few flashlight will grab more attention than a 6d cell maglite . it be 20 '' long and weigh well over 3 lb with battery . as allude in other review , this really gun for the guy instinct . it be exaggerated and give the same feeling as see the volume go to 11 -lrb- a la spinal tap -rrb- . ever since I first see one on display 20 year ago , I have want it -lrb- but have to settle for a Mini-Mag -rrb- . of course , as a Maglite , it live up to they reputation of be virtually indestructable and a good substitute for a baseball bat . however , in light of recent innovation in led technology , it do not have as much practical value . as one would expect with a 6d -lrb- 9 volt -rrb- light , it be one that can signal satellite . when I first see it , it be brighter than anything else , at least operating from standard battery . 20 year later , it still use the same technology , albeit with the availability of the Xenon `` mag-num '' bulb , which add 23 % brightness -lrb- per Maglite 's web site -rrb- . other technology have emerge that make this beast show its age , especially the so-called `` tactical '' light , some of which be smaller than a mini-mag , but brighter than the 6d . do not get I wrong . it be tough as nail and extraordinarily bright . but , the 3d cell maglite with the led upgrade put out a comparable amount of light , while consume only half the battery and be 40 % smaller . as of this writing -lrb- 7\/2007 -rrb- , there be no led upgrade bulb available from Maglite , save the 4d cell version , use with 2 dummy d-cell -lrb- why ? -rrb- third-party vendor have some good one , but they be either dimmer or do not focus . one even cost $ 75 + -lrb- for a $ 25 chassis -rrb- . one company boast its upgrade bulb will yield 140 lumen ; for comparison , the mag claim the 6d cell with the Xenon bulb yield 218 lumen . if Maglite be to put a lead 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 be well-engineered and virtually indestrctable , this be the one for you . I have one and love it , but truthfully , it be more of a novelty that satisfy some primal yearning inside of I . for emergency and everyday use , I have strategically located maglite 3d and min-mag , all lead , around the house . UPDATE : I get this 7\/17\/2007 from mag 's customer service about the 5-6 cell led upgrade : `` we do not plan on make a lead for the 5 or 6 cell light because the volume be too small to justify the tooling cost . led be voltage sensitive and if use 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 we 4 cell led module , model # sh34dcw6j . ''