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NEW Mini Maglite 3-watt LED

PostPosted: Sep 28, 2006 9:58 pm
by NZcaver
Another weapon in the arsenal for Maglite fans. :woohoo:

Recently released, this blazing 3-watt LED version of the classic 2xAA Mini-Mag retails for around $24. There is also a 3xAA version, however neither of these are available in an "upgrade kit." (The flashlight bodies are not interchangeable between models.)

The 2xAA version has a battery life of 3.5 hours (to 50% output), after which it dies pretty quick. Compare that to the classic Mini-Mag taking a mere 30 minutes to dim to 50%...

Reviewed at flashlightreviews.com - http://www.flashlightreviews.com/review ... magled.htm

PostPosted: Sep 29, 2006 2:45 am
by NZcaver
...And for those who prefer spe-lunking with full-sized Maglites instead of the little sissy ones... :tonguecheek:

There are now 3-watt LED versions of the larger 2xD, 3xD, and 4xD flashlights too. You can buy these either as complete units, or as an upgrade kit for your old Maglite (the LED bulb modules are about $18 each).

Compared with the standard models, the battery life is doubled and the brightness more than tripled. :kewl: You can't go wrong!

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/review ... ag-led.htm

PostPosted: Sep 29, 2006 7:53 am
by JoeyS
:kewl: WOW. They totally skipped over the 1 watt and are using a 3 watt. Amazing. I figured sooner or later Mag was going to put a luxeon in a mini as an off the shelf light, but I figured it would be a 1 watter. Now I gotta get one of these. Thanks for the link.

PostPosted: Sep 29, 2006 10:55 pm
by Robert Sewell
I bought one of these at Wallyworld a few weeks ago. It's very bright, like the new Apex. It has a very tight, focused beam and almost no side spill, which is a minus in caves, in my opinion. I have it mounted on the side of my helmet as my secondary headlamp. I'd love to cover it with a yellow lens; I hate the bright white LEDs.

The package never actually says it's a Luxeon LED. I wonder...

PostPosted: Sep 29, 2006 11:22 pm
by NZcaver
Robert Sewell wrote:I bought one of these at Wallyworld a few weeks ago. It's very bright, like the new Apex. It has a very tight, focused beam and almost no side spill, which is a minus in caves, in my opinion. I have it mounted on the side of my helmet as my secondary headlamp. I'd love to cover it with a yellow lens; I hate the bright white LEDs.

The package never actually says it's a Luxeon LED. I wonder...

You're right - so it may not be a "genuine" Luxeon. Still pretty impressive, though.

I got mine at Wally World too, but I never intended to strap it to my helmet (that's what I have headlamps for). :wink: For me, this one is an in-the-pack spare for spotting.

Maglite makes red, blue, and amber filters for Minimags, but I'm not sure about yellow. Guess you could make one yourself, which might also help diffuse the light. Personally, I prefer my light to be bright and white, but to each their own.
:wtg:

Filters - http://www.amazon.com/Mag-Instrument-AM ... B00002ND52

PostPosted: Sep 29, 2006 11:47 pm
by NZcaver
For those of you who prefer using AA NiMH's... the runtime on the 2xAA Minimag LED is apparently even better with those than alkalines. :woohoo:

See candlepower forums - http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/sho ... ge=2&pp=30

PostPosted: Sep 30, 2006 11:39 am
by Vader
JoeyS wrote::kewl: WOW. They totally skipped over the 1 watt and are using a 3 watt.



The one watt upgrades didn't last very long. They have allready come and gone. I have a couple of them I bought through TerraLux. Not worth the price. IMO

The 3 Watt mini mag is a nice lite. I will use it as my first back up just in case the Apex goes out.

I have one of the 3 watt upgrades for a 2-D Mag lite. They are very bright, but if you try to focus them to a wider beam there is a wicked
dead spot ( For lack of a better term ) right in the middle.

IMO they are both worth having.

PostPosted: Oct 1, 2006 12:56 pm
by Ralph E. Powers
I've seen the 3 watt 3 AAA version at work in a few caves already. I may buy the 2 AA version (for it's compact size) and still keep my three bulb LED adaptor/modification as a back up.
Mag has a good repuation as far as I'm concerned and has held up to many a cave trip as a backup light. I was sold the first time I saw it in action.

PostPosted: Oct 1, 2006 7:47 pm
by JoeyS
Where can these be purchased? Anyone know? I went to my local Supadupa Wally World this morning but all they have is the Dcell mags with a 3 watter. I googled "3 watt mini mag" but got nothing relevant. The official Mag Industries website was pretty much unhelpful.

PostPosted: Oct 1, 2006 8:08 pm
by nordicjw
Joe, I've seen the new 2AA and 3AA maglites with the 3 watt led at a couple of local Walmarts.
Try googling maglite 2 AA 3Watt.

PostPosted: Oct 1, 2006 8:59 pm
by JoeyS
nordicjw wrote:Joe, I've seen the new 2AA and 3AA maglites with the 3 watt led at a couple of local Walmarts.
Try googling maglite 2 AA 3Watt.

Found this, but brightguy doesn't have them in stock yet.
http://www.brightguy.com/products/Mini_ ... hlight.php

PostPosted: Oct 1, 2006 9:35 pm
by Robert Sewell
Joey, I found mine at Walmart in Columbia. Or maybe it was Lewisburg, I don't remember now. I shop at both.

PostPosted: Oct 2, 2006 4:34 am
by potholer
You're right - so it may not be a "genuine" Luxeon. Still pretty impressive, though.

The close-up picture on the review looked very much like a Luxeon, down to the smallest detail.

The line in the review specs list:
Battery / Power Type................2 x AA alkaline - no others per manufacturer instructions

was interesting - does that mean NiMH (or lithium) cells aren't recommended, or are specifically unrecommended?

PostPosted: Oct 2, 2006 8:35 pm
by wendy
Ok I needed a back up to strap to my helmet, so i went with the 3 watt mini mag, got the silvery gray one. Too bad they don't come in purple like the mini mini mag lights. Got mine at wally world as well.

new LED mini mags

PostPosted: Oct 3, 2006 12:55 pm
by RobVan
I'm disappointed that they didn't use 1 watt LEDs for better battery life. The flashlight.com review says they go only a little more than 3 hours per set of batteries, and the light output is not much more than the 1 watt LED.

Robert