Originally Posted by
DuckFat
The 3 watt LED Maglite Mini is a much better value than the Fenix. Lowe's has them for $23. You can make a mount or buy one online for about $15.
I bought two of these and mounted one to my bike and one on my helmet (with super-strength Velcro). They work great especially with Lithium AA's.
I have both the 3 watt Mag LED and the Fenix L2D Premium Q5. The Maglite is a toy compared to the Fenix. It isn't as bright as the Fenix on the medium setting (remember, there's a low 12 lumens, medium 53 lumens, high 107 lumens, and turbo 180 lumens), putting it at less than 50 lumens. Yes, you can ride by the Maglite at night (I have), but it's risky and the output doesn't even compare. By the way, I've actually had two of the Maglites. The first one broke after 2 months of occaisional use, but riding around in my pannier for emergencies. I took it back and got it replaced. This is hardly what I would consider to be reliable.
In terms of value, you'd need 4 of them to equal the luminance of 1 Fenix on turbo.
Finally, keep in mind the Maglite is NOT waterproof, but only water resistant. The Fenix is waterproof to IPX-8 standards (I'm not sure what that means, but gives me confidence it'll hold up well on my helmet in a heavy downpour).
On a limited budget, I'd get a PB Superflash and a Fenix L2D Premium Q5. You'd be out $90 + batteries (note: I'm a big fan of DiNotte - I have a front and rear as well - but believe on a lonely mountain road where there's little to no light pollution, the DiNottes would be nice, but not necessary).