Have Maglite finally decided to be great again?

My first lights were all Mags,i still own a couple that i upgraded with new Led's but i haven't bought one for at least 8yrs simply because they weren't anywhere near what started to be available.Anyway i came across
a thread about the new Mags that are going to be available at the end of July & they look very good to me.In the UK basically we only had 2 choices for many years Mags then later Led Lenser,this is the reason most
of my first lights were all Mags.This I've realised has made me have a soft spot for them,so I've always wanted them to produce something to compete with all of the available lights of today.Mag's were always very
well built & reliable,hopefully i will soon be an owner of a new Mag,I'd like to know if anyone else has or had similar thoughts about the soon to be released Mag's.

To me it seems like Maglites and even Surefire realized that they aren't dominating the flashlight market anymore and that they have to keep up with the other in terms of technology and innovation.

yliu said:

To me it seems like Maglites and even Surefire realized that they aren't dominating the flashlight market anymore and that they have to keep up with the other in terms of technology and innovation.

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i agree the new Mag Tac Led looks like the best light they're going to bring out for a lot of years & Surefire are upping there game as well.

Hopefully, upping their game will not mean just making stuff almost as bright as what's already out there, for twice the price...instead of being 1/10 as bright for four times the price.

I think the term "great" is relative. Back in the day when maglights first came out in like 1987, they were suddenly viewed as awesome lights, mainly because the only other options at the time were the $4 plastic 2-D cell flashlights. Or the $6 lantern battery flashlights also made of plastic, so relative to the other options of that era, Maglights seemed like the greatest thing since sex.

But now, and for the last 12 years or so, there are much better options out there.

There getting closer to being on the ball, not cutting edge, but the new models like the Magtac look good and have enough output

Isn't this one of those classic times when the quote, "this thread is useless without pictures" comes in handy?

I have loved maglite since I was a kid but I'm
Into surefire now mainly unlike the lines of a flashlight.... Sexy

"Back in the day when maglights first came out in like 1987"

Would you believe it was 1979? Yep, they were pretty high tech then.

Received my first Mini-Maglite (the original, classic 2xAA) on 11/14/1984.

Had to mail-order it. ( from Eddie Bauer )

Back then, it was certainly quite an awesome, eye-opening device !


Here is a Thread i started, telling of that special day.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?141266-My-very-first-Mini-Mag-light&highlight=



_

CarpentryHero said:

There getting closer to being on the ball, not cutting edge, but the new models like the Magtac look good and have enough output

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speaking of which, when are they going to come out with that light? I want to read reviews and such

zenbeam said:

Isn't this one of those classic times when the quote, "this thread is useless without pictures" comes in handy?

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Its the picture-less threads that allow us to use our imaginations! Decide what you want the new Maglight to look like, then just imagine that particular shape, and maybe it will look like that in the end!

But probably not......

What new Maglite's are coming in July? I've had a look around and can't find anything.

New lights being released July/August and Sept/Oct.....

To me it seems like Maglites and even Surefire realized that they aren't dominating the flashlight market anymore and that they have to keep up with the other in terms of technology and innovation

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I totally agree as far as keeping up technologically and bringing new innovations to the marketplace, but since they (Mag instruments) will earn in excess of half a billion dollars this year, I doubt they feel that they aren't dominating the flashlight market anymore. Perhaps one day when the general public (Non-flashaholics) get comfortable using rechargeable batteries in something other than laptops, tablets, cellphones, power tools, etc. all the innovative flashlight companies will come into their own.

Quest4fire said:

I totally agree as far as keeping up technologically and bringing new innovations to the marketplace, but since they (Mag instruments) will earn in excess of half a billion dollars this year, I doubt they feel that they aren't dominating the flashlight market anymore. Perhaps one day when the general public (Non-flashaholics) get comfortable using rechargeable batteries in something other than laptops, tablets, cellphones, power tools, etc. all the innovative flashlight companies will come into their own.

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If they put a USB port on it, the general public will plug it in somewhere to charge and not know or care that has a lithium battery.

Don't you know almost everything has a USB port now to charge, even things that aren't powered so they can seem high tech. Even my 81 year old father knows how to charge them.

If they put a USB port on it, the general public will plug it in somewhere to charge and not know or care that has a lithium battery.

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You nailed it racerford. That is a great idea! A lithium battery pack with as good protection PCB. A USB charging plug, with a rubber plug cover, integral with the flashlight. Then all you would need to do is convince the general public to spend the extra $ and buy it.

I think Maglite have been great for a long time. Take the XP-E model MagLED's for example. They honestly get what people mean when they say "I want a bright flashlight". 90% of the time when Joe Public says this, they mean "I want to light up objects at great distances". Maglites are pretty good at doing this - I'm sure it's one of the reasons why they traditionally measure their output in candela vs lumens. You can modify the beam to give you flood if you need it too. They're also cheap, use common batteries, and have exellent runtime.

And if you want performance, well there's the venerable MagCharger. Still one of the most popular lights used by Law enforcement today. More lumens, even more throw, terrible runtime, but rechargable.

yliu said:

To me it seems like Maglites and even Surefire realized that they aren't dominating the flashlight market anymore and that they have to keep up with the other in terms of technology and innovation.

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Maglite definately are not innovative. Surefire on the other hand, are one of the most innovative flashlight companies around today. It's one of the reasons why their designs are copied by other Chinese manufacturers (looking at you Sunwayman T40CS! M3LT anyone?) Combat rings, for example, are a Surefire idea, which seem to be the new black on tactical flashlights these days. What Surefire aren't are cheap, nor are they lumen kings anymore. They have been keeping up with technology though - they're been using XM-L emitters in their lights for at least 12 months. You just don't see them slapping a latest and greatest emitter into an existing model all that often, without it being heavily modified at least.

It depends on what you mean by "great." Maglite has maintained some strengths. The have massive production, distribution, and brand recognition. They have a geat warranty. They produce well made and very reliable lights. They are in the process of a massive reworking of their product line. They've showed a sudden willingness to innovate after riding a stagnant line for a LOOOONNNNGGGG time. A great example is the XL100 UI which is pretty unique and something I wouldn't have expected out of them before it came out. Bringing their strengths to bear they look like they are setting themselves up to continue to dominate the commodity lights on the shelf and put some pressure on the mid range lights. They might not get much in the way of flavor of the month lights but at least aren't so far behind them. As a hobbyist light they might not be bringing "great" but as the 800 lb gorilla in the flashlight market upping their game has a real possibility of restoring some of their market power. Doing it by engineering vs lawsuit is good for us even if we don't buy their lights. Will we see the very best lights coming out of mag? Probably not. The gorilla is awake again, though, and the effects potentially are huge.

FPSRelic said:

Maglite definately are not innovative. Surefire on the other hand, are one of the most innovative flashlight companies around today.

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Funny thing is in the last year or two I wouldn't agree. Before that Mag wasn't innovating. They hardly seemed to care about minor upgrades. They've jumped in with both feet though. Surefire's been making some big changes to their product line as well but less innovative stuff (I will give credit to the Vampire line as MASSIVE innovation although in a small niche of the light market). They've been cleaning out the old P60 lines and coming out with not particularly innovative LED models to replace them. They've gotten newer emitters to market relatively fast for them along the way because of those changes. Fixed head LEDs instead of P60L in some of their big sellers is setting them up for the future. Compared to some of the innovation in UI they used to show (and I consider the combat ring decade plus old innovation part of the UI) in things like the L1/A2/U2 they are in a period of retrenchment. In the innovation race Surefire used to be out running while Mag was on the couch flipping channels. Mag is at least jogging lately while Surefire has stopped to re-tie it's shoes and grab some water. Surefire has some risk in the market (premium product in a down economy at the same time defense spending is getting slashed.) If they negotiate those financial obstacles I know who I expect more innovation from in the long term. I'm just not seeing it now.

Maglite (oops! I mean M@glite!...don't want any letters in the mail) lost me as a customer when I realized how stupid they are with their lawsuit threats. The last one I bought is a Mac's Customs 3300L which sadly he can't make anymore lest he be sued. There is no telling how many Maglites Mac's Customs would have bought, modified, and sold by now. Smart move Maglite.