The Maglite is an American icon and an excellent American-made product. It has long been a standard professional quality flashlight for discerning consumers and police, security and other emergency personnel. However, for flashlight users who don’t need suspected lawbreakers to respect their authority, the full-sized multiple D-Cell Maglite could be a little heavy. Enter the Mini Maglite LED.
The Mini Maglite LED delivers all the power of a full-sized Maglite in a much smaller package. At 8 1/2 inches long, the Mini Maglite LED is 3 3/4 inches shorter than a traditional four D Cell Maglite. In circumference, the tube of the Mini Maglite LED measures 2 1/2 inches versus the traditional Maglites 5 inches. While the Mini Maglite LED has the same rugged machined aluminum body as a full-sized Maglite, it is much lighter. It feels solid, rugged, and precise to the flashlight user.
The Mini Maglite LED also features what Mag Industries calls Intelligent Energy Source Management to deliver extended battery life. Using three AA batteries instead of four D cell batteries, the Mini Maglite LED delivers an unreal amount of light through a 3 Watt LED. Like the full-sized Maglite flashlight, the Mini Maglite LED has a focusable beam. On late night dog walks, I found that the Mini Maglite LED projected intense white light deep into wooded areas and clearly illuminated objects that I’d estimate to be over 50 feet away.
The Mini Maglite LED is activated and the bright beam is focused by rotating the flashlight’s head. I found that this made it difficult to turn on the flashlight with one hand. “Tactical” flashlight users will probably prefer the push-button operation of the traditional Maglite. The Mini Maglite LED comes with a black nylon holster that hangs off of any belt and provides easy access to the flashlight.
The Mini Maglite LED can go many places where a traditional Maglite might look out of place. It easily fits in a briefcase, glove compartment, or seatback pouch. Thus, it can be available in an emergency when you really need it. The Mag Industries Maglite web site has many stories where a Maglite helped people survive a truly bad situation. But, the Maglite is not all about machismo, the Mini Maglite LED can be used as a candle. In “Candle Mode,” you simply unscrew the head of the flashlight from the body, the flashlight comes on, and you set the bottom of the flashlight down into the head. As a candle, the Mini Maglite LED casts light a full 360-degrees and can light up a dark room a little bit better than a traditional candle. I loved the versatility of this light. However, I found that candle mode would be rather intense for a romantic dinner. The 3-watt LED is very bright.
