MAGLITE S6D016 Heavy-Duty 6-D Cell Flashlight, Black
by MAGLITE
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of MAGLITE S6D016 Heavy-Duty 6-D Cell Flashlight, Black
Customer Review: The Maglite 6D- A Club That's Also a Light
Summary: 5 Stars
Maybe you're a cop or security guard, maybe you're a guy who lives in a place where you can't carry a firearm, maybe you're just someone looking to fill the 'use of force' void that exists between shooting someone the bird and shooting them between the eyes. Any way you look at it, lets not beat around the bush here... Anyone buying this light is doing so for one reason only, the 'light' aspect being totally secondary to that one reason. It's a club that doubles as a flashlight.
So, how do we judge it on the objective criteria?
As a whuppin' stick, it definitely works- so well that some 'kinder, gentler' Police Departments don't even allow it anymore. Kind of a bummer that they discontinued the thinner 6C; barring finding one second hand and paying a real scalpers price for it, the 5D/6D is the pretty much the only 'in production' option in the Mag line for a "big defensive flashlight" but that's OK. Unless you have very small hands, the 6D is perfectly controllable.
It's big. Really, really big. The light itself is about 19.5" long- a foot and a half- in total. When weighted down with cels, it's heavy, too.
You will want to tread lightly with this, as it definitely would generate enough striking force to fracture a skull, break bones. Be damn sure you're legally justified to use it, if you ever do use it. You can hurt someone with it. It's does cut a pretty intimidating profile. Walking around with one, it's almost as if you're carrying a bat. In some situations, this is OK. In other situations, where drawing attention to yourself isn't the desired outcome, you'd definitely want to leave this one home.
It's bright by 'bright enough' standards. Not bright enough to impress flashlight geeks who obsess over marginally relevant technical details on internet forums, plenty bright for Average Joe to use for real world stuff... of course, let us not forget the reason we bought this in the first place. The 'flashlight' part is a secondary consideration, or, a primary consideration inasmuch as it allows us to carry it around in places where the same thing absent the flashlight function would be considered an unlawful bludgeon or club.
If you want to juice the light aspect up to balls-out bright, terralux makes an upgrade that turns the thing into a portable sun... It's pricey- three times the cost of the light itself- but it does add a significant upgrade in functionality, which can be quite practical. If you shine this into someones face, they're either turning away, or, if they're really determined to keep advancing, they'll be doing so blinded and/or with their eyes closed, at which point we option the 'club' functionality.
I don't throw around the five star rating too often, but this is a five star piece. Right now, as of October 2010, with Amazon free shipping on purchases over 25, you can get one shipped to your door for right at 25 bucks. Is this worth 25 bucks? Hell yeah. Five stars worth.
Customer Review: The Big Daddy of Them All
Summary: 4 Stars
Few flashlights will grab more attention than a 6D Cell Maglite. It's 20" long and weighs well over 3 lbs with batteries. As alluded in other reviews, this really guns for the guy instincts. It's exaggerated and gives the same feeling as seeing the volume go to 11 (á la Spinal Tap). Ever since I first saw one on display 20 years ago, I've wanted it (but had to settle for a Mini-Mag). Of course, as a Maglite, it lives up to their reputation of being virtually indestructable and a good substitute for a baseball bat.
However, in light of recent innovations in LED technology, it doesn't have as much practical value. As one would expect with a 6D (9 volt) light, it is one that can signal satellites. When I first saw it, it was brighter than anything else, at least operating from standard batteries. 20 years later, it still uses the same technology, albeit with the availability of the Xenon "Mag-num" bulb, which adds 23% brightness (per Maglite's web site). Other technologies have emerged that make this beast show its age, especially the so-called "tactical" lights, some of which are smaller than a Mini-mag, but brighter than the 6D. Don't get me wrong. It's tough as nails and extraordinarily bright. But, the 3D Cell Maglite with the LED upgrade puts out a comparable amount of light, while consuming only half the batteries and being 40% smaller. As of this writing (7/2007), there is no LED upgrade bulb available from Maglite, save the 4D Cell version, used with 2 dummy D-Cells (why?)
Third-party vendors have some good ones, but they are either dimmer or don't focus. One even costs $75+ (for a $25 chassis). One company boasts its upgrade bulb will yield 140 lumens; for comparison, the Mag claims the 6D Cell with the Xenon bulb yields 218 lumens. If Maglite were to put an LED upgrade for this light out on par with the 3D cell LED upgrade, it would make this light incredibly bright and I would also give this the full Five Stars.
Bottom Line: If you must have a gi-normous flashlight that is well-engineered and virtually indestrctable, this is the one for you. I have one and love it, but truthfully, it's more of a novelty that satisfies some primal yearning inside of me. For emergency and everyday use, I have strategically located Maglite 3Ds and Min-Mags, all LED, around the house.
UPDATE: I got this 7/17/2007 from Mag's customer service about the 5-6 cell LED upgrades: "We do not plan on making an LED for the 5 or 6 cell lights because the volume is too small to justify the tooling costs. LEDs are voltage sensitive and if used in the wrong size light will either reduce the overall life of the lamp or blow it out. You can also purchase a battery spacer / dummy battery and use our 4 cell LED module, model # SH34DCW6J."
Customer Review: Carry this for a few years & you'll walk like John Wayne too
Summary: 3 Stars
Mag Instrument S6D016 Black 6D Cell MagLite Flashlight. Over the years, I just needed and "HAD TO HAVE" that bigger flashlight! It's a guy thing. This is the one light that lots of law enforcement carried. It was effective as a flashlight and as a tool if the use of force needed to be escalated in subduing a BG (Bad Guy) - Orders given with confidence and with commanding voice, physical force including night stick or Mag Light, side arm, shot gun).There is a lot going on within the technology of flashlights recently. LED, Lithium batteries, focus bezels, etc. The Mag has fallen from grace a bit technologically, but is still a great flashlight for police / emt INCLUDING looking for and if need be using the light defensively as a weapon on criminals, cockroaches / terrorists or signalling for a chopper pick up. The Mag Instrument S6D016 Black 6D Cell MagLite Flashlight is very durable and they are proven reliable. But even the police and emt and military are switching over to more tecnologically advanced products and techniques to go along with the new equipment.. They have to. Their lives and the lives of others depend on the best equipment available. And for a long time that was Mag Light.
Don't get me wrong. I've depended on Mag lites of all sizes for years. But head to head , theSurefire brands have quickly surpassed Mag lite in every important aspect of flashlights - usable light power, smaller size and lighter weight.
TheMag Instrument S6D016 Black 6D Cell MagLite Flashlight is a good value and I have several in the house and the larger trunks of some of my vehicles. But they're being replaced by Surefires as they wear out.
John Row
Customer Review: Who needs a bat when you have this?
Summary: 5 Stars
I had purchased this Maglite originally for my sister. She bought a house in the bay area, and so I thought a great housewarming gift would be a 6D Maglite. She lives by herself, has no pets, and I figured she could use an excellent flashlight. I'm not saying she can not defend for herself, I'm just saying that everyone, no matter if you're living in an apartment or house, should have at least one 6D Maglite. However, she sees the size of this thing, and rejects my gift. She told me she'd throw it away, so I said I would take it. I gave her my 2D Maglite in place of the 6D and now I have one of these bats and my sister has a smaller version. Did I mention the size of this flashlight?
I just went camping to Yosemite for a week, and let me tell you, this flashlight was great. You can take off the head of the flashlight, and it becomes a lantern. It lights up any tent or campground. My buddies were impressed with how durable and reliable the Maglite. Overall, I would recommend this product to anybody. Even police officers tell people to get this flashlight. So when you have law enforcement officers referring individuals to this product, then you know it has to be an effective item.
Customer Review: Best $20 investment one can make for a flashlight.
Summary: 5 Stars
Maglites have been around for a long time now. At first the big powerful flashlights were considered cutting edge technology. Their high quality focusing lens, computer machined aluminum housing with rubber gaskets and xenon light bulb are all still the best quality one can buy. However they look a little old fashion next to the super bright, super efficient LED flashlights. But the Maglite has two big advantages over ANY other light on the market. For $20 instead of $120 you have a light that while bigger and heavier is just as bright as any small LED light and it will last 25 years (my last one did). Plus, if this is for security work or checking on bumps in the night, 10 lbs of metal 2 1/2 feet long feels a lot better in your hands than 6 inches of plastic. Do not waste your money on the LED bulb. I bought one of the best and most expensive upgrades and really see no difference. If you want a really good flashlight that will last a long time and always work I know of nothing that even comes close to the Maglite. One other thing, yes the 6-D battery is MUCH brighter than the 2 or 4 D battery sizes. Other than the money I wasted on the LED bulb upgrade this is the best $20 I have ever spent.