Just my take on it from selling them in the hardware store. Personally I wouldn't bother. As I said I sold them and we got around a 60% return rate for varying reasons. I think the return rate was so bad the owners told buying not to restock them.
Maglite conversion kits?
- Thread starter Alreetmiowdmuka
- Start date
The Terralux drop ins are pretty good though it's true you can buy complete torches that are higher output for less. I love d-cell maglites probably because it was my first proper torch so if any of you want rid let me know.
I even light my shed with a 3 d-cell with the traffic wand attachment.
I even light my shed with a 3 d-cell with the traffic wand attachment.
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I upgraded my AA and 2 + 3 cell maglites a couple of years ago with LED conversions. Afraid I cant remember the name for the larger torches - think it was the Terralux conversion, but I'm well satisfied. I used the Niteize II conversion for the AA which is much better than the original kit.
Fully appreciate that there are better torches out there now, but I like my maglites and they suit my needs.
Fully appreciate that there are better torches out there now, but I like my maglites and they suit my needs.
Another voite for the terralux, i had a niteize led replacement, but it was low power and not very good build quaity, they may have improved design. I do use the niteize accessories, i have loads of stuff for maglite, bulbs, holders, headbands, lenses, pouches, thats why i keep with a maglite, and they fit the vertical holders on a response pack nicely. and if the casing gets damaged or worn, cheap to replace.
Yeah the nite-ize IQ Switch in conjunction with a terralux conversion works well IMO, I have a number of the Nite-Ize accessories as well. I have one of the bigger maglites, but haven't had a chance/time/money to do something funky with it. I will get around to it at some stage though.
IQ switch is the best accessory, the normal maglite twist on kept on going on and wasting battery. The IQ has a good positive switch, the modes are good, the red led is handy to find torch in dark when its off. I use the strobe mode combined with the glow wand as a safety marker.
Totally agree on that. It maybe worth pointing out though that when battery power drops you start to lose modes, in the past people have thought this was a faulty switch (one of the guys I work with was gonna bin it due to this).
There are some absolutely fantastic mods for the larger maglite models, on the smaller versions though i honestly wouldn't bother.
The upgrades themselves aren't often bad, but the artefacts from the beam after are terrible.
I've tried several maglite upgrade and to be honest they're simply not worth it.
Keep your maglites as back up's around the house, if you want or need a better quality light then buy one, it's just not worth the time, effort or money upgrading them though.
The upgrades themselves aren't often bad, but the artefacts from the beam after are terrible.
I've tried several maglite upgrade and to be honest they're simply not worth it.
Keep your maglites as back up's around the house, if you want or need a better quality light then buy one, it's just not worth the time, effort or money upgrading them though.
£12 for a drop in bulb from eBay? Not much money. No effort and gives you a torch worth using.
Your money your choice, all i can do is give my opinion based upon my experiences.
My experiences are that even if the drop in's are free of charge they give a terrible beam pattern that is full of artefacts.
The mini maglites are not good torches to start off with, throwing more money at them doesn't change that, you just end up with a brighter poor quality torch with an even worse beam.
Something like a LD01 can be had for a couple of pints of beer more than one of these drop in's, it's a far better quality beam, better quality light, brighter, smaller and lighter in weight.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fenix-LD0...ing_LightsLanternsTorches&hash=item461ec09075
As i say, i have several maglites with many different upgrades, in my opinion they are not worth throwing any more money at.
Beam pattern full of artifacts? I only want to light something up, why do I care about artifacts?
I went with niteyze conversion -made a mess of it torch doesn't work reliably now- more trouble than its worth imho
If you "only want to light something up" why would you waste money on a upgrade it in the first place?
To answer your question though:
Artefacts are dark circles within the beam of the torch.
This matters because if the thing you are trying to light up is in a dark section then the torch is not doing it's job, the "upgraded" maglite has EXTENSIVE artefacts.
If you have no choice you can "work around" these artefacts, but as you can buy better torches for the same money as the "upgrade" (or very little more in the case of the LD01) why waste your money on something not as good.
If you "only want to light something up" why would you waste money on a upgrade it in the first place?
To answer your question though:
Artefacts are dark circles within the beam of the torch.
This matters because if the thing you are trying to light up is in a dark section then the torch is not doing it's job, the "upgraded" maglite has EXTENSIVE artefacts.
If you have no choice you can "work around" these artefacts, but as you can buy better torches for the same money as the "upgrade" (or very little more in the case of the LD01) why waste your money on something not as good.
Mine doesn't appear to have any issues. Or perhaps I'm just not a lumophile.
Here's the maglite upgrade at 200 lumens. Marks are from a scratched lens as far as I can tell. Focusing gives different beam patterns. Are the rings you refer to the artifacts? Either way it's a way better torch than it was before the upgrade.
Here's my olight paladin at 450 lumens.
Here's my olight paladin at 450 lumens.
Nice beam shots
As the op asked about a kit for the mini mag i was talking specifically for the mini mag kits though.
Thanks for the info everyone.the general feel is its possible too upgrade too a decent standard but at a similar price too a brand new torch.i suppose it's down too whether I love the maglite enough!
Depends on what size Maglite you have/want. A minimag (even the newer LED ones) is less than $12 (about 8 quid more or less) here. A full sized 2 cell is only about $18 ($12 quid) and a 3 cell about $24 (16 quid) Kinda makes a conversion a non-starter.
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