The Martialist: The Magazine For Those Who Fight Unfairly

“Stay ‘unreasonable.’  If you
don’t like the solutions [available to you], come up with your
own.” 
Dan Webre

The Martialist does not
constitute legal advice.  It is for ENTERTAINMENT
PURPOSES ONLY.

Copyright © 2003-2004 Phil Elmore, all rights
reserved.

TerraLux MiniStar2 Diode Retrofit

A Product Review by Phil Elmore

The TerraLux MiniStar2 Luxeon
diode installed on a 2AA Mini Maglite.

Before I discovered contemporary “tactical” lights and the
plethora of utility torches available on today’s high-tech market, the 2AA
Mini Maglite was the standard by which I judged all portable flashlights. 
Over the years I’ve accumulated quite a few of them, several of which are
kicking around in various toolboxes and survival kits.  The standard Mini
Maglite is a good tool, really – rugged, relatively light, compact, and
suitable as a self-defense tool because its
dimensions are similar to a pocket stick. 
Unlike many portable torches, the Mini Maglite has a focusable head that
permits both spot- and wide-beam lighting.

One of the author’s many 2AA Mini
Maglites.

I knew a fellow in college who believed very highly in
self-reliance.  One of the things he always carried with him was a Mini
Maglite (complete with colored lenses, though to this day I’m not sure for
what those colored lenses would have been good).  I think my father had a
few of these lights hanging around when I was younger, too (though he carried
a penlight in his shirt pocket as his primary utility light).  After a
severe storm knocked out power to my area for several days, I bought multiple
lights and used them as candles during the blackout.  I remember thinking
that I should accumulate as many lights as possible for just such situations
in the future.

Another of the author’s Mini Maglites, wrapped for
use as a pocket stick.

The
problem with the Mini Maglite, however, is that it is – let’s be honest –
built on fairly outdated technology.  The incandescent bulbs burn out
extremely quickly (that’s why there’s an extra bulb in the tailcap of every
Maglite) and even when new produce a relatively feeble, yellowish light. 
While extremely focusable as a point light source, such bulbs don’t really
produce that many lumens (I think the lumens produced by a standard Mini
Maglite is a figure in the single digits).  While a good little light,
the Maglite simply cannot compete with newer illumination technology such as
Xenon-bulb tactical lights and solid-state LED torches.

My Maglites were languishing amidst my gear when I
discovered TerraLux. 
The company produces a variety of LED retrofit kits.  Among the best of
these is the MiniStar2, which consists of a 1
Watt Luxeon diode and reflector cup.  By removing the lightbulb and
reflector from a standard 2AA Mini Maglite, you can replace them with the
reflector and diode provided in the kit.  The components drop in easily
(if I can manage it, anyone can).  When you’re done, you’ve got a Mini
Maglite that produces whiter, brighter light – and you’ll never have to buy a
replacement bulb again.

The TerraLux MiniStar2 kit consists
of a reflector cup and diode.

Standard Mini Maglite components
(left) and replacements (right).

The MiniStar2 costs roughly twice as much as the Mini
Maglite itself (as the 2AA Maglite is cheap and available everywhere). 
It pays for itself in relatively short order, however.  Setting aside the
fact that you’re getting up to 25 lumens of output from your formerly weak
Maglite, your batteries will last several times longer because the
power-regulated diode uses power much more efficiently than does an
incandescent bulb.  The diode itself is rated for 100,000 hours.  If
you can find batteries that last that long, you may as well leave your
MiniStar2-equipped light switched on for the next decade and change.

The TerraLux-equipped Maglite (left)
produces brighter, whiter
light that can still be focused (though not as tightly as the
factory incandescent bulb).  It looks tinted blue on camera.

The focused beam shot from the
TerraLux-equipped Mini Maglite
compares favorably to the popular NightCutter 5PC tactical light.

Because the Mini Maglite can be focused so tightly with its
incandescent bulb, comparisons using the naked eye are a little deceiving. 
I did a lot of tests before I settled
on some shots that show the comparative benefit of the diode.  One
comparison that I thought particularly helpful was simply shining the light
into a trash can.  The TerraLux-equipped Maglite produced more light,
enabling me to see more of the can, than did the factory Maglite.

TerraLux (right) produced more usable
illumination.

Side by side, the TerraLux (left) is
obviously cooler and more consistent.

I was extremely impressed by the TerraLux kit. 
Thanks to TerraLux my many 2AA Mini Maglites have a new lease on life.  I
plan to retrofit them all, making them much more useful, brighter,
longer-lasting utility tools on which I can rely more confidently in the
future.  If you have any Mini Maglites at home, in your car, on your
boat, or wherever, you owe it to yourself to install a TerraLux LED in each of
them.

It’s not often that a forgotten tool
gets a second chance.