View Full Version : Defending the Maglite
Roving Rich
31-03-2004, 15:22
(maglites have taken some flack on the worst kit thread)
Well sorry but I like em, i have had them for years and have only killed one when the batteries corroded too badly to get them out.
I have had hundreds of torches and these are amongst the very best.
The switches work, the bulbs last years, you don't have to clean the contacts, you can focus them, they are virtually unbreakable. They don't flicker, and you don't have to beat them to get them to work! The larger ones make a great club for self defence.
In short mine have never let me down - 100% reliable, and set the standard for torches.
OK so things have moved on and LEDs are the way forward, hopefully Mag instruments will take this on board shortly. In the mean time I use a Tikka plus and still have a maglite as backup.
Cheers
Rich
MartiniDave
31-03-2004, 15:31
I'm inclined to agree with Rich, the only problem I've had in about 16 years of using maglites is losing them, either thru carelessness or some sod just borrowing and not returning.
Oh yes, the 6 cell makes a great club!
Dave
I had a few maglites over the years and keep one under my seat on my motorbike so I can undo my locks in the dark, and its a damp home for it but never had any trouble. My & my better half both have a tikka plus and they are great for walking about and reading but this weekend we were woke up by someone walking about at 4.00am in the field we were sleeping in and the tikka was useless for scanning the wood and field, were as my mini maglite was great for having a look (assume it was poachers as I was on private land owned by a friend and heard a dog and a rabbit screaming) :-( !
hear hear , agreed ,top lights,had to fight off an irish terrorist with a 6 cell once ,worked well
larry the spark
31-03-2004, 15:50
Tell us more about the terrorist story Al!
I like 'em too.... dropped a mini in a camp fire for a good few seconds and it came out unscathed. Got a streamlight keymate with 1 led and optics recently though which is a wee gem of a titanium cased mini torch.
...If you'd had a decent torch, youmight have seen him coming... :twisted:
i did , he didnt see me though:wink: , larry it was on the falls road in 93 not far from the beechmount estate
i'm on the maglite's side too have had them for years and all
i have ever had is bulbs blow i have just brought a 3 led torch
that use's weard little batteries that cost a packet but they are good for
50 hours still rather the maglite though
you can get a led converter for the maglite cost more than
the torch from 7days shop dot com
larry the spark
31-03-2004, 16:00
Ahhh, the Falls Rd. Full of drugs, guns and the IRA. A lucky escape there mate!
and it was a goodwill ceasefire :twisted:
Never had a problem with them myself. I have a AA Minimaglite as an EDC. I have cracked recently though and ordered a Surefire G2 Nitrolon. I see what I think after I've had time to play. :)
I've owned maglites since mid 70s and have found them ultra reliable. I don't take them into the field anymore because I like the lighter weight and longer battery time of led lights, and ultra reliability of led bulbs. But I still use mag lights around the house, in my vehicles and on my boat. And a 3 cell maglight with D batteries is handy for defensive purposes as well but sheeple and police/court friendly. :-)
Went caving once in Wales, my headlamp packed up and all I had in my kit was a mini-maglight - suffice to say it saved my skin!! Never had a problem with it.
100% reliable, and set the standard for torches.
Well, I'm going to go into the negative camp as far as Maglites go. OK, I agree with the fact that they set the standard and in their time they were tough and provided excellent light. Problem is, I don't think that there was enough innovation. OK, there was different sizes and then came different colors - but it ended there. For some reason, I think that Mag Industries thought that it had the ultimate torch and stuck with it.
How many times have you dropped the torch and the bulb died?
How many batteries do you go through?
How many switch covers have you lost?
How often do you have to clean the contacts and grease the joints?
Go back 10 - 20 years and I would have agreed that the mighty Mag was a force to be reckoned with ... but now, there are both far better, far cheaper and probably far better and cheaper lights to be found.
Personally, none/never to all of those (except the batteries - not sure how many!)
Only time I've had to renew a bulb was when I crushed it when screwing the front bit back on becaue the bulb was wonky!
Same here, fantastic torches :notworthy - as for batteries I have 3 sets of quadruple life rechargeable AA's for my mag and a alternate these- with this lot I got through 7 weeks solid camping in North Yorkshire last July/ August no problem :super: . Plus, having nearly lost mine once or twice I find using the maglite belt holster + batteries and a small key ring (just the small metal circle on the end of the torch jams it firmly in place whilst still allowing swiftaccess to your torch. However as I am open minded.. :0: I would be interested to here what people have got to say about any new generation torch. Have you got something with better specs, a reasonable price and the same (or lower! :wink: ) battery usage?
Jim.
Great Pebble
31-03-2004, 21:34
Once had a four D stolen, apart from that the only breakage I've had on a Mag is the "spare" bulb in the cap breaking when I used it to hammer in tent pegs...
Roving Rich
01-04-2004, 11:03
Adi Wrote:
How many times have you dropped the torch and the bulb died?
How many batteries do you go through?
How many switch covers have you lost?
How often do you have to clean the contacts and grease the joints?
I think this may have happened once in the 15 years i have used them, and i have dropped em plenty of times and regularly been amazed when they still worked. Then there is the spare bulb in the end cap anyway. Not a common feature with other torches :wink:
The D cells seem to last forever. I don't think your supposed to use rechargeables in maglites :?: . As everything else i own uses AAs, i usually have some spares for the mini.
Never lost a switch cover
Never cleaned or re greased the terminals - Yet - if it ain't broke don't fix it
Only negative point I can find, is a black torch is mighty hard to find in the dark. Oh and they are a bit pricey but then you pay for quality. :wink:
Cheers
Rich
:-D
:-D :-D
I don't think your supposed to use rechargeables in maglites
Any idea why?
Only negative point I can find, is a black torch is mighty hard to find in the dark.
Buy a different colour one then!! :-D
Roving Rich
01-04-2004, 12:17
I guess its the bulb doesn't like the voltage drop off? No idea otherwise, just said so in the instructions with the bulb. Never had any problems though.
Well if I ever manage to break one then I probably will buy another colour :-D
Rich
Of the many I've had/have, the bigger the batteries (and number) the more reliable the torch ... D cells the best, AAA the worse ... at least in my experience.
Well I never read instructions just because..er.. actually no idea, but anyway never had a problem with rechargeable batteries, (though I don't know if it would make much differance) it may be worth noting that I use the high power ones made for digital cameras- lets face it they last bloody ages compared to standard batteries let alone standard rechargeables. :wink:
Jim (Hiking around Beacons mon-wed!).
steven andrews
01-04-2004, 16:48
Like the Guernseyman said....Opalec Newbeam. You won't look back.
it wont damage the bulb at all from what i can think of. i think its just that they only put out 1.2 volts which weont give out as much light mag dont want people thinking this
tenbears10
02-04-2004, 11:46
I love maglites and have only killed one with leaky batteries apart from the odd bulb nothing has been repalced in 10 odd years of use in the others.
However my new Surefire E2E is far smaller and lighter but still brighter than my 2d Mag. Also the batteries won't leak in 10 years.
But the price I hear you say! Yes the torch wasn't cheap but the dollar is as good as it will get now so order from the States direct and it will be a lot less than in the UK and you can get lithium batteries £7 for 12 from 7dayshop.com which is based in Jersey or Gurnsey and no customs to worry about. So only if you try and get batteries from Tescos do they become stupid money each.
Bill