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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2023
I've been using incandescent mini maglites for decades. I've probably purchased 20 of them and store them in my flight bag, in my aircrafts for night flight, in my hiking, skiing, backpacking, kayaking backpacks, etc. They fit perfectly in my hand or can be held in your mouth hands free, but aren't so small that you are more likely to lose them like AAA variety. They are very light weight. They can be operated even with bulky gloves on. There are zero integrated circuits to ever fail and only a couple of o-rings that are easily replaceable but I've never needed to do it. I've never crushed one or had it break from being dropped. I've never had one fail due to moisture. The primary failure mode is using normal alkaline batteries which leak and swell and then corrode the inside. The second mode, which has only happened half a dozen times or so is bulb failure and certainly changing the bulb worked, but is a bit fiddly and you could lose the bulb. The third mode has only happened maybe once or twice to me was battery exhaustion but was addressed with spare batteries or backup flashlights.
So my guidance for the most reliable flashlight I've ever found are twofold:
Use lithium AAs as they have a shelf life of at least a decade, have never leaked and corroded my equipment, and are lighter than normal Alkalines. I even use 9 or 12 of them with special D adapters inside a 3 or 4 D cell maglite for cars and trucks and such where space and weight are less of a concern.
Use a roughly 2" wide piece of painters tape or some such to go once around the barrel to keep the flashlight from turning on inside a pack or pocket and draining (this is easily removed when it's time to use it, can be stored on the handle or elsewhere and placed back when done or replaced after a trip).
In ultra critical situations like night flight, carry extra batteries and/or duplicate flashlights.
I have designed elastic loops on my flight kneeboard to hold the flashlight in a known convenient place and the smooth tubular design makes it easy to slide the flashlight into the loop. I've also used them with headbands which work similarly for hands free operation, but I seldom do that since I prefer to turn them on and off frequently or maneuver the flashlight to places my head is not. There are better headlamp solutions.
So my guidance for the most reliable flashlight I've ever found are twofold:
Use lithium AAs as they have a shelf life of at least a decade, have never leaked and corroded my equipment, and are lighter than normal Alkalines. I even use 9 or 12 of them with special D adapters inside a 3 or 4 D cell maglite for cars and trucks and such where space and weight are less of a concern.
Use a roughly 2" wide piece of painters tape or some such to go once around the barrel to keep the flashlight from turning on inside a pack or pocket and draining (this is easily removed when it's time to use it, can be stored on the handle or elsewhere and placed back when done or replaced after a trip).
In ultra critical situations like night flight, carry extra batteries and/or duplicate flashlights.
I have designed elastic loops on my flight kneeboard to hold the flashlight in a known convenient place and the smooth tubular design makes it easy to slide the flashlight into the loop. I've also used them with headbands which work similarly for hands free operation, but I seldom do that since I prefer to turn them on and off frequently or maneuver the flashlight to places my head is not. There are better headlamp solutions.
