MagLiteML300L-S3016 ML300L LED 3-Cell D Flashlight, Black

I’ve been a big fan of Maglite flashlights for a long time. Decades. This one doesn’t do anything to change my opinion, it only reinforces my admiration of great products from a great company and they still make their products here in the USA. It’s not too heavy for a 3-Cell D battery light, it’s well balanced and functions as it should. I like the three setting switch that allows you to conserve battery life if you need to and most importantly, it’s really bright when you need it to be. You can also adjust the bezel to focus the beam as well. Very well made and with care it could last you a life time.It matters to me that they are made in the USA and I hope that matters to you too.

This is a very good flashlight if the large size is desirable. If you are reading this review, you know this thing is large and you are OK with that.Pros:Brighter than the Standard Maglite 3 D-cell LED flashlights and can light up objects at a great distance.Three brightness levels... low is perfect for getting around without blinding everyone.Same Maglite ruggedness as always.Beautifully smooth texture Maglite owners love.Large enough you won't lose it as often.Just a touch smaller than the Standard Maglite 3 D-cell LED flashlight.Cons:It's Large and heavy when the 3 D-cells are in it (for me this was a positive because my kids lose all my other flashlights).Too big to just keep in your pocket around the campfire at night.Focus isn't as accurate as I'd expect.It will take awhile to get used to the new "1/4 turn focus" and not the old "unscrew-the-head style focus" that was kind of signature of MagliteNo hanging clip (not really a fault since I knew that when I bought it). But it would be a cool addition to the end cap.It doesn't have the standard "screw off head" like the standard Maglites and the focus is completely different... it's not bad, it's just a nostalgia thing.This flashlight gets 5 stars because it is what I expected and wanted... a super bright LED flashlight that is BIG and HEAVY. It is just a touch smaller than the Standard Maglite 3 D-cell LED flashlight. I'm not sure how they did that, but it is. Yet, it is still big and heavy enough that had my wife been carrying this Maglite instead of the two AA style when the tweaker attacked her with a metal stick in front of our garage, he would have ended up in the hospital.So our family values carrying a super bright flashlight that functions like a police baton when going outside at night. If you don't value those things, this isn't the light for you. There are brighter flashlights, smaller flashlights, cheaper flashlights, and much more expensive flashlights. This one is like a happy medium. It's rugged and good quality, a realistic price, bright enough to light up the whole tent or the top of a Giant Sequoia, and has a great run time thanks to three large D batteries.What I want to focus on, though, is the difference between this $40 - $50 ML300L Maglite and the $30 standard 3 D-cell LED flashlight, because if you're even considering this flashlight you probably fell in love with Maglites as a kid like me. So is it worth the extra $10 - $15 to get this one? Yes, I think so. At first I was skeptical, because we own 3 of the regular 3 D-cell LED Maglites. Could it really have that many more lumens than the standard one? So I got them out at night and put fresh batteries in all of them.It's not necessarily the spot focus where this light is better. When focused small, the standard Maglites are plenty bright in that tight area. But it's the surrounding light... the overall light that is brighter. I have included some photos that demonstrate the difference. The first picture is with both flashlights focused as tightly as possible (ML300L on the left). The second is with them focused as wide as possible. You'll notice the ML300L isn't much different. On the Little Caesar's box you don't see much difference... up close like that is where they are the most similar. But look at the flower painting with the flashlight aimed at the ceiling not the painting. The ML300L lights up the whole room noticeably more. I also thought my standard LEDs hit the trees behind my shop pretty well (the dark photos), but you can see the ML300L does a better job at that, also, with a brighter and larger spot. The final photo is just so you can see the slight size difference.In conclusion, I would say that yes, this newer design of the 3 D-cell LED Maglite ML300L is a bit better than the older style. Though I miss the feel of the old button, I appreciate the dimmable settings. Though I miss the way the head used to unscrew, the "hole" in the wide focus is gone. I think it was worth my extra $10 just for the added brightness and dimmable settings.

I have to give this 5 stars. Its probably the best value in bright (more than 500 lumen) LED flashlights right now.Pros:- Made in the USA- The new momentary/on/off button is quieter and has a shorter throw as compared to older style MagLite.- 4 different switching modes available depending on what you want the light to do when you press the switch button for the first time.- Very respectable 625 Lumen output.- Takes readily available and cheaper D batteries as opposed to most modern LED lights that use CR123As.- MagLite has a reputation for good customer service should you ever have an issue.- Long run times for brightness level.Cons:- Bulky compared to most CR123A flash-lights.- Focus adjustment doesn't change the pattern much.- Batteries rattle some in light.Let me start off by saying that I am sort of a flashlight snob. I grew up really liking flashlights. I used to spend a lot of my allowance money on them. I remember when I was about 10 and got my first MagLite (a Red 2D cell). I used to go around the yard at night pretending I was on some grand adventure. When I was in high school, I got my hands on one of the rechargeable halogen Maglites and couldn't believe how bright it was(for about 30 minutes until the battery started to die and needed to be charged again for 6-8 hours). Now, 20 years later, I still love flashlights and I've owned a lot of different high-end flashlights, headlamps, and weapon lights that I've used for hunting, camping, glovebox work, and police work. I bought most of my lights from reputable companies like Maglite, Surefire, StreamLight, and LED Lenser. I've also tried a few of the cheap Chinese made lights that are now everywhere to be found. A couple of years ago, I was beginning to think MagLite wasn't ever going to catch up with the LED flashlight industry. They had just become irrelevant to me in a world full of small, lightweight, expensive, but incredibly bright flashlights. I was in Wal-Mart on a camping trip last year and came across a ML300L. At first I thought it was another 1st generation LED Maglite that gave a brightness rating in yardage but not lumens (a sure sign a light is dim compared to the ones on the shelves around it). Then the 625 lumen label caught my eye. That was pretty bright, especially at the $50 price point. So I bought it and a pack of energizer batteries but I honestly had low expectations. A lot of companies began to exaggerate the brightness of their flashlights when they started putting the lumen output on the packages, and Maglite's 1st attempt at LED flashlights were quite expensive and just slightly brighter then their incandescent predecessors. When I got back to the camp and installed the batteries, I couldn't believe how bright this light was. I compared it to a 500 lumen SureFire I had with me and the MagLite was probably about 20% brighter and use conventional 1.5V alkaline batteries as opposed to 3V lithium. Also, the on/off button was much improved. It had a shorter throw and was quieter all while offering 3 different brightness levels. I was quite pleasantly surprised that the flashlight I most loved as a child had now finally caught up with modern LED technology... and at a cost per lumen most quality light manufacturers couldn't (or wouldn't) touch.