New Maglite 3rd Generation 2D/3D - 524 + 625 lumens stock!

[StorminMatt]

check out the Thrunite Neutron 2A V2 then. 460 lumens from (1) AA; 720 lumens from (2) AA; 800 lumens from a 14500.

I would certainly like to give it a try. But it would appear to not be available at this time. I certainly DO have my doubts about it, though. In any case, judging by the specs, if it truly CAN do 480 and 800 lumens, it can't do it for long. Looks like it has a pretty quick stepdown to 230 lumens with either one or two AA batteries.

 

[rickypanecatyl]

Just curious as I'm living overseas and its been several years since I've been inside a store in the USA...Last I remember, most Alkaline and NiMH D size batteries sold in stores had no advantages over their AA counterparts; same volts and capacity. (I did/do wonder, "Do 'D' size Alkaline batteries have higher drain rates?").But on line you could buy NiMH "D" size with +/- 3X the capacity of A size.

So my question is, is it pretty easy to buy high capacity "D" size NiMH batteries in the same kind of stores that sell Mag lights such as Home Depot, Wall Mart or Target?
(I was just thinking if not, it seems like it would be a pretty simple yet good money maker for Mag light to sell those as well a long with their lights...)

 

[El Camino]

You can find them in specialty shops. I saw some Tenergy batteries (2) and a charger for about $35 at Batteries + Bulbs.

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I'm interested in seeing how these lights are made. The different head makes me wonder if MI is sharing parts with the Mag-Charger, such as the cam tower or reflector. Type III ano would be pretty awesome as well. I can't imagine it being that much more expensive to do.

 

[SimulatedZero]

D Cell batteries have a much higher capacity than AA batteries. Alkaline D Cells have something stupid like 12000 or 15000 mah if I remember correctly. The problem is that the alkaline chemistry can not sustain a high draw or constant voltage. NiMH batteries are more stable and can hade higher draw, but have a lower voltage and less capacity than alkalines.

It makes me wonder how hard the output drop is going to be on these maglites. I don't think alkaline cells wouldn't be able to sustain that output for very long.

 

[StudFreeman]

These sound great. Got to hand it to Mag for making 'the' high end light for Joe Average and his family, lol.

I like the look of the new head. Looks like a MagCharger. These likely share the improved heatsinking and no-donut focusing introduced with the LED MagCharger.

There will definitely be a timed step down with the currents drawn. That said these will likely be well regulated—much more than can be said for the FET/resistored-drive 'bright and cheap' XM-L/2 lights available in stores now.

 

[StorminMatt]

There will definitely be a timed step down with the currents drawn. That said these will likely be well regulated—much more than can be said for the FET/resistored-drive 'bright and cheap' XM-L/2 lights available in stores now.

Given that the voltage of NiMH (and especially NiMH D cells) is already quite well regulated, I feel like regulation on these sorts of lights is quite superfluous. And I would actually rather have NO regulation tha regulation with a stepdown.

Just curious as I'm living overseas and its been several years since I've been inside a store in the USA...Last I remember, most Alkaline and NiMH D size batteries sold in stores had no advantages over their AA counterparts; same volts and capacity. (I did/do wonder, "Do 'D' size Alkaline batteries have higher drain rates?").But on line you could buy NiMH "D" size with +/- 3X the capacity of A size.


So my question is, is it pretty easy to buy high capacity "D" size NiMH batteries in the same kind of stores that sell Mag lights such as Home Depot, Wall Mart or Target?
(I was just thinking if not, it seems like it would be a pretty simple yet good money maker for Mag light to sell those as well a long with their lights...)

If you want full capacity NiMH D cells, stay away from name brands like Duracell and Energizer. These tend to be either AA or Sub-C batteries in adaptors, and have low capacity (although can still support higher current draws than an alkaline D cell). Stick with something like Tenergy, which actually has a MUCH higher capacity. You won't find these at your local Home Depot or Target. But there are some places where they can be bought without the online wait. I don't know what's available where you live. But here in Northern California, Fry's Electronics sells Tenergy batteries. And Batteries Plus sells Powerex. Both are true D cells, although the Tenergy batteries are more reasonably priced (but are still good - possibly better than Powerex).

 

[treek13]

I should also note that 524 lumens from 2xNiMH is quite revolutionary if they actually pull it off. 2xNiMH lights have LONG been hobbled by the inability to make a high current boost driver. If this 524 lumens is for real, this light just might be the first 2xNiMH light to break the 400 lumen barrier.

Mag usually actively discourages the use of rechargeable batteries. These numbers will be for Alkaline cells & the lights drivers will be optimized for them.
Sad, but true.

 

[mudcamper]

These numbers will be for Alkaline cells & the lights drivers will be optimized for them.
Sad, but true.

I disagree. It's nice to have some lights run on inexpensive, but relatively long lasting alkaline D cells. This is a huge plus IMO.

 

[SimulatedZero]

+1

I always think of Maglites as my go to alkie-eater lights that are still fairly nice. To me that's what makes them perfect for storms and power outages.

 

[Hondo]

Why in the wide, wide, world of sports did they not make the "general" mode start from the lowest level? With all of those UI's, you can't start the light in anything but high.

Would probably run this on these, in my post #44:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?305881-Best-Quality-AA-to-D-Cell-Adapter

I'd put the link in, but it is not appreciated, still available and easy to find. Quality 3xAAA parallel adapters. Not sure just how much current this new light will be drawing, and if it might start to challenge them. They certainly work fantastic on the Gen 1 and Gen 2 single level lights, with Eneloops in them.

 

[StorminMatt]

+1

I always think of Maglites as my go to alkie-eater lights that are still fairly nice. To me that's what makes them perfect for storms and power outages.

But here's the thing. If you want a light that will run a long time on alkalines, you want a low power light like previous Mag LEDs. An XM-L/2 light will draw the batteries down too quickly. At the 2A draw that the 3D probably needs to sustain maximum output, capacoty drops to about 5500mAH (down from 11000mAH at the ,5A that the old 3D light draws). So optimizing the light for alkalines kind of defeats the purpose of having a high power light.

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

Do newer Maglites still have the requirement that you run them only on alkalines? All my older Maglites (including LED versions) say that in the documentation, even though they work perfectly fine on NiMH. Maybe the reason was to achieve the specified brightness, it needed the higher voltage because it was unregulated? Though the 2xAA lights were definitely regulated, so I'm not really sure why they specified to only use alkalines in those models. Conspiracy?

 

[Hondo]

StorminMatt, the light has levels. It will always suck at maintaining high brightness with alkalines, but it will run for days on the "super low" setting, longer than it will on NiMH batteries.

WalkIntoTheLight, yes, conspiracy. Actually, I did think they had formally recognized NiMH batteries somewhere. But they will not hurt the light, no-how, no-way. And for high levels, they are actually better than alkaline, despite the lower nominal voltage rating. This is because alkaline batteries can not maintain the required current when under load, as the NiMH's can.

 

[SimulatedZero]

Exactly, unless there has been a huge revamp in Maglite drivers, the regulation is going to look almost like direct drive. Not even a timer based step down. It will be fairly similar to a lot of the modern pocket rockets I bet. Full speed ahead, for 200 seconds, then medium mode.

But, you still raise a very valid point. Between the high draw and the electronic switch, I wouldn't store them for hurricanes and such. Gen 1 and 2, definitely. We'll just have to see what the curve looks like.

Hopefully the low mode will help extend the runtimes.

 

[pbyhistorian]

I probably won't ever be a flashaholic but I buy lots of MagLite. This thread is the only mention I can find that might be the new LED MagLite I've seen at Orchard Supply Hardware. Its packaging doesn't boast 524 lumens; it boasts a 412 meter throw (versus the 388 meters I've been buying). Runtime dropped to 6h45m though - down from 8h from the 388 meter models.

Is this the same model you're discussing? I thought 2nd Gen was the Rebel, 3rd Gen was the Cree, and this was either 4th Gen or just a re-configured 3rd Gen.

The LED appears to be yellow (again) instead of green. Does anyone know if there's a new LED?

I been buying Cree models (8h) to make sure they'd last through the night if stranded while snowmobiling. Not sure if I'm interested in more throw for less runtime.

Thanks.

 

[StorminMatt]

StorminMatt, the light has levels. It will always suck at maintaining high brightness with alkalines, but it will run for days on the "super low" setting, longer than it will on NiMH batteries.

It may have modes. But it brings up one question. Specifically, if you want to use this light as a light intended for long runtime alkaline battery use, why not just get one of the old Mag LEDs? They're cheaper, run a LONG time, and don't have an electronic switch.

 

[StarHalo]

$47 isn't that impressive considering Home Depot was selling 500 lumen 3 cell lights for $20 two years ago. And of all the mode sets they've included, why not an "old guy mode" - click for on, click for off..

 

[leon2245]

$47 isn't that impressive considering Home Depot was selling 500 lumen 3 cell lights for $20 two years ago. And of all the mode sets they've included, why not an "old guy mode" - click for on, click for off..

Streamlight gets it, that's one of their ten-tap setup options.

 

[StorminMatt]

$47 isn't that impressive considering Home Depot was selling 500 lumen 3 cell lights for $20 two years ago. And of all the mode sets they've included, why not an "old guy mode" - click for on, click for off..

Not to mention that these lights have stepdowns. What's up with THAT? I mean, with my Malkoff Mags, I can stick in some Tenergy Premiums and have 600+ lumens for five hours straight. And the light gets no more than lukewarm. Stepdowns are for small lights like an SC600. NOT for a portable heatsink like a full-sized Mag. In fact, I think the SC600 can probably maintain a higher output LONGER despite its small size and low capacity battery (compared to a NiMH D).

 

[SimulatedZero]

I like this new maglite. I'm going to get one for sure. But, I think they would do very well to keep the simple on off LED lights in the running. They may want to label this one as the pro and keep the new xp-g model as the basic model.

The simple wires to a battery with a nice switch in between just works way to damn well to phase out with this new circuit and electronic switch setup.