Review: Mini Maglite Pro+

Nice writeup! Thanks for taking the time as this is one I'm sure a lot of people are interested in, including me. Having a light that will run off 2 AA batteries is great since AA batteries are always available and I'm glad to see this kind of output on a Minimag. Usually people measure amps at the tail instead of volts. How much difference is there in focus? Maybe you could post a picture of it zoomed in and out?

The "Low" mode is almost as bright as the previous generation Mini Maglite LED (some of which were multimode) and way, way brighter than the old incans.

Nice review! I'm looking forward to picking up one or two of these when I can get them on sale.

As an aside, having two modes is not a first for the LED Mini Maglites. The previous generation of LED Minis actually had 4 modes: High (100%) > Low (25%) > Strobe > SOS. The modes are activated by a quick off and on.

They were a huge improvement over the old incan models in output but they still only put out 69 lumens on High. Laughable now but at the time it was a major jump from 17 to 69 - a four-fold increase in output. Come to think of it with the old LED models the 25% low was the same as the high on the incans. On the new LED Pro models the low (25%) is the same as the high on the previous LED model. Hmmm... coincidence? LOL! It's possible that we won't see another improvement on these until they can safely produce one that runs at 1000 lumen so that 25% low is the same as the Pro output on high. ;)

@ brted and JohnnyMac:

I never had a Mini LED before this, so I was unaware that they offered multi-mode. Thanks for the correction - I will have to adjust my wording in the review to reflect that fact. And I'm sure I just wasn't thinking when I posted the tail cap measurement as volts, I will correct and when I get a chance measure with Primaries, nimh and Eneloops.

@ joe1512 and brted:

Sorry, photography is not my strong suit (but I'm getting better). I'll work on posting some better beam shots to illustrate the focus/zoom and show with different battery types. I'll have to get my son to help, as he has actually had photography training. Maybe he can help me do some outdoor shots as well. If I can describe it better, the beam is a little ringy when first turned on, as you adjust out, it smooths out the rings and makes a smoother beam with a more gradual transition between the hot spot and flood.

thanks for the review!

So the regulation isnt very good? No constant brightness? Chin*se lights have constant brightness regulation! :O

Please remember that this light is designed to run on Alkaleaks.

maybe maglite has some sort of contract with Duracell corp. just wondering why they would force to support Alkaleaks although Eneloops are already so popular.

you cant recharge Duracells. so more duracells are sold. good for Duracell!

The average American doesn't know what an Eneloop is, but Copper Tops and bunny cells are everywhere. Sad but true.

a buddy of mine just mentioned he had some junk rechargeable batteries with a stupid name. when i told him they were probably the best out there he seemed happy, but i'm not sure he believed me. he probably went to the store to get some duracells.

The light is actually regulated. Just in a weird way in which it deliberately drops off in output to help keep the load on the batteries down. This may not be what most of us would choose, but does mean a quick off then on again will take it back to full output at any given time.

Updated review to include additional Low/High mode shots with twist from turn on to fully extended. Hard to explain, brted, but it doesn't really focus like the old incan Mags, more like 'fine tuning'. I also tried different shots with Duracells, nimh and Eneloops: absolutely no detectable difference in beam shots. Timed regulation seems to take care of that.

Next up, outdoor beam shots when I can.

Thanks for the new pics. Yeah, it doesn't look like that much of a difference. That's probably good because the old incan minimags had pretty ugly beams. All of these look pretty decent.

I'm not sure if it's ok to do this, but here is a link to an excellent review done by CPF user Robin24k on both the Pro and Pro+.

Actually, the review is more than just excellent - very professional.

http://www.led-resource.com/2012/02/mini-maglite-pro-and-proplus-led-flashlight-review/

Now I wish I had the Pro instead of the normal LED..^^

I haven't owned a mini-mag for years, although I must admit that I do quite like the idea of the P60 mod.

This for me has replaced the 2AA maglite:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire-wf-606a-cree-q5-wc-230-lumen-led-flashlight-with-extension-tube-1-cr2-2-aa-14909

After having read this review written by BetweenRides, I found a good offer for a Pro+ on eBay; way cheaper than what the online shops were asking for. Intl’ shipping from NY to mainland Europe took some painstakingly slow three weeks, but I am already used to that after years of ordering vintage car parts for my restoration projects from the US.

On to the torch itself - I do like it so much, it has replaced my sand/gold/tan-ano SolarForce L2r which I had been using daily for well over a year. It surely isn’t as bright as the low-volt XP-G dropin in my L2r, but I am already in love with the additional low-mode the M@glite offers. I’m using eneloops and duracell pre-charged NiMH-LSD only.

Then again, I do like long, skinny 2xAA torches as much as the rather stubby 18650 lights; especially for EDC at work. Hands down, a mini-m@g is way easier to carry concealed than a souped-up L2P sporting an A001 head, B2 bezel, and S9 tailcap switch (my other worklight). The Pro+ with its sleek, classic maglite design and beautifully simple belt holster made from nylon webbing blend in nicely with any black suit.

I do not regret buying the Pro+. The beam is a bit ringy, indeed, but I don’t mind; and only notice it at home (perfect, flat white walls at home, as opposed to rubble stone walls and rough sandstone flooring at work)

The plastic lens I can understand, but it can be replaced and still make the entire flashlight cheaper than many alternatives.

Not sure I agree about the reflector though. As the LED front side doesn’t produce any significant heat, plastic really isn’t any less able than aluminium and just as shiny.

No clicky? Seriously? It’s a twisty, you’d hardly find a clicky on a twisty, even by the “big” high end makers.

Regulation, well it is regulated, just not in a way to produce max lumens all the time. And in fairness is probably a better setup for average Jo. Not too mention most high end compact lights also step down these days too. And you can always switch the MagLite off and on again if you want too, thus regaining max lumens.

I’m not saying it’s the be all and end all, but I’m not sure they are truly negative points either.

It’s regulated to offer the max performance and run time off of alkaline cells. The downside is you’ll see little improvement using lithium primaries or eneloops. But this is all down to the target market and expected customers I guess.

From this review: Mini Maglite Pro and Pro+ LED Flashlight Review - LED-Resource

As you can see it has a deliberate step down, after this lithium primaries and eneloops do perform slightly better. However there’s nothing to stop you turning the light off and on again to reset the higher lumen rating.

From this review: Nitecore Explorer (EC1, EC2, EA1, EA2) Round-up Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO+ | Candle Power Flashlight Forum

Just to show as an example, even ‘high end’ lights often use a step down, although they do often then remain at a constant output (but with a lower run time)

And these high end lights on alkaline’s appear to fair far worse than the Mini MagLite does if run on this battery chemistry (which most MagLite owners will be likely too)

I pointed out the plastic lens and reflector not because they would melt, but the optical attributes are worse on plastic than on alu/glass... at least with the Mags I have handled. I have seen Mag lenses that were almost blind, because they had a lot of scratches. Are there really cheap (with shipping) glass replacements available?

I don't like twisties on anything larger than a 1AAA light. So I surely don't want both mechanisms on one flashlight. What I do like it mode switching via twist action and a seperate on off clicky. (see Jetbeam BA20/ Klarus P2A/ Fenix E21)

Most 2AA lights aren't driven that hard on high, that they can't cope with the heat. On the Maglite it's only step down, because they borrowed an old design. I like it better when the user is in control of which modes his flashlight gonna be in.

Don't get me wrong, I am not here to bash Maglites, but I want their engineers to show us what a modern day Maglite could be like, when they design a new one from the scratch without relying on old hosts and old technologies. They can still keep the simple, clear exterior design principles for the optics to make it a "typical Mag". They sure made enough money to put a little more effort in their development/research facilities.

I own the P2A and 2xE21 and I paid like $26-27 for each while they were on sale. I also own a Solarforce L2R (XR-E 3-mode) and a Romisen RC-N3.

The light runtime tables you posted are 1 AA not 2 AA. Please stick to flashlight of the same class if you want to compare stuff, otherwise it gets really confusing. Regulation and the BA20/P2A is as flat as it can be... also on the E21/E25. So no , it's just not true that the most 2AA have a step down... in fact most haven't.

I don’t know for certain, but I think the standard ultra clear glass lens that fits the incan Mini Mags will work in the new LED ones. In the UK you can get these for around £4.50

I do see exactly what you are saying and don’t actually disagree, but I can sort of understand why Mag have done what they have.

As for an entire new design, I think the XL100 was pretty radical a few years back, even today nobody else has even gotten close to using an accelerometer in a flashlight in a similar way. In fact the XL100 was arguably a bit too advanced, so the XL200 makes it a less sophisticated but maybe easier to use interface and included variable dimming without the need for a magnetic ring. I still can’t see any other flashlight makers currently producing anything remotely similar or advanced in UI terms, not even the latest Nitecore Sen’s models. (ok some didn’t like the 3AAA setup of the XL’s, but it suited the target market and at the time of launch there weren’t any/many 1AA lights that could match the XL200’s output on AA’s).

"Don't get me wrong, I am not here to bash Maglites, but I want their engineers to show us what a modern day Maglite could be like, when they design a new one from the scratch without relying on old hosts and old technologies. They can still keep the simple, clear exterior design principles for the optics to make it a "typical Mag". They sure made enough money to put a little more effort in their development/research facilities."

I couldn't agree more, Vectrex. I love Maglites, but I really would love to see what they could do if they really tried.