam without your hands (or your mouth) have to hold the light.
Yea, the brinkmann can stand on end but not that stable as mini.
one more thing, the mini come in many different color so you are free to take any color that matches your favorite /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
just my op.