What's the future for these lights?

[Teofilo]

What's our future?-Maglites

[hawkchucker]

Unfortunatly I believer the company will eventually go the way of the dodo.

It is a shame, however I really dont think people will be buying the big hog light too much anymore. LED technology has come to age and lights are brighter tougher and certainly more lightweight.

They need to come up wtih the time and dump the big boys. and this is coming from a major fan of the 3d and 4 d lights. 

[Teofilo]

  I hope not, hawkchucker. Maglites are quality flashlights. Before  Surefire, Fenix  and others came into existence, there was Maglite. Maglite Co are among the pioneers of quality lights. You're right, the company was left behind by the new technology maybe because they lack innovation and creativity. They've even tried producing LED conversion kits  for 2, 3 and 4 cell flashlights but is still no match with what you said which is tougher, brighter and lighter lights!

[hawkchucker]

Ya know I do love my mags. However If you work out the bugs with the Mags biggist issue, its bulb. You still have something that is way too big. I never minded carrying the big mag going out for an evening stroll, however after getting my surefire g2 4 years ago I never looked back. Now I have the G2L, and feel that it is what I have allways wanted.


What I would like mag to do is work on getting better design and battery options in thier lights. I would love for the company to make a 2 Cr1223 Led that was just the same as the 2 AA.

However I feel that it will never happen.

[edap617]

I feel that if they don't change with time, sooner or later they will close shop.

[RichardMT]

I used to think that MAG would survive forever. I remember that for years Wal-Mart would order huge quantities of MAG at Christmas time. If you waited to long to do your shopping, all the MAGs were sold out really fast.

The last couple of years, the Wal-Mart here did the same thing, they ordered and had a gigantic stock of MAGs, on shelves, in stand-alone displays...you could'nt sling a dead cat without hitting a MAG. Well, the last couple of time, all Wal-Mart did was end up having TONS of MAGs after Christmas, they spent months moving them around trying to sell them or just keep them out of the way of merchandise that people did want.

MAG did and still does make a nice light, but they are just too far behind the times and too slow to catch up.

You dont even have to be a flashaholic to want a nice light. The average person can go to Lowes or Target and find Task-Force, Inova and even Surefire for reasonable money and get a far better and brighter light than MAG.

My wife and I had a little fun the other night. Her mom has a brand new 3D-Cell MAG. We took it and my Fenix L1T V2.0 (which isnt even as big as one of the D-Cells in the MAG) outside to see which one lit up the treeline better and at a distance. Hey, the MAG did ok for a great big heavy club with a light on the end. The little 1xAA cell Fenix was next...I think the poor MAG was horribly embarrassed 

Hopefully the weather is better tonight than it has been...I really want to go out tonight and do beamshots, I will throw those two light in and post the comparisons.

[DaveK]

I think the sentiments on this thread are right unfortunately.

If you are of a certain age, Maglite represents quality and the torch (flashlight ) that you should carry, but it's true that technically they really have to up their game if they want to survive.

Having said that, I still EDC my solitaire, and perhaps because I rarely need a torch, it's almost adequate, in fact I actually bought a 2xAA Mini off ebay last night and before it's even arrived I'm thinking about an LED conversion kit.

Personally, I think they will come up with something soon, after all they lead the way for so long, you have to assume (hope?) that theirs some innovation left in their company.

[Anthony]

I think it's up to Mag Lite if they want to progress...no one is holding them back.  I'm sure there are some great designers and flashaholics that Mag could hire to design a new line of updated lights. 

And I don't mean update the "big black club" Mag Lites...update as in a totally new body.  Sure, keep the old standbys in production, but push the new line and get it out there for people to buy.

[zepla]

I used to have a aaa mag. This was the first light that I bought because of the well known name, and I used it a lot. I did never looked further untill I was tiered of the disapointing performance. There must be something beter out there to ride in my leatherman sheat I thought, and that was the first time I looked around at the internet and found my current fenix lod-ce. What a differance that was That little fenix acually trows out a real light instead of the little glimmer that the mini mag did. It looks even more than the large, like it is powered by a wood stove, 3 or 4 (I'm not sure) D-cell mag my dad has!

I'm sorry for those mag fans but that company should really be a shamed of it self. After looking further around at the internet, it seems that everyone who claims to know even just about next to nothing about flashlight, has a light that isn't a Mag (besides the one's kept for sentimental value). It seems that who ever owns the mag light company just want to cash in on the brandname and doesn't want to invest in new technology. Smart PR and good if you are the mag company owner, not so good if you're a not so well informed consumer who thinks buying a great (and not cheap) flashlight.

But that's just my humble opinion...

[Leatherman123]

I think MagLite is keeping up with the times.. They offer LED lights, not just incandescents. IMO, that's a HUGE step forward. No more replacing bulbs and even batteries! Mag Lites with LED bulbs use up a fraction of the power!

[WhichDawg]

"Death by Hanging"

[ringzero]

I think MagLite is keeping up with the times.. They offer LED lights, not just incandescents. IMO, that's a HUGE step forward. No more replacing bulbs and even batteries! Mag Lites with LED bulbs use up a fraction of the power!

Mags are very dependable.  The bigger Mags have a great switch - excellent momentary function and they are extremely reliable.  I have Mags over 20 years old that have seen a LOT of use and their switches still work as good as new.

The big MagLEDs - 2D, 3D, 4D - are still very good buys for the average non-flashaholic.  Plenty of throw, plenty of output for tasks, and their runtime is simply unreal compared to what most people are used to.

Great lights to keep in a vehicle for emergency use or around the house for blackouts.  Ceiling bounce illumination with the big Mags will light up a room well enough during a blackout and will run for many hours.

Plus, they are easily available all over the US and come with a solid lifetime warranty.

.

[hawkchucker]

Yes great for emergency use, but now answer this honestly.

You walk into the wallmart, go into the sporting goods, and see the 3 d cel led for 40 bucks and the dorcy or any other 2 aa or cr123 . What one would you buy?

Throw is way better on the little leds, and battery life is same. Plus they are lighter, cheaper and easier on the pockett book.

[ringzero]

Yes great for emergency use, but now answer this honestly.

You walk into the wallmart, go into the sporting goods, and see the 3 d cel led for 40 bucks and the dorcy or any other 2 aa or cr123 . What one would you buy?

Throw is way better on the little leds, and battery life is same. Plus they are lighter, cheaper and easier on the pockett book.

Exactly which Dorcy are you speaking of?

Check out runtime and output plots for 3D MagLED:
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/maglite_mag-led.htm

Fairly flat output for over one DAY continuous, then dimmer but useful output for a whole lot longer.  MagLED 4D does even better.

What 2AA or CR123 lights available at WalMart can match that runtime?

Also, the MagLED throw and output numbers are quite respectable.  (Check them out on that same page.)  There may be 2AA lights at WalMart that can match it, but maybe not.

Finally the bigger MagLEDs are decent bludgeons for defensive use - always a bonus for an automotive flashlight.

.
 

[EM745]

I think MagLite is keeping up with the times.. They offer LED lights, not just incandescents. IMO, that's a HUGE step forward.

Yeah, but their LEDs are Luxeons, which are pretty much ancient by today's standards.

Double-AA MagLEDs sell for almost $40 at Crappy Tire. The K-Mart accross the border (US) sells 'em for ~24$. For that money there are plenty of lights over at DX and KD that are packing hi-output SSC, Rebel and CREE LEDs. All these lights are comparable in terms of assembly, and they blow MagLEDs out of the water in lumen output.

Unless MagLite is planning to use hi-flux LEDs (i.e. SSC, CREE, Rebel) in their lineups soon, then I'd say their future doesn't look too bright (pun intended).

[zepla]

Whatever way you look at it, over here they are still very expensive as well (almost surefire prices, oke not that much ) and do not do what you would expect for those prices. I'm not a flashlight expert and do not look at runtimes, lumes or what ever. I just use them to look under a hatch or a dark corner, and in my experience they are just not very practical. They are very big (is that a flashlight in your pocket or... ) or the smaller ones do not throw out enough light for me.
I never handled a Mag LED light maybe they can change my opinion about them. But I think that they are on the LED road a little to late and not even use the new LED's. Like EM745 mentioned before.

But I'm all for live and let live, so if it suites your needs, why not buy one    I'm sure a lot of people will be happy to have one, and it problably won't let you down. They tend to work for ever and ever and ever and...

[Teofilo]

If only Mag will put LED Q5 Cree on their 4 or 5 cell lights, imagine the brightness (Lumens) and throw of these lights will be! It  may even shy away the upcoming Surefire's Invictus. Just thinking.

[zepla]

I feel a mod coming up

[jock1]

I have a sentimental attachment to my maglites and still carry a 2aa led minimag for work it may not come close to surefire performance but it does well enough over larger areas and I don't blind myself if searching in close confines best of all I can get fresh batteries at any 24hr garage or convience store .Try that with your surefire 

[zepla]

Or any light that doesn't run on plain alka batteries 

[WhichDawg]

lol yes lotsa ways for them to "Leak" gunk in your mag
I was surprise to learn that mag does have a deal to replace
a light/tube if it does leak (duracell I believe).

which I found out after I threw them away

[NutSAK]

lol yes lotsa ways for them to "Leak" gunk in your mag
I was surprise to learn that mag does have a deal to replace
a light/tube if it does leak (duracell I believe).

which I found out after I threw them away

That's surprising.  Energizers are typically the ones known for leaking.

[zepla]

I hear that a lot, about those leaking batteries. (What ever brand they are)

As long I remember I use batteries in all sorts of stuff (and all the small kids in the family go throught batteries as candy with all those electronic toys) and I never experienced leaking batteries! I use duracell alka's and use lithium (don't know the brand) or use whatever they sell at the gas station, for my flashlight, GPS and whatever runs on batteries.

Am I just lucky or was it just bad luck for those guys with leaking batteries? How many leaking batteries are we talking about here, 1 out of every 10 or 100 or 1000 or more...How big is the possibility to have a leaking battery anyhow?

[NutSAK]

The possibility is fairly small from my experience with a good quality alkaline battery (except for Energizer  )

I just pulled a portable stereo out of my attic a couple of weeks ago, and it had 8 D-cell duracell batteries in it that expired in 1998.  They were dead of course, but there was no leaking at all.

[Benner]

I have never experienced a leaking Duracell, but I have seen many Energizers and cheap brands that have leaked.

[ringzero]

I have never experienced a leaking Duracell, but I have seen many Energizers and cheap brands that have leaked.

My experience also.

Eveready/Energizer cells have leaked and ruined many of my flashlights, radios, etc. over the years.

Over that same period of years, I can recall only one set of Duracells that leaked in a flashlight.

And that leakage may not have been the fault of the Duracells.  Water got into a flashlight on a caving trip and I forgot to clean it out - left water and the Duracells inside it for several months.  Not recommended.

.
 

[Leatherman123]

IMO, MagLite's aren't meant to be an ultra bright flashlight. They are meant to be an affordable flashlight that will last a LONG time!

[zepla]

But that is just the problem, at least where I live, the are not affortable at all! Like mentioned before, the are in the same price range over here as for example Fenix lights. Which I think are much more advanced, at least as durable and more efficient than those mags. As long you are not in the security, police or whatever hit someone on the head bussiness  the are much to bulky for my taste.

[DaveK]

Well, my Mini Maglite arrived last night, and for £4 I'm struggling to see any problems with it at all!

Absolutely ideal for me, and should last me a very long time. I've ordered a Nite-Ize LED kit for it too, it will be interesting to see what difference it makes as I've never used one before.

[jock1]

Well, my Mini Maglite arrived last night, and for £4 I'm struggling to see any problems with it at all!

Absolutely ideal for me, and should last me a very long time. I've ordered a Nite-Ize LED kit for it too, it will be interesting to see what difference it makes as I've never used one before.

I wouldn't recommend the three led one as they are truely horrible very blue and and no throw what so ever yes i did waste the money on one