Don’t forget, Maglite does not want to sell to people like us. They want to to sell to the general public.Thats a lot more people. You will never see a FW3A at home depot. And they know that.
So?
Dell and IBM do not want to sell to people like me, either, but my kind can still take an interest in what they are putting out…
I think he’s saying that maglite wants to sell to the ignorant masses. They don’t care to sell to people that know there’s much better for much cheaper, elsewhere. Ignorant masses just want a magic stick that glows. That’s what maglite is providing. They don’t want people to know any better. And people that already know better, don’t care about maglite.
Pretty much, the enthusiast market is pretty limited.
Limiting scope to AA minimags and C/D mags, they’re beautiful hosts, albeit with a lousy thermal path (for LEDs; who cares about thermal paths when using hotwire bulbs), and have $#|+ beams for anything but most-concentrated spot.
That said, as hosts they’re quite nice as long as you don’t stress ’em out thermally.
One guy I know who’s quite proud of his 3AA LED Mag would always whip it out and show off to those who only had hotwire 2AA Mags. He stopped doing that, at least in front of me, when I whipped out my MH20 and quickflicked it to turbo. 
I recently ordered a Incan mag 2D being afraid that they will completely disappear in the near future… one classic to keep, one time to remember
And thanks for sharing your review!
I’ve bought three Solitairs, among them one LED light. Loosen head to make contact just doesn’t work. They all suffered contact problems after very short time. Get a Sofirn C01S instead.
Yup. I still have a few AA LED mags with the twisty interface, purchased before I knew any better. They all suffer from flickering. Their switch mechanism sucks.
With the “normal” twisty interface that other brands use (twist for on), at least you can tighten the pill down if they start to misbehave. I think mag just designed their crap so that people would have to keep buying new ones. Kind of a way of forcing non-flashaholics into spending too much on lights.
That said, I still have some incan D mags from the 90’s. Great lights, if you ignore the beams. They just never made the jump to LEDs.
You opinion bothers me not at all. The fact you twisted my words and made it look I said something completely different really ticks me off however.
I think so too. What suprises me, is that there is a vocal minority that does not care about beam artifacts, nor CRI. Not just muggles either, some of the people that enjoy the AA Maglite are oldtimers.
Im guessing it is partly nostalgia… for the form factor, which is nice.
The challenge for me, was to come up with a viable alternative to suggest instead. I dont want to just say dont buy a flashlight, unless I can offer a constructive alternative, such as the AA Tool.
Im in the middle of that debate. My son in law mailed me his 2xAA Maglite, with a couple alkaleaks frozen inside. I considered buying him the LED version, until I saw the beam. I know I can do better. Even off the shelf, with no modding, I think and AA Tool and some Eneloops, is a better option than another AA Maglite, even on Eneloops.
The Tool has modes. The AA Maglite is a single mode high output unit, that drains 2 cells at a time… I cant think of a reason I would want to gift that to someone I Love.
However, we are all different, and if an AA Maglite makes someone happy, due to blissful ignorance, nostalgia, or any other reason, that is their choice, and I will respect it. I can only lead a horse to water.
Given my exalted position as a High CRI snob, I would only buy High CRI, or mod to that goal. The AA Tool does offer a 219C, which is better than CW, every day of the week, for my refined sensibilities… LOL!
I have the clear ano 2AA mini magLED version with H-L-flash modes. Its an excellent “muggle” light. High is first, and is very effective. The beam and adjustment is much smoother than the old incan versions and batteries last quite a while for my 6 year old. Plus it seems even tougher than my old incan minimag from when I was a kid (which, as it so happens, is still going strong and sits in deep storage with an MJLED).
Now, if you dislike cool tints stay away. But for somebody who just wants a simple light that works this is a strong choice.
Interestingly, the LED seems to be contained behind a thin metal shield and I haven’t even thought about an LED swap in this one, but depending on how that switch assembly is removed it may be very easy… or not.
Are you equally surprised by young people who buy, say, a 1969 4.1L Jag E-Type with all-original parts?
Hmm I’m sorry to hear that. I’ve a lightly used LED solitaire which seems ok but it sounds like that’s a result of the lack of use (cool white).
I’ve actually got a couple of the C01S, they’re pretty good, I’m on an AAA kick at the moment though.
Yeah, it’s a bit surprising. It’s kind of like people on a battery forum enthusing about how much they like Ultrafire batteries. I guess it’s nostalgia. I kind of get it, since I still keep my D and C incan mags. I haven’t used them in a long time, but I have no desire to toss them either. But, maglite and flashaholics just don’t seem to go together anymore, so I don’t really understand the hype. Perhaps it’s a made-in-USA thing?
Yup, that’s a much better choice. Pretty-much anything is a better choice than mag’s horrible tint, beam, and flakey switch. I’ve always thought they were butt-ugly, too, but that’s just personal preference.
Nice review chicken-D.
I don’t like the minimag loosen for ON. Its far too easy to accidentally turn on. I have only owned one 2AA and I got tired of killing batteries in my bag / backpack.
I have a couple of Solitaires. An Incan one that came free with a car I bought over 10 years ago. No idea how old it is. Works perfectly.
Also have a 37 lumen led one with me now. Think these came out in 2012’ish which would be when I got. Also no issues and used often.
I used to love their traditional flashlights back in the day. I held on to them well into the LED revolution. I hated the early cool white alternatives. Then I got the TerraLUX Lightstar 80. I finally had an LED flashlight that looked good and wasn't harsh on my eyes. It was an easy replacement for my comparable Maglite. As I dove deeper into the world of warmer or higher-CRI LED flashlights, my older Maglites just ended up collecting dust.
When I finally got around to trying LED Maglites, I was not impressed. When I saw their warmer Spectrum series, I got excited to try again. Then I bought one and it was a major disappointment. It was both vastly inferior and more expensive than lights I already had from Convoy, Sofirn, and Jaxman. It even let me down on what I'd come to expect from Maglite. The beam range from twisting seemed much more restricted and it was easy to trigger an accidental mode change. I just plain hated it. It really made me sad because twenty to thirty years ago, I really loved Maglite. I swore by their products and used them exclusively for outdoor activities, caving, etc. Now, I have no use for them.
There is a difference between a classic car that’s no longer in production in pristine condition that generally ball parks for $100k+ to a generic maglite that you can still buy with incandescent bulbs cause maglite still produces and sells them for outrageous prices for an incandescent light.
Replace the Jag with anything vintage that you can buy for a couple quid down the local charity shop, then.
Alternatively, if it’s the substandard aspect of currently available overpriced brand-name stuff, just take a wander through high street fashion shops… Maglite are basically like Barbour jackets.
I'm a flashaholic and I have other types of lights just so you all will know.
Most of you must have tried the led mags early on. They have gotten better and the twist switch might need cleaning with some contact cleaner once in a blue moon and also behind the spring on the tailcap. I have a lot of led maglites and they seem more neutral to me than cool white. The newest ones though are more cool. I don't think the general public cares about that like I do. It would surprise you what a ML25LT can do with only 192 lumens. The candella of the hotspot is high and the spill is well balanced. If they weren't made in the high tax state of california they would be cheaper. I think they are resonable for what you get though. All those other lights would be more expensive if they were made in America. Thank you chicken drumstick for the video.
The contact point on the switch that causes all the problems (besides behind the tailcap spring) is where the switch makes contact with the body. That can be sprayed from the end where the batteries go. I know other lights are made different with less moving parts and all contact parts are soldered. Mags are mags though and you either like them or you don't. I don't agree with the company owner's sueing practices though.