I used to put the 3 volt 2D bulbs in my 3D 4.5 volt Maglite. They didn't last that long, but it was worth the increase in light output. That was back in the late 90s. We didn't have much of a choice in the old days.
I have lived with incandescent flashlights for most of my life. This is hard to explain to people who haven't never used an incandescent torch. I still have some 4D torches capable of producing 60 lumens. In year 2000, it took Surefire to produce the M4 Dominator, a torch with a vacuum-sputtered reflector and an high pressure xenon bulb, to produce 250 lumens for 20 minutes, munching thru four CR123s which costed twenty dollars. A more lenient bulbs produced 125 lumens for one hour. Those were times for heroes...
I wonder if the LED flashlights would cease to work under an EMP???? I have a feeling that the incandescent flashlights would be unaffected during an EMP....
You are right. LED flashlights will NOT work after an EMP strike, due to the fact that that use a circuit board. Anything with a circuit board will be fried. This is why I always have a few incandescent flashlights as spares.
Damn .... that is one hell of a good thought. I'd not considered that angle at all. I'll be hanging on to my incandescent bulbs because of you, and I'll limit my efforts on my old incandescent maglites to things that can be set back quickly.
Incandescent version is the best because you can put whatever bulb you want in it, where as the 168 lumen and ML300 could potentially die since LED drivers tend to die way before the LED dies )50,000 hours. So unless you're skilled at modding/repairing LEDs, I personally am not gonna waste money on overpriced junk.
