LED's Good or Bad?

[Pacu]

I know LEDs are better for battery life and they last a while . What i want to know before i change out my 4 d cell maglite to LED is ...

1. When you go from flood to spot is it just as bright as the regular bulb? I know LEDS are bright but does the light carry out into the darkness or disperse quickly. The reason i ask is for hog hunting. I need to see a bit aways and need the spot light to be bright.

[Anthony]

My Mag 4D LED is like a lightsaber in the dark on spot.

With flood you get a big dark circle in the middle though (same with the regular bulb though).

[Splat]

I love the Maglite LED upgrade and feel it's worth it. Brighter, longer battery life, and the LED should last years. The only downside I've heard is if you leave the light on for more than a few minutes the heat from the LED will cause itself to ramp down the output to protect itself from heat damage. I made a heatsink for my 3-D Maglite and it's working beautifully. Still, even with the heat issue I think it's a good investment.

[WhichDawg]

<---still thinks horseless carriages are a fad

[jzmtl]

Pacu, LED focus the same as incan bulb in mag, but the newer ones are easily 2~3x brighter. However you should not get the magled module, first like Splat mentioned, heatsinking is a problem, second the LED they use is an entire generation behind and only half as bright as new ones, while using the same power.

Splat, any pics of your heatsinking? I thought about it but can't think of a way without intefere with the focusing mechanism.

[jock1]

All depends on wht you want to spend but as has already been said there are alot better upgrades than the Maglite one I am saving my pennies for the ELEKTRO LUMENS for throw upgrade

[NutSAK]

All depends on wht you want to spend but as has already been said there are alot better upgrades than the Maglite one I am saving my pennies for the ELEKTRO LUMENS for throw upgrade

Oh yeah!  An MT-III, IV or V would be sweet!

If you do buy one, please give us a review of that badboy!

[jock1]

Afraid it will be well down the list .I have had to service ,tax and m.o.t. my Fiat p.o.s this month and still owe myself a Farmer(or two) for passing my driving course along with all those other pesky things like food and mortgage payments

[Benner]

All depends on wht you want to spend but as has already been said there are alot better upgrades than the Maglite one I am saving my pennies for the ELEKTRO LUMENS for throw upgrade

Those do look awesome. 

[SxS]

The reason i ask is for hog hunting. I need to see a bit aways and need the spot light to be bright.

Get an 18650 Li-ion powered (protected cell) "thrower" (basically a std. light with a deep reflector).
Here's an inexpensive one that I have (you might have to do some tweaking to correct workmanship) http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=184280 or go to Candlepower Forums and punch in "thrower review" to obtain more info than you'll be able to read in one sitting. I have the RaidFire Spear from Edgetac and like the fact that it has a low/low 5 lumen setting (200 hrs.) that is more than enough light for most situations; including tailstanding.

The cells are about $12 ea. from a fellow named "AW" on the Candle Power Forum Marketplace (subforum); the charger is I believe $15 and shipping is cheap for where it comes from.

Believe me, the spot is bright...it will throw a long ways...and you will be very happy with these new generation Cree Q5 LED lights (throwers or not).

[K9-Handler]

pacu;

I agree with lots that has been posted on this thread already.  The genuine Mag conversion module has a terrible reputation for performance.
The simplest conversion is to use a TerraLUX module.  They make one for a 2-3 cell light, and a different one for 4-6 cell lights.
www.terraLUXCorp.com . Get the latest model, though.  The latest ones will say "140 luments" on the packaging.  Available on eBay (what isn't?). Unlike Mag, when the LEDs got better they upgraded their modules. 

The Mag units are built into a sheet steel cup, the Terralux modules are built on an machined aluminum slug for heatsinking, and have a built-in circuit board for current regulation.  Just unscrew the head of the Maglight, unscrew the knurled collar, remove the bulb.  Put both away for later conversion back if you want.  The new module doesn't use the knurled ring, but threads itself onto the bulb post.  Screw the head back on and you're done.
The focusing beam patterns stay the same, but the light output is significantly better.

It's a much whiter light with a slight bluish tint, but I can tell you from taking the dogs out at night that for some reason eyes reflect the LED light much more than incandescent.  I shine the light around adjacent fields and woods and pick up glowing eyes from horses, cats, dogs, and probably things I don't want to know!      I'm sure it would do the same for hogs.  Ya just got to get them to look at ya!

I'm not a big fan of Mag stuff, but if you already have one you like to use the newest screw-in modules are the way to go.

-Dave P., K9-Handler

[Pacu]

Thanks all for the great info

[bobofish]

A guy named Malkoff does his own modules for the c and d cell mag's that are apparently the bee's knees. Very bright and powerful, but a touch spendy at around $60-80. Handmade in Alabama or Arkansas though, so hey.
Just google Malkoff Devices or Modules or some such.