Arc AAA compared to Mini Mag?

Can somebody compare the Arc AAA light to a stock Mini Mag for me? I'm thinking about getting the Arc, although I have absolutely no use for it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Just curious how good it really is.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

well...the arc is definately smaller /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

longer runtime.

indestructable.

scratchproof (ha3).

waterproof.

semi-regulated.

better looking.

cheaper to feed.

doesn't need replacement bulbs.

whiter light.

more usable beam.

bad things:
more expensive, not quite as bright...anything else?

they are really two completely differen things...don't expect your arc aaa to replace your minimag, but it's way better overall /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

besides, you're a cpf member...that's reason enough! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I had an ARC AAA and recently traded it + cash for an ARC AAA LE. The ARC AAA really wasn't much brighter than my Inova microlight but the LE really smokes the AAA and Inova. I like it much better, with new batts the standard MiniMag will focus and throw a spot a lot further but after 5-10 minutes the Mag is yellow and noticably dimmer. The ARC on the other hand is just as bright after an hour. They are very different lights for different uses, I use my ARC for all my short range lighting needs while I use my last 2 standard MiniMags for... uh, well, er um, I don't use a non modified Mag.

I really dont think theres much of a comparison between the 2. I 've had many minimags and have been unsatisfied with them. They emit yellow light, which can be focused, but even when it is its not really bright enough to make a light thats good for long range tasks. When you buy a minimag you buy it for normal stuff (at least i do) and the arc AAA definitely peerforms better than the minimag --- buy the arc!!!

I agree with Flasherburn...
You really can't compare the two. Now if you were to compare it to the Solitaire, then that's another issue. But the minimag takes more juice than the Arc does, is much larger, and can throw a beam farther, as well as it having a brighter beam.
Roth has already stated the obvious advantages...
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Compare a fluorescent lighted room compared to one lit with sunlight through partly open blinds and you get the idea. The Arc light is smooth, the Mag is full of hot and dark spots. Drop the Mag on a carpet and you'll probably need a new bulb, throw the Arc as hard as you can against a concrete floor and it might get a tiny scratch. My AAA slipped out of my pocket last winter in a parking lot and ended up under the front wheel of a Cadillac Escalade for a while. When I found it later, it was jammed into the ice. It still works.

In my experience, after you've used any LED light for a while, the output of a MiniMag looks a weak sickly yellow, compared to the mostly white light of an LED.

I'll give you fair warning though — give a lot of thought before you purchase your first LED because you'll have taken your first step to becoming a hopeless flashaholic.

A year from now, you'll be looking back and wondering how you could have ever compared a MiniMag to any LED light — and your wallet will be lot thinner.

Alberto,
You are so very correct, a few days ago I was going to give my Dad a mini mag and an Infinity Ultra. I wanted to check the batteries in the Mag because I hadn't used it for quite some time. Wow, that sucka looked sick, very sick. I can't believe that I used to think these things were the cats meow. Oh yeah, I replaced the batteries thinking they were the culprit, I found out the batteries were fine. It was the flashlight that was to blame. Later. Doug /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[ QUOTE ]
alberto said:
I'll give you fair warning though — give a lot of thought before you purchase your first LED because you'll have taken your first step to becoming a hopeless flashaholic.

A year from now, you'll be looking back and wondering how you could have ever compared a MiniMag to any LED light — and your wallet will be lot thinner.

[/ QUOTE ]

TOO LATE! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif After doing the group buy on EverLEDs I kept waaaay more than I needed... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif

A month or two (how long have I been here? Don't remember) I would have screamed mini-mag. But now that I have seen the glory of the arc aaa, I gave away all my minimags.
No, it's nowhere near as bright, but I simply cannot stand the mags beam anymore. It's like holding tinfoil behind a cigarette lighter. The arc aaa is perfectly round, tight enough to walk by or find your vehicle, yet wide enough to read by or to light a dark room when propped on end, a beautyfull warm white with just a hint of blue. It totally shames a mag solitaire.

And believe me, I'm not one to quickly change favorites. I had my minimag for years, my constant companion. We've been through several car wrecks, innumerable camping trips and long hikes, crawling through I don't know how many attics running ethernet, yet despite being dimmer, the arc aaa simply performs better.
I was worried not having a lens the led and reflector may get scratched, but despite comming along many trips to the beach and being dropped quite a few times, the only damage is one tiny barely noticeable scratch near the head. And that was from being dropped quite a distance onto some sharp rocks. I will never buy another non-HAIII light again.

And the $$$ I've saved on cheaper batteries and not having to replace a bulb every week has already paid for itself several times over. Just cheap "Everactives", 24 AAA pack for $5 at wall-mart. I don't have to wory about marginal performace diffrences as the arc aaa is semi-regulated anyway. And I can't even tell it's semi-regulated, practicly, the brightness is constant. And even lacking fresh batteries, moon mode seems to last an eternity. *Any* light is useable light when you're in a pitch black parking lot. The minimag would simply be off.

Peter, I bow before you /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif

Get the Arc aaa, then get yourself a sandwich.
http://home.attbi.com/~theledguy/cpf_store/sandwiches.htm

A fun demo we used to do at the shows was to take a Solitaire and put a dead battery in it.

Then I set up the scene:

"It a moonless night, your in the basement looking for the fuse box and this is all you have". (I then pickup the Solitaire and turn it on. The beam glows a faint cherry then goes out. "What are you going to do now?" I say.

"Is there a better way?". I then pull the dead battery out of the Solitaire and put it in an Arc. "See, its the same battery". I turn the Arc on and show them the brighter and whiter beam. "Ok, so which light would you rather have in that basement? Arcs cost more than Mags but they work harder to keep you from being in the dark."

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Peter

I converted two of my three MiniMags with sandwiches (Inretech and BB 400/Q3), but left the oldest, uglest black one unconverted (it doesn't deserve a mod).

Every now and then I pull it out and turn it on to remind me of LBCPF (Life Before Candle Power Forums).

It renews my appreciation of what I've come to know a real flashlight to be, thanks to all the flashaholics of this forum. I think I'll cry now...

Heheheheh ... alberto, that's the function of my one remaining unmodified *ini-*aglite - and it is also a scarred old black veteran.

One of these days, though, it will get an LED mod. It may be old, it may be dim, it may show the scars of numerous battles with the dark, but it was a faithful servant. It understands it's plAce for now, but it really does deserve to be rescued. It waits patiently.

i'm in the same exact situation as flow, alberto and tomas. i had a black mini maglite that i carried for almost 6 years before i found cpf. every once in a while i fire it up if i start feeling my C2 or arcs are dim. once i set enough funds aside i will get an opalec newbeam for it. its really badly scratched up with numerous dents and with all its edges showing bare alumnium but it still works fine...well at least once i mod it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif