1982 3C Mystery Self Defense Light

Summary: This light has a very well made unique end cap that I believe was intended to be used for some sort of self defense.

Most lights in my collection I'm able to research and find out a good bit of info on. This research is mostly through other collectors I've met and from folks in the industry that include former dealers and distributors as well as people who have worked for Maglite and other companies. I only have one other light that I've not been able to get resolution on, a 6D light with an odd serial number. I also have this 3C:

Aside from the end cap the light is a very standard 1982 3C, serial number 62,351. The light has the early standard TM bezel and it is stamped "Patented Made in U.S.A." opposite the serial. These details can be used to help date the light as a 1981 to 1985 model. It also has the older style flat end cap and not the later "store-a-bulb" style but that is where the similarities stop. Pressed or glued on over the standard Maglite end cap is a solid bare aluminum knob. The knob is pretty heavy and I'm not sure what purpose it would serve. 

What's also very strange is Maglite hasn't been able to provide a production date. If you send Maglite an e-mail with the serial number of a light they will tell you the exact date a light was produced. 1979 and 1980 lights are an exception because the record keeping wasn't very good in the early days. However, from 1981 onward I've always been able to get an exact date. I've inquired 3 separate times over the past year and I either get back a ~2005 date, which is way too new, or that they don't have it on record. I've dated the light myself based on my C Cell Quick Dating Guide and other similar serials I've sent to Maglite.

Judging by the wear I think it's been on the light for a long time. It fits so good and looks professionally done so I doubt it was a home project or the result of a personalized light. Mag Instrument has no record of producing an accessory like this and I could not find any part number for it in any of the old literature I have. I also spoke with Mag Instrument employees that were there during this time and they did not remember such an accessory being produced either for retail sale or as a prototype.

I also researched out other companies like Safariland and Monadnock that have produced police equipment and accessories for flashlights for a long time but I still didn't have any luck finding any info on this particular accessory. Other collectors have speculated it's intended to make the Maglite more of a weapon either by increasing the weight of the end or providing a grip like a baseball bat to help swing it. I don't see either being very effective though. Most officers also carried the light on their duty belt and this setup will not fit through any standard belt holder.

I purchased this light from another collector who purchased it at a second chance shop in Michigan. The prior owner did not have any info on it so I didn't luck out there either. I hope you enjoy this one of a kind Maglite and if you have any information on this light please give me a shout. My contact info is on the right and I'd love to 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.

AMC TV Halt and Catch Fire 5D Light

Summary: I supplied a 1990 5D to a prop master working on AMC TV's Halt and Catch Fire. The light was featured in Season 4 Episode 4.

Those who follow my blog will know that a while back I sold one of my 1990 NIB (new in box) 5Ds to a Prop Master working on the AMC TV series Halt and Catch Fire. I said in that post that I would do a new post once the episode aired. Well, it has! The show is a period drama from the early 90s about the early tech industry and the Prop Master was looking for a light correct for that time. The light I sold him was a brand new 5D, serial # 50668619. The episode is number 4 of season 4 titled "Tonya and Nancy" and aired on September 9, 2017.

In this episode one of the main characters, Cameron, buys a trailer on a piece of property out in the country to escape the big city. Unfortunately she isn't very handy and has some trouble with the plumbing. Her co-worker, Bosworth, comes to bail her out and fix the plumbing. Of course like any worthwhile plumber he comes equipped with his trusty Maglite. At the end of the scene he lends her the light in case she needs it in the future. Shown below are a couple stills from this scene.

I've been collecting for a while and It's quite an honor to have one of my lights appear in a network TV series. I doubt anyone will take me up on the offer but I am always available for flashlight consulting work both on the big and small screens! I'm not quitting my day job in the meantime but my contact info is at the right. CPF, Candle Power Forums, also has a pretty neat thread about flashlights in movies and TV for those who are interested. I can only hope that season 2 of Stranger Things has Hopper using a Maglite instead of an Everready. Thanks for reading guys and if you happen to spot a Maglite in a TV show or movie please be sure to share.

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

1982 4D Australian Light

Summary: Maglite sold lights to industry and governments as well as consumers. This light was sold to the Australian military as part of a large contract order in 1982.

I thought I would post about another light from my collection. It's not one of the most interesting or rare but it does have a good story. At first glance it looks like a regular old run of the mill 1981 to 1986 4D. It is serial 135,907. For those interested in the dating of the light I've covered that in my Quick Dating Guide. So, what makes this one special? For starters it is brand new and has never been used. It was ordered in 1982 as part of a large lot of approximately 2,000 or so lights by the Australian government for use in emergency preparedness packs for soldiers. Most of them went unused and were later sold as military surplus. They pop up once in a while on the large auction site and many were used by Australian citizens who purchased them on the cheap and were in need of a durable light.

This is a good example of Maglite's early push to expand beyond the U.S. market. While the U.S. market accounts for a majority of the sales each year Maglites are known globally as the gold standard in flashlights. While other manufacturers were selling only to the U.S. law enforcement market Maglite was one of the first durable premium flashlight manufacturers to expand and see the untapped potential in civilian and global sales.

So, here is my Australian 4D. The light is brand new and has never been used. It bears no special markings but did come with the sleeve that was issued in the emergency preparedness pack. The sleeve was produced by another contractor and is in the DPCU print, Disruptive Pattern Camouflage Uniform print, also known as Auscam or Jelly Bean Camo. Unfortunately I don't know, or have a picture, of the contents of the rest of the emergency preparedness pack. I've heard that it was to be issued in the event of a natural disaster and contained other items like MREs, meals ready to eat, matches, and other survival items.

I should also note that Maglite has a long standing association with the military because of their durable, long running lights. I have 2 other military lights, one 2C light produced on a special order for the U.S. Air Force and a 2D customized by a U.S. Airman.

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

Adventure Sport Custom High Output Maglites

I don't do too many posts about new lights but I did purchase one recently that I was absolutely thrilled with so I thought I'd do a review. It's an Adventure Sport high output LED Maglite conversion. Adventure Sport is pretty well known in the flashlight world for converting Maglites and Surefires to lithium ion powered high output flashlights. What do they mean by high output? 2,000 to 5,000 lumen LED lights! Your average incan Maglite is around 100 lumens and LED around 300 lumens so these are 10 to 50 times brighter than those.

You're probably wondering why do I need something that bright? Well, I'll be honest most folks don't and it's not that practical but they sure are fun! I have mine mainly for the wow factor and occasionally camping and exploring the woods late at night. The really nice thing about these conversions is that they are programmable and offer different mode groups. This means you can use the light on low, medium, and high modes which makes the light a whole lot more practical. A list of the modes as well as models is available on their web site at: http://asflashlights.com/18-led-upgrades-for-maglite I often find myself using the 1%, 25%, 100% mode group which provides 40 lumens, 1,000 lumens and 4,000 lumens on my 4,000 lumen conversion.

Adventure Sport currently offers 2 flavors, a 2,000 lumen conversion or a 5,000 lumen conversion. The 2,000 lumen unit can be used with 3D cells on a stock incan Maglite or on one of the 1 cell cut down lithium ion models sold by Adventure Sport. The 5,000 lumen conversion can be used with 6D cells on a stock incan or a 2 cell lithium ion model sold by Adventure Sport. These conversions are of the 3 LED variety which cast a ton of light. I have an older 4,000 lumen single LED XHP-70 conversion with 2 lithium ion batteries. It's a shame Adventure Sport no longer produces these because they throw much farther than the 3 LED models. Shown below is my Adventure Sport.

So how bright are they exactly? Well, see for yourself. Shown below are pics of a stock incan 2D rated for around 30 lumens. A Malkoff drop in 3D rated for around 600 lumens and the Adventure Sport conversion on full blast at 4,000 lumens. The tree is about 30 feet away from my position. In the last pic you can see how much brighter the paver patio is due to the enormous amount of spill from the XHP-70 reflector.

Not only does the light shine bright but the parts are quality as well. The heat sink is machined from a solid chunk of copper, a PVC sleeve is added, and the tail spring is recessed into the end cap to make room for the 26650 batteries which are slightly longer and thinner than D cells. The new 3 LED setups are sweet as well and quality is second to none.

So, what's the verdict? Well I gotta be honest, I find myself using the 40 and 1,000 lumen modes the most. For working around the house or on a car sometimes even 1,000 is too bright. A lot of the light winds up being reflected back and is rough on the eyes. I find myself using my Malkoff with a 600 lumen LED the most and 600 lumens is about perfect for most work. The wow factor on these lights is second to none but the price is a little tough to swallow for most at $200+. If you have to have the baddest light on the block or are doing frequent search and rescue this is the light for you. If you're planning to use it for work there are probably better suited, less expensive lights. All in all it is a heck of a light and I wouldn't be without one in my stable. I plan to buy a 2,000 lumen 1D soon.

You can't go wrong with Matt at Adventure Sport. Check out his Youtube channel too at: https://www.youtube.com/user/ForgivenMatt He does awesome, fair reviews on competitors lights and flashlights in general.

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

Switch Disassembly, Repair, and 1980 5D Restoration

This is part of a series of posts I've written about common Maglite repairs. I've also covered the following topics:

Removing Battery Corrosion and Straightening Bent Lights
Stuck Batteries
Stuck End Caps
Stuck Retaining Rings
Switch Removal and Stuck Switches

Disclaimer: I'll start out by saying that these repairs are tedious and challenging. It is very rewarding to make an old Maglite light again though. If you have a special light and don't feel up to the challenge I do restorations and custom work on most vintage flashlights. My contact info is at the right side of the page.

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When a Maglite fails to light some of the problems are fairly obvious. Dead batteries and bulbs are fairly obvious solutions and those are easily diagnosed by changing the battery or bulb. Maglite even has it's own factory service manual which can be found here. But what should you do whenever everything appears normal but the light will still not light?

This is a fairly common problem I've encountered on restorations and I've run into it on a 5D light I'm restoring for someone currently. As you can see there is no visible corrosion or damage but still it won't light.

The common sources of this problem are internal corrosion of the switch or corrosion of the tail spring. If you have an extra working switch and tail spring they can be easily swapped to diagnosed the problem and most users opt to purchase a new switch at a cost of around $12 rather than try to diagnose the non-working switch. This is an easy, inexpensive fix but I'll still go into how the switch mechanism works and how it looks as well as some simple fixes. I prefer to leave the light as stock as can be and always try to fix parts over replacing them.

To understand how the switch works we must first understand how the light works. In order for the light to work current must flow from the negative side of the battery to the positive side.

1 - The positive side of the battery sits up against the switch and the current flows up to the plunger.
2 - The plunger opens and closes the circuit.
3 - On the opposite side of the plunger the circuit picks up again. This connects to the positive terminal of the bulb. If you look closely you can see that this terminal is wrapped in a plastic insulator. This insulates it from the housing of the bulb which acts as the negative terminal.
4 - The housing of the bulb then connects to the negative contacts that slides along it when focusing.
5 - This is connected to the body of the light through the set screw.
6 - The body of the light is connected to the tail spring and back to the negative side of the battery and the circuit is complete.

You'll notice that this switch is specifically for a non-letter serial light. However, all flashlights work in the same manner. Most aluminum and steel lights flow current through the body. The voltage of the batteries is relatively low so you won't feel a shock as the current is drawn back to the negative terminal of the battery rather than to ground. Because the batteries generally have a low voltage any internal corrosion of the switch or tail spring will usually generate enough resistance to stop the flow of current. That is the case with this 5D I'm working on.

So let's take a look at a working Maglite to see what kind of resistance we're talking about. Shown below is an multi meter set to ohms (a measure of resistance) hooked to the positive and negative side of a new switch. As you can see it reads about 11 ohms. It should be noted that the switch must have a good bulb in it and the switch must be in the on position otherwise the ohms will not register.

The body and tail spring will provide negligible resistance. Checking the resistance between the edge of the end cap that is not anodized that sits up against the very end of the barrel and the end of tail spring confirm this as shown below. Typical resistance is around 1 to 5 ohms depending on the amount of corrosion on the spring.

Now we have a good baseline. We know that ideally the circuit operates with a nominal resistance of 11 ohms. So let's take a look at the light I'm working on and see what kind of resistance it has and I'll see if I can get it's resistance down to the resistance of a good assembly. Shown below is my switch removed from the light and hooked to my multi meter. This removal process can be found here and elsewhere on Youtube.

You can see that the switch has infinite resistance which means there is a part that is not making a connection somewhere or is missing and is inhibiting the flow of current. Next I'll open up the switch and test the individual parts to see if I can find the culprit. This process will be detailed below. All of the values obtained should add to be the total resistance of the switch. If you have a resistance of 60 ohms and you find one part that is 45 ohms you can stop testing because that part is the problem.

As can be seen below the positive battery contact to the positive bulb contact across the plunger has an infinite resistance when engaged. This is most likely the culprit. However, I'll clean all of the electrical contacts as shown below to ensure the circuit operates properly. I'll soak these parts in vinegar and then wire brush them. DO NOT soak steel parts in vinegar because they will corrode. Make sure you only soak the parts shown below as they are copper and aluminum.

Pay extra attention to parts that have visible corrosion as the corrosion is the likely cause of the higher resistance. The set screw and negative bulb housing contact as shown below are a likely culprit as well. This contact rubs the bulb housing and the wear causes it to corrode or the set screw itself corrodes because of the dis-similar metals contacting each. See below for an example from this light with a lot of corrosion.

Shown below are the cleaned up parts. The copper parts should shine like a new penny and you'll notice the resistance is remarkably lower.

Shown below is the resistance test of the switch after I put it all back together. You'll notice it is only 0.8 ohms which is basically the resistance of the bulb. Why the difference vs. the "new" switch above at 11 ohms. Well mainly because the copper parts will naturally oxidize (corrode) over time due to even the most minuscule amounts of moisture in the light which ups their resistance. Right now the light is clean as a whistle but with normal use and exposure to the atmosphere the copper parts won't keep this shine. That's ok though. The corrosion stops after a natural layer has formed and the switch will average out at around 11 ohms.

Maybe you've found the switch has the same resistance as a new switch or that the light still won't work. The next item to check is the end cap and spring. A lot of times if there is a lot of resistance you'll notice that the spring is corroded, the spring seat is corroded, or the non-anodized edge is not making contact with the end of the barrel. All of these items must be completely free of corrosion so that their surfaces all make contact.

With all of the parts now free of corrosion did this light shine again? Judge for yourself in the pic below. So, why did I save this light? Well, another collector I deal with asked me to. Also, it is stamped "Paten Pending" opposite the serial number and lacks the features of a 1979 light so it is a 1980 light. It's from only the second year of Maglite production and is serial number 49,126 so it is relatively low. Please see my Quick Dating Guide if you're interested in these details. The light is nearly 40 years old and in excellent condition other than the non-operable switch so I figured it is a worthwhile restoration especially because someone valued it all these years to keep it going. Here are some pics of the light after it was all repaired.

This light came from a fellow collector who picked it up at an estate sale with the above accessories as well. The estate was from the owner of a large Tennessee construction company and this was likely a personal light of his. A personalized 1980 3D also came with it. The 5D bulb is an old "Safari-Star", a knock off of the Magnum Star Maglite brand produced by police equipment company Safariland. The Maglite belt suspender carriers the old Maglite logo embossed into the leather and on the package so it is from 1980 to 1984. This will certainly make a nice addition to his collection now that it's all back in working order.

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

Why a Maglite? FAQ

Why a Maglite?

I get this question a lot. There are tons of flashlights on the market right now. Some much more expensive and some much fancier than a Maglite. So why go with a Maglite and not one of these "higher end" models? Better yet why bother spending any money at all when you can pickup "budget" LED flashlights for $5 a pop? I'll answer all of these questions and more in this post!

In short Maglites are the best bang for your buck, period! They will never let you down and will provide all the light you could ever need or want.

What is the best light to buy right now?

Hands down the Maglite ML300L.

The ML300L has 3 brightness settings, going up to 625 lumens and awesome run times:

16 Hours on High (675 lumens)
77 Hours on Medium
117 Hours on Low (115 lumens)

Try and find any light with better run times. Guaranteed there aren't many out there.

Throw in a few NiMH rechargables that will never leak and you have yourself the best flashlight on the market that will last a lifetime. The light will run you $40 on Amazon and the batteries about $20 plus a charger if you need it. $100 gets you the whole shebang.

Are these fancy lights really that much brighter?

Yes, but do you really need all that light? I've had these lights and I don't think so. In fact sometimes the extra brightness is a disadvantage.

Most higher end lights out now will easily put out 5,000 to 10,000 lumens which is a startling amount. I reviewed a high end Adventure Sport Maglite that puts out 4,000 lumens. I've had it for over a year and I use a flashlight every night for work and weekends when I'm having fun. I probably use one far more than the average user does. How many times have I needed 4,000 lumens? None. I also have a Malkoff 800 lumen drop in in an old beat up 4D. How many times have I used it? None. Not only do they go unused but I couldn't use them if I wanted to. They are actually difficult to use because of the amount of light that bounces back to your eye. They will temporarily blind you in close quarters like a house or working on a car. If you're using them around co-workers or buddies you'll definitely blind them. About the only use I could see for these lights are impressing your friends or if you were employed on a search and rescue team.

I'll also warn the folks that are reading that no one checks or verifies lumen ratings on lights. Many many manufacturers will print any lumen rating they want on a light and there is no real recourse you can take if it is not accurate. Tools to measure lumens are not cheap so most consumers rely solely on how bright they perceive the light to be and unfortunately sometimes how good the marketing of the light is. I have seen $5 and $10 lights at Lowe's that advertise 1,000 lumens and having owned several 1,000+ lumen lights and seeing how much light they throw this is simply not true. Most large manufacturers have their name to stand behind when publishing lumen ratings and for Maglite this is no exception.

So, what amount of light do you need?

300 to 600 lumen LEDs seem to be the sweet spot. Having multiple brightness modes also makes the light more versatile too.

Let's be honest, incans aren't going to do it anymore. I love incan lights and I use them a lot mainly because I'm nostalgic though. 150 lumens is the max a big light is going to put out with any reasonable run time and that's just not enough for most situations. I have found that around 300 to 400 lumens is just the right amount. To get that you're going to need to go to LED. I personally use a Malkoff XP-G drop in that puts our around 350 lumens. Unlike other lights the Malkoff is heat sinked so it's going to put out 350 lumens for a long long time. Other lights are rated for 350 lumens or more but only for the first few seconds when the temp increases and the brightness decreases.

For most folks it doesn't make sense to upgrade an old incan light unless you're really attached to it. But have no fear Maglite makes several brand new lights that fit comfortably into this lumen range and even have multiple brightness levels to increase their versatility.

What kind of batteries do you need? Is lithium ion worth all of the hype?

Rechargeable D cells or high quality Alkalines are your best bets. Fancy lithium ion batteries have more power but are high maintenance and cannot be replaced by inexpensive Alkalines in a pinch. They also don't have the capacity and run time of a D cell.

For most average users lithium ion batteries are not going to worth the extra money or effort. Do they throw more current and volts from a smaller package? Yes, but there is special care involved in maintaining the cells and they are significantly more expensive than rechargeable D cells. I highly recommend NiMH rechargeable D cells or high quality Alkaline D cells like Energizer or Duracell. As with any alkaline cells though keep a close eye on them or better yet store them separate from the light if it isn't used very often. Skip the 18650s, 26650s and all the like as you won't find those at a gas station at 2AM if they die. Rechargeable Ds can always be replaced by cheap Alkalines in a pinch whereas lithium ion cells cannot. The run time is also worth mentioning and is another huge advantage. The highest capacity batteries you can get today are likely 18650s. There are some higher capacity lithium ions but they are fairly uncommon sizes. You'll need at least 3 18650s until you get to the run time of a 2D Maglite.

What about tint?

LED Maglites may not have the best beam color (tint) but it won't make much of a difference to the average user.

Ok ok, so tint might be a spot where a Maglite could use some improvement. However, most folks don't even know what tint is or probably care to know. Malkoffs have a much nicer tint than stock Maglites but stock Mags really aren't that bad. The average user is not going to see an increase or decrease in the red spectrum at night and will likely never appreciate a "warmer" beam of an expensive light. I use my light every night and the Malkoff renders colors just fine for me.

For those wondering tint is the color of the beam. Incan lights throw a beam that is very close to natural sunlight and renders all colors the same as they are in the daytime. LEDs cannot match that but more expensive lights get close. Less expensive lights have a blueish or greenish tint to the beam and as such they will skew colors at night.

If Maglite or Malkoff is reading this I think they could go far with a "warm" LED. It isn't much more expensive to produce and if the benefits are marketed correctly I could see users paying a small premium for the light. Please find a pic of incan beam color (tint) vs. LED beam color. The LED is on the left and the incan is on the right.

How much do I need to spend?

$50 gets you a good light. $100 gets you a better light. $170 gets you an awesome restomod light.

As I priced out above if you want a good off the shelf light plan on spending $50 or so for an ML3000L. If you really want to go all out for rechargeable batteries and a charger $100 tops and you have a light that's good for life and won't ever be obsolete.

If you want to piece together a vintage beauty with some real authentic scuffs and nicks my breakdown is as follows:

- Ebay TM or R bezel D Cell Maglite $30 shipped
- Malkoff D Cell Drop In and Adapter Sleeve $60 shipped
- KAIDomain.com Aluminum Reflector $10 shipped
- FlashlightLens.com Glass Lens $15 shipped
- 4 Pack Tenergy Centura LSD Rechargeable NIMH D cell - $25 shipped
- Battery Charger - $30 shipped

Total - $170

I'll also build these to order for a small premium from my stock of old lights. If you're interested my contact info is at the right. I did a more detailed post about these restomods a couple months back.

What light do you carry every day?

A 2001 3D Incan Maglite with a Malkoff XP-G LED upgrade and rechargeable batteries.

Shown below is the 3D I've carried day in and day out for the last 16 years as of this post date. I'm pretty attached to this Maglite because my dad and I bought a bunch of Maglites when we went into business together and this was the one I ended up with. It's been upgraded to an aluminum reflector, glass lens, with a Malkoff drop in and I use rechargeable batteries but otherwise it's the same light. This option is for the folks that would rather drive a Grand Wagoneer or a Ford Bronco rather than any of these bland looking crossovers.

What are the reasons to own a Maglite?

There are many great reasons to own a Maglite. They are American made and wonderfully reliable. They are as American as apple pie and really are a part of American heritage and history. Despite what many folks in the flashlight community and elsewhere say, they are extremely relevant today and are the best tool to get the job done. Speaking from experience I've had zero failures in thousands of hours of service. Every failure I've ever seen on any of the lights I've worked on has been from battery corrosion from cheap alkaline cells left in the light for far too long. Overall it's very satisfying to carry such a well worn, trusted tool with me that I know will be around long after I'm gone.

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

C Cell Quick Dating Guide

On to Part 2, for those wondering: How old is my C cell Maglite?

The D Cell Quick Dating Guide can be found here.
The Mini Maglite Quick Dating Guide can be found here.

C cells are far less popular than D cells. Even now, aside from 5C and 6C lights, there isn't much collector interest in them. A lot of it is likely due to lesser variety vs. the D cells. This guide pieces together the little information I have on them. My contact information is on the right if anyone needs assistance too. Parts are sometimes switched making the lights difficult to identify.

Below is a checklist of which features are found on which age range lights. Below this checklist I'll go into detail and provide pictures of the features in each age range.

Early 1981 - Late 1981
1981 was the first year of manufacture for C cell Maglites. The early production was already hammered out on the D cells so there are less early differences on the C cells. I did a post on early C cell history here. Only a handful of the very lowest serials are stamped "Paten Pending"opposite the serial. These early 1981 C cells are extremely rare.

TM Bezel
TM is stamped after the Maglite logo as the trademark was claimed but not registered.

Paten Pending Stamped Barrel
Only serials 1 - ~3,000 of each model are stamped "Paten Pending" as production started in early 1981 and the patent was approved by August. They are so rare I only have one example. A 5C Vari-Beam.

1982 - 1986
In August of 1981 the Maglite Patent was approved. Going forward all C cells were stamped "Patented Made in U.S.A." opposite the serial number.

TM Bezel
TM is stamped after the Maglite logo. The trademark was registered at this point but the bezel wasn't updated until later 1987.

Patented Made in U.S.A. Stamped Barrel
Barrels are now stamped "Patented Made in U.S.A." as the patent for the light was approved early into production.

1987 - 1989
An R with a circle replaced the TM after the Maglite logo.

R Bezel
The Maglite trademark was registered in 1981 but it wasn't until 1987 that Maglite decided to update the bezel and step up enforcement of their trademarks due to competition from other manufacturers.

Store-A-Bulb End Cap

Starting in 1987 C cell Maglites come with an extended end cap that had room to store an extra bulb. A store-a-bulb end cap is shown on top and a standard end cap on the bottom.

1990 - 1991
1990 marked a minor change. The bezel is laser etched instead of stamped. Also, 7Cs are discontinued.

Laser Etched Bezel
In order to save on production costs bezels are now laser etched. 1987 - 1989 stamped bezel (left) vs. 1990 -1991 laser etched bezel (right).

1992 - 1995
In 1992 the panther logo is added to the bezel.

Panther Logo Added
The panther logo is added to the bezel. The trademark of the panther logo wasn't approved until late 1995 so 1992 - 1995 models have a TM after the logo.

1996 - 2002
R Panther Bezel
The trademark of the panther logo was registered in late 1995 so starting in 1996 the TM was replaced by an R with a circle after the panther logo.

2003 - 2009
In 2003 the C cell lights were modernized into the model that's currently available today. I've detailed these differences here. These lights are typically referred to as New C Cells, Panther C Cells, or Letter Serial C Cells. 5Cs and 6Cs are discontinued shortly after the changeover.

Letter Added to Serial
C was placed at the beginning of serial to designate the cell size and to avoid confusion when ordering parts. 2003+ Letter Serial (top) vs. a 1981 -2002 Non-Letter Serial (bottom).

Patented in U.S.A. Stamped Barrel
In Late 2003 the barrel stamping was changed. Some early 2003 lights are Letter Serials and are stamped "Patented Made in the U.S.A." but are few and far between.

After 23 years of being "Made in the U.S.A." Maglite could no longer source enough parts made in America to meet the California definition. As such the barrels are stamped "Patented in U.S.A." instead of "Patented Made in U.S.A." as shown below. Please find more info in the following article: http://maglite.com/maglab/made-in-california-but-not-the-usa

O-Ring Moved
The O-ring was moved from being placed in the head to on the barrel. Shown below is a 2003+ light on the left and a pre-2003 light on the right.

Barrel Wall Thickness Increased
The wall thickness was increased slightly and as such the inside diameter is a little less.

R Panther Bezel
The trademark of the panther logo was registered so this carries over from the prior year.

Switch Redesigned
The retaining ring on the switch is replaced by a retaining clip. Examples of each are shown below with the retaining ring on the right and the retaining clip on the right..

2010 - 2017
The "Patented in U.S.A." stamping is abandoned all together. Lights now carry no stamping opposite the serial. All other features of the 2003 to 2009 lights remain.

2018 - 2020
The bezel logo is updated to look more like Maglites LED offerings. The remaining C Cell incandescent product line, 2C, 3C and 4C is discontinued in early 2020 after a 39 year run.

2018 Bezel
The Maglite logo on the bezel is updated to conform with Maglite's new lights. The text is now wider to make the branding easier to identify and the dash has been dropped between Mag and Lite. All other features of the 2010-2017 lights remain. All of the 2018+ lights I've seen are now bi-pin bulbs where as 2017 and earlier lights were a mix of bi-pins and PR base.

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