Is Streamlight Jr better than MiniMaglite?
- Thread starter letschat7
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Are you saying a minimag can't be "converted" to rechargeable? I have a couple of them that would disagree with you😁
But I've never seen the jr
But I've never seen the jr
Streamlight got sued for having the bezel stamped on their Excalibre 2D Maglite knockoff.
It was Brinkmann that cloned the Minimag, stamped bezel and all.
The Streamlight Jr wasn't as popular as the minimag because it wasn't as durable.
It was Brinkmann that cloned the Minimag, stamped bezel and all.
The Streamlight Jr wasn't as popular as the minimag because it wasn't as durable.
The Streamlight Jr. originally wasn't the "Streamlight Jr." It was the "Mini-Mitelite" and had circumfrential stamping around the bezel, as well as a rounded head that looked just like the Mini-Mag. If the Brinkmann was a 99% clone the Mitelite was 95%. The Excalibre thing is the one that always gets mentioned but I'd be shocked if the Mitelite wasn't part of the suit.
A lot of companies did Minimag type lights back then. A chain store called A&N did a pretty good one with a clicky tailcap.
I don't have that but I can definitely show you a picture of a mini mag with some eneloops in it. They work great. I'm not particularly concerned whether mag says I can use rechargeable cells or not. They work better in every way than with alkalines. Alkalines give higher output for less than 30 seconds. Then eneloops are brighter for the entire runtime
IIRC the Brinkmann had a clicky as well with a lockout feature. I preferred it to the Mag.
I liked the candling option, but the work I was doing at the time required a third hand (what job doesn't) to twist the head on and off.
The Brinkmann Legend had the clicky. The minimag clone was like @ABTOMAT said, 99% minmag. The parts (except for the switch) are interchangeable.
Don Keller said he wanted Tony Maglica to use a clicky on the minimag when he worked for Tony. So when he was hired by Brinkmann to build flashligts he put a clicky with a twisting lockout feature on the AA Legend.
The tailcap differs between the two also
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I gotta say the Mini-Mag is a better. The Jr. has a bigger bulb--I don't know if I'd call it better, and the bulb holder pill is junky and inconvenient compared to the Mini-Mag. The reflector and lens also aren't replaceable in the Streamlight. Lower quality machining. As far as rechargeables, you can convert a Mini-Mag the same way you do an SL Jr. The tailcap was compatible until the newer LED models as far as I know.
Here's an old Mini-Mag next to a Streamlight Mitelite and a Jr. You can see they stripped off the Mag-like design elements, but the tailcaps have the same threading across all three.
He definitely had the clicky bug. Don't forget his Sigmalite had one too. The verison without the rubber sleeve would have been my AA light of choice in the '80s--clicky tailcap and a head that holds focus better than the Mini-Mag. Wonder how Mag would have fared if they offered a model with a switch.
I don't know, but they would have sold a lot more of them to me than what I bought.
Lowglow
Newly Enlightened
Tbe Streamlight was available in the UK (I have one) but the bulbs not. I remember one owner being frustrated with lack of bulbs he smashed his one up with a hammer. Having replacement bulbs available is vital.
I still have mine but the non-replaceable lens meant it gave a bad beam in the end. I replaced it with a glass one for a MiniMag but needed to bond it into place. The bulbs are vacuum so alkaline batteries soot them up fast. NiMh is a touch lower Voltage so no sooting.
Compared to a MiniMag? Build quality of the Jr to me feels better. The switch is better too, but the Mag has it beat on being able to be broken down to replace parts. Beam is a bit better on the Jr but a little yellower.
I still have mine but the non-replaceable lens meant it gave a bad beam in the end. I replaced it with a glass one for a MiniMag but needed to bond it into place. The bulbs are vacuum so alkaline batteries soot them up fast. NiMh is a touch lower Voltage so no sooting.
Compared to a MiniMag? Build quality of the Jr to me feels better. The switch is better too, but the Mag has it beat on being able to be broken down to replace parts. Beam is a bit better on the Jr but a little yellower.
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knucklegary
Flashlight Enthusiast
That's a one year only mm @ABTOMAT has in his collection ('84 with roll-stamped lettering)
I had a couple that year, purchased to fit into intake ports while cleaning up castings with a die grinder. Mini head kept getting kissed by stones. Flashlights weren't purdy by the time finished porting, thou got the job done
I had a couple that year, purchased to fit into intake ports while cleaning up castings with a die grinder. Mini head kept getting kissed by stones. Flashlights weren't purdy by the time finished porting, thou got the job done
They must have made an absolute mountain of them, since something like 1/3 of the used Mini Mags I see are the rollmarked models. If I really collected Mini Mags I'd be annoyed since there are a lot of other styles I'd want instead.
knucklegary
Flashlight Enthusiast
I don't collect either, what other styles?
I'm not an expert, but after the rollmarked ones there are a couple varieties of laser-engraved lights without panthers, then several styles of panther-logo lights through the 1990s to the present. All the stuff from the mid '80s into the mid '90s seems to appear less out in the wild, even though they must have made tens of millions of them.
I've seen rollmarked lights in different package designes, so I'm also not convinced they only sold them in 1984.
