Maglite Upgrades For The 21st Century
For as long as I can remember I’ve been in love with flashlights. The flashlights that I dragged around on my boyhood adventures were cheap incandescents that sucked down C and D batteries like they were alkaline junkies. When I became a teenager and started to drive I graduated to a 3 D Cell Maglite, it was everything the cheap flashlights weren’t, big, bold, well made, and most of all powerful. The Maglite became a constant companion on many of my adventures as a young man, that wonderful hunk of metal was dragged over hill and dale and took all I could throw at it. A funny thing happened though, my Maglite, which had seemed so trick in the late 80’s was being surpassed by the same cheapy flashlights I had left behind. I could walk into Home Depot and buy a Chinese made LED flashlight right at the checkout that pumped out way more light than “old faithful” and didn’t suck down those pricey D Cells. So my Maglite became relegated to the nightstand drawer until I stumbled across an outfit named Malkoff Devices. Malkoff Devices was selling drop-in modules that replaced the old incandescent bulbs in my Maglites with hi-tech LED’s. I was intrigued enough to order a few to bring my old friends back to life. Check out my Maglite Upgrades.
Malkoff Devices
The heart of my Maglite upgrades are new LED engines. The Malkoff Devices Drop-In for Maglites is far more than just a mere bulb upgrade. It is so far beyond the cheap LED upgrades that Maglite themselves used to offer that it is silly. The heart of the Drop-In is a Cree Cool White XP-G2 emitter. Drop-Ins are available for both C and D cell Maglites and they are specific to 2 cell and 3-6 cell lights. You are going to get 270 lumens out of a 2 cell light and 325 out of the 3-6 cell lights. The bigger lights also get longer run times. Sometimes being big is just better!
Heatsinking
The Malkoff Drop-In is a functional work of art, it is actually a shame that the drop-in is hidden inside the flashlight as I’m constantly removing the head to show people just how pretty it is. The same properties that lend to it’s beauty also add to it’s impressive functionality. The big hunk of aircraft grade aluminum that the LED sits on gives it full heat sinking abilities. This lets the LED enjoy a long trouble free run time at max output. On some of the trick Li-ion flashlights that are out now they can produce big lumen numbers for only a few minutes before they need to regulate down to a lower setting due to heat build up. That isn’t a problem with the Malkoff Drop-In, the light keeps pumping out lumens as long as the batteries are up to it.
Fully Potted
No fully potted isn’t some new stoner term, it means that the LED emitter is held securely in place and able to handle all sorts of shocks and bumps. I’m confident enough to say that this thing is built like the proverbial brick s**t house and can deliver some lumps and bumps if need be.
Installation
The installation of the Malkoff Devices Drop-In is fairly straight forward and the included directions are easy to follow. Ths most involved part is trimming the reflector to fit but this is easy enough with a hacksaw blade or a dremel tool, if you are worried about this step you can buy pre-cut reflectors right from Malkoff when you buy your drop-in (I went a different route, which I’ll detail later in the post). Malkoff also has some YouTube videos showing how the light goes back together.
Impressions
The Malkoff Device Drop-In For Maglites is a well made piece of gear. I was impressed by it’s fit and finish and by how easy it was to install. The output of these things is pretty spectacular. I test a lot of flashlights around here and I have to say the light throwing ability of these babies is pretty intense. The guys at work, who are usually skeptical of my latest piece of wonder gear, were actually impressed with how dramatic the improvement in output was. Aside from the output I’m really digging the battery life. I’ve become used to battery life being measured in minutes at lumens levels like these not in hours. Another benefit is being able to walk into any store and pick up some C or D alkaline cells is very nice. When my flashlights go dead at work in the middle of the night finding a fully charged 18650 out in the real world is pretty hard. Plus it is hard to beat the feeling of having a big ole Maglite in your hand after dark in a rough neighborhood.
I would recommend any of the Malkoff Devices Drop-Ins For Maglites. They are rugged, perform well, and are American made. They form an integral part of resurrecting my old Maglites For The 21st Century.
I’ve also got a YouTube Video up with my initial impressions of the Malkoff Device Drop-In for 2D Cell Maglite
Lens Upgrade
After kicking around in various vehicles and being dragged to there and back the lens on my Maglites were in less than stellar condition. I reckoned that if I was going to go through the trouble of dragging my old lights into the 21st Century a lens upgrade should be in the mix as well. I found a couple of options and I actually tried out 2 of them and was happy with both. Either of these options make for worthwhile Maglite Upgrades.
Crystal Glass Upgrade
On Amazon I found a Crystal Glass Upgrade from NeuLux. This lens went in quick and easy and just like it said it would. The fit can only be described as factory. The only way to tell that the lens has been changed is that the light is a lot clearer. I’m not sure how much of an improvement this is over a stock lens that hasn’t been ridden hard and put away wet but let me tell you it is night and day over my beat to Hell one. I’d buy one of these again.
Multi-Layer Coated HD Lens
This lens is a trip. I bought it from Kaidomain.com which really needs to be experienced at least once. Kaidomain is a Hong Kong based company that supplies all things flashlight, the English is poor and they are constantly bombarding you with bulk deals. I’m sure someone has a need for 250 to 999,999 LED drivers but not I. So even though I’m sure I had somehow reached the deepest recesses of the Dark Web I took a shot and ordered a few things, among them was 2 of the Multi-Layer Coated HD Lens. The description is a little vague something about “highly anti-quake glass” and “Our experiment proved: Using this kind of double-side coating lens will greatly reduce light beam absorption making sure the lumen output would reach 99% almostly.” Suffice to say I was pleasantly surprised to find that these lens are pretty good. They are a bit thicker than stock so the bezel doesn’t snug up the way the stock one or the Crystal Glass Upgrade does but they are beefy. They might even allow a little more light through than the Crystal Glass one. I’d recommend this lens too.
Reflector Upgrade
One common complaint about Maglites in general is that they have to much of a narrow throw oriented beam. This isn’t a problem if you are trying to spot some perps running in the distance but in my suburban setting I found the throw a bit annoying. I researched the problem a bit and came up with 2 solutions, modify the stock reflector or purchase on from good friends across the Pacific Kaidomain.com.
Modified Stock Reflector
The perfectly smooth reflector that comes stock on Maglites lends itself towards real “reach out and touch them” kind of beam. If you want something with a bit more flood you can take clear coat spray paint and give the reflector a coat or two.
If you choose to go this path you are trying to intentionally do a poor paint job. You want the reflector to have a textured almost spotted look. On some forums this method is called “sputtering”. It does a fairly good job of making the beam a bit floodier. This has a cool DIY feel to it and I’m happy with how the one I did turned out.
Aftermarket Reflector
Kaidomain.com has metal reflectors that fit Maglites with the Malkoff Drop-Ins. The reflectors come with a nice orange peel texture to them and go a long way towards making the Maglite into a more general purpose flashlight.
Wrap-Up
Bring an old Maglite up to modern specs is as easy as buying a few well thought out pieces, rolling up your sleeves, and getting to work. I really like the performance of these hot-rodded Maglites. The alkaline batteries provide nice long run times, don’t require much attention or recharging, and are readily available. The modified reflectors provide a nice balance between throw and spill, and the Malkoff Drop-Ins really boost the output. It is nice to have my old friends back.
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Why spend almost $50.00 upgrading a big boat anchor light that when done is too bit to carry?
Malkoff Devices Drop-In for Maglites ($40.00)
MAGLITE Flashlight lens Crystal Glass Upgrade (C & D Model) ($8.00)
Way over priced when compared to other LED flashlights that are much more compact and put out just as much light.
Maglight was the king of the hill in the 1980″s, but they didn’t invest in LED tech fast enough and didn’t downsize. at the same time. I know there were a few small maglights bey they were low quality, they had bad switches, were not LED based.
Other companies jumped on the LED wave and came out with some really good quality lights at a size you could carry in your pocket. Maglights were always too big to carry around, but you did anyhow if you wanted a quality light. Maglight Corp lost their market edge and have not regained it. The fact you have to look to an aftermarket part to turn a maglight into a modern LED light tells me they are still behind the times. And with the upgrades they are still too big. You don’t need C or D batts to power LED’s.
Upgrading a Maglight still leaves you with a big clunky flashlight that most people won’t use because it’s too big and heavy. Even cops don’t use them much these days, or at least I don’t see them using them, and my brother is a cop so I’m around a few cops every week.
I like the smaller lights as I have them on me at all times, not easy to do with a Maglight. No one carries even a 2-D Maglight on them as it’s just too big.
I always have 2 flashlights on me, a no-name one in a pants pocket and a Streamlight Microstream in my shirt pocket. The Microstream runs on one AAA battery, lights up my backyard fairly well, cost less then 1/2 of the Malkoff Devices Drop-In element, Is small (the size of a sharpie magic marker) and it sip’s, not gulps power, I change the battery about once per month. It’s also very well made.
Maglight is a has-been company making outdated products, so the market has went else ware for flashlights. They could turn it around (unlikely as they probably don’t have the right people with vision in charge) by embracing new LED smaller tech. But it takes something they don’t seem to have.
Hey Chuck,
Thanks for the reply. You make a lot of valid points. For me it makes sense to upgrade my Maglites.
They are quality made American products. If you look into the flashlight modding community you will find that the Maglite is one of the most used hosts for custom builds because of how well made they are. They form the basis of builds from the mild (like mine) to the wild (5000 lumen monsters with multiple LED’s and multiple lithium-ion batteries).
I agree that they aren’t carry lights any more (my current EDC light is a Fenix E12) but their size lends them to ridiculous run-times when paired with a quality drop-in like the Malkoff. 325 lumens for 6 to 9 hours with an hours long taper is awesome. The Microstream ( I have one too) will give 35 lumens for 1.5 hours if lucky. To get something close to their performance costs at least $50 and takes $10 to 20 Lithium Ions which also need a separate charger and happen to explode every now and again.
It all comes down to how you are going to use them. I’ve got one mounted in my Jeep, one on my nightstand, and one in my work truck. They give me a good amount of light in a sturdy platform without the need for fussy rechargeable batteries. Alkaline cells are a mature technology, they are proven performers with low self discharge rates, and up to 10 year shelf lives.
-Mike