3d led maglite

Hey I'm new to the site been looking though it about a month now and cant seem to find what I'm looking for.
I will be getting a 3d led maglite for Christmas. The question I have is its not bright anuff I'm looking for distance and a good beam on it. Looking for around 220-400 lumens but want a good battery life out of it. My friend has one of the 3d craftsman led light and its what I'm looking for in a light. Its going be the light I keep in my vehicle. So any help would be great

First question, what are you using it for? That light puts out approximately 130 ANSI lumens which is fine for some uses. With the D cells, the light has decent runtime. I believe the Craftsman light they you are looking at uses the same emitter, but many lights are rated higher due to the fact that they use the max lumen output of the LED as opposed to the lumen output out the front of the light or the ANSI lumen standard. The amount of light you get will be somewhat less due to optics and differences in the driver circuitry, so I believe ANSI lumen ratings are more useful since they allow you to compare different lights that have had their light outputs measured in a similar fashion. Have you had a chance to try out a Magled 3D yet?

No I have got tried a led one yet. I will be using for camping night time trail ridding in my jeep.

get the light first see how it works, if you still need more lummens i suggest getting a different light, cuz to make it brighter, you'll spend more than a light, there are no easy bulb\drop ins for magled, you can mod the mag yourself, but it would invole few extra parts, new bateries, and knowlege how it at all comes together.
also if you plan to keep the light in your car i would recomend light that uses lithium AA's or cr123, or even lithium AAA, since alkaline cells leak when left in hot car, and barely work when temp drops below 30 or so. rechargable also loose capasity in cold wether, and usually have tendency to be dead when you need them, unless you maintain their state of charge.
so my advice leave mag3d as it is, and look for another light (if you aren't happy with mag3d), that runs of lithium cells, (not rechargable li ion), it will be cheaper, or at least cost as much as bying parts for upgrading maglite. and a lot less headaches.

i almost never buy lights to use as they come, so i don't have much experience with 200-400lm AA lights, but many members here will give you planty of options on such light.

Other question, how often will it be used? If you use it frequently, the standard alkaline D-cells would be ok as long as you check them periodically, not let them get roasted in you car, etc. If you use it infrequently, get something with lithium primary cells, either the Energizer Lithium AA or CR123 cells. You would also be able to get away with a smaller light if you use it infrequently. There are plenty of lights that use the Lithium AA or CR123 cells that are brighter than the MagLED 3D.

I wont be using it a lot so my best bet might be to stay with it and be happy with it.
Another question: Will changing to a glass lenses or changing the reflectors help anything
second question: With staying with this light what would the best batteries be for it. I do live in Indiana so I get the hot and cold changes.

Hi, I also say try it out first and see what you think. The Mags might not be the ultimate or pinnacle of portable lighting, but they are quite usable and affective.

I've not personally tried a factory Mag LED light yet, but recently I bought a CREE XPE drop in for my old 6d MagLite, it's rated at 180 lumens at the LED and I have to say it's transformed the flashlight. It's highly usable and while brighter would be cool to have, I've not found I've needed it brighter for what I use it for.

In terms of what batteries, well there isn't much choice tbh. I just run normal Duracell D cells. Alkaline isn't great, but it's an affordable option, they also offer huge capacity and long run times.

Options I can think of:


-AA converters. I believe you can buy some D sized plastic cells that allow you to fit two AA batteries in. This means you could run your 3d Mag on 6 AA's, either Lithium primaries, or rechargeable eneloops. The light should perform the same in terms of brightness as running on the D cells, it might even offer up a more consistent brightness due to the chemistry of the non alkaline cells. NiMH eneloops and Lithium primaries have a far more stable voltage level.

The main down side I suspect would be run time. An AA battery normally has 2000-2500 mAH, whereas a D-cell alkaline is around 12,000 mAH. I don't know for certain, but I'd expect the D cells to last longer - maybe someone could correct me if wrong though.


-Rechargeable D cells. Unlike AA and AAA cells, rechargeable D cells are not so common. What you'd ideally want is a Low Self Discharge NiMH cell, as these hold their charge well when stored (e.g. left in a torch) unlike regular NiMH cells which will self discharge quickly when left (1 week or so).

The trouble is, Low Self Discharge D cells are very pricey and you'll also need a charger capable of charging them. Also be careful, some rechargeable D cells, aren't really D cells. They are an AA or C cell in a bigger casing, so will have a lower mAH rating.



In terms of performance though, the Mag's have quite good throw and a good hot spot, so despite their low lumen rating, they are fairly handy. The smooth reflector gives them the long through, although it does produce a less than perfect beam with plenty of artifacts.

A glass lens will do two main things, 1. it will allow more light thru it, although if I'm honest I doubt the human eye could really tell the difference. I couldn't on either of my Mags where I've changed them to glass lenses. And 2. is far less likely to be scratched, the plastic ones can damage easily and become scuffed and marked.

The only downside to glass, is it is more likely to break if you drop the torch, but they are cheap enough to replace that I wouldn't worry to much.

chris86 said:

I wont be using it a lot so my best bet might be to stay with it and be happy with it.
Another question: Will changing to a glass lenses or changing the reflectors help anything
second question: With staying with this light what would the best batteries be for it. I do live in Indiana so I get the hot and cold changes.

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Another question; not really, unless glass is damaged, even the ucl wont give you any visible to the eye difference, but it sure will brake if you drop the light, i've broke half a dozen at least this way.
as for reflekctor, same answer, leave the stock one.
the best would be lithium AA, in 2aa-1d parallel adapters, i use them in my magled, makes it half as heavy, and no cold or heat will affect them