Maglite Lantern?

Maglite lantern? Mag doesn't make one, so I 3D printed a base and a defuser to turn a ML50 into a portable lamp - should be just the thing for camping trips, power outages or anytime you need some extra light around the house or as go anywhere work light.





I set the modes to group 1 for easy access to all 3 output levels. High is really nice for lighting up a good sized room and eco mode is great for providing enough light not to walk into the coffee table or trip over the dog while running for days on end. Medium mode (I think Mag calls it low) is what I would probably use most of the time because it gives a excellent balance of light output and run time. If you prefer the ceiling bounce when inside, the base will keep your Mag pointed in the right direction – straight up.


The lantern base/defuser should come in handy on the road too - you can set it down on strobe as a warning light/flare or use it for some extra light when changing a tire and the defuser can even be used as a traffic wand.


Of course the defuser and base stand snap off anytime that you need a flashlight instead of a lantern.




The base and defuser also snap together neatly for storage and transport (there's even a little storage space inside the defuser when snapped to the base).



I always liked lanterns, but this one has quickly become my favorite.

Nice work XXO, thanks for sharing.

One of these days I'll have to get rid of my bottle caps and get some proper diffusers.

i like your thinking with your projects. keep them coming.

I've used opaque film canisters for diffusers on lights before as lanterns and also some weird juice bottles too.

There are also cone diffusers that are fairly cheap, I have a white one.

Very cool double x. The base is a really good thing if you are setting it on a table that isn't really sturdy like a coffee table on wheels. When the hounds go barreling through my den after the postman stuff falls over on my coffee table on wheels.

pc_light said:

Nice work XXO, thanks for sharing.

One of these days I'll have to get rid of my bottle caps and get some proper diffusers.

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YAK-28 said:

i like your thinking with your projects. keep them coming.

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Thanks guys!

LeanBurn said:

There are also cone diffusers that are fairly cheap, I have a white one.

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I was going to use the base with one of Mag's white traffic wands, but I was not satisfied with the beam – the defuser that I 3D printed gives off brighter, more even light with no funky rings on the ceiling that you get with the traffic wand. Surprisingly, the 3D printed defuser also works well as a traffic wand.

bykfixer said:

Very cool double x. The base is a really good thing if you are setting it on a table that isn't really sturdy like a coffee table on wheels. When the hounds go barreling through my den after the postman stuff falls over on my coffee table on wheels.

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The stand does make it very stable – should be good even on a paved road as light for changing a tire or in strobe mode as a flare.

That's a good ideal xxo. Mag instruments ought to include that in their emergency flashlight kits. Maybe they will if they are secretly lurking on the forum. I think they are

greenpondmike said:

That's a good ideal xxo. Mag instruments ought to include that in their emergency flashlight kits. Maybe they will if they are secretly lurking on the forum. I think they are

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Would be cool if Mag is lurking here - there's a lot of good ideas from the people here.

xxo said:

Would be cool if Mag is lurking here - there's a lot of good ideas from the people here.

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Nope.... they have had close to 20 years to get good ideas and would probably still be big time in the market if they had done so instead they are on the verge of being forgotten by people as many stores now have no offerings of their products at all.

Do C and D cell Mags use their heads to tailstand in candle mode, like the AA MiniMag?

A more stable stand would be a tripod or quad leg with the ring to hold the barrel located at 2/3 the way up the shaft.

Have you tried putting tinfoil halfway around the inside of your cylindrical diffuser to make it directional?

Or a square sided one, with one side omitted to shine thru, and an angled mirror, to turn it into a 90 degree head?
Fancier, triangular with a triangular angled mirror.

Most of the C/D cell Mags won't do the candle mode stand with the head like the Mini Mags. The C cell ML25's is the exception and will stand with the head serving as a base. I have never been much of a fan of candle mode because the head does not snap on to the barrel of the light and will fall off if you pick the light up and I don't like taking the head on and off. I prefer using the stands that I 3D printed as they snap on, are very stable without being to bulky and they also work for ceiling bouncing, with the head on. I printed a stand/defuser for my Mini Mag Pro Plus and it works much better than candle mode. I am also in the process of printing a stand/defuser for the ML25.

And BTW the LED Mags are too bright to candle stand without a defuser or a shade of some sort.

I haven't tried using tinfoil to make the beam directional, but I have thought of doing something like that.

I like the idea of using a mirror for a angle head, I will have to think about that!

This worked out so well with the ML50 that I have printed versions for the AA Mini Mag Pro/Pro Plus and the ML25's.

Nice work!

Some Mylar and spray adhesive would make
for a great reflector on a third or so of the inside surface.
Your setup gives Maglites new purpose, excellent idea!

ZMZ67 said:

Nice work!

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Thanks!

jabe1 said:

Some Mylar and spray adhesive would make
for a great reflector on a third or so of the inside surface.
Your setup gives Maglites new purpose, excellent idea!

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Thanks. The defusers work pretty well so there is no need to mod the reflectors.

I like multi function, lanterns are great, but most only work as lanterns. With these I have both a flashlight and a lantern.

You know I've never thought of this before. And now I honestly do not understand why Maglite does not make a lantern.