Maglite.com???

Hahaha... When I was in the advertising business over a year ago, I tried to contact Maglite to help them set up a web presence. All they had up until a week ago is a crummy page saying "under construction", which been there for almost 2 years now. Now they've finally decided to go online??? How funny??!! But since I've discovered Streamlight and Surefire, Maglites aren't even in my book anymore. They've made great flashlights, but they just don't have an plans to innovate and improve their products. They are just relying strictly on their brand name to sell product now. I see them taking the same route as Chrysler did in the 80's when they were too busy patting themselves on the back instead and letting Hondas, Nissans, etc... take over. And just like Chrysler, I don't see them going out of business, but they maybe in for a rough ride if Streamlight and/or Surefire decide to lower their prices slightly and step up the marketing campaigns. Sorry, but I only keep my keep my 6-D cell Maglite as a bat on a ball or a on-coming aggressor.

Amazing - I assumed that they were waiting until that had a new product to launch. Still could be I guess - that has been the rumor for the last few months about them putting out an LED torch. We'll see!

MagLite may be innovative in mass production, but there are far more reliable flashlights out there. I think they price so cheap that people just buy another one when their MagLite breaks...

Good to see the Website taking shape. I hope I can have a good honest discussion in it's forum once they get it working.

Al

I used to work in a police equipment shop. We used to work hard to steer peole away from the Maglights, to the Stinger. Of course there was profit involved, but as the owner used to tell people, Maglites are 40 year old technology. Sure they're tough, but that's about all they have going for them. Maglites only sell due to name recognition, and looks. They look like what people think of as a police flashlight, so they assume that they must be the best.

I have bought over 100 Mag Lights, keeping some and giving away a lot as gifts. I have never had one break, with the exception of normally expected items, such as lamps burning out, batteries going dead, and that sort of thing. They are tough, strong and reliable. With the Carley Xenon Star Lamp, there is no finer flashlight for the money.

Walt

Standard of quality is always tied to $ involved. When $ variied, expectation of quality will be varied. With Maglite's current price range, I would say, it beats its competitor. I couldn't see any better quality and sturdier light at its price range.

Again, I expect more when I come to SF or SL. Yes, I have SF, SL and Maglite, I like it all. Even a TEC 40 (with textured reflector), it is a good light at its price with its size, brightness, daily running cost, waterproofness ... etc.

I agree with Walt, I haven't seen a broken Maglit so far.

Alan

True, standard of quality is tied to price. However, I've seen a posting to decide between a Magcharger, a surefire (some rechargable), and a Streamlight SL. I've not seen a Magcharger for less than $80, Fry's electronics sell it for $100. So what I'm saying is: If someone is going to spend $100 for a magcharger, why not get a surefire or a streamlight instead??? In fact AGR sells the 8NX for $94 and the Stinger XT for $70. Yes, maglites are dependable, in fact my old 3-D cell saved my life once when I used it as a emergency jack stand to hold up a car that was coming down on me while I was working under it!!! yes, maglite held up the car (Accord)!!!! other than leaving a deep indention on the head, the light still worked!! But I cannot condone Maglite as a company that refuse to continue to improve it's product and rely solely on its name to stay in business. Remember, Chysler did that in the 80's and Sony did that for a little while in the late 80's early 90's and almost lost its market position. In fact Chysler did suffer, and its taking them almost 2 decades to try to recover some of that credibility that it lost. From a business perspective and consumer perspective, I see Maglite heading down that same path. Maybe I should submit my resume to Maglite to try to take charge of their marketing department to shake things up? What do you guys think?

Oops... I forgot Mag Charger. I was talking about Mag Alkaline lights. Yes, you're right on Mag Charger. Mag Charger is competing with some models of SF and SL that are in the same price range.

Alan