For the last 36 years, since 1979, Maglite Flashlights have been designed and manufactured in the USA by Anthony Maglica in Ontario, California. What will he come up with for the next 36 years? To get into the creative mind of Anthony, lets see what he has done in the past, and see what he has changed.
Anthony Maglica
What Has Stayed the Same with Mag-Lites. The frame of each flashlight has always bee anodized 6061 aluminum, and designed and manufactured in the USA. The colors for most of the models have been limited to black, silver, blue, and red.
Maglite m3a in dark green
What Has Changed with Mag-Lites. A few of the popular models are available in other colors, like green, orange, purple. The original ones used xenon or krypton incandescent bulbs. The new ones use LED bulbs. Accessories have been added, such as mounting brackets, holsters, rechargeable models, and LED conversion kits. The original ones just had an on/off switch. Now there are various modes in some models. Strobe, SOS, momentary, low power, and eco power. A set of 3 modes can be selected for General Use, Outdoor Use, Law Enforcement, and Tactical. Engraved flashlights. The factory has also added the ability to have your maglite engraved with your logo, available through a world-wide system of promotional product distributors.
Promotional Maglite Flashlights
Could the next Maglite improvement be:
Brighter bulbs
More types of flashing signals
Longer lasting batteries
Lighter weight, overall
Custom printing over the entire surface–a wrap imprint like the US flag version
Introducing a new model imported from China, to bring the cost down
USA-Made. MagLites have been designed and manufactured in the United States since the beginning. Unlike a lot of companies that shift their US production to overseas, MagLite has continued to keep the jobs in America. This has caused the retail pricing to be higher than similar flashlights made overseas. Despite the higher prices, this has not prevented the loyal customers, world-wide, from buying MagLites on a regular basis. MagLite has made a name for itself, and the name has universal recognition.
Anthony Maglica Still At Work
American Success Story. Maglite is also the story of a man who started small and made a highly successful company. Anthony Maglica showed us that hard work and dedication pays off.
Maglite m3a in dark green
Durability and Versatility. There is no question that Maglite flashlights are durable because of their aluminum barrel construction and water-tight rubber seals. The knurled barrel finish makes them easy to grip. They are versatile because of the many types of beam intensity and functions that are built into some of them. They all have the twisting focusing ability, which is a trademark of this great American company.
MagLite is an amazing USA company. This new rechargeable flashlight is the latest way of out-doing themselves. At 643 lumens, it is their brightest flashlight. If you use it in the General function set, here are the 3 ways to use it:
Full Power (1 click) gives you 643 lumens for the brightest light ever. The service time is about 4 hours at this mode.
Low Power (2 clicks) conserves battery usage, by giving 25% brightness. The benefit is having 17 hours of service at this mode.
Eco mode (3 clicks) makes your battery last as long as 37 hours.
RL1019 in charger
If you have other needs, you can change the function set to Outdoor, Law Enforcement or Tactical.
The 3 modes in the Outdoor set:
Full power, Low, Strobe
Here are the modes in the Law Enforcement set:
Full power, Momentary, Eco
RL1019 Gift Box
And for the Tactical function set, the 3 modes are:
Full power, Momentary, Strobe
Confusing? The Maglite comes to you in the General function set. This is fine for most people. If you want to change it, (and change it back again later), here’s what you do:
RL1019 MagLite LED Rechargeable
Operating The Most Powerful LED Flashlight From MagLite:
To change the function set, you do this by the way you turn on the flashlight. First, unscrew the battery compartment, so that the battery does not make contact. Hold the ON button while you screw the battery holder back in. The amount of time you leave the button pressed, determines which function set will be used. The complete directions come with your LED Maglite flashlight.
Just kidding. I have been a Maglite flashlights lover ever since I bought my first one 10 years ago. That USA company is always striving for perfection, and introduces innovations frequently. Here are my personal top 3 Maglite flashlights.
Maglite Solitaire LED
The Solitaire LED. It’s the brighter version of the popular Solitaire, which holds 1 AAA battery. It is a favorite because of its low price, and the conveniently small size, just 3 3/16″ long.
Maglite XL50
Maglite XL50
uses 3 AAA batteries, and puts out a bright 200 lumens. It has 3 modes of illumination. Full power, 25% power saver, and strobe for emergencies. Easy 1-handed operation because of the on/off button at the base.
Mag Charger LED RL1019
The newly re-designed Mag Charger LED has a powerful 643 lumen output. Just leave it on the charging cradle, and it is ready when you need it. Full power, Low power, and Eco-mode are the 3 choices you have.
Did you ever wonder how they got the name Mag-Lite®? Was it from the word “magnet”,
“magnificent”, “magnesium”, “magnanimous”? No. Nothing as detailed as that. When it
Today’s Latest Promotional Flashlights
was invented in 1979, it was named after the owner of the company, Anthony Maglica. He and his company have been on Facebook recently. The topic is his commitment on keeping USA’s flashlight manufacturing jobs in the USA. Yes, that keeps the famous flashlight’s price high, but people are willing to pay for quality. Maglites® are as American as apple pie. People are proud to own one of these magnificent “torches”, especially the new LED models, no matter what the price.
Anthony Maglica Still At Work
POOR FAMILY: Mr. Maglica was born in NYC during the Great Depression, but was raised in Croatia by his mother. When he was old enough to escape from the Communist control of Croatia, he came back to America and started manufacturing precision parts for aerospace and the military. He used a lathe that he bought, and was making payments on. In 1974, he incorporated as Mag Instrument, Inc. in California, and went on to invent the Maglite® flashlight in 1979. Through his hard work and perseverance, he has brought much success to a unique flashlight, his workers, and to his country.
ONWARD AND UPWARD: The Mini Maglite® AA flashlight was introduced in 1984 and became a welcome personal size flashlight. A smaller AAA-Cell version of the Mini Maglite® flashlight, handy for medical applications, was introduced in 1987; and the Solitaire® single AAA-Cell flashlight, designed for key chains and purses, entered the product line in 1988. In 2006, the Maglite® LED flashlight was introduced. In 2011, they started the Mini Maglite Pro & Pro+ sales.
AWARDS: Besides being awarded millions of dollars in patent infringement cases, Mag Instrument, Inc. has been awarded many recognition awards. In 1987, Money Magazine named the Mini Maglite® flashlight one of the 99 Things That Americans Make Best. In 2004, Mens Journal named The Maglite® flashlight in the “List of All Time Best Tools, Toys, and Gear”. In 2005, Mobile PC Magazine named the Maglite® flashlight as one of the 100 greatest gadgets of all time. In 2010, Maglite XL100 made the “Holiday Hot List” (Dec 2010) – Sunset Magazine. In 2011, Mini Mag-Lite LED made the “Best Car-winterizing tools” list (01/11/11) – Woman’s Day Magazine.
LASER SCIENCE: The laser was invented in the early 1950’s. Then computerized laser engraving machines evolved in the 70’s and 80’s. The first items to be decorated with laser engraving were wooden plaques. These refined machines are used today to put your logo on engraved Maglites. Laser has enhanced the popularity of promotional Maglights. Today, it is easy to use your vector art file, and quickly engrave your logo on 50 anodized aluminum Maglites. Your imprint shows as the color of the aluminum showing through the places where the anodized color was removed by the laser. Engraved flashlights with your logo are here to stay, because they combine a useful object with a little bit of well-placed advertising.
Maglite® m3a in dark green
THE FUTURE: The next step is already here…The ability to put your full-color logo on the curved metal barrel of the Maglite®. This process was started about 2011. The imprint is virtually un-scratchable. The imprint is permanently adhered to the barrel. The color logo on a Maglite® is available in a very limited market.
