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The 1st order of business: this is a great light for the money! USA-made aside. Just good quality all around. I'm going to get a UCL glass window to replace the stock Lexan one though.
The 2nd order of biz: I wanted to see how the regulation scheme worked in real life. The Minimag Pro/Pro+ do indeed have regulated output, so you get 100% brightness every time you turn it on, while sparing alkaline cells from the deleterious effect of extended durations of high current draw. When you turn the light on it gives full brightness; unless the battery is totally dead, the driver circuit proceeds with a strictly timer-based regulation scheme. I explain how it works in detail below*.
This evening I shut all the windows in my dorm room and set up the Minimag Pro in a secure rest ~1m away from a lux meter. I sat down with the sci-fi/fantasy novel my girlfriend lent me (Mistborn : Final Empire Series (Book #1) (Mistborn, Book 1)), and read for over three hours. I read only by the light given off by the MM Pro.
I took note of the readings on the minute for the first ten minutes, thereafter every 10 minutes I put down my book to scribble down the reading from the meter. Interestingly enough, the lux reading increased from turn-on until the 5 minutes mark. I used Duracell 2000mAh LSD NiMH (a.k.a. "Duraloops;" made-in-Japan Sanyo Eneloops sold in Coppertop wrappers).
I didn't notice an appreciable change in brightness until ~0:40 into the test. Admittedly, I wasn't looking too hard for it. I still had more than enough light for reading. A little before the 3 hour mark, I noticed the light was considerably more dim: I had to strain my eyes a little bit to read. I turned the light off then on again, and...let there be LIGHT! The Minimag Pro came back on with full brightness (confirmed by my eyes and my lux meter). The light proceeded to happily shine on with its original intensity for 23 more minutes before suddenly fading to a low (but still usable) light. Very cool.
This type of regulation scheme works without being a nuisance. Human perception of brightness is nonlinear, so our eyes are pretty insensitive to small changes in intensity. I can attest to it! Mag had to design this light to play nice with alkaline cells, and they came up with an interesting solution. You get 100% brightness on demand, and extended runtimes that won't "put the hurt on" an alkaline battery. Good show, Mag, good show.
The light casts a snowy-white tint. One of the best cool white tints in my flashlight collection. Cool white, yes, but a likeable cool tint, with not a hint of blue or green. I reckon it falls in chromaticity bin '1D' or '2A.' In other words, pure white light.
I think the Minimag Pro's 226 lumen ANSI rating is pretty realistic-this light draws about 1.5 amps measured at the tailcap. If I assume the boost circuit is 75-80% efficient and 75-80% of the light leaves the lexan window, I can extrapolate output numbers from the Cree XP-G datasheet ranging from 220 to 250 lumens. It gets pretty warm in the hand after 5-10 minutes, but not toasty by any means. I have lights that get too hot keep on max for long periods; this isn't one of them!
*After the light is on for a couple of minutes, the circuit starts slowly lowering current output to the emitter. Over the course of the first hour, it slowly and linearly regulates output down to ~35%. Output then remains flatly regulated for the next hour and a half or so, then ramps down to 10% mode. This regulation pattern restarts whenever you turn the light off.
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This is brighter than a D Cell maglight my dad has. A friend of mine has the pro+ mini mag and we compared them and there is not a noticeable difference in the brightness, it's only a couple lumens. The only thing about the pro plus is that it has 2 different modes which I didn't like so I got this one. Great product for your price.Best Deals for Maglite SP2P01H Mini PRO LED 2Cell AA Flashlight, Black
THe quality one expects from Maglite is there;but my XL200 rated at 177 lumens seems brighter. The twist on/off is also problematic. I have all but decided to forego the Mini Pro Plus and wait on the Mag Tac to surface.Honest reviews on Maglite SP2P01H Mini PRO LED 2Cell AA Flashlight, Black
I like my new Maglite mini pro led, It has a rally bright white light. What I don't like at all is the need to twist the head to turn it on instead of having a tail cap button as the XL's.I bought it to use it in my car in case of emergency, and it's not comfortable to use it while you are using the other hand (you need both hands to turn it on by twisting the head).Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Maglite SP2P01H Mini PRO LED 2Cell AA Flashlight, Black
Very bright for a 2AA light. Did the flicker thing like a cheap LED flashlight until I expanded the spring under the battery compartment. Now it's solid as a rock. And like all flashlight nylon sheaths, this one is terrible. Buy the Maglite AM2A026 Plain Leather Holster (~$6) for a comfortable, secure carry.
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