2AA Minimag LED

Bought one of these on a whim from an online retailer that ran a substantial discount.

I was drawn by the digicam anodizing (yes I'm that guy ), and the fact that I don't have an LED mag and wanted a 2 AA light for my grab bag.

Received it now and I'm underwhelmed. The anodizing is not great at all. The lines blur and there is a place where the anodizing is missing.

I'm not confident that it would stand to wear at all, but I bought it with that thought beforehand, so it's fine.

The beam is not bad. I looked at beam shots before buying. I expected more flood-to-focus as per my old incandescent minimag, but I'll test it tonight to see properly.

The threads are bone dry.

I guess I got used to enthusiast-level lights. This is probably not a bad light (and I like the look), but I wasn't gleeful like with opening a higher-end light.

Value wise the newer Mini-Mag LED's are very good. The newer Mini Mag 2XAA Pro and Pro+ Mini Mags from what I know have real Cree XPG2 emitters in them which is a good thing if I am incorrect here somebody feel free to correct me but that is my current understanding on them. Nite Ize sells LED Mini Mag 2xAA upgrade kits that come with tail switches for cheap. The quality of the tail switches in my experience(I think I have a dozen or so Mini Mag 2xAA's)has been hit or miss. One Nite Ize upgrade kit came with a cheesy and very cheap tail switch with a sloppy and loose switch with almost no tactile feel to it yet another upgrade kit came with a very good higher quality tail switch that was not loose and sloppy this better one also has good tactile feel to it. The only Mini Mag 2xAA that I still use has this specific tail switch on it this specific Mini Mag is a recent Pro LED model. With this tail switch on it this Mini Mag Pro is quite practical I can leave the variable focus where I like it and leave it there instead of having to stop for a minute and twist the head into where I like it after twisting it on. Oh yeah Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA cells drive the Mini Mag LED's to their fullest potential I do notice a visual difference between the Energizer cells and everything else....

Just looked at my two Mini Mags with the two different Nite Ize tail switches. If you look closely at the Nite Ize Mini Mag drop in LED upgrade kits and the tail switches they come with the better one is the one that does not have knurling around the edge of it and has a rubber switch cover to press on/off.

Interesting info, thanks Celtic.

Mag makes solid, practical lights at a reasonable price. They're not the best or most innovative, but I've never been disappointed with one.

I think they're ok. I'm not thrilled with them, but they can throw a very tight beam if you want a lot of distance from 2xAA.

They way they shine their light on the reflector is different than the incandescents, because LED's are fairly directional, but the incandescent bulbs were nearly omni-directional. Also the circuit board the LED is mounted on can't extend further into the reflector than touching the base of the reflector. The incandescent version moves much further forward as you twist the head, significantly changing how it shapes the light. Thus, the zoom range isn't as large.

You can, however, diffuse the beam with DC-Fix or a piece of Scotch tape on the lens, if you care to. This will significantly reduce the throw, and slightly reduce the total output, but depending what you use it for, might be preferable overall. It's very easy to try Scotch tape and remove it if you don't like the change.

iamlucky13 said:

I think they're ok. I'm not thrilled with them, but they can throw a very tight beam if you want a lot of distance from 2xAA.

They way they shine their light on the reflector is different than the incandescents, because LED's are fairly directional, but the incandescent bulbs were nearly omni-directional. Also the circuit board the LED is mounted on can't extend further into the reflector than touching the base of the reflector. The incandescent version moves much further forward as you twist the head, significantly changing how it shapes the light. Thus, the zoom range isn't as large.

You can, however, diffuse the beam with DC-Fix or a piece of Scotch tape on the lens, if you care to. This will significantly reduce the throw, and slightly reduce the total output, but depending what you use it for, might be preferable overall. It's very easy to try Scotch tape and remove it if you don't like the change.

Click to expand...

Good idea on the scotch tape, I prefer floody beams here in the city. Will give it a shot. It should also protect the plastic lens from scratches.

I've dulled the lens on my incan to make it better for reading at night.

I decided to carry this light tonight. It's winter over here, so I carried it in it's little belt holster it came with under a jersey.

It really is a nice little light, I've discovered. It carries light (excusing the pun) and the output is really decent. The flood beam is quite useful, and the throw is not bad.

The CRI is quite terrible, to be frank. I shone it on the meat on the fire and it looked grey. I'm not a hi-CRI or tint snob, though, so I took it in my stride.

Overall I'm happier with my purchase than what I was when I first got it. It may actually get more pocket time than I expected instead of just riding in the grab-bag.

I had an incan in UCP camo. I discovered that there was a base color ano(OD green) then layers of digital pattern paint applied over it.
Over time the upper patterns wear off easier than the ano and results in a worn appearance. I like it though.

Had two LED minimags too, in the Pro+ variant. I like the "point downwards to get low mode" feature, and high mode a decent 245 lumens. Beams are throwy, a blast of clear acrylic spray paint on the reflector to stipple them a bit gives a floodier output(learned that trick here in CPF).
I've since given the LEDs to friends who asked for them, and still see them in service with their owners from time to time.

RobertMM said:

I had an incan in UCP camo. I discovered that there was a base color ano(OD green) then layers of digital pattern paint applied over it.
Over time the upper patterns wear off easier than the ano and results in a worn appearance. I like it though.

Had two LED minimags too, in the Pro+ variant. I like the "point downwards to get low mode" feature, and high mode a decent 245 lumens. Beams are throwy, a blast of clear acrylic spray paint on the reflector to stipple them a bit gives a floodier output(learned that trick here in CPF).
I've since given the LEDs to friends who asked for them, and still see them in service with their owners from time to time.

Click to expand...

I have one of the camo incans. Mine's base layer is black. I've had it for nearly 20 years now, IIRC. I've managed to remove all the camo with steel wool (after it started coming off in patches), except where it has knurling in the grip and near the head. It looks quite cool now.

I have read where some people have used clear/opaque bottle caps as diffusers for these lights from pics I have seen posted here in the past it looks to work well and stays on not sure thought never felt I needed to do that to any of mine...