MAGLITE ML300LX 2-Cell D LED Flashlight, Adjustable Beam, Water-Resistant, QuickClick Modes, Extended Battery Life – Black

I'm writing this review more or less in reply to another negative review I saw. Review had said about the flashlight head not being threaded onto the body. This light deserves the 5 stars. As for Duty lights there are more updated products, more state-of-the-art, less size but more power, better options all around. One thing though that Maglites are really good for is Security work, not only lighting up the night but as a means of self defense. Now of course you should always check your local laws, use proper use-of-force. Maglites are solid built and always handy. A lot of time a Security Guard isn't allowed to carry any other means for self defense other than a Maglite for nighttime use. With that in mind I put in a fair amount of research in my next duty light. If you are looking for a full sized light for on the job work this light shines (no pun intended.) One thing right off the bat is I will point out the battery usage. Once the batteries start to grow weak the flashlight will no longer keep the Full power active past a second or two. It's a good indicator to change the batteries soon. It will still turn on and still shine for a long time on the dimmer settings so do not let that fool you into thinking the light is busted, change the batteries first. My light flicked off from the Full power setting, I turned it back on and it would dim after a second or two. It kept doing this for a week of nightly use. I changed the batteries and now the light works Full power just like from day 1 when I opened it. That's a good example of the battery usage of the light. As far as another review pointing out the flashlight head isn't threaded onto the body like the older incandescent bulb Maglites I'm attaching a picture so you can see for your self. Truth is it is attached in some degree while still being Mag-tough. On the top of the flashlight body they have attached a small metal ring. This ring is thin but it's really strong and it's sank into the body even lower than the threads. I've tried to pry this sucker off and it isn't coming off easy. Not that it can't be removed, I'm sure if you wanted to complain you could use some pliers and eventually get it off but for standard use this ring isn't going anywhere. On top of that they have a heavy duty plastic ring deeply threaded onto the flashlight body. This plastic ring lowers all the way down on top of the metal ring. This plastic ring is your adjuster, when you turn the flashlight head this is what adjust the LED. The reflector is put over this and the cap then screwed onto the top of the flashlight head. All in all it makes a really solidly built body. As tough as it is the only way I can see you having issues with this light is if you leave it for extended times in a car. Cars can reach 350 degrees in the heat, anything cooked for hours in that heat will degrade and not only that but would explode almost any battery. That or if you are hitting something as hard as an ox and even then if by some off chance you crack the lens the body is still solidly built that it isn't going anywhere. If you really fear the cap detaching I would change your grip. Good grip to have with a Maglite is to grip just above the flashlight head, I normally put 3 fingers over the head and my pinky resting on the cap using my middle finger to flip the switch to turn it on. (Pin shown on the pic for size comparison.)

I've still got the first 3 x D Cell Maglite my brother gave me more than 40 years ago, and it still works like new, so I was happy to try one of their new LED lights, and I was not dissapointed. In fact, I liked it so much I've ended up giving them out as Christmas presents to several close friends. Build quality is top notch. It's built like a tank, and with the new LED technology I should never have to worry about the light going out from being dropped, with the added benefit that I get more runtime with a set of batteries, plus it's got 3 levels of light to choose from, giving me even more flexibility in choosing the right amount of light for the job, or maximizing runtime with a bit less light, when needed. My only gripe is that I found the color of the light to be a bit blue/cyan, and the beam is not as even as I'd like. However, being an avid photographer, I know how to color correct light, so I ordered a piece of peach colored filter material from Adorama that also had a small diffusion layer built in, and it corrected both issues perfectly, so that now the beam is pure white and smooth as silk. Don't get me wrong, most people would never notice the color of the light being "off", I'm just super picky, so I certainly didn't remover a star for that. I only mention it because it's the only thing I could find wrong, and other wise, it's a fantastic light that I'll enjoy using for many years to come.

I was a little skeptical about buying this one because of the mixed reviews, but I decided “what the heck!”. I hope the photos will be helpful while you read the rest of my review. First impressions: Awesome Maglite! Feels just as heavy duty as the old ones and looks amazing! It’s real bright, a bit brighter than my old 3-D Cell LED Maglite and the button feels up to date and not springy, but I actually like the spring feeling button on the older versions, but the new one is just as nice. This new one is a bit shorter than the old one and the head of the flashlight is a bit different too. Taking it apart was a new bit for me, slightly different design, but keeping the toughness. New features: I like the capability of choosing a lower light setting, but it does take a little playing around to get used to the button switching(it’s like the toy sonic screwdrivers lol). Some questioned the strength in the head because of the plastic gear inside, but it doesn’t seem to be a weak spot much at all. Though when opening the flashlight out of the package, I would suggest taking it apart just in case to make sure the plastic ring is bottomed out so when you put it back together, the head will adjust normally(the gear teeth touch the bottom of the reflector and there’s an edge inside the head that bottoms out with the edge under the plastic gear which limits how far you can twist the head). Oh and you have to unscrew the top cap of the head first then pop the bottom half off and slide it off the flashlight, then when putting it together, you will have to slide the bottom half of the head up the flashlight then slightly pop it in to completely close it together and screw the top cap back on. When the light is on, the head doesn’t adjust the same way that the old one does, but it’s easy and shorter in the twisting. The battery end cap is different, so there’s no swapping parts with the old ones. It’s a new Maglite nearly all together, but it’s great! Overall: It’s a Maglite! I currently have no cons to bring out. The biggest pro in my opinion, is that it’s a bit lighter than the old one and brighter, which is a big thumbs up for me! Great job!! It’s a perfect piece in my Maglite collection!!!

Yes this is exactly what I wanted in a flashlight. First let me address some of the complaints I read in previous reviews. 1. Radius of light beam. This is not a floodlight, it is a flash light. Do not expect 180 degrees of solid light that is not how it works. Single LED lights do not cast a beam like incandescent. However, the result of light is still beyond satisfying. I can light up a 5 bay TRUCK (dumptruck) shed from 80 feet away, thats a building 70 feet wide we are talking about. Yeah trust me its brighter then the sun. 2. Button no longer working. This has a different style button then older Maglites. The button is a single push not a depress spring load button, if you push it to hard it will break eventually, all you need to do is tap it on or off. 3. Light Flickering not working properly. I have only had this product for a day, it is solid Maglite anodized aluminum. That being said this product can take a whack and still work. DO NOT expect to be able to repeatedly brick this on concrete or rocks and continue to have it work. Take care of your items even if it can take punishment don't give it any if you doesn't need to. Also this flashlight has 4 function modes each with four types of settings. One of the settings is "hold button for light" do confuse this for "only working when i hold button" this is a setting of the flashlight itself. The instructions literally warn you not to stare into the light for it can cause possible retina damage, that's how bright this sucker is. Make no mistake about it this is a powerful light. I purchased the 3 - D cell version so it would have that extra weight and power. Even on the lowest power setting it still casts a beam 100's of feet away. The strobe effect is almost sickening which is exactly what i wanted, it is meant to disorientate and confuse and trust me even the user has a hard time looking at the strobe while using the flashlight so imagine what an animal or a thief will experience. Extremely satisfying I expect lots of use and enjoyment from this product. REMEMBER the longer and more effort you put into taking care of something the longer it will last you.

Great flashlight, the illumination is amazing

I picked this up mostly for the purposes of seeing how Maglite's traditional line has adapted in the face of competitors from folks like Streamlight and Surefire. Is it competitive with similarly sized modern flashlights? The answer is...yes, it is. Flashlight is big and bright, and really is mostly useful for poor visibility conditions as well as darkness, as the product description shows someone in adverse weather conditions with it. There really is no need for it to be THIS bright for most purposes, but it's great for what it is and has the traditional maglite quality feel. The glaring problem is that it uses D-cells. Why is this a problem? Lithium D-cell options are more rare than an honest congressman. I can only imagine that the reason why D-cells have persisted is because of "legacy" sort of devices like Maglite and folks just use akalines for them. Beyond the longevity issues, Akaline batteries of course run the risk of bursting as they age. So if you have this in your go-bag or something, and it's been untouched for a long period of time, who knows what the inside of the casing will look like. Maglite needs to figure out options other than D-cells for this, or it needs to talk the major manufacturers into making lithium D-cells.

OK, I just got this flashlight a few days ago so I don't have any long term experience with it. But as a flashaholic I have a lot of knowledge about flashlights in general (after collecting at least 50 high end flashlights including Surefire, Fenix, Nitecore, Olight, etc). You get the picture. This Maglite would be an excellent choice for a family flashlight or for a long term power outage scenario. I wanted this light specifically because it uses D cell batteries. You can find those batteries anywhere (which isn't true of 18650 batteries, RCR-123's, various IMR batteries, etc.). Plus D cells are relatively cheap and they pack a lot of amps into one battery which means your light will last a long time before you need to replace the batteries. This light excels at throw and it has a pretty decent spill as well. Even on the eco mode the throw is impressive. The throw to spill ratio is adjustable by twisting the head but there isn't a huge amount of variance by doing this. I just keep my light on maximum throw since that is the way I am using it right now. But it's nice to know I can increase the spill if necessary. Going from high to low ("eco" mode) takes a little practice. The light comes on in high and you have to click the switch quickly to go through the modes. If you are too slow your second click will turn the light off. This just takes a little practice and it's not really a big issue. You can configure the light a couple of different ways. I didn't need the strobe feature so I just left the light with the default factory settings. If you decide to buy this light let me make a couple of other recommendations: I bought a couple of low discharge 8,000 mAh NiMh D cells to go with this light. Be sure to get NiMh batteries with a low discharge rate because low discharge high amperage batteries are supposed to hold 80% of their power over one year of storage. You should also consider getting a battery charger that has both AC and DC charging capabilities. That's important if you want to be able to charge your flashlight from your car battery if the power goes out for a long period of time. I also recommend you buy a battery tester (usually less than $10), and last but not least - the Maglite accessory kit. The accessory kit has a mounting bracket, anti-roll collar, and some lenses. The anti-roll collar may be important if you are careless with your light. This flashlight is only rated for a 1 meter fall so it might survive a roll off your kitchen counter but not much higher than that. The accessory kit is cheap and you will not regret spending the money. Overall I think this is an excellent flashlight for general use and a very good item for preppers or anyone wanting a flashlight with a long battery life. Get this light - you won't be disappointed.

Ok, I am happy to give this ML300XL 5 Stars. The light was not all that I expected it to be, but it still rates 5 in my book. I have had Maglites for decades. I recently passed down my 3D incandescent light from when I delivered pizzas in the late 80's to my 11 year-old son. I have an AA MiniMag and a 3D 2nd Gen LED as well. I always appreciate how beefy the lights are. This ML300XL intrigued me, so I put it in my wish list for awhile. Around Christmas for a short period of time I saw that the price dropped to $34, which was interesting because the 2D version of this same light was still at $44. Figuring it was a mistake that would soon be corrected, I bought it. Shipping was super fast with Prime. Packaging was fine. Put brand new Energizers in, and tested it out. Light is very bright, no question about that. Very happy with brightness level on full power. It has 4 different modes to choose from, each mode having a certain set of 3 light settings. I chose General, so I have Full Power/Med Power/Strobe. Works best for me. Build quality is fantastic. Love the new grip pattern. Love Maglites. Made in USA using quality materials. ONLY thing that I was bummed about is that it is a lighter version of previous 3D cells. The material is not the strong and heavy aluminum body that I am used to. To me, this 3D light is the same size as their older 3C lights. I would like to see them get back to a thicker body but with the same technology in it. Many people buy Maglites for the beefy metal body. Fantastic light, and a steal at $34...