Maglite LED 2-Cell D Flashlight, Blue

Needed a replacement for my old one with a leaked out battery stuck in it.

I really like this line of Maglites, with the black being the ST3D016 model. I bought 4 of them in 2019, with the average price being $26 at the time (black, silver, gray, and camo). I came back today to buy one as a gift and it's $50, so has nearly doubled in price in 2 years! I bought my first Maglite in 1982, 39 years ago, a 4D, incandescent of course, and it's still going strong, upgraded in the '90's to a krypton bulb, then later to LED module. These are 168 lumens, and are simple and reliable. I haven't had any issue with the button covers, but based on other reviews am keeping an eye on that. I considered the ML300L line at a big increase in lumens, but didn't like the form factor, the lighter construction, the finicky multi-button push sequence, the failure rate, or the overall lower ratings. I already have a couple "fry your eyeballs" Surefire combat lights, but just wanted general purpose reliable very bright flashlights for the garage, shed, and bedrooms. I already had two 20 year-old incandescent 3D maglites, which I retrofitted with Maglite LED bulbs about 10 years ago, one of which has already failed, which is irritating, but in fairness it may have been dropped by the person I loaned it to. Those LED upgrades are big improvements over the Krypton bulbs, but not quite as bright as these units. I was amazed at the brightness and throw of these lights. I can easily light up a rooftop or treetop over 150 yards away, plus don't suck up battery life with a bunch of unnecessary brightness. To me these 3D Maglights at 168 lumens are the perfect compromise between long battery life, durability, a light you can maintain yourself without sending back to the factory, and something you can use as an attitude adjuster in a pinch. For the ones I carry in the thug infested part of town when I walk the dog I added a Weltool strike bezel just in case, but ML300L or not, the light is bright enough on it's own to blind anyone. Hopefully the price will go back down after this inflationary craziness dies down (IF it dies down), but even at $50 I can enthusiastically recommend this model. The sole concern I have is if the LED ever fails, because you can't go back to a krypton bulb like you can with the incandescent conversions, so I'll have to pay Mag to have it fixed. That's not likely though I don't think.The other Amazon extras I can recommend are the Weltool hard glass lens (comes with the strike bezel, or you can buy separately and keep the factory bezel), and an Uncle Mikes belt hanger, which is especially useful if you're a cop or security guard or just might need your hands free. Finally, depending on the size of your hands, wrap the beginning and ending of the knurling with about a 1.5" -2" width of hockey tape, which will help you hang onto the light, and is nicer to have under your palm on a cold night. Get one, I don't think you'll regret it.(P.S. To the people that see a black circle at the center of the beam, turn the bezel! These are adjustable from a wide to spot beam, and only the spot and wide spot doesn't have the black center circle. I index mine so that when turned as far as I can to the left, it's a spot. You can tweak that by taking off the head of the light and turning the reflector a quarter turn in the housing then trying again. Repeat until you get it the way you want it.

I replaced this one from another I had bought & it is just as good as the other. Very bright.You can't go wrong with this light. We have bought some smaller tac lights and they're bright, for sure, but there is no replacing a true, full size, mag light

What can I say it is a great light. If you want a durable reliable light that will last for years buy a MagLight.

This is a follow-up to the issues raised in the review by Diemaker67 ("Yes but") posted on March 21, 2009, concerning US/non-US models and models with serial numbers starting with "DL". I've had many exchanges of e-mail with Maglite customer service. With the exception of one issue, I now have solid information which should clear things up a lot. Here goes.(1) US/non-US Models. Units for US/non-US distribution are identical.(2) Warranty. Units sold in the US, and in other countries, are covered by a "limited lifetime warranty". Units sold in *some* countries are sold with a *10 year limited warranty*. Maglite says that's only because business regulations in some countries do not permit a "limited lifetime warranty" to be offerred. Units being sold in the US with a "10 year limited warranty" are not grey market goods. Apparently some units are packaged with the incorrect inserts. Maglite will honor the "limited lifetime warranty". Since 10 years is a long time, this is really an academic issue. If you read the warranty, the LED is not covered, and that's the part that's most likely to go (except for the switch, maybe).(3) "DL" models. "DL" does NOT indicate non-US models. Turns out there are two generations of LED models. The first gen ("D" models) have a replaceable LED. It has a spare krypton bulb in the tail cap. The second gen ("DL" models) have a non-replaceable LED and therefore does NOT have a spare bulb in the cap.(4) Brightness. Maglite says there is no difference in brightness between first gen and second gen. However, if you Google "Maglite LED DL", you will find different information. Turns out there are geeky forums and blogs dedicated to flashlights. They call themselves "flashaholics". According to a couple of detailed posts, the second gen LED is much brighter than the first gen LED. In fact, there are a couple of posts that says a second gen light running on 2-D cell batteries (Sorry about all these D's, but bear with me. I'll also refrain from making wisecracks about DD's :-)) is much brighter than a first gen light running on 3-D cell batteries. Besides the improved LED, the reflector bowl has been redesigned. I can personally vouch for this. I was impressed enough with this light that I decided to order another. Amazon was selling the 3-D cell model for $6 less than the 2-D cell model, so I bought the larger one. Surprise, surprise, it's dimmer. Turns out it's a first gen model. Maglite says this should NOT be dimmer, and, if I mail it to them, they will check it out. But I need to pay to ship it out. There's no point in paying almost $10 to ship out a $21 unit.Note added: The first gen is the same as the incandescent, except it has a removable LED module which can be swapped with the standard bulb. But this means that the light is not optimized for an LED, which has different optical properties. The second gen has been redesigned specifically for an integrated LED. That probably explains the improved performance, even though they are both rated for 3 watts.5) How do you know what you are getting. Not easily. The only way to tell for sure if you have a second gen vs first gen is by looking at the serial number. First gen starts with "D"; second gen starts with "DL". However, if you order by mail, you obviously can't do that. Also, since they are blister packed, it's hard to do that in a store as well.If you read some of the geek posts, there are some subtle differences in size and packaging. Note added: Compared side-by-side, the second gen has a deeper and shiner reflector bowl. If you look at the LED (turned off of course!) there also is a difference. All this is moot, of course, if you are ordering online. Even in a store, it's hard to tell because they are blister packed. And you have to know in advance what you look for.But Maglite decided not to make an announcement of "New, improved, second gen" or anything of the sort. No explicit label on the package. I asked Maglite when second gen was introduced. No answer. From a web search, it appears to be recent, last two months or so. Second gen 2-D cell is definitely out. Not sure of availability of second gen 3-D cell and 4-D cell sizes. So there will be mixed inventory on store shelves and online warehouses. I think this is a mistake on Maglite's part. Customers like to know what they are getting. I guess this avoids clearance sales on first gen units. But remember, they insist there is no difference in brightness,so there is no need for an announcement. I think though that people would still want to know about the non-replaceable LED. And, if second gen does in fact have improved performance, I would think that would be a great selling point. But I'm an engineer, not a marketing guy.Note added 3/13/2010: The 2nd gen lights now are labelled with "New Performance Enhanced LED".

Best flashlight out there bar none. You can literally "shine" deer 🦌 with this flashlight!! Good bright beam that lets you see in the dark. I have several in the cars and farm trucks that enable us to see what is out there in the dark!

I’ve had a couple of these torches over the years and found them excellent. This LED bulb one is literally brilliant. Such a sharp bright light. I was surprised and could recommend this.

Great torch, as I'd expect from Maglite. We have a 2D and a 3D version, and there is no discernible difference in brightness, I assume the 3D will just last longer as it has the extra battery. (It's too early to rate battery life, hence I gave it 3* as there wasn't an option to say "Don't know".If it matters to you, the colour is more of a lilac-grey than a "true" grey, but that doesn't bother me in the slightest. (But perhaps a good thing this one is for me, rather than my teenage son, who might think differently!)

A very well constructed torch that should stand up to a fair few knocks without complaining. The led lights give a bright beam but I cannot comment on the battery life yet. Slight moan about the difficulty in screwing on the end cap after fitting the batteries. This has quite a shallow depth so you have to compress the spring very forcibly to allow the thread to engage with the body. This would probably be very difficult for anyone who did not have the requisite physical strength. That apart, a good buy in my estimation.

Does what it should..

Torch is perfect and just what we wanted. I have to comment on NUSHOP service. After an initial delay, they got in touch and were really responsive until torch arrived and even phoned to apologise in person about the initial delay. Their excellent attitude more than made up for the slight delay.