Maglite LED XL50
[BUR-MLXL50]

I got lucky here, as my old AA Mini Maglite had just bitten the dust when this came up for review. I have always liked Maglite's as you know what you are going to get and they are well made. I was interested to know if they would try something different with the LED range.

Well there are differences but it is without a doubt a Maglite, it is made of the same machined aluminium of its predecessors and although fairly light at 104 grams it feels solid and well made.

It runs off 3 AAA batteries, of which you get 3 with it, which slot into a carrier that slides out of the rear of the torch. There seems to be a real simplicity to this torch which gives me confidence in its longevity. I am going away soon and will report back on its toughness when my tour is over.

Right down to what you all want to know, is it bright?

Yes, ludicrously so. In the pursuit of reviewing excellence and in the spirit of scientific knowledge (and just because you have to, really) I have tried to look into it when it was switched on, I really would not advise it. I couldn’t see a thing for about 5 minutes after and had a headache for an hour, so if you end up near someone you really dislike………….

The torch has 3 lighting settings, 1 click gives you full beam, 2 quick clicks you get 25% power and 3 quick clicks gives you a flashing strobe. Full beam is BRIGHT, I used it in our garden in the pitch black and could see as if in daylight, the range is supposed to be 145m but have not been able to confirm yet, will report back on this when I can find somewhere to check. 25% power is still bright enough for most tasks; I would compare it to my old AA Maglite on new batteries. I think the only time the strobe would be of any use would be in emergencies to be seen, I am not sure that I will ever use it though.

The nice peeps at RVOps also sent a Mini Maglite accessory kit along with it. Now, the clip and lanyard will not go on it due to differing size but the rubber lens holder and lenses fit like a glove. With the red lens on, full power is still blinding but 25% is pretty good.

The push button switch on the end of the torch is recessed nicely and you would have to go some to drop the torch so that it would switch on. The only real feature that I can say is not very good is Maglite’s traditional turning lens to switch from spot to flood beam. All that seems to happen is you get an increasingly large black area in the middle of the beam as you turn it. I would also have liked to see somewhere to tie a bit of cord on for going into a smock pocket.

This torch is available online for about £35 at the moment which, when you see how bright this thing is, is not bad at all?

So what we have here is a well made, extremely bright lightweight torch that will do all you want for a fairly reasonable price. I must admit I wanted a surefire and was ready to bitch about how this was the poor man's alternative, but have found myself liking it immensely. Well after the headache stopped anyway

Date Added: 10/10/2011 by Arrse Reviews