1980 to 1985 Vari-Beams

Summary: Vari-Beams were produced between 1980 and 1985 and were intended to capture more of the consumer sales instead of law enforcement. The lights were brightly colored with blue barrels and heads and silver end caps and bezels so they would be difficult to lose in a dark area. Consumers ultimately preferred the all black "cop" lights and the Vari-Beams were discontinued. They are highly collectible today.

In a few earlier posts I made reference to Mag Instrument Vari-Beams. I guess I should probably take the time now to make a post detailing the history of these unique flashlights. While some may think they look like an odd Maglite with their blue bodies and silver bezels and end caps they actually have an interesting story. As I've detailed in an earlier post the Maglite was a joint effort by Tony Maglica and Don Keller. While Tony gets most of the credit today Don Keller was instrumental in the success of the Maglite.

Don was previously involved in several successful flashlight companies including Kel-Lite, which was named after him, Pro Light and Bianchi. When Don joined Mag Instrument in 1979 he brought with him more than a decade of manufacturing and marketing expertise as well as many industry contacts. Don and Tony both knew that if the company were to be a success they would have to reach more than just the saturated law enforcement market and they would have to crack into the household and trade markets for durable flashlights. This had been attempted but not previously been achieved to any successful extent.

Mag Instrument first concentrated on the core market of law enforcement and was successful early on. The reliable push button switch and focusable head was seen as an improvement over earlier external slide switches. The over all feel and durability of the flashlight was also very high. In 1980 Don, heading up marketing, took this product to many large retailers at the time including both Costco and K-Mart. The retailers were interested but several asked for a product that was different from the flashlights police officers carried and wanted a light more similar to earlier, brightly colored flashlights that could be spotted easily in a dark or cluttered room.

The Vari-Beam was born as a result of Mag Instrument's marketing department. The basic product was identical to the Maglite with the exception of color and name. In 1980 Mag Instrument produced 2 though 5 D cell lights as Vari-Beams. These lights were pulled from stock batches of Maglites, anodized blue and used a Vari-Beam logo'd bezel and polished aluminum end cap. Very few had the "Paten Pending" barrel. Most were made after the patent was approved in 1981. Shown below is my 1980 4D "Paten Pending" Vari-Beam with a very low serial of ~50,000.

4Ds and 5Ds were dropped around 1982 due to the slower sales of larger lights in general. As such, they are some of the rarest today. I have also seen a single 6D Vari-Beam from this time frame (~26,000 serial) that may have come from a very small batch or was customized by a dealer. Shown below is my 1981 5D. I did a full restoration of this light. I've included some before pics to show how rough it was. The light is fully operational and in tip-top shape now albeit with some good wear, err character.

C cell production started in 1981 and C cells were also produced as Vari-Beams too. Only a handful of the lowest serials are stamped "Paten Pending" as production started right around the time the patent was approved. 2 through 5 C cells were available during this time. C cell lights always sold poorly compared to D cells. C cell Vari-Beams were dropped around late 1982. As such, you'll never see a Vari-Beam with an extended end cap and all C cell Vari-Beams are going to be very low serials. Shown below is a ~14,000 serial 1982 4C Vari-Beam.

In 1983 due to slow Vari-Beam sales Mag Instrument tried to differentiate the Vari-Beams further. A new Vari-Beam was introduced. Collectors usually refer to these as the "intermediate" Vari-Beam. Mag Instrument started numbering the bodies with separate serial numbers from their Maglite counterparts starting at 1 and going up to 25,000 or so. Because of this Mag Instrument is not able to date these lights if you send them in a serial number and model. The grip was also changed to a Solitaire style vertical grip instead of the cross hatched knurling of the Maglites. These were produced in 2, 3 and 4 D cells. There may have also been 2 and 3 C cells too according to old packaging but I've never seen any in person.

Shown below are "intermediate" 1983 2D, 3D, and 4D Vari-Beams vs. standard 2D 3D, and 4D Vari-Beams. Production serials indicate about 25,000 3Ds were produced that year and likely the same amount of 2Ds. Note the 2D has a super low serial of 693. It is not as old as the serial would suggest though because of the separate serial numbering scheme. This is one of the lowest serial number lights I have but it is not the oldest. That distinction belongs to a 2D I covered in another post. The 4D I have is a bit of an anomaly. The knurl of the grip is much heavier and it does not have a separate serial but rather it's body was pulled from the standard Maglite production line. It is serial # 132,776 which dates to 1983. It's also the only intermediate 4D I've ever seen. My guess is that either it was a prototype or that it was part of an extremely small batch.

In 1984 the Intermediate style was discontinued as their expense was not justifiable vs. the small quantities being sold. During 1984 and 1985 standard 2 and 3D cell lights were again pulled from assembly lines and anodized blue to fulfill remaining orders. These were all around 700,000 serial 3Ds and would likely be a close serial number on the 2Ds.

In 1984 the Mini Maglite started production. Very small quantities of the Mini Maglite were produced as an AA Vari-Beam in 1985. I searched and searched for an AA Vari-Beam for a very long time and I was finally able to pry one from the grip of another large collector. As far as I can tell they were produced in 1985 to mark the end of the Vari-Beam run and either given away to employees and/or sold in very small quantities as a limited edition run. Based on the laser etched bezel, the R after the Vari-Beam logo and the end of the Vari-Beam run I was able to date this light to approximately 1985. It has the old narrower barrel, so many were likely traded back into Mag when AA batteries were up sized or were destroyed when batteries corroded in the barrel. It also has the vertical, Solitaire and Intermediate Vari-Beam knurling. This is the only one I've ever seen and I've only ever heard of one other.

Shown below is an older pic I took with a portion of my Vari-Beam collection along with a 1980 3D "Paten Pending" blue Maglite and first generation blue Mini Maglite. The anodizing is identical on blue lights and Vari-Beams as Mag Instrument used the same third party coater early on for all anodizing.

Vari-Beams were sold mainly through big box retailers and also through industrial supply outlets to trades. They were ultimately discontinued because consumers preferred the all black model carried by law enforcement. This is contrary to the original belief of the retailers.

It is interesting to note that Kel-Lite, under Norm Nelson, also tried to create a separate line of flashlights, the Stud-Lite, that was marketed to truckers during the late 70s. Unlike Maglite, Kel-Lite actually wanted to put out the Stud-Lite as Norm Nelson came from Per-Lux, a truck lighting manufacturer, and believed there was a market for flashlights there. Shown below are 2 - 3D Stud-Lites compared to 2 - 3D Vari-Beams. The Stud-Lites are shorter due to the external slide switch. Stud-Lites were produced in C and D cell versions in blue and silver and silver and black. I have a post with the history of Stud-Lites on my other blog.

So now to clear up some internet rumors. Mag Instrument only produced these lights in silver and blue. However, every once in a while a black and silver one will come up or some other color combination. The bezels and end caps can be interchanged between Vari-Beams and Maglites and this often occurred either by consumers after purchase or by distributors and retailers that wanted to clear out stock of sometimes unpopular blue Vari-Beams. Some retailers were also authorized service centers and they would put the Maglite bezels and end caps back into stock to use to repair a light later on. It is difficult to tell which black and silver Maglites were done by retailers and which were done by consumers. Shown below is an example of a black and silver 3C done by a dealer in order to help it sell. It is even in a Maglite package from the same time period. Also shown below is a well used ~670,000 serial black and silver 3D. This serial is from around 1986, after Vari-Beam production ended, so it was likely done by a dealer trying to clear out old stock.

Larger Vari-Beams, especially C cells ,are the rarest because larger lights were unpopular with consumers as were C cells. Intermediate Vari-Beams are also very rare due to their short production cycle. Vari-Beams had their own dedicated packaging and inserts. The box itself is identical to the typical early Maglite cardboard display box but is blue and has the Vari-Beam logo on it. Shown below are the 2 NIB (new in box) Vari-Beams I have compared with a standard 1980 to 1984 Maglite display box. The box also has the abandoned head size designation on it too. The insert is also shown below and it is identical to early Maglite inserts except all instances of Maglite have been replaced by Vari-Beam. During 1985 Mag Instrument used a clear package with the Vari-Beam logo similar to the Maglite ones from that time. I've heard that Mag may have produced some intermediate style 2 and 3 C cells but I can't confirm that. I often see Vari-Beam misspelled as Varibeam, Varebeam, or Vare-Beam due to the font used on the bezel. The Trademark for the light has it listed as Vari-Beam as well as old catalogs.

I have a mostly complete collection of Vari-Beams. I'm only missing a 3C. C cells are pretty rare but I have hope I'll run across one in the future. I have a few doubles, 3 intermediate Vari-Beams, and a few more black and silver dealer model as well that aren't pictured here. These lights still pop up on the large auction site every couple of months or so and they can range in price from $40 to $100 depending on condition and demand. If anyone has any Vari-Beams or info I'd love to see some pics and hear from ya.

As always I'm looking to buy Vari-Beams and Vintage/Rare Mags. Please let me know if you have any, top dollar paid.