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Maglight switching to LEDs!

maglite.com — Finally everyone's favorite Flashlight will update their technology and release LED based MAG-Lights!

Who dugg this? Made popular Dec 28, 2005

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  • Mesach, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Switching is kinda stretching it, they will be ADDING LED's


    Dear Maglite.com Visitor:

    Thank you for your interest in Mag Instrument and its products. We are pleased to report that Mag will soon be adding MAG-LED™ flashlights to its product line.

    If these products have been a long time coming, it’s because the MAG-LED™ Technology has taken a long time to develop to the point where it is feasible to make an LED flashlight that meets Mag Instrument's high standards of quality, durability, style and function.

    Now, after years of research & development, testing and refinement, Mag Instrument is committed to introducing, in early 2006, a line of MAG-LED™ flashlights. Like Mag's incandescent-lamp flashlights, these newest members of the Maglite® flashlight family will have the style, performance, benefits and features that both professionals and consumers have come to expect from a Maglite® flashlight, including the fact that they are built for a lifetime of service. The Maglite® design tradition will be instantly recognizable in them, and they will offer the beam-focusing capability that has always been a feature of Mag® flashlights, AND MORE!

    Again, thank you for your interest in Mag Instrument and its products. We look forward to the rollout of the MAG-LED™ flashlights in the near future.

    Sincerely,
    The Maglite Team
  • rik4207, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I would love to see a comparison between the lights, sometimes LED lights just don't give the effect that mag lights do. Can a police officer shine one in your face a blind you if it was LED?
  • Trueblood, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Another vote for SureFire.
    My little pocket SureFire will out-shine my 5-cell Maglite easily.
  • Kylep, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I used to use maglites for camping - they provide great high-power light for setting up tents, hiking, looking through gear, etc in the dark. Once I started getting into backpacking excursions, I realized the maglite was too heavy to backpack with. My recommendation would be a headlamp, which gives great light while keeping your hands free and many have dual bulbs of LEDs as well as krypton such as the Cabela's Alaskan guide series headlamp.
  • pjtip, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Wow. You people sure like your flashlights.
  • steve693, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1But will it retain it's head-bashing qualities?
  • natemc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The Nite-Ize LED kit for Mags is pretty great. I have one in my 2 - AA light. Avoid the addon on switch though, it blows.
  • Jammerdelray, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1they are not switching, they are adding to their already line up.
  • Ender61484, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Don't get a maglite, spend a little more and get a Surefire. Much, much better than maglite.
    http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_disp/displ/pgrfnbr/362/sesent/00
  • splatnik, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1surefire better be the ***** if it costs 5x more than the maglight.
  • Jong, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Interesting news. (It's "Maglite", not "Maglight")
  • NiLeS, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Woot - surefire.com
  • Mesach, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0My work gives out these promotional LED Flashlight Keychains, it uses 4 little watch batteries, and shines brighter than my Innova X5.

    the only problem i found that i got to keep one of them because the batteries had died, so I looked, it will cost me $28 to replace these 4 tiny batteries in this FREE flashlight... how can they sell these things to be given away as promo items, if the batteries cost $28?
  • cool4u2view, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Maybe they can get their act together and start making bright flashlights again or else I will buy Surefire.
  • BurntToast, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Sweet... Maglite has been my favorite as well on those long Guest Control nights at Disneyland.
  • tidu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0can it still be run over by a semi?
  • xgraxe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I made this switch about a year ago, I had some 45 cent white leds from lsdiodes which worked perfectly. Just trim the leads and slide it in, instant bright white light, easy on batteries and cheap.
  • WallaceD, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0It will be interesting to see how impressive these lights actually are. I doubt they will be able to compete with the premium flashlight manufacturers that are already using LEDs extensively.

    In other words, I doubt anyone at SureFire is losing sleep over this announcement.

    rik4207: oh yes, a high powered LED can cause extensive eye damage. Take a look at the Gladius. http://night-ops.com/index.html
  • Kodiak41226, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I got this email from Maglite as well, I wouldn't consider it news though. They been "Developing" their LED version for like 4 years now. Maglite, how about you let me know when you actually come up with something. Until then I keep buying lights from other manufacturers that have had decent LED units for years and have them pretty well ironed out. I mean come on Maglite had a lock on the Flashlight arena, what were they thinking when they let 10 other manufacturers beat them to market with LED lights? It had better be revolutionary technology when it comes out.

    FYI: Cabela's make a couple of real nice / cheap LED lights, and of course there is the real industry innovator Surefire.
  • INHUMANITY, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0They already have a few LED flashlights on the market. I have mini one like the user above and it's pretty damned bright. I've also got some cheapo LED flashlights that I bought from surpluscomputers.com. They have 8 LED's and WILL blind the ***** out of you if you stair at it, but the range is very short. It's still nice 'cause it puts out the whitest light I have ever seen.

    If I'm not mistaken I've seen kits online to convert existing Mag's to LED's.
  • jacobrich, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I just got a 3-D cell Maglite for chistmas, it is very nice. Somehow, I don't think the LED versions will be quite as cool.
  • mwalters, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"I would love to see a comparison between the lights, sometimes LED lights just don't give the effect that mag lights do. Can a police officer shine one in your face a blind you if it was LED?" You've never looked into an LED powered flashlight have you ... heh. Yes, they can definitely still blind.
  • fixit2new, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Nice addition. Always loved maglite.
  • panique, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I just hope they implement proper voltage regulation and Luxeon LEDs for the high end, not just wire up some LEDs to the battery like so many crap flashlights do.
  • craterburnsu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I have a little Colman flash Light that's already using LEDs.
  • OneAndOnlySnob, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Yes!!! Awesome news!! I'm very excited about this!
  • jonohull, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Maglite's been my favorite for a long time.
  • SexualDJ, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Surefire flashlights are the BEST! :) :) :) :)
  • cokebottletuque, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0about dam time the bulbs in the mini-mags are far to fragile.
  • hydrokayak, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0My mini-mag is LED powered. I bought an LED kist from some local store, and it took out the old bulb, and added LED inards... It's pretty sweet... but I'm sure the 'real-deal' Maglite will be a lot better. Can't wait to see what comes of this...
  • tripston, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0A light is a light is a light.

    Maybe i'm just bitter i got a normal maglite for christmas - oh well now i know what to get next christmas! ;)
  • skooma, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Maglites kick @ss.
    I think everyone's dad had a Maglite ready to shed some light on some things, mine did
  • Simply_J, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0It's about time. Maglites were cool, oh about 10 years ago! But now they seem woefully out of date.
    There's already Luxeon bulb replacement Maglite adapters on the market. Maglite needs to do something radical if they want to stay relevant. Just Putting a Luxeon or Jupiter Nichia LED into a Maglite body won't cut it.

    Check out this site for an independent review of all the major flashlights on the market:
    www.flashlightreviews.com

  • TRexT, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The first big Maglites had strong springs and reliable switches so they actually worked without flickering or having to bang on them, as opposed to nearly all other cheap flashlights of the era. But the machining and bulb tolerances were so bad that they almost never made a nice symmetrical spot. Then they came out with the AA and AAA lights that turned the bulbs black in 1 minute. Maglite should be ashamed.
  • pingviini, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The only time I have broken a bulb is EVERY time i've used that candle mode. I go hiking alot and absolutly love my maglite. Somewhere I got this clip thing that I put on my maglite so that it attaches to my hat and I use it like a headlamp. Just love my maglite.
  • dstory, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Outstanding, I've been hoping for a long time that they finally embrace LED technology. I can't wait
  • Vladek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Surefire and Night-ops LED flashlights really wowed me. I had no idea that such tactical flashlights exited. However, coming in at $100, and $200 respectively, they're a little bit over my price range. Are there cheaper LED flashlights that are also thumb-activated?
  • AjaxDiggz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Wouldn't it be nice if they made it some sort of retrofit package that you could throw in your current Maglites so you wouldn't have to buy doubles of lights you own already? Not to likely to happen but I did take the opportunity to send that comment into them.
  • NidStyles, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This thread makes me wonder how many LEOs are on Digg.
  • InDiggNation, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Just a couple of notes:

    - Many companies make LED replacement bulbs for maglites. I have one called the diamond III and it is brighter and runs at least 5 times longer than a standard maglight. It still retains the skull crushing feature.
    - One of the reasons that maglite has taken so long to use this technology is that it an American company that has been firmly committed to keeping their products American designed and made. Most of the patents are owned by Asian countries.
    - FlashlightReviews.com is a great resource for more information on flashlights
    - I really need a life
  • abbtech, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Nice! But it is about time...
  • skooma, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0the batteries give it the weight, really
  • nukethewhales, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I wonder if these will also be heave enough to knock a motherf***r out.
  • alphaj, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0So, let me get this right. When LED's became publicly available, someone at maglite said "LED's? who needs them? Our name will continue to sell our (less effective) products". You know someone got fired in that brilliant decision. Maglite is so behind the curve its already cost them billions. Your one product is a flashlight. how do you screw up that bad???
  • nugget, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0My dad has had his maglite for ages, he ended up never getting it back from my brother and that is the only reason that he does not have it anymore. I beleive he got it from his father or something like that.
  • TRexT, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I just bought a 2 D cell Mag-lite with LED lamp for $30. It's the old standard body and still takes the standard PR series incandescent lamps. The spot quality and color are excellent. The beam is narrow and on-axis, about the same as with the incandescent lamp. There is a semi-current regulator built into the bulb assembly. Current drain is 1.2 amperes with fresh batteries. The intensity gradually tapers off as the voltage goes down and it's still lit at 1.5 volts. Machining tolerances are much better than any of my other Mag-lites. There is nothing wrong with this flashlight. I'm amazed!
  • Veretax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0For those of you faulting Maglite, I am sorry to say, but the prices on some Maglites and those Surefires are out of most Jo Consumers price range. Especially when Flashlights are an emergency/camping instrument which does not get frequent use. $30 or more for a flashlight? no thanks I'll buy a lantern and get 360 degree illumination for much much less.
  • canyonblue, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0my surefire kills my maglight. a tiny pocket surefire will light up huge swaths of landing/building/airplane you name it... all without the need to focus the beam.
  • multifaceted, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"Oh, come on.... everyone knows the only advantage that a Maglite offers is that the "patrol" model can be used as a mini-baseball bat against opponents. You know the stance... flashlight held at eye-level, reflexed above and over the shoulder just waiting to be drawn down on some dumb-fscks ass with the flick of a wrist"

    I do the same thing. It has the effect of making me feel a bit safer when I am home alone.

    Yes, I'm 25 and live at home, I have my reasons.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Oh, come on.... everyone knows the only advantage that a Maglite offers is that the "patrol" model can be used as a mini-baseball bat against opponents. You know the stance... flashlight held at eye-level, reflexed above and over the shoulder just waiting to be drawn down on some dumb-fscks ass with the flick of a wrist.

    Uh... yeah... did I mention that, a long long time ago, I used to be a bouncer in an establishment where +50% of the patrons (and owner... and waitresses... and bartenders ) were packing heat?

    Actually, what I think would be really handy is if they had spectrum switchable LEDs. It can be handy to switch from visible light to UV (to check currency, IDs, dye penetration results, etc.) or be able to go to IR (for various reasons). On the IT side of the house, I'd like to see LED based lasers (at least a couple of different wave lengths) that had a FO lead which could be easily switched between ST, SC, etc. I really hate having to pull out the OTDR each and every time there's a continuity fsckup at the remote end (sometimes all you need to be able to do is tell the guy to plug Tab A into Slot B... but you've got to be able to show the fscker where the fsck Tab A is located with some type of visible signal). Actually, if Maglite were smart, they'd make a home-brew PC104-ish end on to which moders/hackers/makers could screw in their own project... I mean, all a flashlight (without the light) is just a ruggedized power supply.

    Ah, well... my needs and wants probably go way beyond the general public and even average IT tech.
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