Maglite came out with a new tactical light

[Chicken Drumstick]

Newer emitter makes sense the beam would be better, however it's just not enough for me to like this light.
It's rare enough to see maglites on the shelves at local stores, so the likelihood of this even being even an impulse buy is nearly zero.

Products aside, I don't understand Maglites business model.

Here in the UK it is now almost impossible to buy Maglites. Whereas years back they would have been the most common and easiest torch to buy, sold by many retailers. Today there are only a very tiny handful of mostly online shops that stock a very limited range and hugely inflated prices. And often past variants and models.

I did try buying something as simple as a AAA LED Mini Mag last year. It turned out to be significantly cheaper to buy from the USA and ship to the UK, including a duty charge. The shipping cost was horrendous, but it was still 25%-30% cheaper than buying one in the UK.

I wish the company well. But if you make it near impossible or just plain difficult to buy the products, then I struggle to see how bright the future can be for the brand, unless the USA market alone can sustain it. However, when I was in the States last (Florida 2016), I found it really hard to find Maglites on the shelf in all the places I tried such as home Depot, Lowes, Walmart etc.

 

[Monocrom]

I

After I read the above quote, it occurred to me that nobody here raised an eyebrow to the fact that Monocrom reports having literally hundreds of pocket lights. (And this is noteworthy because...???)

I'm that guy who'll openly say it. Trust me, there are members whose collections would make mine look downright pathetic!

I'll never forget a post I made once on a watch forum. Beautiful tale of a man who recalled his father getting a Rolex as a gift. He cherished it! Wore it everyday for years and did everything while wearing it. Basically abused it. One day it stopped running. He put it away in its box and just kept it. The man found his father's Rolex. Sent it off to Rolex, had it serviced, and presented it to his extremely grateful father.

Everyone on that watch forum patted the man on the back for his wonderful act. So did I.... and then I asked why his father hadn't simply sent it off to Rolex when it stopped running to get it serviced. You should have seen the hateful replies I got for actually posting what everyone was thinking. The man who posted the story however, wasn't upset at all. He told me that his father simply bought into the hype that Rolex watches are so great, that if one ever stops working; well, obviously it can never be fixed if that ever happens. So, his father never even bothered contacting Rolex. (This was also at a time where despite being premium watches, they were still reasonably affordable. Though it depended on the model. So, not as though getting the watch serviced when it stopped would have been a huge financial set-back. Not at that point in Rolex's history.)

 

[Monocrom]

It's noteworthy because Monocrom has pants that can carry them all. I think he bought the pants from MC Hammer.

Speaking of pants.... Whenever someone mentions not being able to use clip-carried lights because they tear up their pants pockets; I always advise to get better pants. Mine are cargo pants from Wrangler, LA Police Gear, and Galls. Never an issue with the pocket seams. (Wrangler for the colder months. They're not made from thin rip-stop material.)

 

[bykfixer]

Products aside, I don't understand Maglites business model.

Here in the UK it is now almost impossible to buy Maglites. Whereas years back they would have been the most common and easiest torch to buy, sold by many retailers. Today there are only a very tiny handful of mostly online shops that stock a very limited range and hugely inflated prices. And often past variants and models.

I did try buying something as simple as a AAA LED Mini Mag last year. It turned out to be significantly cheaper to buy from the USA and ship to the UK, including a duty charge. The shipping cost was horrendous, but it was still 25%-30% cheaper than buying one in the UK.

I wish the company well. But if you make it near impossible or just plain difficult to buy the products, then I struggle to see how bright the future can be for the brand, unless the USA market alone can sustain it. However, when I was in the States last (Florida 2016), I found it really hard to find Maglites on the shelf in all the places I tried such as home Depot, Lowes, Walmart etc.

Maglite sales have greatly declined. Much of it due to the lumen wars and lower prices from foreign made products. Much of it from Maglite stagnation in trying new ideas. In the process they have greatly down sized production. Therefore it's a viscious cycle. Less demand so less supply so even less demand....

They cut ties with the box stores like Lowes and WalMart. Those guys were lowballing Maglite so they didn't renew contracts. Hardware stores like Grainger and Ace still carry a limited selection. But Maglite is mainly an online business these days. I would surmize the MagTac 2 was developed to go after contracts by law enforcement agencies.

 

[jz6342]

The problem I see is that they are about 10 years behind the curve. They waited a long time to go LED and now they introduce a light in a style that was a fad in the mid 2000's. I love Maglites and own several, but they just aren't keeping up with the times😕

 

[Chicken Drumstick]

The problem I see is that they are about 10 years behind the curve. They waited a long time to go LED and now they introduce a light in a style that was a fad in the mid 2000's. I love Maglites and own several, but they just aren't keeping up with the times😕

The odd thing is. It really wouldn't take a lot of effort to massively wider the appeal of their models.

I love my XL200, But the LED is a little cool and the PWM a bit too noticeable. Both would cost next to nothing to solve at a production level.
Run time is probably the biggest issue though. 3 x AAA if is fine for the muggle market. But If I could also run it on an 18500 via an adaptor it would be utterly awesome.

Other things that I've said about many times.

Why do they not sell a 1AA Solitaire? And a 1AA Mini Mag?? The 1AA Mini Mag would need almost no tooling changes, just a shorter battery tube. Likewise they very easily could make a 1D length D cell light running on 3AA's.

I don't really have issues with the outputs or performance of the Mags, they generally perform well and lower lumens is often due to using a smaller LED and thusly more throw than a bigger LED and higher lumens would be.

 

[Busa Dave]

With the power source it is DOA for me.......

 

[bykfixer]

The problem I see is that they are about 10 years behind the curve. They waited a long time to go LED and now they introduce a light in a style that was a fad in the mid 2000's. I love Maglites and own several, but they just aren't keeping up with the times😕

There's a video in the vintage California cop light thread (post 455) https://www.candlepowerforums.com/t...ht-company-thread.434295/page-23#post-5511576
with Don Keller telling the story of what it was like to work for Tony Maglica and why he left. It makes sense why things are like they are there anymore. I totally understand why Tony does what he does, yet in the long run it may not turn out well for the company. I was a fan of the MagTac 2 when it finally arrived, but mostly for the reason(s) others don't like it.

 

[rontaki]

It looks like the Mag-Tac 2 TL has an aluminum bezel. Here is why that is a deal-killer for me -
I used to EDC an XL200. One time at work, the power went off, complete darkness in the room.
I pulled the XL200 from my front pocket where it lived, and ... NOTHING! No lumens out the front no matter what I did. Mild laughter followed.😳

At home, I found the problem was, the front bezel had gotten dented at some point, allowing moisture into the electronics, ruining the flashlight. It never worked again no matter what I tried. I was an electronics tech for a few decades, so I knew what to do to revive it.

Because of that sad incident, Maglites are no longer trusted EDC lights, relegated now to fancy loaners for when reliability is not important.

FAIL!

If I'm wrong about the bezel being a soft metal, please let me know!

rontaki

 

[bridgman]

I wish the company well. But if you make it near impossible or just plain difficult to buy the products, then I struggle to see how bright the future can be for the brand, unless the USA market alone can sustain it. However, when I was in the States last (Florida 2016), I found it really hard to find Maglites on the shelf in all the places I tried such as home Depot, Lowes, Walmart etc.

My understanding is that most companies have to give a lot of money to retailers in order to buy shelf space. My guess is that Maglite no longer has the money to buy retail space like they used to.

That said, I agree that they should be making a big push for getting good online sales support around the world. That should not take a lot of dollars.

 

[Chicken Drumstick]

It looks like the Mag-Tac 2 TL has an aluminum bezel. Here is why that is a deal-killer for me -
I used to EDC an XL200. One time at work, the power went off, complete darkness in the room.
I pulled the XL200 from my front pocket where it lived, and ... NOTHING! No lumens out the front no matter what I did. Mild laughter followed.😳

At home, I found the problem was, the front bezel had gotten dented at some point, allowing moisture into the electronics, ruining the flashlight. It never worked again no matter what I tried. I was an electronics tech for a few decades, so I knew what to do to revive it.

Because of that sad incident, Maglites are no longer trusted EDC lights, relegated now to fancy loaners for when reliability is not important.

FAIL!

If I'm wrong about the bezel being a soft metal, please let me know!

rontaki

It must have been a lot of moisture. You have to almost unscrew the XL200 head all the way to get it past the o-ring, over 1/4"

I agree the head can come loose in EDC pocket carry, it is meant to be 'focusable' like other Mags. Although it does work in the XL200. Because as soon as you start to unscrew the head, it moved the LED behind the reflector opening, massively reducing OTF lumens.

For me, my XL200 goes flat if you leave the batteries in it. Way too much passive drain and no physical lockout on the tailcap.

 

[Monocrom]

It looks like the Mag-Tac 2 TL has an aluminum bezel. Here is why that is a deal-killer for me -
I used to EDC an XL200. One time at work, the power went off, complete darkness in the room.
I pulled the XL200 from my front pocket where it lived, and ... NOTHING! No lumens out the front no matter what I did. Mild laughter followed.😳

At home, I found the problem was, the front bezel had gotten dented at some point, allowing moisture into the electronics, ruining the flashlight. It never worked again no matter what I tried. I was an electronics tech for a few decades, so I knew what to do to revive it.

Because of that sad incident, Maglites are no longer trusted EDC lights, relegated now to fancy loaners for when reliability is not important.

FAIL!

If I'm wrong about the bezel being a soft metal, please let me know!

rontaki

No aluminum bezel is going to rule out almost everything available out there. I mean there are other materials. But I'm reminded of that old joke.... The selection is like what you'd find on the menu of a Scottish restaurant. Very few choices, and nothing you really want.

(It's just a joke. No disrespect meant to any of my fellow members who are Scottish.)

 

[rwolfenstein]

There's a video in the vintage California cop light thread (post 455) https://www.candlepowerforums.com/t...ht-company-thread.434295/page-23#post-5511576
with Don Keller telling the story of what it was like to work for Tony Maglica and why he left. It makes sense why things are like they are there anymore. I totally understand why Tony does what he does, yet in the long run it may not turn out well for the company. I was a fan of the MagTac 2 when it finally arrived, but mostly for the reason(s) others don't like it.

I decided go get one of the mag tac 2s. I have always been a fan of maglite and have many of them around my house. They were what I first started with when I had interest in LE field as an explorer.

 

[rwolfenstein]

MAG CHARGER® POWERBANK AX64338

MAG CHARGER® POWERBANK (AX64338) The Mag Charger® PowerBank™ is specifically designed as a companion to the following MAGLITE® products: MAG-TAC® Rechargeable, ML50L/LX 2 CELL, and ML25 2 CELL; see Model: AX64328 for Battery Holder Assembly. **This model does NOT include the battery holder.**...

maglite.com

Maglite also joined the 18650 game as well.

 

[bykfixer]

I just fell out of my rocking chair. Maglite has an 18650 adapter for the ML25? And a battery?
The sales people must have locked up ole Tony in a facility and said he could come out if he allowed them to sell rechargeable stuff.

 

[rwolfenstein]

I got my Mag Tac 2 in the mail today. Its a decent thrower, with a decent hot spot. Its about an E sized for comparison.

 

[bykfixer]

 

[KD5XB]

It was quite some time ago here on CPF but didn't a number of members end up with exploding lights due to using 2 CR123's In-Series at different Voltages (not checking the Voltage of each cell before installing). I think the low cell objected to being reverse charged by the high cell. I'm surprised a conservative Co like Mag would use this arrangement.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/roar-of-the-pelican-cr123-explosion-during-use-firsthand-account.120888/

 

[bykfixer]

The American made CR123 batteries now have thermal runaway protection(s) built in. However can't definitively say that about the foreign made Tenergy batteries that arrive with the MagTac 2.

 

[knucklegary]

The American made CR123 batteries now have thermal runaway protection(s) built in. However can't definitively say that about the foreign made Tenergy batteries that arrive with the MagTac 2.

Good question for Tenergy to answer. Their home base headquarters is located near San Jose, CA.