Maglite ML25LT - rarity short review

I also love maglites… but….

2xAAA minimag a must have?? Why??? The newest model is single mode and 111 lumens…

Do you have it? Explain why please.

Lumens are not an all that important measure of flashlight performance. Beam pattern and cd/throw are where it’s at for me. The 2 AAA MM LED I use most is an older 98 lumen version – I prefer it over the 111 lumen version because it throws a little further.

The main reason I consider the 2 AAA Mini Mag to be a must have is the beam pattern: wide spill for up close and a tight spot for distance. And the 2 AAA form factor is a great for carry in a shirt pocket. I am not much of a fan of the Mini Mag Pro 2 AA’s – too much glare for up close, spill beam is too bright and too small. The PRO Plus is better than the regular PRO because it has a low mode, but on high mode I consider these to be outdoor lights. When I am heading outside I am more likely to grab a ML25 which blows away the MM PRO for throw and beam pattern in a light that is about the same length but chunkier. If I need something smaller, it is back to the Mini Mag 2 AAA, with it’s better beam pattern and decent for a small light amount of throw.

The 98 lumen has more throw than the 111?

Specifications say that the 111 lunen version has more meters of throw than the 98…

The 98 lumen was listed 4148 cd/129 Meters on the package and the 111 lumen 2712 cd/ 104 Meters.

My bad!

Sorry for hijacking the thread.

However I consider the ml25lt one of the best maglites of today… If money were not the problem… I would have most of the maglites and other brands…

Where is the switch in this light? Or is it rotary like mini-mag?

Yes, twisty (rotary) switch and candle mode like mini mag.

Another thing I like about the ML25 is that it’s fat enough to get a good grip on - makes it easy to twist on/off with one hand.

The ML25 makes a good light to keep for emergencies, loaded with a couple of L91 ultimate lithium AA’s or even a single CR123A in adapters it can be stored ready to go for decades with no worries with parasitic drain or leaking cells.

With adapters, it can run on anything from AAA’s to 21700’s.

26650?

It doesn’t fit in the tube. Too wide.

Yup 26650’s are generally too fat for C cell Mags.

26650’s work great in 2D LED Mags.

Just got one of the ML25LT and I’m not understanding the mode switching. It has a high (1.4 amp), low (250mA), and lower (150mA) mode. It usually switches between low and lower if you just keep turning it on and off. Sometimes, if you wait a few sec or are turning it on for the first time, it’ll come on in high. So you sometimes get hi-low-lower-low-lower… and sometimes low-lower-low-lower… It may come on in lower sometimes, it’s hard to tell. A solid 500mA medium would have been useful. The two lows are pretty close.

Am I missing some trick or is there a random element? It doesn’t seem like the last mode it was on determines what it’ll start with.

Manual that came with it is for the one-mode. Manual on the website only mentions two modes “Turn flashlight on (by twisting the head) and you have Full (100) Power Mode. Quickly turn flashlight off and on again to access Power-Conserving (15 Power) Mode”
I guess it is always supposed to come on in high if you leave it off long enough?

I was expecting it would just go high-low-high-low…

There should be only two modes - high and 15% low. It comes on in high first but you can switch to low by twisting it off and back on all within about 1 second - just enough time to do this if you are quick. If it takes you more than about a sec, it will comeback on high instead of low. In other words, a quick twist on/off/on within 1 sec, will go to low mode.

Note that you have to be fairly quick to twist on/off/on or you will miss the low mode. And that indoors it is often hard to tell high from low, especially if the batteries are starting to get weak.

It definitely is not coming on in high first, every time. Maybe half the time. Guess I got a weird one. Fine with me, I guess, since high is a bit…high.

Bad connection… Dirty threads… Bad switch…

I guess there could be some switch bounce that knocks it out of high but it doesn’t seem to blink at all. Stable output at each setting. (and there really are three distinct modes, by the ammeter, if not easily seen on the wall)
Messed up firmware, if anything. I’m happy with it, just good to know there’s something messed up about it rather than me not being able to figure out some trick. If it dies, the ML warranty is pretty good.

Have you lubed the threads? Mags usually come fairly dry from the factory and may snag a little. Also check that the tail cap spring is snapped in place properly and that all of the bare metal contacts are cleaned and lubed. And of course check your batteries tp make sure they are good.

I’ve checked all that, it’s just the driver. I ordered a 3 C-Cell one along with a 2C ML50LX in foliage green, and warm white 2xAA, so it’ll be interesting to see if that one behaves as it should. I actually prefer the way the 2C is working. High overheats the LED pretty badly, and the 250mA mode is both bright enough, easy on the LED, and would work with alkalines in AA-to-C adapters. Unless it’s going to die from some driver fault, I like it this way.
Thanks for the help!

Mode confusion kills it for me. Long gone are the days of reliable, one-mode Mags, apparently.