Maglite for the car glove compartment

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I got mine wet, maybe if dropped under water and zoomed is bad,
We don't have to guess. Duracell rates the light as IPX4. The X instead of a digit in the first place means it's not tested for solid object intrusion, which many lower priced lights aren't. The 4 in the second place is the water resistance rating. 4 is resistant to splashing. 5 is light jetting, 6 is strong jetting, 7 is temporary submersion, and 8 is submersion up to 2 meters. IPX4 is a long way from even temporary submersion. It may be enough for your uses, but similarly priced lights with better performance are rated at IPX7 or IPX8.

otherwise the zoom feature is super
I still disagree with that. Duracell rates your light at 22,500cd. The $20 Astrolux C8 is rated at 102,000cd. Add in a $3 diffuser (similar to the old traffic wand attachments) and you have the flood / lantern capability without giving up the IPX8 rated water proofing. Yes, you'll have to add a $5/$6 rechargeable battery and a $4 charger.

c cells last a long time and are cheap.
Yes and no. A typical alkaline c cell has an 8,000 mAh capacity. That's 8 amp hours x 1.5 volts = 12 watt hours. A good 18650 battery is 3,500 mAh and 3.7 volts. That's 3.5 amp hours x 3.7 volts = 12.95 watt hours. BUT, because lithium cells can maintain high current discharge throughout their voltage range, they can maintain high total output. Alkaline can't do that. So, those $6 a piece 18650 batteries and their $4-$10 charger become more economical after only a few uses.

Then there's the battery chemistry issue, or why flashlight nerds call alkalines "alkaleaks". Alkalines use a wetter chemistry than NiMH or the various lithium chemistries. The potassium hydroxide electrolyte in alkalines is also caustic, which further compounds their tendency to leak.

In other words, be very careful storing a flashlight with alkalines in your car, especially in warmer months.

While the new LED Maglights are better than ever , they don't perform like that Cheap Duracell 1000 IMHO.
In the context of a light that can also function as an improvised club, then these Duracells may indeed be a good value. Purely as a flashlight, I'm not sure.

Very happy with mine
And that's what's important.
 
hammer = code word for blunt instrument weapon. Guess I should have just said that.
No, I have no doubt that everyone who read that fully understood the reference.

Upon reading his comment, I assumed that hso was simply choosing to be obtuse for some unknown (to me) reason. Perhaps you in some way annoyed him? ...after all, Mods are human, too. :)
 
I got mine wet, maybe if dropped under water and zoomed is bad,
We don't have to guess. Duracell rates the light as IPX4. The X instead of a digit in the first place means it's not tested for solid object intrusion, which many lower priced lights aren't. The 4 in the second place is the water resistance rating. 4 is resistant to splashing. 5 is light jetting, 6 is strong jetting, 7 is temporary submersion, and 8 is submersion up to 2 meters. IPX4 is a long way from even temporary submersion. It may be enough for your uses, but similarly priced lights with better performance are rated at IPX7 or IPX8.

otherwise the zoom feature is super
I still disagree with that. Duracell rates your light at 22,500cd. The $20 Astrolux C8 is rated at 102,000cd. Add in a $3 diffuser (similar to the old traffic wand attachments) and you have the flood / lantern capability without giving up the IPX8 rated water proofing. Yes, you'll have to add a $5/$6 rechargeable battery and a $4 charger.

c cells last a long time and are cheap.
Yes and no. A typical alkaline c cell has an 8,000 mAh capacity. That's 8 amp hours x 1.5 volts = 12 watt hours. A good 18650 battery is 3,500 mAh and 3.7 volts. That's 3.5 amp hours x 3.7 volts = 12.95 watt hours. BUT, because lithium cells can maintain high current discharge throughout their voltage range, they can maintain high total output. Alkaline can't do that. So, those $6 a piece 18650 batteries and their $4-$10 charger become more economical after only a few uses.

Then there's the battery chemistry issue, or why flashlight nerds call alkalines "alkaleaks". Alkalines use a wetter chemistry than NiMH or the various lithium chemistries. The potassium hydroxide electrolyte in alkalines is also caustic, which further compounds their tendency to leak.

In other words, be very careful storing a flashlight with alkalines in your car, especially in warmer months.

While the new LED Maglights are better than ever , they don't perform like that Cheap Duracell 1000 IMHO.
In the context of a light that can also function as an improvised club, then these Duracells may indeed be a good value. Purely as a flashlight, I'm not sure.


And that's what's important.
Excellent information thank you. I really had not considered the club aspect. :) I have Stream light small rechargable s everywhere. I have a couple hi luminen 650 rechargables one bedsides, and cartons of 123 lithium batteries for all the taclights on weapons and with outdoor gear. I still think the dura cell 1000 is a great cheap light compared to what I had in years before . The old d cell maglight bodies make good suppressor tubes tho :)
 
Excellent information thank you. I really had not considered the club aspect. :) I have Stream light small rechargable s everywhere. I have a couple hi luminen 650 rechargables one bedsides, and cartons of 123 lithium batteries for all the taclights on weapons and with outdoor gear. I still think the dura cell 1000 is a great cheap light compared to what I had in years before . The old d cell maglight bodies make good suppressor tubes tho :)
Well if you have cartons of CR123's that's awesome. Those are better than rechargeable batteries in the cold, and some of the best batteries available for cold weather use. That's an interesting use for the Mag Lite body tubes that I never would have come up with.
 
Well if you have cartons of CR123's that's awesome. Those are better than rechargeable batteries in the cold, and some of the best batteries available for cold weather use. That's an interesting use for the Mag Lite body tubes that I never would have come up with.
yep , I used to be a training junkie, and before LEDs the weapon lights and Surefires flashlights would eat them like candy ! I really like the USB rechargable Streamlights ; they are small and handy , amazingly bright for size and fairly priced.. Also the newer scopes with illum. and RMRs all use disc batteries which are getting pretty darn good.
The Mag lights are very well machined with nice knurling and the grade of Aluminum is strong and the anodizing hard. The tube thickness is a little greater than most non machined tubing soooo. and there are sources for baffles and end caps for them . Legal to make if registered properly in advance .
 
Already posted on this thread but got to thinking... I work on the water these days (actually for some years now...) and rarely ever need a flashlight. What I find myself using instead, are either headlights (my latest is a Petzl..) or small led lights with magnetic bases. I simply need both my hands free whenever I also need a light so I've given up the very useful impact weapon that a heavy flashlight provides for the ability to be hands free... Not a bad trade-off.
 
If you keep a Maglight stored for contingency use Keep it head up. If the batts leak there is a lower risk for the "stuff" to migrate to the switch.

Just noticed something yesterday while cleaning the insides of my big D cell lights. The 80's vintage 5D is the same length as the current 6D.

Leaking Batt stuck in the tube? Get a long enough lag bolt to reach the batt. Drill a pilot hole in the batt. Screw the lag bolt into the batt. Clamp the head in a vise or clamp it to something sturdy. Pull hard on the tube. If the next batt is stuck clean as much of the goo out as you can and repeat.
 
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I up graded my older MAG Lites with Led Bulbs!

That should save yourself a decent amount of money. I recently noticed that the prices of the 168 lumen LED 3 D Cell Maglites have been bumped up to about 10 dollars. I hope the prices don't surpass $30. I dont think a price range of 35 to 40 would be proportional to the quality on the flashlight. I purchased the 168 lumen LED 3 D Cell Maglite for only 20 dollars on Amazon about 6 months ago.
 
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T
I put a Nebo Big Larry light in each of the vehicles. Painfully bright LED, red flash function, and a magnetic base. Not a weapon, it's a light.

https://www.nebotools.com/prod_details.php?id=363
Yes sir!
Big Larry's in my trucks, tractors, boat, and two in the shop.
They're the best. One of the shop Larrys got dropped in the drain pan full of used motor oil....still works fine,
 
T

Yes sir!
Big Larry's in my trucks, tractors, boat, and two in the shop.
They're the best. One of the shop Larrys got dropped in the drain pan full of used motor oil....still works fine,
Thanks, AF; now I know what my new truck light is going to be! Walmart sells a copy of it, but I didn't know NEBO made one.
 
That should save yourself a decent amount of money. I recently noticed that the prices of the 168 lumen LED 3 D Cell Maglites have been bumped up to about 10 dollars. I hope the prices don't surpass $30. I dont think a price range of 35 to 40 would be proportional to the quality on the flashlight. I purchased the 168 lumen LED 3 D Cell Maglite for only 20 dollars on Amazon about 6 months ago.

I got a new LED 3 Cell For 18 buck's on Clearance at Tractor Supply Company!
 
I've been carrying this light for well over a year now and it has functioned flawlessly (as long as the single AA barely is good:

https://www.amazon.com/ThorFire-Fla...ords=thorfire&qid=1552009996&s=gateway&sr=8-3

I also have this light by the back door and it will light up my back yard out to over 250 feet to a tree line:

https://www.amazon.com/Thorfire-Fla...ords=thorfire&qid=1552009996&s=gateway&sr=8-4

Now, I've used these Thorfire lights for over a year and they have been flawless. Great deal for the price. I keep a much more expensive Streamlight on my nightstand, and wife has a Surefire in hers, but as a second or third light in the house, in vehicles, etc., these Thorfire lights are cheap and excellent.
 
I wish I could find mine. I haven’t seen it since we moved in 2006. My wife had one too. Hers wasn’t black so maybe it will be easier to find. I’m sure they are ruined from battery leakage by now.
 
If they are indeed damaged from battery goo, or you can't get the batteries out because of same, ship them to Maglite with the batteries in them. They have coop deals with certain battery makers, if yours has ones that they deal with, they will replace it for free.

Did for me.
 
If they are indeed damaged from battery goo, or you can't get the batteries out because of same, ship them to Maglite with the batteries in them. They have coop deals with certain battery makers, if yours has ones that they deal with, they will replace it for free.

Did for me.

They did for me too (only needed a few small parts) about 6-7 yrs ago however, sadly, not any longer.

https://maglite.com/support/faq
 
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