Introducing the Maglite XL50, the latest member of Maglite’s XL-series of LED flashlights! Continuing on the success of its feature-packed brother, the XL100, the XL50 boasts improved performance, increased runtime, additional simplicity, and a lower retail price, all while maintaining the key benefits of a Maglite flashlight.
Key Specifications
- Output: 104 lumens high, 26 lumens low, 104 lumens strobe
- Runtime: 8h 45min high, 36h low
- Battery: 3 x AAA
- Length: 4.8″
- Diameter: 1″
- Weight with Batteries: 3.68 oz.
- Warranty: Limited Lifetime
- MSRP: $29.99
Pricing & Ordering
As this light is just announced, availability is limited at the time of writing. MSRP for the XL50 will be in the range of $24.99 to $29.99, and the light will be available in several colors, including black, grey, silver, blue, and red.
In The Box
Included in the blister packaging are: Maglite XL50 LED 3AAA flashlight and 3 x AAA Duracell alkaline batteries, similar to the packaging of the XL100.
This is pre-production packaging and may vary from final configuration (which will state the ANSI FL1 specifications).
Batteries
The XL50 uses the same sturdy battery carrier as the XL100, and is powered by three AAA batteries. The rated specifications are for alkaline batteries, but NiMH rechargeable and lithium primaries may also be used.
The light is inoperable if the battery carrier is inserted backwards, so there is no danger of “inserting the batteries backwards.”
The Light
Head
The head features a plastic window and a deep smooth reflector. The beam can be focused with a quick turn of the head, or the head removed to flood an entire area with light. The face cap is engraved with MAG-LITE® LED XL50™ – ONTARIO, CA, USA and Maglite’s logo in bold lettering.
A glass window may be installed using Mag Instrument part #108-617, the same as the 2AA, but removing the process to remove the reflector (pushing it left and right while applying pressure on the window) has the potential to damage the reflector during removal, so if one wishes to change the window, proceed with caution! Spare parts are not currently available for purchase.
Body
The entire light is type-II anodized aluminum inside and out. The anodizing helps prevent corrosion, and also electrically insulates the light. The body is identical to the XL100’s, including the knurling, which is not aggressive enough to prevent the light from rolling. However, because the knurling runs down the side of the light, it helps your fingers maintain a steady grip on the light.
Interesting to note here is that the light does not use the flashlight body to complete the circuit from the tail of the light to the LED module, unlike most other lights. Instead, the battery carrier has a connector that goes from one end to the other, and that is how the negative terminal is connected to the LED module.
Tail Cap
On the tailcap is an electronic switch covered with black rubber. The electronic switch requires both positive and negative terminals to operate, thus requiring the specially designed battery carrier. This type of switch makes it possible for fast mode switching but also comes with a notable disadvantage, both of which will be discussed in the following sections.
Modes
Going back to a more traditional implementation than the XL100, the XL50 is about as easy to use as a multi-mode flashlight can be. The electronic switch eliminates the need to turn the light on and off to switch between modes. Instead, modes are activated depending on the number of clicks used to turn the light on.
1 Click: High
A single click activates 100% mode for the full 104 lumens.
2 Clicks: Low
With two clicks, the 25% low mode is activated, producing 26 lumens.
3 Clicks: Strobe
With three clicks, the strobe mode is activated with the light in maximum brightness. The strobe feature is designed for disorienting somebody or getting their attention.
Regardless which mode is currently active, a single click will turn the light off.
Performance
This light is rated for 104 lumens and 145 meters of throw. These numbers are a slight increase from the XL100, but these specifications also apply to the XL100, which had been under-rated. The reason for this is because Philips LumiLEDs silently revised the Luxeon Rebel LED, and the prototype XL100 used for testing featured the older emitter. However, the improved Luxeon Rebel was used in production XL100s as well as the XL50, so the packaging for the XL100 may be updated in the future to reflect this new information.
A comparison between the XL100 and XL50 quickly verified this, the lights were of equivalent brightness.
The main disadvantage of the electronic switch used in the XL50 is the presence of a standby current drain. The XL50 has a measured standby drain of 33.1 µA (or 0.0331 mA), similar to the XL100. A typical quality alkaline AAA has a capacity of about 1000mAh, which means that a set of brand new alkaline batteries will be completely drained after three years.
However, light output will decrease with reduced battery voltage due to this drain, so the XL50 would not make a good choice as an emergency light, unless the batteries are stored seperately (which is recommended practice even for lights without a standby drain, because of the tendency for alkaline batteries to leak).
Runtime
If you haven’t read our article about runtime graphs and the ANSI FL1 Standard, please click here.
Since the XL50 is not designed to be a tactical light, the light dims to 25% after 5 minutes of constant on. If the light is powered off then back on, the timer will be reset.
Accessories
No original accessories are available for this light at the time. Some accessories are compatible with the XL100, such as the OEM Maglite 2AA anti-roll ring, and Ripoffs’ BL-150 and CO-150 belt holsters.
Conclusion
This latest offering in Maglite’s XL-series of flashlights features an excellent balance of performance, quality, and simplicity, yet also manages to include a lower price point in the mix. In time for the holiday season, the XL50 is expected to arrive at a retailer near you, making an excellent holiday gift (perhaps for yourself!) that will be both functional and fun to use.
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Will be getting this one over the XLl00, seems easier to use.
The Maglite XL50 is a great little $30 light, on low beam it matches my Surefire E1 with the LED upgrade, on high beam it’s much brighter, and it dosn’t require cr123 batteries.
I have had the Mag-Lite XL50 for about one month.
I’ve used it about 3 minutes a day, finding my dogs in the yard at night to bring them into the house.
In that time, I have gone through TWO SETS of batteries: The ones that came with it, followed by three brand new Duracell alkaline batteries. The advertisement says that one gets 8 hours 45 minutes on high beam and 36 hours on low beam.
This ain’t happening. Not even close. I’m very disappointed, as it gives a great light for its size. I will take it back to Home Depot for a refund.
I have both the XL50 and XL100. I’ve done a side by side comparison of both for brightness and longevity. They are pretty close to the same brightness but I would give the XL50 an edge over the XL100. I’ve placed both on high beam and let them stay side by side “on” to see just how long standard batteries would last. After 8 hours of continous use the XL50 was slightly brighter than the XL100 and both were brighter than a 5D Maglite with a fresh set. I don’t see how anyone could be disappointed with this flashlight.
Seriously needs a lanyard loop in the tail cap. Too easy to drop, damage or loose.
Please correct spelling loose v-> lose
Great flashlight. I use one at work every day and I am not dissapointed. It’s even brighter than my 3 cell with LED.
This is a great little flashlight.I use this light everyday an it has not let me down ounce.I have $100 lights that are not as bright as my XL50.The battery life is outstanding it lasts 9 hours on high and 26 on low.Great little flashlight worth every penny.
Back in the day police had the big and long MAG’s and now that we have small the XL50 MAG’s it put the others to shame. Just this one unit is all you need for anything. At first I thought 30$ for a little light was to much but that goes to show you don’t judge a book by it’s cover.
I’m no electrical engineer, but if one AAA battery has a 1000mAh stated capacity (and many have 1200), then the THREE that this flashlight uses should have a 3000mAh capacity, meaning that it would take closer to 10 years to COMPLETELY drain the batteries. This would be three years longer than the typical stated shelf life (7 years) of an alkaline battery, making the standby drain far less important than you make it out to be. Now, it might matter more with lithium batteries, some of which have stated shelf lives of up to 17 years (most only claim 10, though). But, virtually all lithium AAA’s have 1200mAh capacity, which if you MULTIPLY BY THREE, and work out the math, amounts to almost 13 years to fully drain.
Now, I’m not saying the standby drain doesn’t matter, its no fun to pull out your flashlight after 5 years and have only 50% battery capacity, BUT, it is MUCH better than pulling out your flashlight in 3 years and having NO power, which is what your review states (apparently) incorrectly. Please correct me if I am wrong here.
Since standby current draw is the only Con you list for this product, it seems important to be correct about this.
I am only speculating wildly here, but it seems to my that an ultra-low standby draw might actually be a GOOD thing, since voltage build up in alkalines can contribute to leakage/corrosion. I’d rather have dead batteries than leaking ones. But I really don’t know enough about the technology to make this point.
Hope this helps anyone planning on a purchase.
Kyle,
You imply that batteries in the XL50 are in parallel. That is not the case with, because three AAA batteries are in series when installed in the XL50 (notice how two batteries face forward, and one faces backward).
When batteries are in series, voltage is increased, but capacity remains the same as a single battery. When batteries are in parallel, voltage is the same as a single battery, but capacity is increased. The reason for this is that the total amount of power (watt-hour, or Whr) must remain the same, so either voltage or capacity increases, but not both.
Hope this helps, Kyle!
Robin
Ah! I was not aware of this. I should have guessed it was drawing more voltage, since it is a high power light. I was not expecting such a lighting fast response from you, thanks for clarifying!
Before buying this light I am curious to know if the tail cap has the same feel, and more importantly, the same function of the big old Maglites with their momentary-on buttons since I like to use my flashlights to send Morse code messages. Many of the new advanced flashlights need a full button depression AND release to activate the light, which requires too much time for my speed of operation. Is this the case with the LX50/LX100 switches/buttons since I see they are “smart” switches?
Thx for you time!
Venya,
A new type of switch is used XL-series, which has a different feel from the mechanical switches of previous incandescent lights. The switch does not need much travel, having a similar feel to a computer mouse button.
Hope this helps,
Robin
This is the best light on the market for the price and then some. it’s like the jedi light saber compared toi other flashlights. 🙂
This xl50 is so cool,
easy to carry
very lite and yet it was so bright
i always bring it with me at work and at home
jimf is right its like a jedi lightsaber
maglite surely did a great job on xl50
venya, this light is great except for the fact you or I ill not be able to use the end cap switch for morris code. it is a little unfortunate but the light makes up for it in other ways.
the three function switch screws up the use of the switch to flash the light in a pattern you want.
and Ken Green i have used mine for three days four hours each and still bright. use new batteries not the new ones in the drawer you think are new and your kids switched them out and did not tell you. 😉
I got one of these to use as I have been tranferred to the night shift working on big Boeing jets. Need something small/handy but powerful for that. And durable. And if it eats batteries per chance, I get replacements from the tool room. I looked at this and a similiar Chinese light. Decided to keep the money in the USA. Still if I was working security or police, I would consider the secondary advantage of a regular big Maglite as an emergency head-knocker or such. They can stand up to that. Get the LED bulb upgrade for your regular big D cell unit. My standard Mags will stay at home as emergency lights as they do not have an “off” battery drain. They have to work if the power fails or the door rattles at 3 AM.