MagLite - XL200-S3016 Maglite XL200 LED 3-Cell AAA Flashlight, Black

Alrighty, I love Maglites, been carrying them in one form or another since I was a kid... but about seven years ago I jumped ship to Surefire and their ilk. Simply put, for a pocket sized light, Maglite just didn't have anything that could keep up with the new kids on the block!After going through my umpteenth tactical light I saw that Maglite had finally joined the party with the XL100: but man, they were kinda pricey! So I went with a new "tough-as-nails" 90 lumen Surefire... which, like several of my previous Surefires, could handle hell and high water, but couldn't survive a weekend with my 4 year old niece... nothing can kill a piece of gear like a small child!After yet another mall-ninja approved gizmo dying on me, I had had enough and wanted that made in the USA Maglite toughness. So I was all set to migrate back to Maglite and buy an XL100... sure at 83 lumens it wasn't as bright as the lights I'd grown used to, and at the time they were $50 plus which was way more than what Maglites traditionally cost, but if they were anything like my old 2 and 3D cell Maglites, or my key-chain and pocket sized Maglites, then I knew I'd only need to buy one and I'd be good for a decade or more! As I went to plunk down my cash I saw that there was a new lower end model, the XL50... $25 later and I was a happy man.After a good 6 months of service, the XL50 was proving to be a great light, but, at a mere 103 lumens (at the time, the new ones are rated at 130+) I was finding I wanted something brighter. It was a pretty easy sell to move up to the XL200 and its 172 lumen output...Alrighty, my review... finally... The XL200 is a handy size, small enough to fit in a pocket (mine rides on my belt in an ALICE single magazine pouch... there are niftier holsters out there, but I'm a KISS kinda fellow) it doesn't get in the way, and it's nice and light weight: making for a perfect EDC light. The tail cap switch is well placed, it's very easy to whip out and use. Easy to hold in one hand. And the ridges along the length of the aluminum tube (the body of the light, more or less) gives you a nice, slip resistant, positive gripping surface. The fact that it runs AAA batteries is awesome, most of my previous tactical lights have required more expensive batteries (having to cough up 20 bucks every time the light grows dim kinda sucks.) Although I use it in "hi" 90% of the time, it's nice having the ability to dim the light's output for tasks that require a longer burn time with less light. And man is this light bright! Sure, I have a few lights that are 200 lumens or brighter (one of my weapon mounted lights is 350 lumens- that bastard can light up a room, but only gives you 30 minutes of light per set of fresh batteries)but honestly, once you break that 150 lumens level, flashlights become blinding to those on the wrong side of them (it also strikes a nice balance between brightness and battery life!) Like every Maglite I have, it's built like a tank. I've dropped it down stair wells, I've sat on it, stepped on it, dropped it down an elevator shaft. No matter what, I can't kill it. I was so impressed by it, that I bought two more for my guns. That's right, the weapon lights on my 870 and on my AR are Maglite XL200s: and the buggers can take it. I did a low lighting home defense shotgun/carbine class, and after 3 days of hard use (we're talking 5000+ rounds, and hours of burn time, not to mention getting smacked around and whapped against every surface you could imagine) my weapon light was still nice and bright, with only a couple of scratches in the finish. This same course ate Fenix, Surefires and Scorpions (keep in mind the last two companies make lights specifically for use on guns!)I also like how, unlike other flash lights, the XL200 lets you know the batteries are running low. In many of my LED lights, the light works fine, then one day it doesn't. With the XL200, when the batteries start to run low, it'll kick on in its full-powered glory, but after 5 or so seconds, it will kick over into it's low setting. A nice heads up if you will. Also the throw of this thing is amazing: we're talking 200 or more yards. It'll light up a nice swath of open field, or your whole backyard to the fence. Also, although it claims to be adjustable focus, it really isn't. It comes pre-focused with a decent bright white spot in the center (about the size of dinner plate at 50 feet) surrounded by an area of less focused light (about 2 feet across at 50 feet.) If you take off the lens (which doubles as a nifty little stand) and point it straight up, it will light up a fairly large room very nicely. Lastly there's Maglite's customer service. Maglite is an American company, that make a great product, that they stand 100% behind. And I mean an American company, with American workers, assembling the light in good old California. Now, I've never had to deal with their customer service because of the XL200, but I did have an XL50 go bad (I bought 2, two worked- and still work- flawlessly. The third stopped going to high, it'd just do low and strobe. I tried everything to fix it, but to no avail... Maglite apologized for the defective switch and replaced it for me. I got to trade in my first gen 78 lumen XL50 for a new 104 lumen XL50 at no cost to me!) Dealing with Maglite was a breeze, the gal on the phone was easy to deal with (and understand, their customer service call center is in Ontario, CA, along with the rest of the company... heck, the founder still runs the place! So, yeah, everything about the XL200 is almost perfect... almost...Now all the features are pretty nifty, and the click count programming isn't the most difficult or awkward interface. But honestly, as cool as those features are, in the past year I've had this light, I haven't used anything aside from Hi and Off, with the occasional dimmed light... but I suppose it's better to have a morse code/signal mode and not use it than to really have a need for it, but not have it. Also, this flash light is light... like silly light, not really a bad thing, but it could use another once or two of heft. And those great, affordable AAA batteries? Well it's good this thing uses cheap batteries: 172 lumens eats a lot of power. So stock up on batteries, you'll need them. I burn through batteries at a reasonable rate (maybe a set every 3 months or so) with the XL50s, with XL200s I get maybe a month of heavy use out of each set of AAAs. I'd recommend splurging on Li-ion batteries or rechargeable batteries. Now, as great as the clear, bright white, center spot light is, and how decent of a general purpose focus the throw has, there are times when I need a true focused spot light and times when I need a diffused fill up a room light. Supposedly the XL200 has a focus-adjustable lens, but on none of my XL200 does it do anything noticeable. Also, a lanyard ring would be nice, like I said before, I've dropped it down an elevator shaft before. A strap for the wrist could have been helpful!Now to summarize my ramble:The Maglite XL200 is a great all around tactical pocket flash light. Combining affordability, outstanding craftsmanship, quality materials, tank-like durability, an excellent bright white light with an amazing throw, and an ease/cost-of ownership second to none into a great general purpose flash light that everyone should carry!Pros:1) Well made to the same exacting standards we've come to expect from Maglite.2) Really bright!3) Loads of setting to choose from, controlled by a semi-easy to use interface.4) A nice size and shape (big enough to keep track of and small enough to always carry)5) Inexpensive batteries you can find anywhere, and cheaply stockpile!6) Made by an American company that takes pride in its product, and truly cares about its customers.Cons:1) Battery life in the brightest mode isn't so great (2.5 hours) although it's still better than the 90 minuteor less run-time a lot of the 200 to 300 lumen tactical lights give you.2) The click interface isn't difficult to use, but it's not the quickest. Frankly most folks will only really needHI/LOW/OFF, and most features will go un-played after the first couple of weeks. I solved the too many optionsproblem by switching the end-cap from one of my XL50s out with my EDC XL200!3) The lack of an adjustable focus is a pain. Yes, the way it's set up now is usable, but still, focusing would benice.Again, I'll admit to being a total Maglite fan, so my opinion is a tad bias... but, the XL200 is an amazing light that will meet and exceed all your flash light needs. Heck, it's now part of my everyday carry (EDC) kit, along with my Benchmade Barrage 581, my Benchmade Nimravus 140, my Leatherman Charge Ti, my Kahr PM9 and my Beretta 92FS... the XL200 is right at home on my belt with everything else!

When you can get a pocket flashlight for a couple of bucks, why would you get a flashlight like this one?1. Brightness. This is as bright as any flashlight that I have ever owned, save "million candle power models". I own an XL100, this flashlight seems to be brighter. If you look into the light it will dazzle you, even on a bright Florida day.2. This flashlight has every function that the XL100 does, plus the safety mode (which works exactly like the safety mode on the XL100 did). With the XL100, you needed a flashlight to look at the back of the XL100 to figure out which part of the light to aim up - the 100 went into modes by which part of the side of the flashlight was up and I frequently got it wrong. I like the 200 scheme a lot better, it can be done one handed, in the dark and counting is a lot more sure than aiming.The functions invoked by clicking the button some number of times. A quick click turns the flashlight on. Push and hold, and you can adjust the brightness. You tilt the flashlight left or right to brighten or dim it. There is a slightly broader spot for the max position, so it is easy to make the light "brightest".Two clicks get you into flash mode. Hold the button and tilt the flashlight to adjust the speed of the flash. The effect is that of a strobe light. You can "freeze" a ceiling fan or a running dog, but when you look at the fan you can see that to brighten the flash, the light stays on a lot longer than a xenon flash, there are several quick flashes although this effect was more pronounced on the XL100 than the XL200, but you can make the fan appear to run forwards and backwards. Fun and games at parties, but if you set it at a very low rate, it will flash for quite a while, I'd imagine a week or more would not be exceptional. Or it could flash faster for a warning. The intensity of the flash can be adjusted.Three clicks is night light mode. This is simple. The flashlight does not move for a second, it dims. You move the flashlight, it brightens to full. Then, with no movement for a second, it dims again. This is handy as a tent light, or in a power failure. This mode is not affected by dimming.Four clicks is manual signal mode. There is one point in the flashlight's rotation at which the flashlight is off and you twist it a bit and it comes on. With practice, you could send morse code in this mode. Dimming works in this mode.Five clicks puts the flashlight into sos mode. Dimming works in this mode.Finally, there is the safety mode. I believe that this was not on the XL100, can't find mine right now. With the flashlight turned off, point it straight up, push and hold the button. Point it straight down, release the button. The light should turn off, then it is in safe mode.To take it out of safe mode, point it up, press and hold the button, point it straight down and release. This is exactly the same move you used to put it into the safe mode with one button push pointing straight up and one straight down.This flashlight sounds complicated, it is not. It can be operated with one hand, with no issues. If you can click a button between one and five times, and hold or not hold the button on the last click, and (if you want to use the safety) point a flashlight up and click the button on the back, then point the flashlight down while holding it, you can use every function on the flashlight, but here are the real reasons to buy it:1. It is bright.2. It is pre-focused to maximum brightness. If you want to light a room more or less evenly, you can unscrew the cap, but otherwise you leave it on and leave it tight. There are many places where you need a light, this makes the light handy. You can dim it by unscrewing the cap, but it makes way more sense to dim it by holding the button and twisting the light.3. It is light and can fit easily into a pocket, purse, or holster.4. Simple functions are easy to operate, while harder functions are harder to operate. If all you want to do is turn the light on and off, push the button once, quickly. If you want to dim the light, push the button and tilt it.You can buy a flashlight for $5. This light is seven times better than a $5 flashlight. I have a bunch of $2 flashlights scattered around the house for our frequent power failures, but the light I carry is a maglight, reliable and made in the USA.This is the first LED flashlight that I thought was every bit as bright as any incandescent flashlight of the same size or slightly larger, as bright as a krypton style bulb that was in the 5 D cell lights that Mag sells.