1983 Assault Systems Lights

Summary: During Maglite's early years they made some very custom lights in order to stimulate sales. This one was done for a firearms accessory retailer Assault Systems. It is one of only two lights where Maglite put another company's logo on the bezel. There were only a few hundred of these lights produced in 1983 and I've never seen another like it.

Even after collecting for 12 years I still occasionally come across a light I've never seen before. This one is exactly that! It is a super rare Olive Green Assault Systems 4D 1983 Maglite. In 1983 Maglite was still very much a new company. They were only around for 4 years and they were selling about 100,000 lights a year. While that may seem like a lot Maglite knew they could tap a lot of markets that had a demand for a premium flashlight. In order to help their light reach a larger audience Maglite partnered with retailer Assault Systems. Assault Systems was a distributor of quality made firearm and outdoor accessories that had a large mail order catalog circulation in the 1980s. Assault Systems placed and ordered 100 or so each of 2, 3 and 4 D cell lights from Maglite. These were special ordered in Olive Green anodizing, a lanyard ring tail cap, and with Assault Systems' logo on the bezel.

So how did I come across a super rare light like this? Well, a German reader of my blog e-mailed me with some photos of the light and a short backstory. After some discussion I was fortunate enough to be able to purchase it. When I first saw the photos I had my doubts that it was a genuine Maglite product and I thought it may have been done aftermarket. Upon receiving it I confirmed it was authentic and was in fact produced by Maglite. This is mainly because the St. Louis, MO stamping on the bezel matches the Maglite font and the light is definitely anodized because the finish is the same on the inside of the barrel. Prior to finding this light I was only aware of a small batch of Cabela's special order lights that had Cabela's logo put on the bezel. The light also has a matching anodized lanyard ring end cap. These were a seldomly ordered option on the early lights and very few were done in finishes other than black.

The prior owner was a distributor for Assault Systems and retained the light long after they sold out. The lights actually took quite a while to sell. In fact the light is a 1983 model, ~274,000 serial, but the catalog advertising them is from 1985 so the original 300 lights hadn't sold in 2 years. I've included some scans from the 1985 Assault Systems catalog I received with the light. The catalog lists the anodizing color as Olive Drab but my light and the lights in the catalog all appear closer to Bronze. The light doesn't actually look green at all to me. Assault Systems also sold a very rad Honda ATV and some steamy posters!

Unfortunately my light is missing the lanyard although it appears to be just a simple black paracord lanyard. I may attempt to tie one in the future as I've had a lot of fun tying paracord lanyards on my other lights. I don't see a price on the lights in the catalog I received and the prior owner couldn't remember but they had to have been over $100 in 1983 money.

Assault Systems eventually found a market for the lights in Europe because Maglite was not selling its lights outside of the U.S. in the 1980s. Assault Systems continued to sell regular, black, Maglites without the Assault Systems logo well into the late 1980s as one of Maglite's European distributors. Today Assault Systems has become Elite Survival Systems and I was able to find a short history of their brand on their website as well as some retro Assault Systems T shirts that still carry their old logo. Interestingly enough they were founded in 1979, the same year as Maglite.

Most of these special order lights must have went to Europe as I've never seen any in the U.S. Sometimes when I think I've seen everything I run across lights like this which is what makes collecting Maglites so much fun! As a parting photo I thought I'd post a pic of the Assault Systems light with one of my Cabela's lights. It's not every day you see both of these specially branded Maglite's together. They're both from a time before the internet where mail order catalogs reigned supreme.

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

1C and 1D Lights

Summary: Maglite never produced 1C and 1D lights. They were created by machinists and hobbyists to run Lithium Ion batteries and LEDs in a more compact form.

Before I start I should note that Maglite never produced a 1C or 1D light. Throughout their history they have only produced 2 through 7 cell lights. There have been some other manufacturers of flashlights that have produced 1C and 1D lights but due to the extremely low voltage (~1.5V) that a single cell alkaline battery produces this form factor was not very popular.

So how did 1C and 1D Maglites come about? Well, with the introduction of Lithium Ion batteries and LEDs in the early 2000s run time, voltage, and brightness of a single cell light were no longer an issue. A few adventurous machinists and hobbyists found ways to cut down a standard Maglite through a variety of ways to produce a more compact 1C and 1D light.

Shown below are my red 1D and black 1C lights. The 1D actually takes a 26650 Lithium Ion battery that is slightly longer than a D cell and provides 4.2V. The 1C takes an 18650 which is also slightly longer than a C cell. Both batteries require a sleeve inside the light because the diameters of the Lithium Ion batteries are narrower than D and C cells. The C cell also had its end cap machined out for the spring to result in an overall shorter light. Although the lights aren't exactly sized to a C or D cell most folks still refer to them as a 1D of 1C due to their decreased length. The serial numbers on the lights are for 2 cell models so it's easy to see that these weren't done by Maglite.

Both of these lights have been shortened differently. The 1D was shortened by cutting off the excess length on the back end of the light and the barrel was then re-threaded. As you can see the grip knurling extends all the way to the back of the light. The 1C on the other hand had a section removed from the middle of the light and it was then joined back together. The grip is actually shortened and the smooth part near the end cap remains. Shown below is a comparison photo to standard 2C and 2D lights for reference.

I run both lights with just a standard warm drop in PR based LED. They put out about 60 lumens and run for several hours. There are many brighter alternatives but I find the 60 lumens to be plenty and the extra run time is always a plus.

The 1C looks remarkably similar to a 2C Kel-Lite. Kel-Lites were the predecessor to the Maglite and they used an external switch which resulted in an overall shorter length.

These lights have been a lot less popular in recent years and there are only a handful of folks still modifying them. These were very popular modifications in the early 2000s when there weren't many options for single cell Lithium Ion LED lights. There are now countless ones that can be found for under $20 on Amazon and eBay so the time and effort required to cut down a C or D cell Maglite likely isn't worth it. They are still fun and collectible though so I'll be hanging onto mine for quite some time.

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

Price History

Summary: A 2D Maglite has had a price of around $26 since it was first introduced in 1979, this is around $92 in 2017. Although the price has stayed the same, Maglites have become much more affordable over time due to inflation.

I'll stray a little off topic for this post and I won't cover a specific light but rather Mag Instrument's pricing strategy. Mag very rarely changes the prices of its lights. They are able to do this by finding manufacturing efficiencies. This helps in a few ways. The largest way is through inflation. Mag was able to capture markets that were willing to pay a premium for their lights early on. Every year after that the cost of the light became less through inflation and the market grew for the light. For example a 2D light has been consistently priced at right around $26 since it was introduced. Shown below is a dealer's pricing guide from the second year of production in 1980.

The price for a 2D today is still around $26. However you'll notice through inflation that:

$26 in 1979 = $92 in 2017
$26 in 1989 = $52 in 2017
$26 in 1999 = $38 in 2017
$26 in 2009 = $29 in 2017

The now discontinued 7D lights are listed as well although they're a little higher in price at $32 which is $114 in 2017. Maglites were really a premium light with a premium price tag when they were first introduced!

Over the first decade of production the price stayed the same but the cost to consumers roughly halved. Early on many professionals and enthusiasts, just as today, had no problem spending almost $100 for a light. But, those are few and far between as is evident by their serial numbers and sales. There are certainly more customers at each price point and by the mid 90s sales really picked up. So, really the early buyers financed Mag's R&D and made the lights more affordable for a broader range of consumers which is why Maglites are so prevalent today and really such a low cost for what they are.

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

2020 Discontinued C Cells

Summary: In early 2020 Maglite discontinued their incandescent C Cell line after 39 years of continuous manufacture.

Well, it seems after 39 years in production that at the beginning of 2020 Maglite has discontinued production of their classic, incandescent C Cell Line. Maglite has been thinning the C Cell line for quite some time as they have always been slow sellers. 7Cs were the first to go in 1989, 5Cs and 6Cs were next in 2003. The 2C, 3C, and 4C soldiered on for another 17 years but at long last they've been discontinued as well.

In light of the disappearance of these lights from Maglite's site I did what any collector would do, ordered one of each from Amazon. I was delighted that they still had a dozen or so in stock and they all turned out to be the new style, 2018 updated large logo, Maglite bezel. They also have the bi-pin bulb so it's nice to see Maglite modernized these and gave them a nice sendoff. The 2C serial number is ~7,400,000 , the 3C is ~2,800,000 and the 4C is ~1,600,000 so I'm surprised these actually haven't been discontinued sooner. D cell production of 2, 3 and 4 cell models surpassed those number in the late 80s and early 90s. It's still a higher yearly rate than the 5Cs, 6Cs, 7Cs, and 7Ds though. Shown below are the final run 2C, 3C, and 4C lights along with the comparison of the old and new Maglite logo on the bezel.

I received these lights during the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic from Amazon Business Prime. The Amazon packaging like, the current times we are in, is very unique. On a positive note it is nice to see that a Maglite is still considered a special provision and its delivery is expedited. Maglites have been a go to supply during disaster relief for many years.

Anyway, in order to celebrate the end of C cell production I'd like to share a pic of some very special C cells from my collection. I am honored to be able to own these lights as they are some of the rarest Maglites I've come across.

From top to bottom they are:

Late 80s 6C with an end cap that incorporates an ASP baton
Early 80s 3C that my dad used for work
Early 2000s Lime Green 2C
1981 5C Vari-Beam
Mid 80s Prototype 3C
Late 80s Gold 2C
1982 7C, the first 7C in my collection that I acquired from a UK collector

For those still interested in a C cell, Maglite still produces a ML25 and ML50 line. The ML25IT can still be had in incandescent. In fact I purchased one last year, a 3 C cell. It's a great little light, it's almost like a giant Mini Maglite because it is twist on/off and has no push button switch. It is shown below with a 2C, 3C and  Mini Maglite for comparison. I don't own an ML50. They still have a push button switch but are all LEDs.

So long to a legend! I think that Maglite will likely slim down their other incandescent offerings soon as well. Despite the warm light they throw and their retro, familiar feel the efficiency and run times of LEDs has made them all but obsolete. I personally think that the 5D or 6D incans will likely be next.


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