TeraLux MiniStar 30 TLE-300M LED or Malkoff for Mag?

Hello I am looking to replace two Mag lites with a LED upgrade and wanted to get some advice/opinions.

I want to have them to be user friendly i/e Mom can use it, so I want to just use alkaline batteries. I am also looking for one 3D and either another 3D or maybe a 4D.

I value ones opinion who has both the TeraLux MiniStar 30 TLE-300M LED replacement module and the Malkoff or who has seen both.

Thanks in advance to all you fellow CPF members

Re: TerraLux or Malkoff for Mag?

i have both,

the $25 terralux for 2-3D

and the $50 malkoff for 2-3D

the malkoff is brighter and whiter,

terralux has a blue tint.

dont know about run times ive only had them a day or 2.

Re: TerraLux or Malkoff for Mag?

The Terralux dropins are the easiest to install, but their lack heatsinking may affect the longevity of the LED. My vote goes to the Malkoff dropin because of its excellent heatsinking and performance. You'll have to cut the cam of the reflector, so you won't be able to fully go back to stock configuration (albeit you could just buy another reflector), but one would figure that you wouldn't be going back to stock after doing such an upgrade. The Luxeon K2 TFFC LED that Terralux uses has been quite an improvement over the previous Luxeons, but does not outperform the SSP4 U2-bin LED that's used in the Malkoff. Also with a Mag reflector, a Luxeon LED produces a "pencil sharp" hotspot which some people consider not as useful. The SSCP4 LED produces a larger hotspot in a Mag reflector than a Luxeon, which can be considered more useful.

Re: TerraLux or Malkoff for Mag?

You can get a precut reflector from Malcoff for $7.00 dollars , that way you could go back to original.

Re: TerraLux or Malkoff for Mag?

I have both, the Malkoff is rocksolid, once its installed she will never break it.

Re: TerraLux or Malkoff for Mag?

(albeit you could just buy another reflector

Oops my bad.

Re: TerraLux or Malkoff for Mag?

waddup said:

i have both,

the $25 terralux for 2-3D

and the $50 malkoff for 2-3D

the malkoff is brighter and whiter,

terralux has a blue tint.

dont know about run times ive only had them a day or 2.

Click to expand...

Have you used the TeraLux MiniStar 30 TLE-300M? I know Malkoff states 240 lumens as the Terralux states 500-600 lumens?

Re: TerraLux or Malkoff for Mag?

leprechaun414 said:

Have you used the TeraLux MiniStar 30 TLE-300M? I know Malkoff states 240 lumens as the Terralux states 500-600 lumens?

Click to expand...

I use the TerraLUX TLE-300 drop-in in my Mag.

It's essentially just three LEDs, each with its own optic, all in a self-contained drop-in puck with all the necessary circuitry. It's a minimal difficulty install, you remove the stock Mag reflector and bulb, put the TLE-300 in the socket, done.

The TLE-300 projects a big fat hotspot with no corona or spill to speak of. You lose the Mag's focusing ability, but when you've got a glaring hotspot that's over two feet across from only ten feet away, you don't need it. The only con is that the hotspot looks a bit like a round, multi-pointed star (the optics to some degree project the square shape of the LEDs) but in normal use, especially outdoors, you don't notice it.

I mainly use my TLE-300 Mag on night walks down our suburb street to the area mailbox. Any time a car drives by going the same direction, it's a perfect side-by-side comparison of light output, and you can't miss it - the Mag is putting out just as much light as the car (the cars don't miss it either, as they usually slow down). The 600 lumen figure is entirely reasonable; it's still impressive every time I see it.

The TLE-300 is my fave Mag drop-in based on its ease of install, use of standard batteries, and good old "damn that's bright"-ness. I've always liked the idea of an LED hotwire/ROP that doesn't require any modding, and this certainly fills the bill.

And it looks cool even when it's off (especially with a UCL lens, as below):

Thanks for the input. I imagine that people are happy with the Malkoff drop ins? Thanks again for any input.