raggededge
New member
I'm hesitant to even write this because it will undoubtedly have some people asking what the purpose of a gun light is to begin with, so please leave that for the numerous threads dedicated to that question.
I picked up one of the new LED MagLites tonight to see how much better it would be than my home-concocted gun light with 'NiteIze' 3 LED head. The current light is the barrel from a 2 AA Mag knock-off with a "custom" end cap.
Without going too far into detail, it's been modified to accept a switch on coiled wire instead of the style in the head that requires that you turn it. I had the switch itself on the end of the fore arm where my thumb could easily reach it.
Immediately out of the box I was impressed with how bright and crisp the pattern was, though it somewhat lacks in the area of focus. Comparing the two lights, the new LED Mag was easily twice as bright, both using brand new batteries of the same brand. No, it's not in the same league as some of these higher end flashlights like the Surefires, but I can't complain at all for the price ($26@Sears).
I went and bought a MagLite endcap switch for it (again by NiteIze) but was somewhat surprised to learn that the LED Mag's endcap is longer and prevented the NiteIze cap spring from making contact. A couple minutes scavenging around in my junk drawer yielded a temporary yet effective solution: the "button" from a 9v battery connector. Used as a shim between the spring and the battery, the endcap is perfectly functional. What's more is that with the use of the cheap ATI clamp, the button is put in near perfect position to hit with my left thumb when the flashlight is mounted at 11 o'clock in relation to the mag tube.
More importantly to most, though, the flashlight looks to be a solid, bright piece to have in the event of an emergency. I'm going to pick up another one or two for the cars, and this good experience convinces me to try the LED conversion for at least one of my 3 D cell Mags. At $20 a pop I originally scoffed at the idea, but if the difference is as apparent as with the AA lights it will be well worth it.
-Tony
I picked up one of the new LED MagLites tonight to see how much better it would be than my home-concocted gun light with 'NiteIze' 3 LED head. The current light is the barrel from a 2 AA Mag knock-off with a "custom" end cap.
Without going too far into detail, it's been modified to accept a switch on coiled wire instead of the style in the head that requires that you turn it. I had the switch itself on the end of the fore arm where my thumb could easily reach it.Immediately out of the box I was impressed with how bright and crisp the pattern was, though it somewhat lacks in the area of focus. Comparing the two lights, the new LED Mag was easily twice as bright, both using brand new batteries of the same brand. No, it's not in the same league as some of these higher end flashlights like the Surefires, but I can't complain at all for the price ($26@Sears).
I went and bought a MagLite endcap switch for it (again by NiteIze) but was somewhat surprised to learn that the LED Mag's endcap is longer and prevented the NiteIze cap spring from making contact. A couple minutes scavenging around in my junk drawer yielded a temporary yet effective solution: the "button" from a 9v battery connector. Used as a shim between the spring and the battery, the endcap is perfectly functional. What's more is that with the use of the cheap ATI clamp, the button is put in near perfect position to hit with my left thumb when the flashlight is mounted at 11 o'clock in relation to the mag tube.
More importantly to most, though, the flashlight looks to be a solid, bright piece to have in the event of an emergency. I'm going to pick up another one or two for the cars, and this good experience convinces me to try the LED conversion for at least one of my 3 D cell Mags. At $20 a pop I originally scoffed at the idea, but if the difference is as apparent as with the AA lights it will be well worth it.
-Tony
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