The Vehicle Flashlight

 ahem: flashlights (oi, electric torches) for the car glovebox...
 (classic problems solved... but w/ money, as usual)

problem:
• many folks keep a flashlight in the glovebox or trunk of their vehicle.
  This is sensible and good.

• vehicle environments are tough on cheap flashlights, tending to destroy
   cheap housings, damage/scratch up the lens, vibration may break
   filament-based bulbs (still shipping in some otherwise good flashlights!),
   they aren't bright enough, they don't last very long, and worst of all, both
   time and temperature will reliably destroy the batteries so that when you
   finally need that light, rather desperately, five years later, by the side of
   the road at 3AM in the rain... it's as dead as "post-rock".

• solution:
   - for the housing, buy the least expensive, 2-cell D-size Maglite (Mag
     Instruments), one that comes with an incandescent bulb, not their newer
     LED-based junk.  Why?  The body is all we care about, and we're going
     to replace the bulb no matter what,  and this is the cheapest way to get
     the body.

  - replace the lens with a 'toughened glass', anti-scratch coated replacement
    lens from whoever - mine came from Weltool

  - replace the bulb with an established, name-brand, LED upgrade of at least
    3 watts, (5 is better).  I think I bught mine from Nite-Ize, not sure; MAKE
    CERTAIN TO USE A LAMP THAT WILL RUN ON FOUR CELLS, ie;
    SIX VOLTS

  - replace the batteries with 3V Lithium Thionyl Chloride (LiSOCl2) primary
    cells from Saft, Tadiran (German), or Tenergy (discount line made by Saft,
    nearly as good, and somewhat cheaper) - these cost $13 - $25 EACH. 
    Although they are not rechargeable, they store ≈ 4X the energy of the best
    alkaline primary cells, in addition to their other wonderful properties.

 The resulting torch will not self-discharge appreciably for ten years, regardless of temperature cycles.  I have personally used the Saft branded batteries for SAR ground truth tags and remote nvironmental data acquisition sensor kits which went in both desert and glacier environments, in uninsulated Pelican cases, left in place for months to years!

 The bulb will be much brighter and more efficient, using less current, than Mag's own LED bulbs.

 The glass lens will not get scratched up from rolling around with the other junk in your glovebox or trunk for six years before you finally need it.

 As for the body, Mag makes a REALLY good housing for the money.  Only way to get something better is to spend 4X as much on the body for incremental improvements.

 I once left a 4-cell D size Mag lite on the hood of a jeep (it was dark) I noticed I'd done so when we pulled out onto the highway again, and it rolled off at about 25 - 35 MPH and endo'd on the pavement 3 - 4 times... worked fine when I picked it up, (they used plastic lenses back then which did not break, but would scratch from a stern look) and only had cosmetic dings on the edges of the lamp housing and end cap.  If you're paranoid, the end cap will hold a spare LED bulb just as well as it does the spare junk bulb that comes with it from the factory.

 There is, unfortunately, one remaining and glaring defect of the Mag torches which neither they, nor I, nor the internet community, have a solution for, and the reason for this situation is named Anthony Maglica, the owner and founder of Mag Instrument, whose policy it is to sue, in court if necessary, genuinely and aggressively, anyone who makes an accessory that interacts with Mag's patented features.

 It's that damned, miserable reflector, which results in an absolutely HORRID beam, something quite below today's widely accepted standards.  The reflector needs to be changed to an "orange peel" surface to fix this, and Mag doesn't think it's important enough.  But the reflector has a patented cam feature which, acting against the sliding, spring-loaded (and patented, ahem) lamp holder, provide a desirable focusing feature, permitting the operator to have a wife flood shitty beam of light, or a tight and narrow shitty beam of light.

 Anyone who has brought to market an orange peel replacement which has the angled rear stub / cam surface to activate the focus feature has received a C&D letter, and one accessory manufacturer was taken into court and sued out of existence.  So if you decide you would much rather go with another brand of housing on moral ground, I certainly cannot blame you.  Mag doesn't care about users.

 There seem to be some reflectors which don't focus, which might fit, it's hard to tell, since the sellers can't even use the NAME or say that it FITS "Mag Lites" or anything similar, or... Cease And Desist!

 I have no tested solution for this issue, yet.  My own torch still has the shit factory reflector.

 Some folks have said that a stock reflector may be hand-spattered judiciously with clear acrylic spray, using a small brush and flicking the liquid, or just carefully spritzing with a spray can, to achieve a fake (and sub-optimal, vs. a mirror-coated surface) "orange peel" surface.  This sounds reasonable, but I need to buy a plain, legit, replacement Mag reflector first, in case it doesn't work out well.

 As, if, and when, I'll probably make a small post about the success of failure of same.