Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Maglite has been known for decades for a quality powerful light with a terrific warranty. Unfortunately their attempt at quality LED lighting is far from terrific. The LED lights if left on for more than 5 minutes sees a significant decrease in the brightness of the light. This is due to a failure to provide a proper heat sink for the LED light. The longer the light stays on the dimmer and dimmer it grows. To say the least this is really disappointing. Improper heat removal from the LED will significantly reduce the life of the bulb as well. Second, the power derived from the 3D batteries is not properly circuited or managed to provide a powerful beam that you would expect from the power that it is given. The biggest disappointment to prove this came when I recently ordered a Fenix key chain light that ran on 1 AAA battery. To say the least the light was as bright as my Maglite. After 5 minutes of operation the AAA Fenix light was brighter than the 3D Maglite because of the missing heat sink to effectively dissipate heat. Really disappointing. Third, the adjustable focus is worthless as the light only provides quality lighting when completely focused for the greatest throw of the light, which due to its poor power management does not give the 3D batteries justice. The light is completely unusable in the flood focus as a big black dark spot appears in the middle of the projection. The light to say the least needs a better focusing system. Not to mention that the reflector is made of plastic. Aluminum would be far better and could provide a nice heat sink. After about 6 months of light use my Maglite switch failed. This was after Hurricane Ike moved through my area and we were without power for 10 days. To say the least this was disappointing because of the quality that Maglite has been known for. I contacted Maglite via the internet as soon as my power was restored explaining my problem and they immediately sent out a replacement part, instructions, and tools necessary to change out the switch. I received the part within 10 days. It was an easy install and the correspondence was hassle free. In a time when corporations try to get out of warranties or force you to go through a long drawn out process it was refreshing to see Maglite honor their warranty with no hassle. The durability of the light is not in question. It is made from quality components and should offer a long life of use. Summary: The attempt at LED technology by Maglite is quite poor. The light is durable and Maglite does keep there word on their warranty. Still I do not recommend this light because inefficient power management, inadequate heat sinking, and poor focusing mechanism are all big problems with this light.