I've tested the two major players in self-contained
LED upgrades for MiniMags, the Opalec NewBeam and the TerraLux MiniStar 2. The Opalec review appeared in TD&T magazine (the official publication of
USITT) some time back, and both that and the new MiniStar review will appear on my new review/tips/stories from the
road site once I get it up and running (by the end of the month, I expect).
For the short version, both are about $30, and both are great. Both feature
voltage step-up circuits that allow the light to put out a constant light
level for hours and hours, long after a standard MiniMag has become useless. The NewBeam has three LEDs and is available in white and blue (the blue is available from Rose Brand, the white from various online dealers); it also has a fourth dim red
LED that serves as a low battery indicator.
The MiniStar2 has one side-firing
LED, which means that, with it's custom
reflector, it is still focusable, which the NewBeam isn't. It is brighter than the NewBeam, but doesn't last quite as long. It doesn't have a low battery indicator, you'll have to judge by when the step-up finally gives in and the light
level drops.
Both are pretty sturdy and will take a
drop well.
I've been using the MiniStar lately since I am
FOH and there's so much other light around that I typically don't need the blue (although of course I could get another and
gel it blue), but it's a pretty close toss-up between the two. Brightness vs. battery life and a low-batt indicator is basically what it comes down to, since I never change the focus on my MiniStar. Before I got the MiniStar, the NewBeams served me quite well--I used the white for load-ins and outs and the blue for show calls throughout all of the '03-'04 tour of "The Full Monty", and it never let me down.
FWIW, I have also swapped out the tailcaps of all three of my lights (white NewBeam, blue NewBeam, MiniStar2) with Kroll rubber pushbutton tailcap switches. You push them in partway and they act as
momentary switches, all the way and they click on. It's really only a MiniMag in body now, LOL. Since I had the Mags lying around, and the upgrade kits are cheaper than tactical lights anyway, and AA batteries are much easier to come by for cheap than the various odd batteries that the bright tacticals usually use, it was a no-brainer for me.
Best,
Andy
P.S.-There's another brand of
switch out there, too, the Ram
Instrument Tailcap
Switch. I do NOT reccomend it in any way, shape, or form. I liked the design better, because it's a knurled knob with an inset
button, but the
button is wired backwards so that the
momentary shuts it off, rather than on, and of the two I ordered, one didn't work right out of the box. Eek!