Looking to upgrade from a Double-A maglite to an LED...

D

davide

Joined
Apr 5, 2009
Messages
267
Any suggestions as to an LED light in the similar size, shape and build quality of the standard mini-maglite? I really dig the mini-maglite in terms of its ergonomics and durability, but I'd like to get an LED.

thanks in advance,
davide
 
why not just get the LED AA mag lite? I love mine. I picked it up at lows for around 20 bucks.
 
Definitely can't knock the 2AA LED Mini-Mag, they're great lights for the cost :thumbup: Very good value in my opinion. I'd also suggest looking into a Surefire G2 LED or Fenix L2D/LD20, I upgraded to both from the Mini-Mag and have not regretted it. Here's a couple of beam shots of the Mini-Mag and Surefire G2, both about 2m from the wall in same position on pretty much fresh batteries. (Sorry, no beam shots of the Fenix yet)

2AA LED Mini-Maglite
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Surefire G2 LED
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Why not just buy upgrade kits for your existing mini mags?

For about $7 you can pick up a MAGLITE FLASHLIGHT LED COMBO UPGRADE KIT which comes with the LED replacement bulb and a push button end cap. Google the above bold and you should find some sources.
 
Hey guys,

Thanks for the tips. I had no idea that I could just get a cheap upgrade kit for the maglite. How does the LED Minimag compare to the Fenix and Surefire? I've heard good things about the former. Would it be worth spending extra to purchase one of those rather than simply upgrade the mag?
 
davide said:
Hey guys,

Thanks for the tips. I had no idea that I could just get a cheap upgrade kit for the maglite. How does the LED Minimag compare to the Fenix and Surefire? I've heard good things about the former. Would it be worth spending extra to purchase one of those rather than simply upgrade the mag?
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Two different animals. The converted AA maglite is a working light. The Surefires provide a lot more light than you likely need for EDC, though there is times when they are nice to have. Remember, the maglite is not a tac light of somesort, regardless of whether you want it to be.

That said, your local Wal-Mart should have the bulb only conversion for about $5. I've heard mixed opinions of the tail caps. But, the Nite Ize bulb is solid and installs very quickely. IIRC, Lowes sells the bulb and tail conversions if you are so inclined.
 
Check batteryjunction.com for several options.
The Nite Eyes led conversion is pretty dim compared to some others.

I can recommend batteryjunction. Have done some business with them.

--Mike L.
 
a SF or fenix is a lot lot better edc lite for me vs a minimag with or without an LED upgrade, the fenix P2Dce i edc is brighter, smaller, liter, has variable power & strobe, easy to carry, imho 10X the lite a minimag is and well worth the price difference.
 
davide said:
Hey guys,

Thanks for the tips. I had no idea that I could just get a cheap upgrade kit for the maglite. How does the LED Minimag compare to the Fenix and Surefire? I've heard good things about the former. Would it be worth spending extra to purchase one of those rather than simply upgrade the mag?
Click to expand...

Davide, I think to begin with, you need to ask yourself for what tasks do you plan to use this light (like you'd do when selecting a knife). The requirements for a light you'd use to look under a kitchen sink or behind the tv are usually different from the requirements for primary hiking light or emergency light. For instance, the three main flashlights I have fill different primary roles (I won't even get into small EDC lights;)).

I grew up using a 2AA incan Mini-Mag, it was fine for what it was. But when I got the LED version (full commercial, I didn't get a drop-in/upgrade kit), I was blown away by the uniformity of the beam and the quality of the illumination in contrast to its incan predecessor. As I said before, the LED Mini-mag is a great basic light. Decent throw, decent spill, runs on easily found AA, weatherproof, and durable. It's a solid general use flashlight, and I don't turn my nose up at it. For your basic everyday needs, the LED Mini-Mag will serve well. I use it around the house, in the car, or on night walks in the neighborhood sometimes. I sort of think of the Mini-Mag as the Buck 110s, or Moras of the flashlight world.

Eventually I realized I wanted something that was bright, had a simple user interface, and ran in one mode, for a "go-bump-in-the-night" light. I don't want to be fiddling with turning a bezel and focusing a beam when I'm groggy and half awake; I want something that would brightly light up my room or apartment with minimal fumbling. After a bit of research and asking the forum members here, I arrived at the Surefire G2 LED (Thanks MorimotoM). I could not be happier with this light; it performs in that role flawlessly. It sits on my nightstand most of the time and gets used in the bedroom, but it also did double duty for a while as my go-to outdoor light because it's that good. I won't get into all the features, but the ones most relevant for my intended use (bump-in-the-night and general emergency) were: Bright illumination, one mode, push tailcap activation, sized in the Mini-Mag range, light weight, regulated output and good runtime, and long shelf life CR123 batteries.

After years of using the Mini-mag as my outdoor flashlight, I decided I wanted a dedicated light that I could assign to a more outdoor/survival role. In particular, I wanted a light that performed over a longer period of time with little to no dimming, could be used in a high or low mode, and was waterproof as opposed to weatherproof. As I mentioned above, the Surefire G2L performed well in this role, but it didn't meet all of the requirements mentioned above. So after more research, I settled on the Fenix L2D (Q5). For its price range, I think it's one of the best outdoor/survival geared lights out there. The key features that attracted me to it were: Regulated output (in contrast to the Mini-Mag which steadily dims over the entire life of the batteries), multiple modes ranging from turbo to low, excellent long runtime on low setting, waterproof (at least 2 m submersion for 30 min), good beam and spill pattern, lightweight, unobtrusive like the Mini-Mag, and runs on 2AA batteries that are easy to find when away from home. And although I would rather use the Mini-Mag as a pocket stick / impact weapon, the Fenix is no slouch in the durability department; it's build quality is great. All in all, the L2D is superb.

So as you can see, each of the three lights fills a different niche for me. Sure, I could use any of them for the entire range of tasks I would normally encounter, but I like using lights that are more efficient or perform better in certain tasks over others.

Utimately, of course, it comes down to how much you are willing to spend. If I had more coin, the choices above might have been different, but these are the ones I could afford. If you're willing to drop a bit of money, I'm sure you could find a light that exhibits all the qualities you like about the Mini-Mag (ergos, build quality, and durability) plus vastly superior performance. Off the top of my head, I would point you towards the Surefire 6P or E2 series though there are many other manufacturers out there worth checking out (Fenix, Nitecore, Streamlight, etc). If you'd rather spend money on other things (more knives!!), I'd say the LED upgrade is a great idea.


I don't know if this long winded post helped you at all, but good luck!! :D Also, as Shunsui pointed out, check CandlePowerForums for real expert advice :thumbup:
 
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mp510 said:
Remember, the maglite is not a tac light of somesort, regardless of whether you want it to be.
Click to expand...
I don't know, I think back in the day Maglites were the original tac lights. Bright, reliable, and the machined aluminum bodies made excelent impact weapons. Lots of cops used to carry them (or still do) for just those reasons.

Of course, they lack many of the tac bells-and-whistles that users want these days (strobing light, quick on-off switch on base, etc.) but they are still (especially the new LED ones) perferctly servicable I think.
 
Having been in 5+ blackouts (hours to days) in the last few years, I would highly suggest a Fenix L2D LED, if only for the flat tailcap candle function. When the power was off, I was literally the king of my apartment complex due to this feature. I went to a "blackout party" where everyone was trying to get "blacked out," and people were hovling around candles and a rapidly waning 6D maglight. I plopped my L2D on the table with the power set to 50 lumens, and it lit up the room bright enough to read by. People were blown away, some chick was like, "is that a lightsaber?" No joke. Fenix is worth the scratch
 
Fenix. No question. People don't believe that a little 2xCR123 light can be brighter than a 3 D cell Maglight. The mini mag conversion kits are only good for backup lights IMHO.
 
timcsaw said:
Why not just buy upgrade kits for your existing mini mags?

For about $7 you can pick up a MAGLITE FLASHLIGHT LED COMBO UPGRADE KIT which comes with the LED replacement bulb and a push button end cap. Google the above bold and you should find some sources.
Click to expand...

Most any LED conversion is an improvement over the stock incan bulb. My favorite, the SMJLED, is no longer available from anyplace I can find. If you want tactical-light quality output, get this. Problem is that it makes the head wobbly when you turn on the light.

The LED Minis are fine lights but too long and somewhat overpriced for what you get. i haven't tried the multi-stage model. Whatever you do, stay away from the Nite-Ize IQ Switch. It eats battery life and needlessly dims the light output without increasing run time.
 
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davide said:
Any suggestions as to an LED light in the similar size, shape and build quality of the standard mini-maglite? I really dig the mini-maglite in terms of its ergonomics and durability, but I'd like to get an LED
Click to expand...

I love my little Nightcore EX10 http://nitecore.com/products/ex10/
I have edc'd mine for a year now and it has been well used. It is the best small light I have ever owned.....
 
I have had problems with the Nite-Eyes LED upgrades in three different Mini-Mag's. The head on two of the lights became quite hard to turn. When I looked closer, the lens was bulging outward. I unscrewed the head all the way and there was quite the loud pop as it opened up. When I took the tailcap off of them, the batteries were so corroded I had to scrap the bodies. These were the conversion kits that had three LED's in a group. I also had one of the Nite-Eyes one watt conversion's, which is a single LED. It went through a set of batteries faster that I thought it should have. Just like the other two, when I went to change them, the batteries were so corroded I had scrap the body.

I would recomend avoiding the Nite-Eyes conversions.
I recently bought a Streamlight Stylus Pro and like it a lot. It is a nice size, it seems brighter than the Mini-mag conversions and has a nice even beam.

Bruceter
 
As luck would have it I just lost my maglite, so no upgrades for me until I find it. I was leaning toward just picking up a Fenix anyway.

thanks for the tips everyone,
d
 
Just in case you find it ;)
The CREE LED upgrades from Battery Junction kick butt.
Gave new life to my mini-mag and 3D mag.
 
davide said:
Hey guys,

Thanks for the tips. I had no idea that I could just get a cheap upgrade kit for the maglite. How does the LED Minimag compare to the Fenix and Surefire? I've heard good things about the former. Would it be worth spending extra to purchase one of those rather than simply upgrade the mag?
Click to expand...
The maglite upgrade kits all share certain qualities that are inherent to the maglite design.

1. poor heatsinking. This isn't much of an issue with an incandescent bulb, but it rapidly degrades LEDs. Most upgrade LEDs will dim and turn blue as the temperature goes up... usually in as little as 10-15 minutes of continuous runtime
2. relatively poor brightness regulation
3. dim or bright, but few options

Yes, Fenix lights are reasonably expensive, relative to the maglite, and most other flashlights (save for Surefire). But they ARE worth it. They are waterproof, resilient, bright... and their electronics are second to none.

An L2D-CE will give you anything from 180 lumens for 1.5 hours, to 15 lumens for 60 hours (!)... all with dead steady brightness.

A Fenix will give you many years of reliable performance, so spending a few extra bucks is worth it.
 
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