Mag LED drop-in comparisons?

I have a couple of old 2 and 3 D-cell maglites I might upgrade with LEDs and am curious how the various options stack up in terms of brightness and runtime. ANyone got any beamshots or first-hand experience?

I'm thinking of the straight MagLED replacement or the terralux drop-in, although I'd also be curious to find out more about the Malkoff drop-in even though I won't be spending that much (or waiting that long).

magled has lowest brightness, terralux is higher, malkoff is highest (so is price). Runtime is reverse.

There is little comparison between the MagLED brand LED drop-in and a Terralux. The Terralux is roughly twice the output. Likewise the Terralux doesn't really compare to the Malkoff. I'd say the the Terralux is by far the most bang for the buck and not nearly as temperature sensitive as the MagLED. The MagLED uses an old generation LED. The Terralux is fairly current and the Malkoff is a current generation LED with a huge heatsink that allows it to operate at higher amperage. If you do a search on Terralux or Malkoff I'm sure you'll find some beam shots. There have been many threads about them.

I wonder how easy/hard is it to change the LED on magled to a SSC, which is only $6 from DX.

jzmtl said:

I wonder how easy/hard is it to change the LED on magled to a SSC, which is only $6 from DX.

Click to expand...

Not too difficult actually

And then, if you use it in a C Maglite, get the MagCTower to make the heat go away! No dim down... Ever :twothumbs

I bought a 3D MagLED a while back (spring maybe?) and am very happy with it. Good throw and brightness in a cheap package. I've always been a fan of mag and continue to be

The tint is fairly heavy compared to, say, a rebel 100, but thats OK. They do the job perfect. Rugged, reliable, cheap and effective with great runtime.

I think a 2D or 3D maglite is the best looking flashlight out there... still. A bit bulky for many uses but perfectly proportioned and elegently simple nevertheless. There's a reason there's a maglite in the permanent collection of MOMA. Now, if I could get still more light out of one I'd be even happier.

pipspeak said:

I think a 2D or 3D maglite is the best looking flashlight out there... still. A bit bulky for many uses but perfectly proportioned and elegently simple nevertheless. There's a reason there's a maglite in the permanent collection of MOMA. Now, if I could get still more light out of one I'd be even happier.

Click to expand...

I just installed the MT-III drop-in by ElectroLumens in my Maglite 3-D, and I can tell you that if you want "still more light", you'd be tickled to death with a reachy, floody, 600 lumens out of your Maglite 3-D, and at 5 hours runtime to boot.
It's a triple LED head that will knock your socks off compared to any of the "standard" drop-in's such as the Terralux, Malkoff, and even the MT-I by the same company.

ZENSTER!!!

When did you order, and when did you get the MT-III from elektrolumens?

I ordered mine On november 29th, and my CC has been charged, but I am still waiting for the drop in.

I can't WAIT to get that thing.

M*gleds are fine for what they are. Not bleeding or even leading (or even mid-pack) technology, they work fine.

And a 2C M*g with a 2 cell M*gled is one of my close at hand desk lights.