Maglite LED conversion!

[RAPPLEBY2000]

i had a little birthday money left over so i thought i'd treat myself and upgrade my trusty AA minimaglite.

i used mine for years for everything over the last 10-15 years, only recently i have switched to a LED headlight, which i can't fault, sadly my maglite then had no job and has sat in the back of my cupboard for about 4 years :sadwavey:

reasons are this:
my LED headlight
runs 120 hours on 1 set of batteries

my standard bulb Maglite
runs 6 hours on 1 set of batteries(even less on re-chargables) i remeber haveing to change batteries twice on one night nav excersise!


well the LED conversion set says it triples battery life the bulb lasts ages and it's damn bright!

the kit consists of:

1 replacement LED(group of 3) bulb.
1 replacement end cap(battery cap) which incorperates a handy switch!

well i purposely left my torch on overnight with standard re-chargeable batteries and it was still bright enough for map/book reading and path negotiation in the morning.


only £9.99 made by Nite-Ize

i noticed they are bringing out an "IQ" switch to add strobe effects and optional brightness to the LED conversion kit, i shall look out for it!

i hope it's a good buy, it seems fine, and it means my tiny maglite is useful again and is good for a overnight bag or hike.

 

[British Red]

rap'

They are a quality bit of kit...I didn't get on with the switch (cos shoving the torch back in its pouch kept switching it on - it should be a recessed press switch like on a Surefire IMHO). Try lobbing a couple of lithium AAs in it. I did for a "run test". 5 days and nights later, I got bored and gave up!!

Red

 

[grumit]

british red try turning the head to the off setting like a normal mag that solved the switch problem for me .
i have had the led set up in my mags a while now they work realy well

 

[Mantic]

british red try turning the head to the off setting like a normal mag that solved the switch problem for me .
i have had the led set up in my mags a while now they work realy well

Yep, good point - British Red should read the instructions (joke!).

I got my kit in the States for about $8 (much cheaper than yours if you discount the flights over there.....).

The lens cap still fits on the base so you can use it as a lantern, too.

 

[Ryan Woods]

Gentlemen,

Do you know of any conversion kits out there (sold in the UK/Netherlands) for the Solitaire?

 

[British Red]

british red try turning the head to the off setting like a normal mag that solved the switch problem for me .
i have had the led set up in my mags a while now they work realy well

grumit

I did mate.

Then I thought....why do I now have to unscrew the head AND click a tailcap to turn my torch on?

So I kept the LED upgrade in place of the incandescent bulb and just went back to the ordinary tailcap. To be honest, I really dont need a pressure tailcap out in the woods and I'd rather have the certainty that my torch isn't running its batteries down un-noticed. Still delighted with the LED set up though

Red.

 

[British Red]

Ryan,

Unfortunately not, no. Mag are starting to produce their own LED torches now so hopefully there will be one soon. In the mean time, the "Jamies" on BB suggested an Arc AAA to me. Same size, well made and LED apparently. Haven't summoned up the £25 yet though!

Red

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

So I kept the LED upgrade in place of the incandescent bulb and just went back to the ordinary tailcap.

i'd not thought of that.
it solves my problem of how to fix a cord to it!
i quite like the switch, it's sort of gagety (how sad am i?) but as you say do you really need it!

my sister bought me the Nite-Ize Maglite "friend" and "bite holder thing" (never used cause i didn't use my Maglite) both of are compatable with the LED conversion.

my maglite fits in my bushcraft tool pouch before i always reluctantly carried my headtorch due to it's size, i am now looking forward to using my maglite again with it's new lease of life (boy do i sound sad today! )

has anyone used the IQ switch?

 

[nzgunnie]

I've got a terralux tle-5 in my mini mag, which is a really good piece of kit since it is semi regulated, and brighter than a nite-ize.

I also have a Arc-AAA. It is a really top quality light, I have it on my keyring and use it often. The HA3 anodise is really hard wearing too, even though I've had it about 6 months and carry it every day with my keys it has no scratches at all. I even dropped it onto the concrete and it didn't scratch.

 

[Great Pebble]

I find the switch a tad dodgy, as in doesn't always seem to work quite right.

Still have it on mind you, 'cos it looks swish in work, but if I was going to be relying on the light for any length of time I'd be inclined to stick with the standard end cap.

 

[risby]

only £9.99 made by Nite-Ize

Where did you get the kit? The Nite-Ize website only has US suppliers it seems.

 

[PhilParry]

Where did you get the kit? The Nite-Ize website only has US suppliers it seems.

How about this link? I'm going to do mine too - what a great idea! :You_Rock_

http://www.fieldandtrek.com/cid/FUT...LED-Upgrade-Kit-for-AA-Mini-Maglite-24244.htm

Cheers

Phil

 

[British Red]

Where did you get the kit? The Nite-Ize website only has US suppliers it seems.

B&Q sell the conversion kits in their larger stores risby

 

[hilltop]

read your post, had to go to b+q for something earlier today so i bought one, no end cap/switch tho just the LED head ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,WOW FANTASTIC ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, nice one, great tip,

 

[British Red]

Sorry, Should have put that...yes its just the LED conversion unit - glad you liked it though!

Red

 

[Rebel]

As already mentioned B&Q sell the NitIze LED upgrade for a tenner. This makes your ten quid Maglite (or as much a fifteen at some stores) into a twenty quid torch. You can also order the drop-in from the States for about half the price.

The vastly superior Terralux drop-in can be found on eBay.co.uk, or here:
http://www.led-replacement.com/2aa_mini-mag.html
at a much lower price.

However with torches such as this http://www.lighthound.com/sales/fenix_l1p.htm now available it hardly seems worth upgrading them any more.

 

[innocent bystander]

Just got one of these for me 3D mag :

http://www.coldspark.co.uk/storefro...ail.aspx?sid=1&sfid=87786&c=623597&i=47874876

Hoping that'll transform it to something useful...

 

[Dougster]

I bought the LED converter kit for my AA to years ago and use it everynight to walk the dog 3 miles around dark fields, my second set of batteries are still going strong and it's brighter than before. Great bit of kit, superb reliable backup.

 

[troyka]

anyone tried the 4 led versions?
i stopped using my maglite due to its poor performance, so interested to see this discussion.

the 4 led version here..
http://tinyurl.com/lyk4w

ian

 

[maddave]

I got this conversion kit for mine and it's fantastic

http://www.luxeonstar.com/item.php?id=674&link_str=&link_catg=&partno=TLE5

Data sheet pdf here

http://www.luxeonstar.com/tle5.pdf