Would recharagbles be able to stand EDC in a flashlight?

I've been EDC'ing a mini mag for the past year and a half now, with alkaline batteries. I'd like to switch to NI-MH batteries to save money, but i'm at the assumption that they are more fragile, that a drop may damage them, but how fragile are they? I work at CSX, so i'm on the ground a lot or laying on it or on vibrating equipment. plus it may drop it outta my holster and hit the ground, being gravel, dirt, concrete, etc. would i be best continuing with alkalines or would rechargeables be able to hold up to this?

Ni-MH cells are durable and will survive any EDC use that your flashlight can survive. I recommend that you purchase Eneloop cells (Amazon, Thomasdistributing, etc). Ni-MH cells have a long history with CPF - very reliable.

For your Minimag, I also recommend that you upgrade to an LED dropin such as the Terralux MiniStar2 which is spec'd at 140 lumens. The Nite-Ez dropins are lower cost, but a lot less lumens also.

Never heard of them as being more fragile.
How often do you find yourself replacing the batteries in your maglite?

Is your maglite one of the LED models?

Another option you may want to consider is finding a flashlight you like that is more efficient then your maglite, just a thought.

They're durable enough. You might not get the same service life out of them as if they weren't getting beat up, but you will get more than enough to be saving money v. alkaline. Mine have all lasted at least 2 years or more with such treatment (I've been using mainly NIMH since sometime around 2004).

appliancejunk said:

Another option you may want to consider is finding a flashlight you like that is more efficient then your maglite, just a thought.

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Going NIMH would still be a good idea, though .

If putting a lot of hours on it, he may want to consider a G2 with a good drop-in (read: IS Malkoff 219, or OR Malkoff Neutral ), and depending on the drop-in, a 3.7V17670, or LiFePO4 16340s. One of the best bodies around, IMO, from a utilitarian perspective (if the lens ever breaks, which I haven't had happen, they can be replaced with plastic ones), and easy to get accessories for.

moldyoldy said:

Ni-MH cells are durable and will survive any EDC use that your flashlight can survive. I recommend that you purchase Eneloop cells (Amazon, Thomasdistributing, etc). Ni-MH cells have a long history with CPF - very reliable.

For your Minimag, I also recommend that you upgrade to an LED dropin such as the Terralux MiniStar2 which is spec'd at 140 lumens. The Nite-Ez dropins are lower cost, but a lot less lumens also.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I have a pair of these that I added two my 2xAA MMs a few years back. They were a cheap ~$10 at Lowes and they're an improvement in efficiency, but you do lose the twist on/off function and the flood. Still, after three years, they're still installed.

They are brighter than the stock OEM bulbs, if not slanted to the blue end of the tint spectrum.

Chris