nothing beats a 4D mag lite. there is a reason cops of old had them on there duty belt. and i use the 2AA on my belt holster. i see no need for a tact-a-fool gismo, i just need reliable light. but then i carry a 50 year old buck knife. have a number of 3 and 4 D mags around the place. the 2AA is a great little light. fits the hand right no stupid ridges, or spots on it were you can get cut. even safe to hold in your mouth as a support for light ( third hand deal). if i want to break a car glass i have other tools for that at hand. not a go-go - gadget guy. but more a ulatarin.
I still have my old 3D, I have to say I feel it aged pretty badly apart from being a sort of baton. I used to love it but nowadays I find it hard to use it.
Yes, I agree they’re definitely full of nostalgia and sort of a relic by today’s standards for flashlights, one of the best things you can do with an older one is grab a cheap to medium, priced LED bulb, put a set of Duracell industrial grade batteries in it, and keep it with your emergency supplies. Not sure if I posted this already but I had a Maglight with 20 year old Duracell industrial batteries that I found in a drawer and it worked perfectly when I picked it up. The flashlight had never been used since the day it had its batteries put in it And they were still reading 1.5 volts each and no leaks. And because the old maglight power switches physically disconnect the bulb from the battery,there’s no parasitic drain on the cells.
Totally agree, what they lack in features they make up for in durability and reliability. I love my rechargeable lights but for long term storage there’s nothing that’s going to beat good quality alkaline D batteries in a flashlight with a mechanical power switch.
None is suit for the exclusive 1% Elite... By today standards the brand doesn't offer a lot and the price represent more of a reputation/reliable brand. I be happy with something like the small tinny thing one but with a boosted 100 lumens.
SURVIVAL gear tip: All of the LED flashlights will be fried, destroyed when an EMP hits them🔦 You should ALWAYS carry an incandescent type of flashlight as a backup to your LED flashlights !
Did someone test this? I could imagibe that the full aluminium body of most flashlights would make an excellent shilding for the electrlnics. That in combination that most driver chips have esd protection (which should help suppress the high induced voltages from an emp) may make them quite resistant.
I have that exact 3D light in the same blue color. My Dad got it as a gift and its like 30 years old and still running. Its not bright but its very durable haha.
I had a mini mag lite I lost on my farm back in 1992 When building my new home and I found it just a few short years ago covered in dirt. I picked it up and took a water hose to it and washed it off. After that I went inside and put some new batteries in it and believe it or not that little sucker still worked and it still works today. By todays standards Mag lite may not be as bright as other brand But they are very dependable.
I completely agree, they may be a little expensive for the light output nowadays, but you really can’t beat them for durability. I have a lot of other LED flashlights that I like but none that would take a beating as well. Olights are very respectable for durability, but if I had to bet my life on it I’d go maglite, led or incandescent. Thanks for leaving a comment!
Hi Ricardo, I like to make them out of one of the 3x AA to D-cell adapters and a bit of wire. If you are not versed with electrical theory, batteries, and soldering, I suggest having a friend who is familiar with these things help you put it together, because if it is done incorrectly it can short out, over heat, and become very dangerous!!! Basically get a professional to help you construct it and teach you in person, that’s much safer than me trying to teach you in a comments box. Be safe!
I like Maglites because these days it's difficult to find a torch that does this: 1. Just turns on and off without any strobe bullshit 2. Just takes normal-ass batteries If you happen to want more e.g. different batteries, different bulb, etc. then it's very moddable. Most modern ones come with an LED light which is good enough for me
Yup! A single stage mechanical switch and some Duracell Industrial D cells and you’ve got a light that you can put in an SHTF box and it will turn on 10 years later! And that’s a True story.
@@theitaliantune-upshow49 After years of being suckered-in by all this mega lumen, multi mode interface you need a diploma from NASA to actually understand, I recently went back to maglite. On, off, bright enough, does the job. Happy.
I HATE strobe lights. sure great for emg find me thing but a strobe is not needed for proper use in a flashlight. if i was a crook and a fool tried to “blind me” using a strobe. i would grab it from him and place it is a place that can not be said here.
Ditto on the iPod problem. But like old bulky flashlights, it's good to have stuff that you know it's just going to work and is very simple and effective.
just like my old coffee thrumas , takes a beating. snd keeps on ticking. 45 year old coffee holder, 50 year old buck knife ( varied years) mag lights. but even the first one i bought 50 years back is going strong including the incadedent bulb in it.
Yes they are relevant. They work great for every day or every night use. I still have 2 from the early 90s and cfc the work fine just change the bulbs....I have the new LED ones very bright..
you are in a fantasy world with that thought I've dropped a mag of a scaffold at 3 stories it was fine ..your crap plastic Fenix would blow up with a drop that high..
I know what you mean! I’m on a rotation between my Maglites and my Olights. Both have their strengths and weaknesses depending on what I need for the day. Love my Baton 3 for EDC clipped on my pocket next to my Victorinox Climber. Love having a 3 cell Maglite attached with wall mount clips in the hatch compartment of my SUV, it’s also nice the anyone can pick up a Maglite and know how to use it in an emergency, most people would prolly struggle to get my Warrior 3 off of moon light if they just picked it up with no experience, let alone get it unlocked.
@@ExplorerOwl If you have 3 AAA batteries in a drum holder then a lithium rechargeable cell can run it. Such as 18650 or 18500. You just have to fit it in and make sure it has contact. There are button top cells and flat top cells. A protected 18500 is roughly the same length as a drum holder like that (but measure yours) and if you have a spring in the tail cap of the flashlight it should hold a cell slightly bigger or smaller. The diameter is smaller but you can put an adequate size rubber o-ring or wrap something around it for a snug fit. I have a triple A flashlight that will even hold the longer 18650 with no modification. There are videos on youtube about converting your flashlight to lithium where people modify their lights to fit 18650. But 18500 should fit with no modification. Better a protected cell to guard against overdischarge since flashlights not made for lithium cells don't have it built in.
I just haven't bought a flashlight in almost 11 years so I'm still very used to 'tradition' All of the new brands say that they only have 20 or 30 minutes of battery life *on a charge* because of their high output gimmicks. And they all have that ugly strobe mode too. Meanwhile something like a maglite or a rayovac_indestructible(I don't think these are made anymore..) from a loooong time ago have decent brightness and like **20 hours** of battery life //E: Apparently the modern versions that they sell directly can go for weeks on a pair of batteries, neat
Wellp! I just went with maglite regardless it seems 😄 Wall mounts, color filters, light-cone wands, rubber protectors. ohhmagosh I never realized mag sold so many accessories. These last two weeks have been very fun They even come in like.. the whole rainbow worth of colors. I've only ever seen black ones and silver ones! The AA-minimag anti-roll rubber thingy and the traffic wands are just-the-right-size that they'll actually fit on most gas-station cheapy lights so they're practically universal at this point.
Ohhh rayovac indestructible still exists! Also, I found another brand that makes a lot of their own attachments and accessories: Nitecore. I have no personal use for any of them because they're too bright for what I _do_ but I like accessories and attachments so I'll mention them anyways I guess
Still my favorite flashlight and have been so for the last 31 years when I bought a Mini Maglite AA kit for £14.99 . Since then I've owned almost every model of Maglite ever made nowadays owning a ML150LR, a 3D, a 6D, a Mini Maglite 2 AA in camo and modded with an 240 lumen LED and new glass, a Mini Maglite AA Pro Plus and a Solitaire.
I don't personally think their big models are irrelevant. They fill a very niche market: Large, long run time flashlights with replaceable batteries. The little ones like the xl50 are just kinda bad though imo. I think they should make some rechargeable, bright, small flashlights and see if they can make a comeback
@@experiment54 love that light! If you are going to store a SHTF light with the batteries in it, as a suggestion put a round disk of plastic in between the last battery and the tail cap spring. This will keep the electronic switch from slowly draining your battery over time. Then when you need it just pop out the plastic and you have fresh batteries! Not needed in the old lights with a mechanical switch because it completely cuts off the power.
I got the incandescent bulbs in my maglites that I just got this week and that I don't need 200+ lumens of blue light looking through a drawer or anything that's close up and the incandescent light is more easier to look at and shows colors better and it works perfect for me indoors and outdoors and maglites are perfect and incandescent it still useful and that I don't care about high lumens because I have flashlights that are high lumens but I never had use for it but for on strobe mode for making traffic slowdown instead waiting for traffic to stop to cross the street
Totally agree! I love the incandescent bulbs especially for the 2800k easy on the eyes color, brightness, and color accuracy while looking at wires. A few weeks ago I finally found an LED bulb that is close to the color of an incandescent bulb, and about the same brightness as a 3D Incan bulb! The nice thing about the LED bulb is that I can get the same battery life as the D cell out of three double A’s and save half the weight, or run D-cells and have days of battery life.
Anytime I need to buy a new flashlight, I always buy a maglite over any other. I even buy the halogen or xenon version. Not as bright, no, but it’s made in the USA, still gets the job done, and unlike led, where if it dies on you, that’s it your in the dark, with a traditional bulb you can fix it on the spot just by feel and have a working light again even after it just broke.
@@theitaliantune-upshow49 It was the fact that you and people like you are still hanging on in there with this old torch, its old outdated design, and vintage power output! It has been far exceeded today by 1K, 2K, 3K, and 4K lumen torches at half the price and size. But guys like you, dauntless, still "see the light" in Maglites! I'm there too bro, having just bought the RGB Solitaire Spectrum range and 3 mini Maglites of varying lumens for shits n giggles. I do like the look and heavyweight feel of a Maglite, I also like the Americana and nostalgia about them. Thanks, Vince in the UK. 🔦🔆
@@settingshadow you mean if the attacker is determined it won’t work, and yes I agree, it’s just a deterrent, you could also carry a knife to deter said attackers
Just a quick question. I can see how you cleverly used AA batteries to power a bulb Maglire, but can you use AA batteries, with the appropriate adaptors, to run a Maglite LED -3 x D cell torch?
Yes! Just make sure the battery adaptors are in parallel, not series. Usually a quick way to tell is if you install the AA’s into the D adapter, the correct one for LED Maglite’s will require all the batteries facing the same direction ( all the springs will be at the “bottom” of the adaptor which is the negative end, and all the pointy ends will be pointed at the top of the adaptor, the positive end.) After you buy the adaptors, if you are nervous about frying your led maglite, you can install 1 AA into each of the adaptors and see if the light turns on. If it does, you bought the right adaptors and you can fill the rest of the empty slots with AA’s. Alternatively, you can buy D adaptors which only hold 1 AA, just know that on high you will probably only get an hour of runtime MAX if you only have a total of 3 batteries in your light Hope this helps!
I very much appreciate you sharing your passion, experience and expertise. People overlooking Maglites are also ignoring their versatility. Yes, they're an old design, but as you assert, you can refurbish and modernise them - a great asset in today's transient world of planned obsolescence! Too many people superficially assess a flashlight's worth on it's power alone and pay no attention to the flashlight's suitability. I would rather spend a reasonable amount of money on a Maglite and rest easy, knowing that I won't break the bank if it gets destroyed or lost. Yes. I could spend a lot more on a "cutting edge", torch that's more powerful and compact, but what if I lose it or it gets stolen? Maglites are still great and have a timeless durability and design that reinforces their reputation as fine lighting instruments. Thank you again.
When I was a kid Maglite where the coolest but nowadays if I want a flashlight they to big to carry with me I have a few flashlight that are thumb size and are just as bright as a Maglite. The small flashlight I can carry in my pocket I do not feel it. I have hand size flashlight that replace Maglite for a few reason rechargeable batteries save lots of money. Smaller so easy to carry brighter which is OK but the most important to me run time the new flash light on medium settings last a long time. Medium settings on new flashlight are bright and so far I have not had bad luck with my flashlight they all still work
@@wesleyflores1085 Thanks Wesley, maybe I am a dinosaur and should look for a smaller torch. Maglites were the best in my youth, but you're right, there are better, smaller and more economical alternatives.
@@clevercamera3638 i not hating on Maglite i use to love them just as time when on i saw other brand come out with new stuff. The thumb size i love to carry with me is Acebeam TK16 it a cool little light
Love my maglites. I've had a XL50 for years, picked it up when it was 100lumen. It's still brilliant. I've just picked the maglite belt holster for the XL50, which is cool. I've also recently got the ML300L, which was an upgrade from an old 2D cell maglite. Love the new ML300L. Very tough, very well made and very reliable torches.
Thanks for the Maglite love buddy! Yup those are 2 great lights! I love running 3 rechargeable AA’s in my ML300L instead of 3 D’s, it’s incredibly light with the same lumin output! Also, the older ones that you can put your own LED in are great for your car with alkaline batteries as the “real” on/off switch prevents parasitic drain!
Today agree the ML300L is go to light for an emergency. Also a pro tip, if you are going to store any of the modern mag lights for a prolonged time with the batteries in them, I recommend alkaline batteries, adding a piece of plastic in between the last battery and the tail cap spring. The new lights have an electronic switch that will slowly drain the batteries so you my have a dead battery in a few months if it’s a light that’s a back up for emergencies. Also loosening the tail cap until the light shuts off can accomplish this as well.
