Is this LED flashlight upgrade worth the $20?

[her209]

link

I bought the flashlight from Costco and was thinking about getting the LED upgrade, but does it really make a difference? Is it worth the $20?

 

[fire400]

dude just get it. all the reviews have 5 stars.

besides, 20 bucks ain't gonna kill you.

nike, just do it

 

[Rike]

What kind of difference are you looking for? Brighter light or long battery life ? Maybe both?

If you use it a lot, the saving on batteries will probably pay for itself with in a year. The LEDs are most likely much brighter than the standard bulb.

 

[her209]

Originally posted by: Rike
What kind of difference are you looking for? Brighter light or long battery life ? Maybe both?

If you use it a lot, the saving on batteries will probably pay for itself with in a year. The LEDs are most likely much brighter than the standard bulb.

I am more concerned with the brightness.

 

[DaWhim]

I wouldn't. The Fenix P1D CE on the keychain will own your upgraded light

 

[her209]

Originally posted by: fire400
dude just get it. all the reviews have 5 stars.

besides, 20 bucks ain't gonna kill you.

nike, just do it

Well, I could buy another flashlight for $20 from Costco.

 

[adairusmc]

You could always save the 20 bucks and get a real flashlight - a surefire.

A surefire 6p will be about the same size as a mini-mag light, but will put out more light than a 4 D-Cell maglight.

 

[Rubycon]

142 lumens for under 15 American dollars


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I fixed your link.
AnandTech "Linky" Moderator Evadman

 

[Evadman]

I got the LED upgrade for my 2 cell AA maglights. HUGE night and day difference. Seriously, the 2AA maglight put out way more light than my 4 and 6 cell D maglights. I have not tried this upgrade though.

 

[OS]

i've seen socal walmarts selling the entire mag LED 2D flashlight for $25.

 

[her209]

Originally posted by: OS
i've seen socal walmarts selling the entire mag LED 2D flashlight for $25.

Hmm... I'll have to check out Walmart.

 

[mchammer]

I have the 3D version, it totally PWNS the regular bulb.

 

[Evadman]

Originally posted by: her209

Originally posted by: OS
i've seen socal walmarts selling the entire mag LED 2D flashlight for $25.

Hmm... I'll have to check out Walmart.

That's what a 6 Cell costs. Not only do you have a flashlight, but a heavy club.

 

[FreshPrince]

for $20, you can buy 4 of these from microcenter ftw!

 

[her209]

Just came back from Walmart. Decided to spring for the LED upgrade. The beam is marginally better, but I wouldn't say its worth the $20.

 

[HombrePequeno]

Under the section "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" there is a link to Black Snake Moan. That struck me as odd that there are links for Mag Lite accessories and then Black Snake Moan...

 

[0roo0roo]

its "ok" for a light at that price i guess if you feel like salvaging a maglite.
its not really great or cutting edge, mag has been behind the times on led. they took their sweet time with the led lights and then the upgrade module didn't have sufficient cooling so it doesn't run very bright. its main advantage is increased run time. its using old luxeon tech so its efficiency/brightness doesn't compare to newer cree/seoul based lights.

candlepowerforums and flashlightreviews.com have info you want.

for 20 its not that bad, but i guess it might be money better put towards a better light. 20 bucks gets you a decent 2aa or 1aa 1watt luxeon these days and thats a whole flashlight and not just a bulb oh the watt rating of mags is a bit questionable, its the max, not what it runs at. if you care about brightness you'll want to check out those sites and find a light using more current tech

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
142 lumens for under 15 American dollars


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I fixed your link.
AnandTech "Linky" Moderator Evadman

ah there u go..

 

[b0mbrman]

Originally posted by: adairusmc
You could always save the 20 bucks and get a real flashlight - a surefire.

A surefire 6p will be about the same size as a mini-mag light, but will put out more light than a 4 D-Cell maglight.

Yes. If I were spending $20 to upgrade to LED, I'd just go for a xenon

 

[imported_Imp]

Not really. I thought about getting a Maglite and LED upgrade kit last year, but that turned a $15 flashlight into a $45 purchase, which was the same price as some high quality headlamps. Thus, I sprung for the headlamp, which is also way easier to carry and smaller. ~Just get a new flashlight.

 

[fire400]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
142 lumens for under 15 American dollars


sweet. marked. i'll try this if I ever have 15 bucks to throw into another flashlight.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
142 lumens for under 15 American dollars


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I fixed your link.
AnandTech "Linky" Moderator Evadman

I would take any output claims with a grain of salt unless they come from an independent source, but for that price I'll give it a shot.

Originally posted by: adairusmc
You could always save the 20 bucks and get a real flashlight - a surefire.

A surefire 6p will be about the same size as a mini-mag light, but will put out more light than a 4 D-Cell maglight.

Surefire makes good, solid flashlights, but you pay a premium for the brand name. For the $60 you'd spend on a 6P you could get 4 Brinkman Maxfire LXs, which in my opinion is one of the best value lights out there. It is not metal like the 6P, so it is more comparable to a G2 - in fact it is nearly an exact replica of the G2. But it still costs less than half of what you'd pay for a G2. It's just as bright as a SureFire P60 lamp assembly. Not as bright as a P61, but that's mostly useful in a flashlight dick-waving contest.

I have 3 or 4 Maxfire LXs... great little lights. Not expensive enough for the uppity flash-o-holic, but good enough for the common man.

 

[0roo0roo]

yea 142 lumens is probably bs. the battery just couldn't pull it off
but a cree emitter depending on type is still good. but its not magic. candlepowerforums is a better place to ask

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
yea 142 lumens is probably bs. the battery just couldn't pull it off
but a cree emitter depending on type is still good. but its not magic. candlepowerforums is a better place to ask

I have a P1D-CE that's claimed to belt out 135 lumens. Integrating sphere tests from an independent laboratory reveal an average of 105 lumens. Nothing to sneeze at.

The clone is probably good for 100 lumens off a 3.6V R123 and a good 75+ on standard primary 123. That's still a whole lot of light out of a TINY package. At the price it's a steal. Really embarrasses the ARC LSH-P (~23 lumens) that cost $160 in 2003! :Q

 

[Dessert Tears]

Originally posted by: mugs
Not as bright as a P61, but that's mostly useful in a flashlight dick-waving contest.

Well put. The P61 is much too bright for everyday use. I'm partial to the A2 Aviator myself.

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Really embarrasses the ARC LSH-P (~23 lumens) that cost $160 in 2003!

Was it that much? I don't remember the exact dates, specs, and prices, but I have 2 T-flux Lux-III sandwiches (MadMax+ and BadBoy 750) from 2003. The FireFly 2 body is a compact package, but it has sub-optimal optics and wasn't available until later.