"Nite Ize" LED Upgrade for Mini Maglites

[Shawn Clark]

This is probably nothing new to many of you, but a few months ago I purchased one of the "Nite Ize" LED Upgrade for AA Mini Maglites. I think it was $7-8. I tested it on one of my Maglites.

My goal was to get longer/more reliable bulb & battery life out of a Maglite that I wear in a headband while working on stuff or camping. My guestimate is that I replace one Maglite bulb for every second set of batteries. It is often an inconvenient hassle fumbling around for a spare bulb in the base in low light...if the spare is even there because I sometimes forget to restock it.

Description:
The Nite Ize LED is a simple replacement for the existing Maglite reflector/bulb assembly. It uses three LED's having a typical "glacier blue" color. There is also a base button switch that can replace the standard Maglite base piece. (I haven't installed the button switch as several reviews complained that it fails rapidly.)

My impression so far is highly favorable. I don't know how long the batteries will last...because despite a full week of camping, several other nights of shooting off fireworks, several attic projects, and various other uses I'm still on the same batteries. I would have already burned through a standard Maglite bulb and probably 3 or more sets of batteries by now, so this thing has just about paid for itself.

There are a few downsides: The beam can't be "focused" like the traditional Maglite--however I've always disliked the uneven bright/dark segments from the single Maglite bulb. The triple LED is actually more even. But the lack of focus reduces the effective range you can see with the flashlight.

Unfortunately, the glacier blue color does not seem to work as well with my eyes' dynamic response as do other hues. Things seem to be much less visible in the shadows than with a yellower hue of bulb. This is particularly noticeable when peering into a bush looking for something--the front layer of foliage becomes a more effective mask. The blue is somewhat dazzling.

Another ironic upside to the bluish LED in a Maglite is that a red filter makes it suitable as a star chart flashlight. The red filter allows relatively little light through, and the three LED's make the illumination even. In comparison, the regular Maglite is lousy for star charts because it has either a bright spot when focused that bleaches night vision, or it has shadows when defocused that make the map difficult to read. I use special-purpose, dimmable Starlite dual red LED's for observing anyway, but it is nice to know this new set up would work in a pinch.

Having both the traditional Maglite available and one with the LED upgrade is a nice way to avoid performance compromises.

[tripp]

We did they're website for them... buy their kit. They have all sorts of interesting stuff.

[blueumbrella]

Originally Posted by tripp

We did they're website for them... buy their kit. They have all sorts of interesting stuff.

I have a number of LED flashlights and I recommend you look at the Surefire brand. Of course, this is just one on many very good manufacturers now. They continue to improve the LED and getting a flashlight that puts out 200 lumens is now common. I just purchased a Fenix LED flashlight that uses the Cree MC-E LED, uses AA batteries and puts out 630 lumens.

[Shawn Clark]

Originally Posted by tripp

We did they're website for them... buy their kit. They have all sorts of interesting stuff.

I checked and my headband from ~15+ years ago was also made by them. I've gotten a tremendous amount of use out of that thing, perhaps one of my most utilitarian toys. We call it my "Jean-Luc Picard" headband since with an LED (both black) it has a Picard-as-"Borg" effect. (I still have nearly all my hair though.) Worked great when I led a "forced march" at night with full pack and a thunderstorm brewing.

I also have a bite mouthpiece holder for a Magkite, but it is a different style than what NiteIze sell at present, don't remember who made it.