Hey there folks,
a recent post on the r/flashlight sub has me BACK again crawling to the mini maglite for ultimate edc nostalgia. Ive seen a few modded one and i am attempting to mod one or two of mine. i know there used to be some for sale from kyfishguy but i dont think those are available anymore. I have serious interest in buying one but idk how to go about that. (sorry im new to the forum) ALSO, as id like to mod my own, is there a guide walking through modding a mini mag to a micro mag compatible with a 14500? What led should i choose? I have a Litt ind. 180/55 lumen 2 mode led in one and a Nite Ize 104 lumen single mode led in another, I greatly enjoy the dual bright modes of the Litt ind LED but i want like a high CRI warm tint with a modern emitter. Im really new at this so this may be out of my league, so input and guidance is welcome.
Also, Im not sure how to go about it, but i think we should seriously petition maglite to pop out a “micro mag” thats single AA/14500. I feel like many flashlight enthusiasts would greatly enjoy a factory option like that. I know I would. I genuinely enjoy the simplistic nature of a twist head maglite and used to carry one all the time as a kid. But ultimately, i want to hear from you guys. is this a silly idea? Personally i dont think its outdated or silly because im an enthusiast and maglites are a staple. As they sit, out of the blister pack, yes, they are woefully outdated in the incandescent model but the Pro LED+ model (has 351 lumen high and a 25% power low) is really useful if you havent looked into
THANK you
Drill out a minimag’s head to be able to stuff in a P60/D25. No need to get the recommended drill-bit in 59/64" or whatever weird size is specced, as a step-bit works better, and gets you a squared-off ledge vs tapered.
Could cut down the come-with reflector to fit, but I prefer sticking in a TIR lens. Or drill it not-as-deep and stick in a 3-up board for a triple. Etc.
Oh, was gonna add that if you chop down the battery tube, you’ll also have to figure out how to rethread it for head or tailcap, or cut out a section from the middle and cut’n’bore to somehow press-fit them together, as people have done in the past.
thank you! As of right im still doin research ive never really modded a light so im really new at this. Im a buyer and have about a dozen lights but this is all new. i wasnt sure where to really start with the parts. I found a few useful posts but i feel like there should be a universal maglite upgrade thread! There probably is but maybe its just not a popular model anymore. I did also email Maglite themselves about the idea and hopefully i hear from them.
Is the p60 led system just drop in after drilling out?
I don’t own any maglights and haven’t looked at many mods of them, but I see the head and tail both come off. In that case, I’d chop the tube, file off the threads from the tail so it slips into the body, then glue it on. You could use a little CA glue, silicone, epoxy, etc. CA glue can be removed with acetine if you ever want to disassemble it.
Just be sure you’re certain about your measurements before cutting.
hey thanks!, I read through that post and its great! Id like to be able to keep a high and low mode, is there an LED that can do that thats drop in? if not its ok.
I’m not very familiar with dropins either, but they are sold as a package with driver, LED (mounted to an MCPCB), reflector, and spring. They’re meant to be used with a P60-compatible light.
What Match did in that post was use one with a removable reflector (you can see the threads where the P60 reflector unscrews), remove the spring, and put it in the bored-out minimag head.
So you just need to source one with the LED and driver that you like. I imagine you can find one with two modes. Kaidomain and Aliexpress both sell them, among other places. Just make sure the reflector unscrews - I’m not sure if that’s standard or not.
Id like to try to mimic Kyfishguy’s modding path, but that seems far more advanced. He used Lh351D’s and 219cs in his builds i saw but i dont know how what other parts id nee .
P60 Drop-ins can be had with different configurations. They can be had with several LED options and modes. I know that there are single level options. From there they usually go to 3 or 4/5 level options. The 4/5 can be set for either 4 levels or 3 levels with strobe/SOS (IIRC). I don’t recall seeing 2 levels offerings. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any.
Here are some places to look (in no particular order)
I think Malkov sells direct and also on Amazon. For a long time they were considered the premium P60 option.
Do you have access to a machine shop? If so, things like trimming the tube, boring it for the drop-in, and threading the tube should be relatively easy. I would also consider adding a tail switch. There used to be several places that offered them for the MiniMag. I think Nite Ize . Here is an example (not NiteIze, but looks nice. Looks like it is a forward clicky:
It is all built in. Well the part that would be the reflector in some of these drop-ins is part of the body/pill. There is only a thin ring that holds the optic in that is removeable. I have a couple of them. Pretty sure they don’t meet the lumen claims, but they are a nice option. Of course, if you need something that allows the reflector to be unscrewed, this is not it.
You’ll need some measurements. The question is whether the quad optic on that dropin will replace the stock mini mag reflector. I suspect it won’t fit but just a guess.
Yeah… I guess I should have mentioned that I use them with either 18650 or 21700 cells.
Though they claim regulation and don’t drive the LEDs very hard. It also has three levels. So, something like an H10 (10 amp rated) would probably be OK, just not for very long.
I got myself a coupla H10s for my GTmicro, and swapped back’n’forth with a generic 14500. Zero visible difference to me. Granted, not a fast A/B test of switching back’n’forth rapidfire to compare, but still, no visible difference.
Twice the lemons only appears ~30% brighter, so even if the difference were appreciable and measurable, I doubt I’d notice. And at the wads of extra current, thus power, being drawn, I’d dare say most of it would be as extra heat than light anyway. (My TS10 starts cooking really quickly at anything above medium, so I tend to use it at lower power anyway.)
To that effect, that’s why I just go for capacity over Being A Super-Cell. As long as the cell itself won’t cook itself to death on the light’s highest rating, I’m fine with it. That’s why 30Qs were always my go-to cell for 18650s. 3000mAH is good capacity, and good current handling capability.
If that 3-up drop-in is rated for X current, yah, okay, maybe the H10 might be worth it, but it’ll get hella hot really fast, and there’s only a shiite thermal path to cool the module, so I’d definitely not be cranking it up for more than a few seconds at a time.
Ahh so what about like a single emitter Nichia 519a or 219? Would those be able to efficiently run off a 14500? If not I’m totally open to suggestions. Kaidomain offers single led p60 in nichia I didn’t see before and I’m only wanting to go with Nichia because I like them ij other lights. What would you guys put in there?
Most LED/driver combos in a P60 format would run on a 14500. Maybe not for long on high levels, but they will work. Something like the H10 has 1000 mAh of capacity… well more like 800 to 900 per my tests. They are rated at 10 amp draw (but I don’t think long term, more like a few seconds burst). So you can figure out what it would do if you know the current draw at different levels for the drop-in that you like.
I personally like the 519A emitter. Maybe not huge output, but good tint and high CRI. For this mod, I don’t think you want anything with huge output. The light will be challenged to get rid of heat.
But it really depends on what you need. However, if you could get the unit that you linked to work in the MiniMag, it would be far superior to what you have been using in it so far. Probably as good as anything in the AA/14500 class of lights currently available.
