Flashlights?

[Fifty150]

Here's a mistake I made.

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1.6 volts. Your flashlights are brighter. Noticeably. You can see it with the naked eye.

But it doesn't last. The light will dim. There's not much of a battery life. This type of battery does not hold a charge very well, and they drain quickly. These batteries give you a big boost of power, then quickly taper off.

The batteries are expensive, and you have to have a special charger. Also expensive.

I don't want to throw them away and waste money. I am having a hard time trying to decide what to do with them. Do I put them in my remote controls? Wireless keyboard? Use them with my WalkMan?









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[Fifty150]

I have poor memory. According to someone who knows me better than I know myself, my Mag-Lite OEM LED bulb and MiniMag LED came sometime in the late 2000's decade. It was around the same time that I also bought a water filter system, and I was taking weird pills.

Supposedly, after using it for awhile, I got tired of buying disposable batteries. I am cheap. Batteries are expensive. I went back to using my rechargeable Streamlight and forgot all about those early generation Mag-Lite LED.

I did a little more digging online to see what I could find out. The MiniMag LED was 69 lumens. I couldn't find much information on the LED light bulb drop in. The best that I could do was find photos of the retail packaging. One online store claims to have it in stock A few lines generated by A.I.

In today's world, I have rechargeable batteries. I can power these flashlights without the hassle of buying expensive disposable batteries. Actually, for 20 year old technology, it's not bad. It is bright enough for me, and what I do. I would have no problems with using the 20 year old flashlights in real life. The current Mag-Lite ML300L 3D & 4D flashlights are much brighter and more effective. But we are talking about a modern flashlight putting out over 1,000 lumens.​

 

[Fifty150]

Because I've fallen into the rabbit hole........ here is an old Mag-Lite marketing schematic with MSRP. The date says 1-1-80. When adjusted for inflation, prices have gone done significantly.​

 

[大馬伕]

Ridiculous that Mag never sold a tail cap switch for Mini Maglites. Other companies sell them for Mini Maglite. But Mag won't.

 

[jeepTj98]

Men of a certain age grew up with Mag-Lite. As a child, it was one of the best things in the world. Almost every kid that I knew, drooled over a Swiss Army Knife and a Mag-Lite. Mag-Lite actually packaged those items together in gift sets.​

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This thread reminded me that I still had one of those sets sitting around. When I found it, the batteries were sulfated and corroded. So I decided to buy one of those LED upgrade kits.


The original Mag-Lite AA Mini-Mag was rated for 14 lumen. Just enough to see inside of a tent, or read a comic book after the lights went out. Yes. They still make them. $8.99. A real bargain. An LED upgrade kit costs more than the light itself.​

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The "upgrade" is 30 lumen.​

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Whoop-Dee-Doo! Absolutely nothing compared to the the 100's and 1000's of lumen that modern flashlights claim to have.

Even the modern version of the Mini Mag-Lite has 332 lumen.

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I'm not fighting terrorism with this. But I am surprised that it works, and works well. Because it's a white LED, it appears much brighter than the dim, yellow halogen. This is not for tactical applications. Good for a power outage. Decent for lighting up camp, for when you need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Okay if you walk your dog on dark paths. Photos never "see" like the naked eye in real life. A spot on the wall is meaningless. Only way to know if it's okay, is to test it yourself in your own environment. I think it's good enough to walk to your car at night.​

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Maglite is the best.. not as bright but these flashlights are the only torches that give me almost zero issues.. I’m a plumber, and have dropped my maglite into a pit full of water. Come back days later and it is still on! Amazing they are!

 

[Fifty150]

Many people look at Lumens and Candela, without considering what they really need. Does anyone really need over 1,000 Lumens?

I have found that Mini Mag-Lite LED PRO is sufficient for my needs. There's enough light for me to do everything I need. Just right to go to a sub-basement to check a circuit breaker panel. Good enough for checking under the hood of a car. Great for attic crawl spaces. I like this model enough that I have several.


It's not tactical. How many of us are fighting with the flashlight? It doesn't mount on a helmet or ***. If you were in that line of work, the employer would provide the appropriate equipment.

For professional use, go with whatever your industry defaults to. I would still use a Streamlight for work. A firefighter is not using a big 6 cell Mag-Lite or a little Mini Mag-Lite. A homeowner will be fine with Mag-Lite. As a homeowner, I am not pulling out a weapon mounted light every time the power goes out, or when I take kids camping.


Look at Mag-Lite now, while it's 25% off.

 

[jon_slider]

The light in my pocket is a Wurkkos TS10, it has High CRI LEDs, plus RGB Aux that help me find the light on a dark nightstand. It uses rechargeable 14500 Lithium Ion batteries.

The output range is adjustable from ridiculously low, to dangerously bright. With a smooth ramping interface, that operates like a dimmer switch at home.

They also come in Copper, and Titanium, mine is Aluminum with a white ceramic finish:

Its a tiny little flooder, weighs just 50 grams. Really handy around the house, easy to carry for urban EDC. Great form factor for cigar grip, and easy to mouth hold for brief handsfree uses.

It has more features than a Maglite can shake a stick at. Not a single mode Granny Light ;-)

 

[Ernest P Shackleton]

that give me almost zero issues

Flashlights are appliances. #1 priority is reliability. Trusting it will do what its supposed to do, all the time. I don't want to have to tap it, fart around with it, click it five times to get what I want, or spend money on things I don't ultimately need. You can keep your USB charging and special batteries. Give me a light that turns on every time I want a light...and for a reasonable price. I'm sorry, these $50-150 flashlights seem very nice, but I don't need a diamond-crusted tool.

 

[jeepTj98]

Flashlights are appliances. #1 priority is reliability. Trusting it will do what its supposed to do, all the time. I don't want to have to tap it, fart around with it, click it five times to get what I want, or spend money on things I don't ultimately need. You can keep your USB charging and special batteries. Give me a light that turns on every time I want a light...and for a reasonable price. I'm sorry, these $50-150 flashlights seem very nice, but I don't need a diamond-crusted tool.

Exactly the reason why I am still using my 20- 30 year old mag-lite

 

[TLW '90]

There are plenty of applications where I do or might want a rechargeable light, but for my EDC pocket light it's gotta be AAA powered.
I need a small slim light, and I need the ability to just pop in a new battery and be back in business.
I use my light constantly at home because my house is not very well lit and neither is my workshop.
I'm mostly only using it for very short periods of time, so I don't need a week of runtime just the ability to instantly get going again.


at work I need a longer runtime and don't want to be constantly replacing batteries so I keep a Streamlight microstream USB on me.

 

[jon_slider]

My little LED light turns on and off every time. Totally reliable. Costs $19.20, battery included.

Suits my senior citizen needs well. Handy for my bedtime walkthrough, turning off the house lights.. Used it to check the mousetraps in the basement this morning.. Last night it helped me see my way to the bathroom, without stepping on cat toys..

When I am a pedestrian in a crosswalk... I use my little light to help drivers notice. And when I want to see where my cat is, in the dark back yard, my little light is just the ticket.

I actually first started carrying a small AAA flashlight, 20 years ago, because I discovered it helped my old eyes read labels on food packaging at the grocery.. I still use it that way too, but Ive upgraded to an AA size host.. ;-)

When the rechargeable battery gets low, I replace with a fully charged spare, and put the light back in my pocket. I dont need to buy disposable batteries at all.

 

[Fifty150]

information on the LED light bulb drop in

Falling deeper into my own rabbit hole.....

3D flashlight of that generation claimed 104 lumen.

 

[Fifty150]

Wurkkos TS10

Not a single mode Granny Light ;-)

I don't want to have to tap it, fart around with it, click it five times to get what I want

Give me a light that turns on every time I want a light...

For some of us, we only need a single mode flashlight. For work, I only use single mode. I click it, it turns on. I click it, it turns off. I don't want to click it repeatedly to cycle through different "features". And I don't want it to blink or strobe when I'm trying to turn it off.


Maybe it's just me. When I turn the light on, I want it to be bright. I've never used the different dim or reduced light levels. I have never used the strobe function.​

You can keep your USB charging and special batteries.

In the middle of the night, or in the middle of a storm, you will have a very difficult time sourcing all of those different types of batteries. It will be easier to get your hands on AAA, AA, C, & D alkaline batteries.

USB is a modern default that could be useful. It allows you to charge using a 12 volt power source. You can use a cell phone charger if necessary. For many years, I have used rechargeable batteries. Recently, I bought a USB battery charger. In the event of a power outage, I can use USB to recharge my AA & D batteries. You could use the 12V ports in your car, or those portable power banks.

USB ports will be the entry point for water, dust, sand, and whatever else that could damage the flashlight. On a lot of those little lights, the USB port cover is just a flimsy piece of rubber.​

why I am still using my 20- 30 year old mag-lite

I have several of those old Mag-Lites. I installed LED kits. The old Krypton bulbs were just not that bright. While none of my LED kits are high powered, they still have more light than the Krypton bulbs. Even the 30 lumen LED from Nite-Ize in my Mini Mag is better than the old Krypton bulbs.

But with those LED kits, you have to draw the line somewhere. Or at least I had to draw the line. When a modern Mag-Lite ML300L is only $40, I will not spend $50 to $100 on a kit to upgrade a 20 year old flashlite.

I still use an old 2 AA Mini Mag-Lite as my default household flashlight. My cars still have old D cell Mag-Lites. I still have an old D cell Mag-Lite in my motorcycle saddle bag.

 

[Fifty150]

Just an advisory for Mag-Lite ML300L models. You are able to change the programming of what the switch will trigger. Mine are programmed to Function 3.



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[Fifty150]

Streamlight microstream USB

I've been looking at those. Haven't decided which model I really want. Want. Not need. My Mini Maglite does everything I need a penlight to do, and does it at $25. At that price, I don't carry extra batteries. I carry an extra flashlight with fresh batteries. If I need more light, I have bigger lights.​

These little USB lights are very tempting. They go up to 2,000 lumens and 310,000 Candela. I want it. I don't need it. I'm trying to keep that in mind so that I don't blow another $100+.​

 

[大馬伕]

I like that Streamlight ProTac 2AA-X. It could default to AA batteries as a.backup.

 

[Ernest P Shackleton]

since we're on maglights...

many years ago, I was given a promotional maglight. It is maybe 4"s long, and it uses a single AAA battery. It might be a little shorter than that, but I don't have it handy right now (not sure where it is, but I know I still have it), as it was designed to be on a keychain. It has a turning, wider head like the old mini maglight, ie it is not a straight cylinder. I can't find any information on it. Anyone know what it is called (model name) and whether I can upgrade to LED? If I knew the model name, I could get some dimensions. I'm 75% sure it used the same bulb as the mini, but I'm just as sure that the head was smaller. any help would be appreciated.

 

[TLW '90]

I've been looking at those. Haven't decided which model I really want. Want. Not need. My Mini Maglite does everything I need a penlight to do, and does it at $25. At that price, I don't carry extra batteries. I carry an extra flashlight with fresh batteries. If I need more light, I have bigger lights.​

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These little USB lights are very tempting. They go up to 2,000 lumens and 310,000 Candela. I want it. I don't need it. I'm trying to keep that in mind so that I don't blow another $100+.​

I like the AAA minimal better than the AA, but neither of them really work for me as lights to carry.

I am happy with my microstream USB, but do have 2 complaints.

1- it's slow to charge, it could use an update to USB-C at least.

2- I wish the standard black version was offered with high mode on the 1st click like the tan one.

 

[Fifty150]

Streamlight ProTac 2AA-X

I really like this model. It's about the same size as my Mini Mag, and there is a tailcap switch. 550 lumens and 10,250 candela, with over 2 hours of runtime, rivals bigger flashlights. This little penlight could take the place of my big flashlights. It can be programmed to be a "high only" flashlight, without low and strobe (which I don't use).​

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What I don't like is the price. That is the only reason that I haven't bought one.​

I wish the standard black version was offered with high mode on the 1st click like the tan one.

That's not how it works? What happens on the first click with your light?



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[TLW '90]

I really like this model. It's about the same size as my Mini Mag, and there is a tailcap switch. 550 lumens and 10,250 candela, with over 2 hours of runtime, rivals bigger flashlights. This little penlight could take the place of my big flashlights. It can be programmed to be a "high only" flashlight, without low and strobe (which I don't use).​

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What I don't like is the price. That is the only reason that I haven't bought one.​

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That's not how it works? What happens on the first click with your light?



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1st click is low, double click for high.
The tan " military " version is 1 click for high double click for low.