Minimag 2AA LED now discontinued at local Wal-Marts

What's your theory? Is it just not a good light, or is it hard for the average joe justify $25 on a 2AA Minimag that just happens to use LED?

I would hope that Mag is retooling with SSC or Cree!

Yeah, and better switch function, PLEASE!!!

With the cost of a regular Minimag at around $10 the average consumer just cannot justify double the price for the LED. Without actually using and understanding the difference they simply do not see the advantages.

Mag wont put in Crees or Rebels I think, they MAY put extra money into advertising the new LED to try and increase education and thus their sales, or perhaps not time will tell.

Lower the price to $15 and add some marketing pizazz to the package (ex. "450 times brighter than regular minimag!!!")...

I agree about the price being too high for the average consumer. Seems like you can usually find a regular MiniMag for as little as $7 or $8. Tough to convince someone to pay 3X for a light that looks the same. I think they(Mag) won't give up on LEDs, but will have to lower the price. They might do better if they came up with a new look for their LED line. People would try it, since it still has the Mag name but doesn't look just like an existing product. This would be a great time for them to come out with a nice little polycarbonate and rubber side by side 2AA. Just send my royalties to CPF. :laughing:

Geoff

How many WalMarts did you check? It could be something as simple as being out of stock in the one(s) you checked, not really a discontinued item. :shrug:

I saw them being thinned out at at a couple of Indiana walmarts. I was wondering if mag was discontinuing the model, or if was just walmart dropping it.


what kind of runtime do those 3-watt 2AA lights have?

Last month I got the Mini Mag LED for $2, the 2D LED for $8 and the 3D for $8 as well.

Its just Walmarts clearence, sometimes walmart is a gold mine..

I also saw the gray MM 2AA LED on clearance at the local Wal*Mart a month or so ago.

They were $10 each.

I bought the last four.

Cool, seems like a widespread thing, then.

Only 3AA and 2D MagLED at my walmart today. Quite a few empty hooks though.

What's strange though is I have yet to encounter anyone here locally that has bought a MagLED or upgraded with the Mag drop-in. I do know of quite a few people(friends and family) that have upgraded their MiniMags with the NiteIze drop-in. The other people I have noticed are ones that are buying other brand LED based lights, usually the smaller form factor AA and AAA based lights. Maybe people are starting to realize that there are better options without having to carry around D cell Mag lights.

Hopefully they are going to improve the common flaws like the switch flickering problem and the fact that the light just goes out all of a sudden when the batteries start to get weak.

Put in a better LED, an improved regulation board and a momentary on tailcap switch and I'll buy 2!

They also have another interesting peculiarity. The maximum light output is available only when focused for flood. The total output is down considerably when focused for a spot -- it looks like the LED is emitting light behind the reflector when spot-focused. They could get more light output by fixing this.

c_c

I really like my 2AA MagLED...other than the abrupt blackness when the batteries get low, I just make sure to put new batteries in before that happens. It did have a BAD flickering problem that appeared when it was about a month old...I just used a little ProGold on the positive contact and it's had rock solid performance ever since (about 7 months with only one application of ProGold), not one single flicker...except of course, when the batteries get low. I use this light heavily at work...probably a couple of times an hour, from 30 seconds, to 30 minutes at a time. And I haven't babied it either...it's taken some hard falls from as high as 8 feet from the top of a ladder, as well as tumbling down a flight of concrete steps more than once.

I can see why someone would be disappointed with a flickering light, people shouldn't be expected to have to treat a new light with expensive ProGold just to use the light in a normal fashion. And the abrupt shutdown due to low batteries just doesn't cut it.

I hope this is a sign that Mag is going to come out with a "debugged" version...or maybe even a Cree, or Seoul version. Nah, that would be expecting WAY too much from them!

Toohotruk said:

And I haven't babied it either...it's taken some hard falls from as high as 8 feet from the top of a ladder, as well as tumbling down a flight of concrete steps more than once.

I hope this is a sign that Mag is going to come out with a "debugged" version...or maybe even a Cree, or Seoul version. Nah, that would be expecting WAY too much from them!

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Haha! I hear ya. I dropped mine from a 15ft ceiling with the head off in candle mode! It didn't even flicker (unlike when I first got it and like you said when the batteries get low). I put a huge gash in the battery tube when it smacked the last rung. I thought it was done for. I couldn't believe it was still alive.

light_emitting_dude said:

Hopefully they are going to improve the common flaws like the switch flickering problem and the fact that the light just goes out all of a sudden when the batteries start to get weak.

Put in a better LED, an improved regulation board and a momentary on tailcap switch and I'll buy 2!

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Already available here

All gone from my local Walmart as well. The clerk says they aren't carrying the 2AA MiniMAG LED anymore. They had only three pegs for mags, a 2D a 4D and the 3AAA LED. The rest of the shelf pegs were filled with other brands. Shock was they also didn't have the standard miniMag. Quite a contrast from a few months back when probably half the pegs were Mags of all types. The AA ROV were mostly sold out, only three left for four pegs, they were all 1 watt versions.

cross your fingers for G2's on the racks
but I'm kinda wondering what they're gonna put on the racks at wallyworld…
HAGO,
Flash

flash_bang said:

cross your fingers for G2's on the racks
but I'm kinda wondering what they're gonna put on the racks at wallyworld…
HAGO,
Flash

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Minimag Cree :twothumbs