LED bulb for 2 D cell Maglite?

Is it worth it to replace the standard bulb with a LED one in this old Flashlight or better to spend the money on a new flashlight? What would be a good budget bulb for this flashlight. Thanks.

Depends on what you want. Lots of people here will tell you that you’re better off getting some small light that fits in your pocket and runs on AA or Li-Ion batteries. But although these sorts of lights have their place, they also have limitations that a converted Mag is free from (namely runtime and heat buildup). So the first thing tomdo is decide whether or not you should do it in the first place. With all of this siad, there are certainly reasons to upgrade your Mag to LED rather than buying a smaller Chinese light. Even if such a light might be cheaper.

When it comes to upgrading a 2D Mag to LED, there are a multitude of options available. These range from cheap, low output drop-ins on ebay to crazy setups with multiple XM-L’s. One option that I particularly like is the Malkoff XP-G2 drop-in for 2D Mags. It costs around $40, and has good heatsinking. It will improve light output from the paltry 20 (or so) lumens of an incandescent to 270. This is certainly not the brightest light in the world. But it’s actually PLENTY bright for most uses you will ever find. Furthermore, it runs on the stock 2 D cells (rather than requiring you use Li-Ion or a bunch of AA batteries), and will give you HOURS of runtime on them (something most smaller lights can’t claim at this output level). Of course, you could always get something cheaper like one of the Terralux upgrades. But they will provide neither the output nor the quality that you get from the Malkoff.