Another mini mag thread

[RWT1405]

From 1984 to 1990 I must have bought 50 of these things! I remember having to put lubrication on the threads they were machined to such tight tolerances. I don't have my original anymore, but I can see the differences in the manufacturing between now and then.

I'm not sure how many I went thru, from 1984 - 1995, when I got my first SureFires (6P's and a 9P)

I was gifted my first Mini-Mag, in 1984, as a graduation (Paramedic school) present from a friend

Carried one on duty and off, until getting the SureFires

So, I'd guess I was somewhere around 30-40 in those 11 years, as I could go thru them pretty quickly at times, between loss, etc., and always having "spares" around and in work bags and vehicles

 

[bykfixer]

I'm not sure how many I went thru, from 1984 - 1995, when I got my first SureFires (6P's and a 9P)

I was gifted my first Mini-Mag, in 1984, as a graduation (Paramedic school) present from a friend

Carried one on duty and off, until getting the SureFires

So, I'd guess I was somewhere around 30-40 in those 11 years, as I could go thru them pretty quickly at times, between loss, etc., and always having "spares" around and in work bags and vehicles

I carried one from when I bought it circa '96 or '97 until around 2014. I had other flashlights but that siler/gray that said pewter on the package was my favorite. With modern street lights it got where I needed brighter so it got updated with a Nite Ize. Later it went back to stock and now lives on a shelf.

 

[Monocrom]

Is it wrong that I still keep buying them today? :)

 

[greenpondmike]

I don't know. I reckon it all depends. I have several and am still tempted to buy more.

 

[troutpool]

My one and only Mini Mag has a laser etched R bezel, so it dates from the late 80's or very early 90's. No head wobble. It rode in my fly fishing kit bag for 20 years until I discovered CPF and the wider world of flashlights. It now stands proud but neglected on my lights shelf.

 

[greenpondmike]

Yall watch out--I ain't long had a cup of cowboy coffee, so I'm kinda bouncing off the walls (wish someone would invent an animated smiley doing that--would be better if it sips a cup of coffee first lol). I wish someone would make a rubber sleeve to slide onto the mini mag body and a flared (for more surface area) magnetic tailcap. My wurkkos fc11 is the only flashlight I have that has a magnetic tailcap and that makes it very useful.

 

[greenpondmike]

Is it wrong that I still keep buying them today? :)

I think several of us are like that Monocrom. We ought to call it minimaglititus. I reckon the only cure for flairups is to buy two more mini mags and call Mr Ed (i reckon he could be the doctor) in the morning.

 

[greenpondmike]

Hey GPM check out Litt Industries Maglite mods. They started out as an off road vehicle light fixture maker but the owners wife talked him into doing things to make her incan Maglites brighter.

Flashlights

littindustries.com

I bought a bust-a-cap for my ML150 because it has a cover that still allows it to tailstand. Being the ML25, 50 and 150 use the same tailcap threads it fits all three models.

Yes, they have some good stuff on there. I bookmarked it.

 

[greenpondmike]

I wonder if Mr Tony invented the wobble heads so that they could be easier to turn on and operate with just one hand and to accommodate the wide led upgrades?

 

[greenpondmike]

I don't like it myself, but the looser head design might be ingenious in a way. The turn ratio along with the way it pivits on the o ring yet still catches the threads. Only thing is now the o ring has become a critical part and maybe we need to also stock up on them along with the bipin bulbs or else keep some teflon tape handy. I don't know why Tony didn't just use a cammed reflector and a clicky tailcap though. You would think that Don Keller would have used a cammed reflector since he was trying to out mag maglite on his similar ones.

Hey, on the old ones--did they have any better beam patterns? If so please post some pics so folks who hate the present beam patterns will know. Not a whole lot of information out there on the web... let's fix that once and for all.

 

[greenpondmike]

I got to thinking again and to have a cammed reflector the head would have to be extended to accommodate it, but then my chickens told me that the threads in the head don't start till around a half an inch on up in it, so the head doesn't need extending but just the threads on down to the end of the head with maybe a eighth of an inch space before the o ring. Does that make any sense? If not we'll blame the chickens for overthinking.

 

[greenpondmike]

Whoa, wait a minute.. my chickens don't know what they are talking about. The big mags switch assembly are spring loaded under the bulb thus they can accommodate a cammed reflector, but except for the maybe 1/16 or 1/8th amount of slack in the mini mag bulb holder/switch that determines contact or no contact with the flashlight body there is no spring to it except for the spring in the tailcap that pushes up on the batteries which pushes up on the plastic bulb holder/switch to make contact when the head is initially twisted. Yall send me a "duh" and I will pass it along to my chickens.

 

[greenpondmike]

I guess in all my second guessing Tony I just went through a lot of the trial and error ideas he had. Seems like any other way would have been more difficult and more expensive plus it would have taken away from what makes the mini mag a mini mag. Nah, Tony's chickens had better ideals and came up with a standardized platform that works, keeps production costs down, is durable and fun, and is simple and easy to work on (once you know how). Also he did it on four platforms: the solitaire, the 2aaa mini mag, the 2aa mini mag and the ML25's and on all these both incandescent and LED versions. Yep, Tony be the man....

 

[greenpondmike]

Only thing is Tony is bad about suing and a lot of people don't like him because of that. I think he killed the arc flashlight because of the writing on the head. He also got streamlight and brinkmann and probably others. I kinda wonder though what we would have done if we were in his shoes? I would have at least given those manufacturers a space of time to make a change before suing especially Don Keller at brinkmann. Maybe he did--I don't know....

That is why (i think) a lot on this forum refer to mag as m*g. Tony makes good products, but I guess you could call him ruthless and savage in a way. Everyone has an opinion...

 

[Nitroz]

Yall watch out--I ain't long had a cup of cowboy coffee, so I'm kinda bouncing off the walls (wish someone would invent an animated smiley doing that--would be better if it sips a cup of coffee first lol). I wish someone would make a rubber sleeve to slide onto the mini mag body and a flared (for more surface area) magnetic tailcap. My wurkkos fc11 is the only flashlight I have that has a magnetic tailcap and that makes it very useful.

You mean to be able to attach the light to metal objects?

 

[greenpondmike]

Now that his products are off the shelves at the big box stores his biggest customers are flashlight enthusiasts like us who either hate him or like him. He is at the mercy of our opinions about him and maybe a little pr work by mag instruments inc could be warranted to smooth things over a bit don't you think? Maybe he could open up a custom modding shop and make special bulbs (like that would happen) to accommodate his now customer base.

 

[greenpondmike]

You mean to be able to attach the light to metal objects?

Yes

 

[greenpondmike]

You know, I might not know what I'm talking about (wouldn't be the first time), but it seems like as Tony is getting on up in age he seems content to be selling maybe 10% or less of what he used to sell. Maybe his boys or grandchildren aren't interested in the business and will sell it off or liquidate it after he is gone. He probably ain't worried though--he might have more money stashed away than we would ever have combined.

What does it mean for us though if mag instruments goes under? Warranties won't be honored and no more parts. Sure enough something to think about.

Before I bought my ML25IT online at ebay I called several hardware stores and some big box stores. Home Depot who used to carry mag products had a young lady working there that didn't even know maglite was a flashlight.

Most on here who like/hate maglites are generation x'ers with some milinials and a few generation z'ers. Most gen z'ers don't know about maglites and don't care about ANY kind of flashlight because of the flashlight app on their phones. Tony needs to reach out to his base customers (us) while there are still some left. And make maglite great again. Maybe give one to MY president and have him shine it around while he is on camera lol. I don't know.... I just don't want to see them go under. This ain't the reason I started this thread though--just the caffeine fueled ramblings of an ol redneck I guess.

Yall please carry on and don't mind me--I'm just over here looking like this....

 

[bykfixer]

- ARC went under due to cheap competition (cough fenix e01 cough).
- Tony sued large companies who were making mucho profiting from his idea. It was all about big contracts being taken by other companies, which he could not stop but he could stop them from doing it with his designs. The engraved bezel ring was a brilliant way to stop at least some of it.
- The beam pattern varies based on the bulb. Filament shadow is the main issue.
- The wobbles came from machining them faster, which meant more out the door, faster. The more precise machining took longer. They went from making a few hundred per day to a few thousand per day. The barrels became thinner too. Alkaline batteries fit snug in the older minimags. In the newer ones they fit with extra room.
- Tony still runs the day to day operations at Maglite. He's well into his 80's.

 

[greenpondmike]

- ARC went under due to cheap competition (cough fenix e01 cough).
- Tony sued large companies who were making mucho profiting from his idea. It was all about big contracts being taken by other companies, which he could not stop but he could stop them from doing it with his designs. The engraved bezel ring was a brilliant way to stop at least some of it.
- The beam pattern varies based on the bulb. Filament shadow is the main issue.
- The wobbles came from machining them faster, which meant more out the door, faster. The more precise machining took longer. They went from making a few hundred per day to a few thousand per day. The barrels became thinner too. Alkaline batteries fit snug in the older minimags. In the newer ones they fit with extra room.
- Tony still runs the day to day operations at Maglite. He's well into his 80's.

Thanks for sharing that bykfixer. I'm not too proud to admit to ignorance. I knew Tony was getting on up there in age. I hope he has a long happy life.