LED Flashlight upgrades

[Paladin]

With the advent of the "Cree LED" the flashlight world is changing rapidly.

Many folks out there already have MAGLITE flashlights and Surefire G2 or P6 lights. So I thought I would share my knowledge on the somewhat recent upgrades available for these old warhorses.

I own a 4 D-cell MAGLITE. While the MAGLITE may make a great club, its factory brightness and beam quality leave much to be desired.

A while back I purchased an "official" MAGLITE LED upgrade. This LED greatly extends battery life and somewhat increases brightness. The LED color is purplish and the beam quality is still poor.

Recently I purchased a TerraLUX TLE-6EX MiniStar5 LED upgrade for $25+shipping. This upgrade is based on a Cree LED.

It is worlds better than the MAGLITE LED upgrade. The MiniStar5 gives off a white light with good beam quality. It is also very powerful and has an estimated runtime of 20 hours in my 4 D-cell MAGLITE. My MAGLITE now performs like a Surefire light with a slightly narrow beam.

This single upgrade greatly increased the usefulness of my MAGLITE. I couldn't be happier with it.

You can find this upgrade here:
http://www.batteryjunction.com/tle-6k2.html


Surefire has recently offered LED versions of their 6P and G2 lights. These new Surefire lights aren't cheap, but do offer more light with a dramatically longer runtime(11-12x).

http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/max ... attery-led


But there are upgrade Cree LEDs that you can drop into the Surefire 6P or G2 that you already own.

I haven't tried it yet, but this upgrade LED for the 6P/G2 goes for ~$10 with free shipping:

http://dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6090

[AEA]

Thanks! I just ordered one of those upgrades for my 6P! Battery life in the 6P should dramatically increase now!

[Skiprr]

+1 on the LED technology. I recently purchased a Surefire L5 LumaMax, and I believe it's every bit the 100 lumens claimed. This rock-solid little guy is now my go-to. But I'm going to look immediately into that drop-in LED conversion for my P6. Thanks for posting.

[KD5NRH]

Just go to WalMart and get the Rayovac Sportsman Xtreme 3w (3W Luxeon - claims 85 lumens for ~2hrs on 2 AA batteries - don't have another high-output LED light in that range to compare it with, but it's brighter than a friend's light that is advertised at 65 lumens) for $25. There's also a nearly identical Sportsman Xtreme 1W flashlight (1w Luxeon - claims 45 lumens for ~5hrs on 2AA) for $20 and a 1W headlamp (same 45 lumen claim, but on 1AA, don't remember the battery life claim) in the same price range.

It won't replace my upgraded Surefire G2 (P61 "batteryslayer" 120 lumen lamp assembly) for range or pure blinding light, but it's a heck of a lot better for times when I want to use the light for more than a few seconds at a time. Same switch type as the Surefire, too, but the cap has a much tighter fit to its O-ring, so it doesn't get turned on accidentally as easily.

[AEA]

I'll stick with Surefire 6P I already have (and the 10.00 LED Mod for longer battery life with 80 instead of 65 lumens)! Seems like a "no-brainer" to me.

AA Batteries are not as efficient as CR123a's and have much less shelf life. I want mine to work when needed. And I don't need or want more flashlights to fill up my drawers like holsters do!

[buda222]

I just ordered one of these beauties:

Novatac EDC-120p

(Formerly HDS)

Thats Every Day Carry - 120 Lumen - programmable flashlight.

http://www.novatac.com/edc-p.html



Also, It can handle 3.7v rechargeable RCR123a batteries, so I don't have to buy the 20 packs of CR123's anymore!

I can't wait!

[biblefreak]

You would be hard pressed to beat the general utility of any of the Luxeon type lights. The AA Mini Mags with the Luxeon LED's are a pretty darn good deal for the $23 they cost, and the nice thing is, the cheaper brands such as Dorcy are pretty good as well. Usually the difference you see is in the LED bin, or the batch quality. A clean white bright light is a sign of a higher quality bin where as the bluish or sometimes even greenish tint comes from lower quality.

For way more information about flashlights then you ever thought imaginable check out http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/ .

Justin

[AEA]

With the advent of the "Cree LED" the flashlight world is changing rapidly.

But there are upgrade Cree LEDs that you can drop into the Surefire 6P or G2 that you already own.

I haven't tried it yet, but this upgrade LED for the 6P/G2 goes for ~$10 with free shipping:

http://dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6090

I just got mine for my 6P (shipped from Hong Kong) and it is GREAT! Much brighter thant the standard bulb of the 6p and of course will last much longer and use much less battery power! Well worth the 10.00 and the wait.

[Paladin]

Glad you like it AEA!

Mine should arrive any day now <crossfingers>

[JasonH]

A buddy of mine who is a hardcore "light junkie" had me order this one:

http://www.lighthound.com/index.asp?Pag ... rodID=2946

He said it's as good or better than most of the Surefire super high end stuff but a fraction of the cost.

I'm not super knowledgeable on this stuff but I do love this thing.

They company is based out of Pearland, too, so I got it quick.

[Mark G26]

Just received my new G2 LED by surefire. 80 lums with 12 hour life.

Still like the G2 120 lums but only 20 minutes life. That one stays next to the bed next to my little friend.

The LED is also a much whiter light.

[Zero_G]

I just got my TerraLUX TLE-6EX MiniStar5 LED upgrade as noted in the first note of this thread.

I installed it in my 4 D-cell maglight. The TerraLUX light is a one-piece unit as opposed to the maglight that requires the same retainer ring as the bulb to hold it in place. I actually find this a disadvantage to the TerraLUX as I have 2 spare standard bulbs stored in the handle of the maglight as a back-up. Since the bulbs require the retainer ring, I'll have to store it too, and due to its size, it is easy to lose.

As to the light quality, I can't tell any difference visually in the TerraLUX and the Maglight LEDs. They appear the same slightly blue white and don't appear any different in brightness. I haven't tested batter life with either bulb.

Bottom line, I don't see an advantage of he TerraLUX over the Maglight LED units. I'll probably put the Maglight LED back in and carry the TerraLUX in the handle, though it's unlikely that the LED units would fail.

[45ACP]

My wife and I carry a Photon keychain LED lights: http://www.photonlight.com/Photon-Micro ... hlight.htm

We worked on ships for years, and we were never without a light source "just in case".

I was working late one night in an industrial park that was guarded by Rottweilers behind a fence at the other end. They were barking at us as usual, but this time they sounded much closer, and I was afraid they might have gotten through the fence. I shone my little Photon light at them to see if I needed to run, and they yelped and ran away, cowed by my tiny light.

[Paladin]

As to the light quality, I can't tell any difference visually in the TerraLUX and the Maglight LEDs. They appear the same slightly blue white and don't appear any different in brightness.

Have you tried them both outdoors at night?

There was a dramatic contrast for me.

More info here:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/sho ... 679&page=8

Got my MiniStar5 today. Don't have a digital camera to take pictures or any fancy equipment to measure it with, but I got two eyes, a 4-D mag, and a 4-cell MagLED module to compare it against.

First off, with the reflector head and housing removed, you can instantly tell the MiniStar5 is brighter at the emitter than the MagLED when you compare the two next to each other and see the way the light up a dark room. Plus, the MagLED has a blue/purple tint to it, and the MiniStar5 has a much more white sunlight-color to it, it looks just slightly yellow by comparison a first.

When it comes to throw, it lights up the trees that are over 100 yards from my window better than the MagLED did. Plus, you have the bonus of not loosing half your output after 15 min because of heat.

My conclusion, a little pricey, but superior to the MagLED in just about every aspect.

My MagLED(4-cell) starts out around ~60 lumens out the front with fresh batteries. After about 10 minutes, it's output drops down to ~40 lumens.

The terralux drop-in I have is running off 4C cells in a 3D Mag. It's output starts off around ~100 lumens out the front, and only drops to ~90 lumens after 10min. When both lights are first turned on, it does not appear to be a big difference in output. But once they are left on for a little while, the terralux stands out as the brighter light.

[Lumberjack98]

I just ordered the TerraLUX for the 3D Maglite. I'll post my thoughts once I get it.