Maglite XL50 LED Flashlight

With this tool you get Maglite quality and durability, plus 200 lumens of bright, focused light with good spill...enough light to clearly see whatever goes "bump" in the night. I've carried a Maglite (in its various forms) for over 30+ years, and I still have my first Maglite bought new in the mid-'80s.

Iconic quality with exceptional performance...Maglite.

When I think of iconic outdoor products from my youth, a few items come to mind immediately... Coleman lanterns and stoves, the Buck folding 110 knife, Stanley Thermoses, and the Maglite flashlight. True, back then ('70s and '80s) the "state of the art" was nowhere where it is now, but if you go to any store or website you will find each one of these products, in their nearly original form, still available for purchase. THAT is time tested quality of a truly iconic product.

The Maglite XL50, to me, represents one of the best of this iconic brand. LED technology has brought flashlights from the days of the EverReady 2 D cell plastic incandescent light you kept in the kitchen drawer, to $200-$300 18650 LiPo4 lights pushing 3K-10K lumens... it's insane. It has become a race to see who can make the brightest, most powerful light with the greatest lumens and the most modes out there. It can be very frustrating and requires a tech degree to just get a good flashlight for everyday use...then I made a realization.

I have over 50+ flashlights (12 of them are Maglites to which I've availed myself heavily

to the after market enhancements available)... I'm what you call a "flash-a-holic". I have the 18650 monsters pushing 3-4K lumens, I have focusing flashlights that run on CR123's and will illuminate things out to 100+ yards, but those are the special exceptions used for a particular purpose and seldom at that. When I reach for a light, and want to see something in the night or in a dark closet, I don't grab one of the exceptions... I grab my Maglite XL50 200 lumen single function AAA light w/ Eneloop NIMH rechargeable batteries and what I want to see is now illuminated.

As LED flashlights have grown up, so too has Maglite. They now have + one thousand Lumen rechargeable lights, 300+ lumen 'tactical' lights (got one of those too) and a host of other options to meet every need. Such is the nature of the industry, grow or become obsolete. Since I bought my first Maglite in the 1980s (still have it), my needs have grown from the pale yellow light of the Xenon incandescent lights (then a milestone) to where I want LED power and longevity in my EDC light.

My needs have been realized in this modest offering from iconic Maglite. A reliable AAA alkaline flashlight with enough lumens to meet my every need, backed by a USA made product/company with a 30+ year proven track record... it don't get much better than that.

Background

I have over 12 Maglites. I've used them extensively in my job and in my capacity as a volunteer medic w/ my local CERT. This particular light I've owned for several years. I've taken it on camping trips, used it on the job, and it currently sits on my table within easy reach. It's my go-to option.

This flashlight put all my other flashlights to shame. I always prefer a headlamp for backpacking, but I always bring a small backup in case the headlamp dies. 

I brought this on my recent outing. It is AMAZINGLY bright, and shines long distances compared to my headlamp.

It seems pricey at $30, but well worth it. Lightweight, durable. Picked it up at wal^mart.