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Detailed
Information:
So why exactly is there such a big market for replacement LED bulbs and LED bulb kits for Mag? Well, frankly, most incandescent bulbs pretty much suck. It's just that most people don't know it because they don't have any other point of reference. The Maglight bodies, however, are pretty nice and are very popular, so why not retrofit the lights that most people seem to like? LEDs are a big step forward in illumination technology compared to the practically ancient method of using delicate white-hot glowing wires sealed in a glass envelope. LEDs don't change color as the batteries diminish; they just get dimmer. Drop your flashlight and there's a good chance that the bulb blows. Drop an LED flahslight and it just keeps going. Batteries almost dead? Incandescent bulbs won't even flicker. LED lights can still produce enough light for you to walk through the house without banging your shins on a coffee table. The real question is, "Why wouldn't you switch to LEDs?" The only answer I can find is cost, since LED systems do cost a bit more. Over time, though, this will change. The first incandescent bulbs were exhorbinantly expensive, but over time techniques improved for manufacture and competition resulted in plumeting prices. Over just the last 3 years this has already started to happen.
The Diamond Fraen replacement kit uses a Fraen collimator lens to catch most of the light from the Luxeon LED and send it forward in a nice smooth spot/flood of light. The entire assembly is encased in an alumium jacket with heat dissapating fins built in. Installation is easy - remove the bulb holder, bulb, reflector, and lens, and throw them in the trash. You won't be needing them anymore. Drop in the glass lens and O-ring and reassemble the top of the head. Then screw the Diamond module into the socket where the bulb went. Screw the head all the way on (yes the module will press against the glass lens - that's OK) and you're ready to go. The Mag will no longer be focusable, but you won't miss it since the spot is always "in focus" without any rings or holes in the beam.
  
Output is in the form of a very clean, smooth broad beam with a brighter central spot. This is no long-distance spotter, but for the distances in which you would normally use a flashlight, this creates one of the most useful beams available.
As mentioned earlier, you can get the standard model
Luxeon I, III or V which goes into a standard 3 cell
C or D Maglight, or you can get the Luxeon I module
with the booster circuit so it can run in a 2 cell C
or D. I can especially see the regulated module becoming
popular in the 2 cell lights since its output should
easily exceed that of the 2 cell incandescent bulb.
Important things to note: These modules get hot! Don't
disassemble the light after using it for a while and
grab ahold of the module - you may get burned.
UPDATE
!!!
Diamond sent 3 additional modules for review: Luxeon
I Regulated, Luxeon III and Luxeon V with a special
adapter kit. Here are the latest numbers for output
and impressions:
Luxeon I Regulated module: Good and bright,
slight purplish tint in the beam. Produced plenty of
light with either 2 C cells or 3 D cells
Luxeon III Unregulated module: Great output!
Of course, it will progressively dim over time as the
batteries wear down.
Luxeon V Unregulated module: This one comes
with a "kit" which includes a plastic adapter
tube for three 123A batteries and a glass lens for the
Maglight. This kit is ntended for the 2-C cell light
(readily available at Home Depot stores). Drop in the
tube and three 123A batteries, replace the lens (no
additional o-ring needed), toss the reflector, screw
in the module, replace the head and away you go! This
thing is screaming bright! The only issue I have with
it is that the module is just a tiny bit too wide to
fit inside the Maglight body tube so it screws in and
rests on top of the tube. The result is that the head
will not screw on past the o-ring. Not good. Lots of
chances for water to get in if the head just loosens
a tiny bit. Perhaps Diamond will revisit this issue
and remove 1mm of material all the way around the heat
sink fins which should allow it to actually recess into
the body tube and allow the head to screw all the way
on.
 
Luxeon
V kit with battery adapter tube and lens, Beamshot at
1 meter
What I Liked: Great beam, very good output,
easy install
What I Didn't Like: Presses against
the lens (but there's really no way to make it work
any other way). Luxeon V module doesn't screw in past
the top lip of the body tube resulting in the module
preventing the head from screwing on all the way.
Other Things I Noticed:
Conclusions: If you are content with the beam you have in your current Maglight setup, well, you probably wouldn't have read this far! There are other replacement systems out there as well, and of course I would encourage everyone to look them all over and figure out which would suit their needs best. For the majority of owners, the Diamond Fraen Luxeon LED replacement module would be a great step-up over the stock bulb and will provide the most utility in general.
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