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 On: 2007-05-27
If I could rate it with 0 stars I would because thats how well it worked. (In other words it didnt) I tried installing it on two of my Mini Mag lights and it didnt work on either one. I had bought two of these kits so rather than try the other kit I didnt even open it and returned both for a refund.
On: 2007-02-02
I own at least 5 mini mag lites. Scattered in my toolbox, cars, and home. Ive been happily using them for years without any problems. They are just about perfect. But, last week, I stumbled across an ad for the NITEIZE LED upgrade and tailcap change. The NITEIZE LED upgrade (or more accurately DOWNgrade) replaces the mini mag OEM bulb with a tiny circuit card with three LEDs. The tailcap turns the mini-mag into an on/off switch, and pretty much does nothing else. The main reason I thought this was a waste of money was that once I changed out the OEM bulb for the 3 LEDs and checked the actual lumens output (how bright the flashlight was) I was very disappointed. I walked into a toolroom at work and closed the door. The room was pitch black and I could not see my hand in front of my face. Across the room from me approximately 15 feet away on the opposite wall was a poster showing the days of the month. The poster was large enough that with the light on, you could easily read the days of the week and the dates on each individual day from 15 feet away. With the original OEM lightbulb, I could illuminate the calendar and read any given day, or the whole calendar at once by adjusting the focal point of the OEM bulb. With the LED mod, the illumination was less than HALF of what the OEM bulb put out, and I could barely see that a calendar was on the opposite wall. The OEM bulb puts out a bright white light, the LEDs put out a weak blue tinted light.
The tailcap is machined out of aluminum, and galled the first time I tried to screw it on the tube. There is no provision for a spare bulb (in this case a spare OEM bulb would be pointless since you cant carry spare LED assemblies, its too big) and there is no provision for a lanyard (the OEM tailcap has a machined hole for a lanyard). Yeah, I know that with the 3 LEDs, the two AA batteries will last a lot longer. But I would rather have bright usuable light for two hours with AA batteries than 6 hours of dim light that I could outperform with a candle.
I wasted $9.99 on this conversion. I should have stuck with the OEM bulb. Hard to improve perfection. And for $24.00 you can buy two NEW mini-mag flashlights! I see mini-mags for sale everywhere I go for $9.99 + tax, what in tarnation was I thinking?
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