Brinkmann Legends

In 1988 Don Keller joined Brinkmann, a U.S. consumer products conglomerate. Brinkmann was well known for purchasing and producing products from rival brands from flashlights to BBQ grills. By this time Don had 20 years in the flashlight industry and was commissioned by Brinkmann to head up the newly founded Keller Co. A division that was to produce the most advanced flashlight at the time and aptly named after Don, The Legend. Below is a picture from the back of the package explaining Don's story.

So, you might be asking, who is Don Keller? The answer is Don is one of, if not, the most influential person in flashlight design. Don literally invented the first aluminum flashlight in 1968 and then went on to co-found Maglite with Tony Maglica. In his career he either influenced or worked for most major flashlight manufacturers. The Brinkmann Legend would be his first light he designed himself form the ground up since the Kel-Lite. Don would return to Maglite later on but this was one of the ventures in between his decade long stints at Maglite. 

Brinkmann Legends were manufactured from 1988 until the late 90s. However, Don left Brinkmann in 1994 and production was moved from Kansas City to China in 1995. The 1988 to 1995 lights are the highest quality and most collectible as they were made in the U.S. Below are three Brinkmanns currently in my collection.

This light is the standard 2D. All lights had plastic grips on the bezel and barrel. The lights are very durable and the inside switch is all metal unlike the plastic innards of the Maglite. Overall quality is higher than a Maglite but the aesthetics are very much indicative on the early 90s and didn't age as well as the Maglites.

This light is a 3C. Like other flashlight manufacturers Brinkmann partnered with retailers to make special edition lights. This was a partnership with Eddie Bauer and was offered for a limited time in the early 90s in their catalog. Several other models were also offered and were similar in appearance. Other similar models were made for MAC Tools.

The last light I have is a 3AAA special edition gold. This was made around the holidays in very limited numbers. These lights have a plastic rear push button switch.

Shown below is an early Brinkmann Legend advertisement showcasing their lineup early on.

I also have an article from the 1989 issue of Combat Handguns that gives a very early review of the Legend's 2AA Mini Mag clone. If you have trouble reading this try a larger monitor as the resolution was very high when I scanned it and I am able to read it just fine on a 21" monitor. You can also e-mail me for the source image and I'd be happy to send it over. At the time there was a high demand for a 2AA with a push button switch. Maglite refused to make such a model so several other companies entered the game around 1986 and there were even some aftermarket push button switches made for the Mini Maglite.

Brinkmann has somewhat of a negative reputation in the flashlight industry. They are famous or infamous for buying other's designs or sometimes even infringing on patents. Brinkmann almost went out of business in 1990 because it had to pay a $1.2 million dollar judgement to Mag Instrument for knocking off the Mini Maglite. This was part of the reason why Brinkmann hired Don Keller, so that they could produce an AA light of their own without infringing on other's patents.

Well, that's my brief Legend, Brinkmann, Don Keller history. Hopefully y'all enjoyed it and I have plenty more lights to come!

As always I'm looking to buy vintage and rare aluminum flashlights. Please let me know if you have any, top dollar paid.