Originally Posted by
xizangstan
I've read over in the electronics forum that folks have had problems with MagicShine's battery packs. Surely, they should be fixing that problem by now.
Yes.
Last year GeoManGear.com recalled all the MagicShine batteries they sold, about 20,000 of them, because three (yes, 3) caught fire. You may recall Dell and Sony Vaio laptops having similar troubles with lithium-ion batteries, only they had dozens of them catch fire, right in people's laps.
GeoManGear, a little three-person company, recalled the whole lot, while other MagicShine dealers did not. They commissioned a redesigned battery and have been replacing them for free to their customers. Without the deep pockets of a Dell or a Sony, it's taking them time because they're financing this out of their own cash flow, which naturally fell when they temporarily stopped selling MagicShines.
New batteries are shipping with new lights, and the rest of the recalled batteries should be shipped soon, being replaced first-come, first-served based on when the recalled battery was returned.
I have two lights with the new batteries. They seem to be well made, dispense with the battery bag, and come with a new charger. I'm also playing the 3:20K odds and have continued using the old batteries I got last year.