Has anyone tried this LED upgrade for Maglites?

It is by The Torch Site. They’re in the UK, but sell on our auction sites. I got one of their cheaper LED upgrades a few years ago and it was as good as advertised, and is still working.

I’m thinking of upgrading a 3D and 4D Mag, and what appeals to me is the 3 settings. The brightness and runtimes on low & med. look pretty good to me, with a pretty good 800 otf L on high when needed.

Seems to be in the price range of Malkoff drop ins. Seems its such a trade off with Lumens and runtimes when using D cells, the multi mode could be handy.

Maglite LED upgrade

zen

They seem to be from adventure sport flashlights: https://asflashlights.com/home/98-firefly-800-lumen-led-upgrade-for-maglite.html

The quality is very good for a maglite drop-in. I own an older variant. They are made by vesture of blood, a member here in the forum.

I would generally recommend buying a new light though. Cheaper and much smaller.

Thanks, TheDriver, that is the same. I guess the Torch Site just re-sells them. I do have newer lights, just looking to upgrade a couple of backup Mags I carry in vehicles.

ThrowMeInTo, if you care to elaborate, I’m listening. I’d think negative opinions are allowed aren’t they?

Zen

I would just get a 4xAA light for less money. There are several good ones to choose from, and they will give you 1000+ lumens. Run time is decent for 4xAA lights, too.

Or, if you don’t mind using lithium-ion cells, get a BLF Q8 (again, for less money), and it will blow-away any drop-in you can get for your old maglite.

If you want a lot of lumens per dollar I can reccommend this floody drop-in: 1,200 lumens LED Up Graded for MagLite
These have been around since 2009 and work nicely. The are very floody, but the tint isn’t perfect though. Also note that the brightness depends on the voltage. Two Li-Lions in series will make it brighter compared to three Alkalines.

Thx folks. This is helpful.

Driver, that does look interesting, but bad tint could be a spoiler. I’ll have to check youtube for vids. That’s why I was hoping someone may have tried that switchable one I first posted.

Walkinto, I do have some Li-ion cells. I have a couple single 18650 1k Lumen lights, and a 3200 Lumen light that runs on two. I like that cell a lot. I’m mostly just upgrading a couple of old Mags because I have a small collection of them (15 or so), and a few really cool older 1st generation ones.

I want to upgrade a 2D Maglite also. Would converting to Li-ion start getting into over $100? If so, I may just go with a Malkoff, or one of these we’re talking about.

zen

It might be possible. With an efficient LED and driver, you might be needing about 1.5A from four D cells. For 5 hours, that requires you to get 6000mAh out of those D cells. If they are NiMH D’s, no problem. But even good alkalines might be able to do that.

I appreciate the input folks. I’ll probably just end up trying some different ones, since I have a lot of Maglites. I think many are advertised in an exaggerated form, in perfect conditions. I guess sometime ya just gotta buy it and try it. It’s only money huh.

I’ve considered the Malkoff too. I did see someone here on the forum say they hated the Malkoff, but didn’t say whether it was the lower lumen/price one, or the higher lumen/price.

Will update if I try them.

Zen

My opinion on maglites has never changed . If you can’t mod it for 10-15$ than it isn’t worth doing at all .because for 15-20$ you can buy a complete light that will dust it . find another (sucker ) “collector ” of antique garbage and sell them for 10$ a piece and be way ahead of the game . IMHO it’s a “noobs folly ” and there are a 100,000 noob posts about resurrecting the dead (weight).
Sit down and think about what the light needs to be fixed . New reflector ? yep …? 5-10$//emitter 5-15$//.heatsink 5$//driver 5$-10$//modification to accept different type batteries $5…and hours of time and trouble , Even using just the lowest estimates you’ve spent 25$ and a bunch of time on a light that’s worth a third of what you paid .

-Even just throwing them away would be a better idea than modding them …Just my two cents :slight_smile:

  • I have three here I wouldn’t consider modding

instead …sell each for 10$ and turn the money into a collection of convoy s2’s and c8’s

Either figure out a 10$ mod or forget it …old xpg emitter 50 cent piece of copper 2$ driver no reflector 100% diffuser film all flood … something like that makes sense .

moding maglite is almost never about saving money,

i have a mag mod where driver alone cost $40, and oversized refelctor\head $140 .

almost none mag mods i did cost less than 50

I don’t get the appeal of maglites. I have several old ones, but they are just simple designs without much character. All, IMO, of course.

I can understand someone that wants to mod them; they make descent hosts. But I’d only mod it to do something unique, like put in some disco RGB flashing LEDs, or something crazy. Something you couldn’t buy in a stock light.

Like others have said, it doesn’t make economic sense to spend more $$$ to mod it, if all you’re doing is creating a basic light that would otherwise cost you half as much.

I suppose some people see something in old mags that I don’t.

Some of us just like the look of Maglites….

I guess. They were good lights back in the day. Functional, certainly. But aesthetically pleasing? Meh.

I can understand one good use for the 4xD or 6xD form factor, and might be worth upgrading. If you need it as a defensive tool (security guard or something like that), it makes sense to keep it.

I have a one off maglite modded by Old Lumens, one of my favourite lights, and it’s priceless.

Sometimes you just need to accept that not everyone hast the same tastes as your own.

@jacktheclipper … Nice 2C … I like the C models, and recently got the “Chevy Trucks” one.

Thanks for the suggestions folks. To me, a $30 LED upgrade brings a 35 yr old $10 incan Mag from useless to a dependable backup light, self defense possibilities aside. I’m not worried about a few $$, but not looking to build a $150 custom light.

I buy/sell/trade/restore all sorts of vintage items that some people consider junk, or don’t understand the values of. Cha-ching $$, thank ya very much.

I too, like the look and simple styling of the Maglite, and enjoy collecting them and having them around my multiple buildings, basements, workbenches, and on the truck seats. Looking at auctions sites, I’m not alone. I sure hope my other brands of modern lights sell for more than what I paid for them in 30 yrs.

I think I have the bases covered with bright tacticool lights, and they are what I carry for daily illumination needs.

zen

Those are some good old lights , Zener .

Well I ordered the Malkoff 3-6D which uses the Cree XP-G2. It’s on sale, and I like Gene’s products. I have no doubt it will be well built.

I sprung for the crenellated bezel & glass breaking tail cap as well, just because I always wanted to try them, so what the heck.

Here’s a pic I got of a few of my C Mags. The two 3Cs are pre letter, from the mid 80s, and the one is near mint. One has a decent led upgrade already … and one of the best things about Maglites - I got them cheap. :money_mouth_face:

zen

…because a Maglite is forever. Simply that :slight_smile:

Good choice. They are quality drop-ins. For my Vehicle light, I have a 2C with Malkoff Dropin, glass breaker and bezel like you. Because it sits in my car year round and it gets to –35 to +40. I only use AA Energizer Lithium primaries. i use an empty roll of toilet paper tube as a spacer. its been on the same set of batteries for 5 years and still turns on. Reliable and won’t ever leak. Due to the way things have progress i doubt i will ever buy a maglite again.
I also have a Malkoff 3D in the house which i regret getting because at the time it was around $80(shipped to Canada). Doesn’t get much use at all. Also don’t like the fact they are single mode.

All before I learned about 18650. Too many great options now.