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The Nite Ize Minimag LED module is a drop-in replacement
for the Minimag bulb and reflector. It allows the owner of a
Minimag light to upgrade their light to LEDs which are inherently
shock resistant, provide a smoother beam, and run a very long
time on a single set of AA cells. This upgrade unit was found
at Walmart for the unbelievable price of only $5!
Body description: There really isn't any body to speak of since
this is just a replacement bulb. It has a plastic case which contains
a voltage boost circuit, 3 LEDs, and a bi-pin connector at the bottom.
To install the unit remove the head, remove the bulb, and put the LED
unit in its place. If it doesn't light, pull it out, rotate 180 deg and
re-insert. While the head of the light is still off, open it up, drop out
the old reflector and replace it with the Nite Ize reflector. Reassemble the
head and attach it to the light. The switch operates as before - twist for on
and off. The beam is no longer focusable, but provides a nice smooth flood
of light which is perfect for close work.
Output description: The white light produced by the
LED is a high color temperature and produces good color
rendition weighted toward the blue end of the spectrum.
A slight bluish tint is detectable when compared against
a near sunlight-white source, but this tinting is not that
noticeable during normal use and is common for 5mm LED lights.
Beam at one meter at target center
Runtime Plot: As you can see from the runtime, it runs
for about 11 hours before it reaches 50% starting output.
This is a far cry from the 40 minutes or so to 50% that
you get from the normal light bulb! The big advantage
of LEDs over incandescent bulbs is made clear by this
graph. Not as bright, but much longer runtimes.
Runtime
completed with Duracell batteries. More information
on runtime plots is available HERE.
Everything else; batteries, switch, water resistance, etc. are the
same as for a normal Minimag flashlight.
What I Liked: Semi-regulated/long battery life,
Good output
What I Didn't Like: I'm a little concerned about the
durability of those little pins at the bottom of the module. The torque put on them by twisting
the head as a switch may eventually cause them to break.
Conclusions: Fantastic little upgrade that turns
the Minimag into a solid LED performer.
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