Mag Lite Flashlights: Bigger and Badder.

If you want the biggest and baddest flashlight on the planet, you need not look any further. The 6 D-cell Maglite is the king... a monster of a flashlight that eats other bulb flashlights for lunch.

I actually have two of these bad boys. One of these flashlights is over 14 years old and needed only two battery changes and one bulb replacement. It's pretty dinged up but still in one piece and functioning. The other is about 4 years old now. When I bought them, one was $21 and the other was $24.99. These days they go for $24.99 a pop.

I bought my first one on a recommendation from my roommate in college and bought a couple of interesting first and third party accessories for the flashlight. After having these flashlights all these years, it's easy to see why they are relied on by law enforcement. Maglites are durable, both take and give beatings, and provide bright light over a good distance.

Specs

What's 3.12 lbs and 19.5 inches long. It's that monster 6 D-cell Maglite. I'm not joking. On top of that is is available in two colors... black and maroon. Honestly, I think this Maglite should only come in black.

The flashlight is made of aircraft grade machined aluminum with a knurled design. This gives it a solid feel with a sure grip. The flashlight head and the tail cap have large durable O-rings to maintain the water resistant properties of the MagLite. Note that MagLite does not claim their flashlights are waterproof although they hold up very well submerged. The on-off switch is covered by a thick durable rubber seal. The interior and exterior of the MagLite is anodized for corrosion resistance. The MagLite is shock resistant as well. Note that retailers often advertise things like waterproof, shock proof, and exposion proof but MagLite itself does not make these claims!

The standard equipment White Star Krypton bulb has a peak beam candlepower is rated up to 30,000 or average lumens of 162.6. The continuous run time of a single set of batteries is about 10 hours. A spare bulb is included within the tail cap wrapped in thick foam. The standard bulb is able to adequately illuminate areas 150 feet away when the beam is tightly focused (spot focusing). Supposedly, the light is visible from 2 miles away making it a great signaling tool.

Operation

All C and D cell Maglites has a 3 position switch which are on, off, and manual flashing/strobe mode. They all have a high intensity beam that can be switched from spot to flood simply by rotation the flashlight head. You can also remove the flashlight head and make the MagLite a torch. With the 6 D-cell MagLite, it was almost the equivalent of running a 40W soft white bulb in the middle of a 20x20 foot room. Note that you lose the water resistant properities since you have effectively removed one of the seals in torch mode.

Accessories

There are a ton of accessories both from MagLite and from other companies for the MagLite. Some of the accessories I bought included the belt clip ring (although the 6 D-cell is too heavy to put into a belt clip unless you wear suspender as well), the accessory pack with colored lens attachments, the Xenon bulb, and the baton attachment. The Mag Num Xenon bulb upgrade increases the peak beam candlepower of your 6 D-cell MagLite to 57,000 or average lumens of 233.5. This also increases your visibility.

The baton attachment makes the MagLite a heavy nightstick. I think this was a third party accessory.

Several compenies make a LED light kit to modify the MagLite for various lighting purposes. Unfortunately, MagLite has not developed their own kit for the 5 and 6 D-cell MagLites. I have their 3 AA LED MagLite which is ridiculously bright compared to the various competition.

It's actually quite easy to find accessories and upgrades for your MagLite through the internet or a sporting goods store.

The Past 14 Years

My first 6 D-cell MagLite has taken quite a beating over the years but has remained functional and reliable. I've used it as a makeshift baseball bat in my college days. I've used it in camping. I've used it in torch mode when I've had a blackout. It's survived some stupid things I've done with it... like in college when I threw it at walls to get it to angle back to me (the things you do when you get bored...).

Through all of this, the MagLite has only a couple of scratches although a few of them are a bit deep. My second 6 D-cell MagLite has only been used for lighting purposes and is more or less in pristine condition.

Warranty

Limited Lifetime Warranty if purchased in the Western Hemisphere and Japan. 10 year Warranty if purchased anywhere else. Battery leakage in the flashlight isn't covered by the warranty... but MagLite has agreements with Duracell, Energizer, and Ray-O-Vac/Eveready so that if battery leakage occurs with these brands (no mixing and matching batteries mind you), you will get a replacement flashlight if you ship the damaged one to MagLite. Although for the 6 D-cell MagLite, it may be cheaper to buy a new one.

Other Ramblings

Honestly, I've never had a Duracell battery leak on me but a MagLite Solitaire and a 2 AA MagLite was lost to leakage of Energizer batteries. I've not had a problems with Ray-O-Vac battery either.

I also own a couple of MagLite Solitaire flashlights, 2 AA MagLites, and a 3 AA LED MagLite. My brother owns a 2 D-cell MagLite and several Solitaire flashlights.