Maglite is probably the most identified brand of flashlights in the United States. There aren't many people who don't know the name Maglite.
Even from a distance, Maglite's signature aluminum body flashlights with the recessed push button are immediately recognizable. Maglites come in different colors, such as bright blue, red and even silver. The most often seen color is black, though. Maglites are also known for making a distinctive sound when they are dropped.
Maglites are made by Mag Instrument Incorporated, a company founded by Anthony Maglica. The company was founded in 1955, but the first Maglites did not reach consumer hands until 1979. Prior to the Maglite, Mag Instrument Incorporated made precision parts. The Maglite flashlight is in the top 100 list of products that are made best in America.
The first Maglite became an instant hit with public safety personnel. The aircraft grade aluminum body with a tough anodized coating and a recessed light switch was a design that would be copied by many other flashlight makers in an attempt to grab a portion of the market that Maglite dominated. The flashlights have an adjustable focus beam. Today, Maglite flashlights are available in rechargeable, D-cell, C-cell, AA-cell, and AAA-cell configurations. The tiniest one takes a single AAA battery, and the largest one is a six D-cell flashlight.
The Maglite flashlight has come a long way since its humble origins. The company now makes LED versions of their lights. Whereas an incandescent bulb can suddenly fail in a critical situation, LED lights have a track record of performing flawlessly for an extreme life cycle of over a hundred thousand hours. Of course, the batteries do not last that long, but the lamp does. Maglite was also famous for including an extra bulb in the tailcap of its incandescent models.
Maglite now has a new model of LED flashlight called the XL100 that has customizable settings. The tailcap switch of the XL100 allows the user to switch from a bright 83 lumen light output to a lower setting that saves battery life and is useful for tasks such as reading maps. The XL100 also has a strobe feature that will disorient an attacker, as well as having a feature to continually flash the international SOS distress signal in Morse code.
Maglite continues to be a market leader. The company provides quality flashlights at excellent prices. Their products are available in department stores, sporting goods stores and hardware stores nationwide.