MagLite MAG-TAC 2-Cell CR123 LED Tactical Flashlight – Water-Resistant, QuickClick Modes Plain Bezel – Black

The Mag Tac represents Maglite's long awaited entry into the CR123A battery powered flashlight market.The Plain Bezel Mag-Tac uses Mag's “QuickClik” electronic switch to provide 3 modes: one click for momentary, 2 for constant on, (both at 310 lumens) and 3 quick clicks for a 45 lumen low mode (the Crowned bezel version has 12 Hz strobe instead of plain bezel's low mode on the third click). Your cadence does need to be quick, about as fast as you can say “click click click”. This does take a little getting used to access the third mode but after a few minutes practice it's easy. For a tactical light the ability to use momentary without inadvertently switching into some other mode is critical and the Mag-Tac's system is about as fool proof as it gets with a multi-mode light. It would have been nice if Mag designed this light to be user programmable with a momentary only option for tactical users who prefer that.ELECTRONIC SWITCH: The electronic switch is soft and easy to use, much like a mouse click or a shutter on a digital camera. It is recessed slightly to help prevent it turning on when being transported and to allow tail standing. There are no rings or other projections surrounding the switch to obstruct your thumb from getting on the switch in a hurry. The switch can be locked out by loosening the tail cap ¼ turn, this will also stop any parasitic drain common to electronic switches. Since CR123A batteries are not prone to leaks, it should be OK to leave them in the light when being stored with the tail cap loosened/locked out.HIGH POWER: The Mag-Tac uses a cool white tinted Cree XP-G LED for a maximum of 310 lumens and an ANSI beam distance of 182 M. While there are considerably brighter lights, for me, 310 lumens is almost too much for a tactical light of this size. The throw is very good for a light with a 1 inch reflector diameter. As with all lights, as a rule of thumb I consider the practical range of the beam to be the ANSI distance in feet instead of meters (in other words 182 FEET for the Mag-Tac for a practical beam distance instead of 182 METERS).FIST-GRABBABLE: Mag aptly describes the Mag-Tac as “fist-grabbable” with a straight 1 inch diameter body with a pineapple/grenade grip texturing, the Mag-Tac is very comfortable and secure in the hand in a ice pick grip. For me, the plastic clip adds to the comfort and security. The Mag-Tac is not well suited to the “cigar” grip in my opinion (due mostly to it's flat/slightly recessed tail switch – for the cigar grip you want an extended switch button that you can activate by pressing it against your thumb muscle/palm), but the clip does allow the light to be held in the cigar grip while activating the switch with the pad of your thumb.BEAM FOCUS: The Mag-Tac's head can be loosened to adjust the focus. This is much morefine tuning than a “spot to flood” adjustment, though you can remove the head completely for pure flood if you like. The screw threads on my Mag-Tac are not tight enough to hold the adjustment very well during normal use and carry so I keep it screwed down tight which is very close to the optimum focus anyway. Tighter fitting threads like on the old C and D cell mags would fix this.The beam pattern is smooth and clean with a well defined center hot spot.POCKET CLIP: The Mag-Tac comes with a plastic pocket clip along with a little hex wrench to tighten it's cam lock to the body of the light. The clip works well for carrying the Mag-Tac clippedto a pocket or belt. I don't know how easily the clip is to break since I normally carry the Mag-Tac in a nylon belt sheath (sold separately). I do know that I am fairly hard on clips and eventually break or bend metal clips and I am sure I would eventually break the Mag-Tac's plastic clip carrying it clipped to my pocket. One thing good about using plastic for the clip is that it's not as likely to scratch the paint on your car of the finish of your furniture as a metal clip might.The clip has functions beyond carrying the Mag-Tac in a pocket. One is that it serves as an anti roll device another as a lanyard attachment that will accept 550 (para) cord. The clip also helps keep the Mag-Tac from twisting in your hand.FIT/FINISH AND CONSTRUCTION: Maglite is well known for their fine aluminum machine work and (aside from the aforementioned threads on the head which should have been more precise) the Mag-Tac is no exception. The finish is a matte hard/type III anodizing which is thicker and more durable than Mag's usual type II anodizing. The reflector and lens are both plastic, which has never been a problem for me except that the lens can get scratched, which for a tactical light is preferable to a glass lens that can break, I suppose.IMPACT RESISTANCE: The Mag-Tac is currently (2015) rated to be 2 M drop resistant (formerly rated for 1 M). I do not believe it is rated as “weapons mountable” to cope with heavy recoil, which is unfortunate (if this is the case), since the Mag-Tac's 1 inch diameter would facilitate mounting on a weapon rail using a standard 1” mount.VALUE: I think the USA made Mag-Tac compares quite well with competing designs such as Surefire's 6PX (also made in USA, comparable build quality, higher priced) and Chinese made lights in the Mag-Tac's price category.RUN TIME: Mag claims 4 hrs of ANSI (down to 10% of peak output) runtime on high and 17 hrs on low. This seems about right for the high mode (never ran the low mode long enough to put the run time to the test). Note that the Mag-Tac (like many tactical lights) has a gradual step down to about 70% after a few minutes on high. This helps keep the LED cool and extend the run time (which would probably be about half of the Mag-Tac's 4 hrs without the step down). You can go back to full power at anytime by cycling the switch off/on, but the step down to 70% brightness is hardly noticeable.BATTERIES: CR123A batteries were first used in cameras and since the 90's by Surefire and others in flashlights. They are NOT rechargeable but they are very powerful with a self life measured in decades. And unlike alkalines, they normally do not leak or go dead in cold weather (in fact they are very resistant to both high and low temperatures making them ideal for use in a light stored in a vehicle). For these reasons, the CR123A battery is popular with Police, Military and other “tactical” users, despite their higher cost than alkaline batteries (although alkilines are not so cheap when they leak and destroy an expensive device!). CR123A batteries are not all that pricey if you order them on line. If you need to buy some locally Lowes sells Surefire brand batteries at a reasonable price.Due to reliability problems (including explosions), sticking with CR123A's made in the USA is strongly recommended. Brands such as Duracell, Energizer, Panasonic or Surefire are all good (and perform pretty much the same) as long as they are made in the USA. For safety never mix brands or new batteries with old/used ones.The Mag-Tac is designed to run on CR123A and will not work with most lithium ion rechargeable batteries such as the 18650's. Currently, the best rechargeable option for the Mag-Tac is the K2 Energy lithium-phosphate LFP123A's. These are the same size as the CR123A and nominally the same voltage. The catch is the LFP's give about half the run time/capacity as the non-rechageable CR123A's and require a special charger.WARRANTY: Limited Lifetime in USA/Western Hemisphere, 10 years elsewhere. Unfortunately, Mag now charges a $10 shipping and handling fee for repair or replacement under warranty.BOTTOM LINE: The Mag-Tac is excellent American made tactical light and a very good value.

I have been using this plain bezel (plain bezel style allows for a low output) for more than two years on a daily basis. Making deliveries at night so I am using it a few times every hour, with 10 hour shifts.Clip it to a utility pocket on my pant leg."The" best flashlight I have ever used at work, or home. I have spent double on high end lights that are not half as bright or useable.The batteries seem to last a long time for me, I will get about 2 months use out of the batts. Get the batts in bulk from Amazon and the cost is not bad for the light output you will get from this light.Excellent for lighting up a dark area so you know your surroundings, throws enough light to light up an entire property within a workspace so you can see if you have anything to deal with.Light is also an excellent defense to BLIND someone entering your space when they have been told to stay put... temporarily blind them of course, but I am sure they will only be seeing spots for quite a while after taking the beam to their peepers.Tailcap switch has held up well with the amount of usage it gets.If anything happens to this light I will not hesitate to get another one.You should not be disappointed with this light.

I bought this light as a weapon light for a rifle. I am also somewhat of a flashlight geek, and I keep a few outstanding flashlights from over the years, meaning I have nice USA made flashlights and Chinese made flashlights (mostly Fenix). Now, I am fully aware that this MagTac seems to have lower specs than comparable Chinese lights. That's true. But, this light is still competitive for the following reasons:-It is definitely bright enough. Some lights are too bright, especially for weapon use.-It is well built and handles recoil well. Lesser lights fail in these situations.-the price ain't bad, even if you don't consider "Made in USA"-the switch logic of the black MagTac is good, no strobe! I still have never used strobe for any reason on any of my lights-CR123 batteries store well and have a long shelf life. Perfect for a rarely used, but critical light.I like throwing money at USA manufacturers whenever I can, and Maglite makes a good product worth the $$$$.

Its compact and very bright the price is reasonable the one thing is that it eats batteries when used all the time 4 hrs on highand the batteries in the store are 10 bucks apiece but at batteryjunction.com its like 2 bucks apiece.I'm a sanitation worker and I use this light every day to check the machines and surrounding areas for meat, it works great to check the ceilings in the plant i would buy this light again.