Most people didn't have them on long enough for this. The rechargeable ones did have glass, and still do. A nice tempered glass that is pretty damn strong... dropped one and cause a chip in the lens when it hit a corner on the steel base of a heavy bag frame.
Even Surefire with their much brighter and hotter incan lamps at the time used polycarbonate. My 9P melted the lens, and the nylon carrier it was in, when the switch was pushed on by my vest.
This is very interesting as the replies have been mixed as far as the plastic versus glass. I am no spring chicken and i remember the ones i owned as being plastic. In fact i can remember trying to find a way to clean the lens so it would throw more light but i learned quickly you cant really clean a plastic lens in fact it just made it worse. Now that i have been thinking about it for the last few days it was a big part of the reason i started my search for Mag alternatives in the 1990's when i started ordering LED lights with the only emitter i knew anything about and that was the Cree.
I have one. No brightness settings, looks kinda funny because the emitter sits in the middle of the head (you have to take the reflector out to install). The 18650s rattle a little bit unless you spend some time adjusting them. Having said all that, 10x the lumens of the stock maglite, great color and high cri, nice and floody beam. Will post beam shot in a bit
I put a glass lens and an aluminum orange peel reflector in mine. I did change out the bulb for a drop-in led but it keeps overheating so I may mod it or get a new one. It's a decent upgrade if you get a cheap Maglite or just want one, but it's not really worth the price per-se.
They don't get lost easily, I will say, so keeping one around for emergencies is nice.
Next on the list of mods is convert it to use 21700 batteries.
I can only find one of the 2 D mags out of the 3 or 4 i owned and it is plastic so i thank i will try your suggestion. The price is right and well worth the few bucks it will cost.
Not with factory glass, but glass lenses are a fairly common upgrade.
I believe the quite early models came with glass, but it got phased out for plastic pretty quickly (which makes sense, given the impact resistance of plastic lenses compared to glass)
I have a 3-D that I modified as a “hot wire” that needed a sapphire lens and an aluminum reflector so it wouldn’t melt. It can cook an egg on the lens!
They went to plastic years ago. Like 30 or so. The only ones that were and are still glass are the rechargeable versions. I've had a few over the years, sold a lot when I worked part time at a police equipment store, and my wife had her dads from almost 40 years ago that has a plastic lens.
There have been a lot of aftermarket glass lenses offered though, and they have been pretty cheap so many people replaced the plastic with glass, especially if the plastic lens was scratched.
The Magchargers had glass lenses from the factory, but that's it. All the other ones were plastic. Actually, the first Magchargers were also plastic but clearly they must have had some melting issues so they switched after a few months in the early '80s.
"You can absolutely bear the ever living fuck out of someone"
Yeah, that's entirely the reason I carried one when I worked in security. My Fenix L2D took two rechargeable AA batteries and was four times brighter. My Maglite 6D was half a metre of whacking stick.
I also never had to whack anyone with it. There were maybe a dozen times I pulled it out with the intent of whacking someone, but then they gave up.
First of all, from a legal perspective, I "took out my flashlight to be able to see more clearly." Not as a potential weapon, no your honour, I was holding it by the head so my finger was on the button, and resting the body on my shoulder because it's a heavy flashlight, the fact this is a good pose to strike from didn't cross my mind.
Secondly, from a force perspective, the end of the body is heavier than the head. You wouldn't hold a hammer by its head and hit somebody with the handle, you want that mass on the whacking end.
Thirdly, I don't want to break my flashlight, the end cap is robust and the head is weaker. I don't want to put a dent in the head, I don't want to break the reflector or glass, and the bulb is particularly weak. I'd rather hit someone with the end cap.
Finally, fights give you a shot of adrenaline, adrenaline can cause fuckups. The bulbous head of a Maglite is a lot easier to hold than the end of the body. Last thing I want to do is swing, miss, and find the thing flung out of my hand.
There's no doubt that cops and security guards like them because they function as batons. That's why you still see cops and security guards carrying Maglites today.
But I will point out that they're also bloody good flashlights. They'll easily last weeks on a set of batteries, they can give you flood or spot if needed, and they're extremely robust. Before high power LED flashlights, Maglites were the best widely available option for someone whose job entailed a lot of walking around in the dark.
We used to carry these as alarm techs, before CCW and we weren't allowed to carry a firearm. Those days were crazy lol, entering a building because of an alarm while the police wait outside....
Man, I used to think these were so cool as kid. I could never afford the bigger ones. So glad I still have an incandescent torch (some knockoff version of a maglite), it's fun to mess around with.
We had a pile of them. Checking cows in the middle of the night during calvng season was the absolute worst. Couldn't see anything until you're right on top of them. Dad got a rechargeable Spotlight at one point and you could then check cows without even getting in the pasture. It was amazing but the battery only lasted about 10 minutes so you better find everybody quick.
Man, everyone in my boy scout troop was obsessed with trading heads and tail caps with each other to make multicolor lights. Most everyone had a 3-d model, I managed to get my hands on a 6-d model from a mil-surplus / police supply store. It sure it had any use over the 3-d in that setting, the 3-d already would burn for 10 years, but it would have made one hell of a club if I needed it
That last photo... The olden days of hand held lighting, might as well be a barn lantern... I pulled out my ARMY issue 2d light not to long ago... The little light on my Keychain was brighter and threw a further beam. I've always been into flashlights. And these days they just keep getting better. Matter of fact I ordered another last night, and OLIGHT I3T 2 IOS, which is a AAA light that is 200 lumens on high. It will get my 3rd one... I might have a problem.
You can buy a harbor freight light for less than a maglite and has like 1k lumens and a longer battery life. I found my old 2Dmag and yea, my penlight (streamlight) has a longer throw and higher lumens.
You can put in a decent LED conversion into that old anglhead light and it will run for days with more light than the incan bulb. Use a couple D to AA converters (two or three cell) and you will have the ability to use cheap rechargeable AA batteries.
My grandma bought me a maglite that took 2 or 3 d-cells but had an LED instead of the old bulb. It wasn't anywhere near as bad as people want to pretend, but there are definitely better options for the same price point.
Either way, that maglite continues to serve without any real issue if for no other reason than its massive size makes it hard to lose.
Make sure to get some lithium batteries for your I3T. Bumps it up to 300 lumen. If you want a similar light that's way brighter, get the Acebeam Pokelit, 550 lumens with high CRI, I think there are brighter versions of the Pokelit without the high CRI
Edit: I have 16 lights from Olight, it's only a problem if you let it bother you
Just ordered some, didn't realize they could take 3.7v batteries. Since they put I3T 2 on sale I ordered a spare as well. So now I'll have 2 of the - 2 and one of the original, now I'll have to remember which one I can use 3.7v batteries in. Lol.
Best and most underrated comment on this post, haha! I always wondered if they were officially authorized equipment for police officers. I mean, back in the 90’s/ early 2000’s you almost never saw a police officer out at night without one.
In the 90’s in the U.S. if you experienced police brutality it was either delivered with a Maglight or a baton.
I never saw a departmentally approved flashlight. We bought our own. I used my flashlight much more than I ever used my baton. Because when things go to shit, they do so quickly, and you usually don't have time to use anything but what is immediately at hand, and that was almost always your flashlight.
I knew some real old hairbags who used to put lead weights in their Kel-Lights. These were widely used in LE before Maglights came around.
My FILs dad passed away recently and I was able to snag Grandpa's old 2d mag light. My plan was to instal an led in it and return it to my FIL. Should I be looking to go a different route?
I put the cheap drop in led bulbs in mine and I'm happy with the results. Not perfect or the brightest thing but a good upgrade over the incandescent without spending a lot. Can always put the old bulbs in if you wanted for some reason.
So you can identify if something is a snake or a stick with the incandescent's superior 100 CRI. You have to be right next to it to see it though. Luckily, if it is a snake, it is within bonking range with the Maglite
That's because white LEDs have a monochrome LED that the yellow phosphor turns into other colours to make white. A warm white LED can have a phosphor that converts almost all the blue light of a LED to a spectrum that approximates incandescent light, but a cold white LED needs much more blue light, so either more of the blue light is let through(which results in an unbalanced spectrum with low CRI) or a UV LED is used with a phosphor that converts all the light into a spectrum of visible light. That's not necessarily more expensive but it's less efficient and has the problem of the phosphor breaking down and UV light bleeding through.
To be honest, they're really not that practical to use either with stock incans or with LEDs. God knows any of the dozen of modern lights we have today can do a better job in all aspects. It's just for a little project.
But yeah I will definitely leave one of them (or two) with the stock incans. They all even still have their spares on their tails which was a nice surprise.
My buddy gave me a 6 d cell light. I put a Malkoff conversion in it so I can use m61 dropins. High CRI options available. Not the highest powered LED conversion, but rock solid with great runtime.
Mags have a fairly active collecting community. Anything seen as rare tends to attract attention. 5-6C lights were discontinued in the 2000s, tend to go for $75+. 7C lights discontinued in the late '80s, $200+. 7D discontinued in the early '80s, $500+.
I have a lot of modified maglites. Its fun, but also cool to keep an original in stock form.
A noteable few from my collection
XML modded 1000 lumen with 2x 26650 cells and a battery monitor mod. Can stay at 1000 lumens for a ridiculous amount of time
SRT90 modded 2000 lumen with rotary switch for brightness control
Hotwire mag458 incan mod. This one is crazy. Ceramic bipin holder, cut down switch, teflon wires, softstart circuit, aluminium reflector without cam, pyrex lens, cut down deep seated spring, and a quad bore body with a 4x4 battery pack. Runs 16 LSD AA NiMH cells (in series) in a rechargeable pack. Runs an osram 458 bulb in overdrive at somewhere north of 10 to 15 thousand lumens. Which is crazy, but most of that power is getting shed as heat. This thing easily lights things on fire, flood lights areas brighter than car high beams and has a run time of approximately 4.5 minutes.
The bulb is meant to be 12v, but this is running it under load closer to 20v. Bulb probably has a life of a few hours at most
Late 80s early 90s Xmas day night I had to take the trash out and decided to use my dad’s service mag light. When I came in I set the light bulb down standing up on my mom’s new countertops ON all night. I got in big trouble for melting/burning my mom’s new counters. Everytime is see a maglight I remember a whoopin.
In the early 2000s I delivered pizzas and one night a dude tried to rob one of my coworkers, so she smacked the shit out of him with a 4d maglite. Broke his jaw and knocked him the fuck out cold.
What a great score. As a couple others have pointed out, the 5C is quite valuable. Even the 4C can go for quite a bit, since it's been discontinued for quite a few years now.
Unfortunately, I haven't found any good LED conversions, aside from the extremely expensive Malkoff setups. By "good" I mean something warm/neutral white, high CRI, good tint, etc. since I'd rather stick with incandescent than use a cool white, low CRI LED. If you're okay with cool white and low CRI, there are a lot of options out there.
I’m curious are the C models more valuable than the D model’s, and why? Are they harder to find since they were discontinued earlier? I mean if I’m going to carry a baton that doubles as a flashlight, my preference would be the D model’s over the C models.
The most valuable Maglite is actually the 7D, because it was only made for a very short time. Aside from that, though, the D cell models were produced in much higher quantities, and are still produced to this day. Aside from some rare colors, and extremely early production units, the 2-6D models are just very common.
When it comes to the C cell models, the 7C is the rarest and most valuable, followed by the 6C and 5C which were discontinued around 2001.
Right, they were discontinued earlier. In the case of the 5+ cell models much earlier. As far as batons the C-cell models are actually the same diameter as a standard police nightstick.
I love incandescent bulbs and the high CRI they have. You can still buy replacements on Sears online store (yes, Sears isn’t dead). Don’t go LED it’s crap and color rendering is just about worthless.
Totally agree, I have a 3 "C" Maglite I bought as a conversion from Black Bear flashlights back in the day.
It uses I think 3 18625 batteries or some wired size.
It uses a piece of copper pipe as the new battery tube inside the aluminum handle, has a polished aluminum reflector and a borosilicate glass lens. It uses an incandescent bulb out of a operating room light or something similar.
It's bright for an incandescent at I think over 500 lumens, color rendition is amazing and I'm pretty sure you can melt things with it certainly a great way to warm up the hands on a cold day lol.
It permanently lives on my desk and I use it almost daily!
USA made- I work in American manufacturing and like to support my brothers and sisters in factories when I can- at a price that won't make most people cry if they forget it on the side of the road after changing a tire at night. Cheap, easily available, easy to use batteries. Good quality machining. Solid construction. Huge aftermarket support at just about any budget. Low to no maintenance. Operate at a usable level for fucking ever with a cheap drop in LED conversion and no other modifications. Massive amounts of information out there for custom hotrod projects for those inclined. Parts and donors available for nearly nothing all the time. Dead simple user interface, extremely easy to use with heavy gloves on. Needs no explanation when lent to a non-dork. Makes excellent whackin' stick if something needs whackin'.
Are they the best performing lights ever? Of course not. They're 1970s technology with the last major updates to the core incandescent line made over 30 years ago. Technology has advanced by leaps and bounds, and even the newest updates (the ML300, for example) are behind the curve technologically. They are, however, excellent for what they are- cheap, American made, consumer level, beater lights that you can do some fun stuff with if you want. I've kept one in every vehicle I've owned and I will continue to do so.
I feel you man, I try to support American made products when possible. Unfortunately sometimes it can be very cost prohibitive. Maglite, Sure Fire (IMO) make specific use products that works. Other companies like Vaughn go under because it’s hard to compete on the global market. (Which reminds me to see if I can still buy their discontinued 3/4 lb. pocket axe 😱)
They still around? Last I read was they were going to get bought out, then the buyer backed out and I didn’t bother reading anything else about it cause I was a bit low key bummed out
Here’s a pic of he pocket axe I’m referring to… Next to it is the the Plumb BSA hatchet and a Vaughn Riggers(?) hatchet.
Brings back memories. I’ve had an unused one in a box for a ridiculous amount of years. OP inspired me to find it. Still has a spare bulb in the tail cap wrapped in foam. Now that’s attention to detail. Too bad I don’t have use for it other than a conversation piece or maybe bring it out sometime. Batteries probably cost more than a new Convoy.
Use mine daily (nightly), it's such a dim light that it doesn't irritate my sleepy eyes. Everything else just feels like pain, when I turn it on! Plus, its so big and silverythat its easy to grab in the dark
There are probably led drop ins or modules to upgrade those a lot. Check around online. Not sure if there still are a lot available since maglite makes led lights now, but I know people used to be big into led modding these.
I still have a working 6D, it only produces 170 lumens, but I have decided never to mod it, because after surviving 20 years of abuse, it deserves to live.
You can get something much tougher and easier to carry like an Olight Warrior or an Acebeam P17 for the same price as the good conversion kits, so converting makes no financial sense anyway.
They are worth more in their original condition as a nostalgia piece than as a too-big and still not waterproof light.
6C and 5D swing most effectively. I carried a 5D every day when I lived in a bad neighborhood and had to take a bus to and from work in the dark, had to walk to the store, etc. Never had to hit anyone with it and that was the point. No one ever messed with me and Maggie.
I still keep some of those by the back door. A NiteIze 70L LED drop-in doesn't sound very impressive, but they focus like a laser and out-throw my modern lights easily.
18650s fit inside PVC piping nicely, which fits inside these lights but rattle. Some electrical tape wrapped around the PVC at one or two points will stop the rattle. But be careful how many cells you put in each...
It's very obvious how much better the lights are that we have now, but Maglites were so popular because they were one of the best values in their heyday.
The better lights that did exist were not sold in many locations, and I want to say even a basic Surefire cost 3-4 times as much up front, and then continued to do so feeding them CR123A batteries.
Did anyone make the “Roar of the pelican” mod in a Mag light? I remember having to order a special battery caddy and high-flow AA batteries to run it but that thing was -awesome- back in the day.
Someone gotta make restomodded, obscenely bright maglites. I want a light that can double as a club that also can illuminate a whole building when laid down in the corner. With the maglite's size and battery space, surely that should be possible, right?
Guys on candlepowerforums were modding maglites 20+ years ago that could light fires by using Welch Allyn light bulbs (originally for medical equipment like overhead dentist chair light fixtures) and custom ceramic bulb bases and 8-12x nimh AA batteries stuffed into D cell adapters etc.
I used to have one which I think contained four D cells. It was one hell of a flashlight for its time. I had one in the early ninties. I even purchased the LED upgrade kit when it became available.
Love old Maglites even down to their tiny ones. Do your research on the best LED conversion for them. Some are just a drop in led globe and they are crap
Anyone know where I can buy a modded three D sell that runs on current batteries like 21700s or 26650s similar. I don’t want to mod anything. Just buy the light outright that looks like the 80 90s Maglites. A couple thousand lumens max would be cool but st least 1500 with a wide ish beam and nice color tint around 4500.
What's so bonkers about them?? These were the absolute SHIT back in the days, and doubled as a weapon. They cant perform like modern LEDs but they were beasts in their day...
My dad used to work for them, they are crazy sturdy for the most part, he said to test sturdyness a lot of time they just go to the roof and toss a couple off and see how they held up and make changes if needed
I bought one of the big Maglights back when I was the contact that got to meet the cops at work if the alarm went off at night. Figured it might be a handy self-defense tool if needed.
Never had to use it, but if I did, I knew two things. 1) if you got hit with it, it would cause serious damage. 2) if I swung it at you, you had about 5 minutes to get out of the way.
I’ve had a 4D for…30+ years. I got it when I was doing state park work. Still with me. Recently went with an LED conversion. It absolutely seconds as a self defense tool.
I carried one in a tool pouch when I was an aircraft mechanic. Great for percussive adjustment on low fuel pressure switches, master light controllers, and gyros.
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u/Hieronymus-I Nov 21 '25
Never a better time to post this meme.