If you’re like me, you have a collection of traditional Mini MagLite flashlights. The traditional Mini MagLite is a good light but it uses old technology with the Krypton Bulb. Being a caver, lights are a part of my life so a few years ago I started looking at ways to upgrade my Mini MagLites to use LED technology.

I found there are 2 distinct upgrades available. The first uses three LEDs and the second uses a single Microstar LED. I also found the MagLite LED flashlight as well. I have been using all three of these lights for the last few years and I will also include my own reliability evaluation with each one.

 The light mounted on my helmet gets lots of abuse as shown on the photo of the yellow helmet. I have had zero problems with this upgrade. As for the light mounted on my daughter’s helmet, I have 3 additional Mini Mags with the 3 LED upgrade and have had no problems with any of them. With all the modified lights the run time has been greatly extended.

The LED Mini MagLite is longer and a little heavier than the traditional lights. It allows for the beam to be focused and is the brightest of the three lights, however, if you are buying a new LED flashlight there a much better lights available.

Here are the LED light patterns from the three lights. I took all the photos with the same shutter and aperture settings:

LED Mini MagLite

Single LED Upgrade

3 LED Upgrade

The LED MagLite and the single LED upgrade allow the beam to still be focused. The following photo shows the reflectors used. The LED MagLite has a much longer reflector which enables much better light capture and projection. The multi LED module does not use a reflector so the flashlight beam can no longer be adjusted.

Installing the Upgrades

The single LED replacement uses the existing reflector and still has the ability to go from flood to spot. The installation is very straight forward. Once the lens assembly and bulb are removed the new LED module plugs in to the same pin holes as the bulb. The LED module is polarity specific so if it does not work it will need to be removed and rotated so the pins are switched. Once installed screw the lens assembly back on and the light is ready to go.

Top Cap ShownModule Installed

Module Installed

Multi LED Replacement

Top Cap in place

The multi LED replacement installation is about the same; however it requires that the plastic top cap be removed. When you remove this cap be sure there are batteries in the light or the contact assembly will fall down in the light. Once the cap is removed the module can be installed. Polarity is still an issue so check to be sure the light works. Removed the stock reflector from the lens cap and install the one that came with the module.

With Top Cap Removed

Module Installed