Maglite Solitaire LED or competitor?

[Quartz]

My current EDC is an old-ass 2xAA maglite I've had forever, but with an added Nite Ize upgrade. I'm very happy with the NI, but I've decided that a 2xAA is too big and I'm sick of dragging it around all the time. I'm looking for a 1xAAA size equivalent. Looks like I can pick up one of the new Maglite Solitaire LEDs for about $15-20 range, but before I bite I'm wondering if there's anything better out there. I don't want anything fancy: nothing with a chip and half a dozen modes, just a simple cheap basic reliable LED with a battery and some metal to hold it together. I'd prefer twist-on if possible (last longer than buttons in my experience) and it needs either a clip or be thin and smooth enough to be rammed into a sharpie holster (ie; Maglite Solitaire). This will be exclusively for home/office work so I'm not terribly concerned with overall brightness or runtime as long as they're reasonable. The main thing I want is a near guarantee that I can get a solid 10+ years of use out of the thing as I have my current one.

Any suggestions?

[kirk13]

There's a bunch,but try a Fenix E05, or an Olight i03. The Olight as three modes which is a nice bonus

[Quartz]

The Olight as three modes which is a nice bonus

The thing is, I don't really want modes. I don't need them, and the more complicated the light the more likely it is to break or wear out.

[Quartz]

Also: the Fenix appears to be both dimmer and more expensive than a Solitaire LED, so unless it has something else going for it.....

[Santos]

Tank 007 are nice and cheap but both of mine only lasted 12 months before they constanly require to be banged against hard surface to turn on. (and even then they still flicker off on their own at times)

I got a free photon led led with my baofeng radio. I have always been skepitical about the light they throw but now i think they are great especially when the can be as little as $1 delivered from china on ebay. Bought several and stealthly added them to family keychains.

For myself i have aquired some old incadecent solitaires on ebay for less than $10 delivered. The plan is to add 13.5 lumens led kits. These kits cost $7 and  they also have 15.3 lumen kits for $10.My kits have arrived today from a hong kong seller who i have regularly bought led bulbs from in the past and has super fast registered shipping. Just waiting on the solitaire i got from the uk and one locally here in aus now!

The idea is i will have much more robust flashlight to my tank007, 13 lumens is bright enough for my EDC and hopefully translates to longer battery times.
As an example my 2D cell everyready torch lasted 2-3 hours with 4x2000ma AA NIMH batteries with the original globe, swapping it out for a 20 lumen led replacement from this hong kong seller got me a much brighter light and a tested 27+ hours!

 All in all i not really saving much for compared to just buying a 35 lumen led solitaire, but its fun to re-appropriate and retrofit old stuff rather than buy new.

While not guaranteed, as it depends on the circuit and led efficiency, hopefully i get an added bonus of longer run time with the 13 lumens over a factory 35 lumen option!
(given the operating voltage of my kit is 0.6 to 1.6v this is a good start!)

[lowtech]

May i suggest the Thrunite TI?

It´s quite cheap, nearly as slim as teh Solitaire, brighter and is twist on.
It does have 2 modes (low when turned on a bit, bright when turned on fully) but they are not problematic.
You can force the clip of a Solitaire/Mini mag AAA onto it.

comparison:



The Clip:

[Quartz]

Hm, that doesn't look too bad. There are hardly any reviews for it on Amazon though, and I've never heard of Thrunite before. What's their reputation like?

It does have 2 modes (low when turned on a bit, bright when turned on fully) but they are not problematic.

My main issue with extra options is reliability and robustness. I don't want to deal with anything that has a chip- I don't need my damn flashlight freaking out because I'm somewhere with a lot of EM noise or something, or I left it running too long in the summer and the chip fries. If the modes are purely mechanical in nature it's not big deal, but anything with a lot of circuitry is pretty much off the table.

[Quartz]

Basically, my interest in any particular model is directly proportional to how well it will withstand an EMP

[MadPlumbarian]

Interesting, I've been looking for something as such, JR

[Santos]

Basically, my interest in any particular model is directly proportional to how well it will withstand an EMP

how do you verify this?

I can test the effectiveness of a makeshift faraday cage/box/bag by putting a mobile phone inside and ringing it. If i get signal out of the box but it doesn't ring when inside i know its has some blocking qualities.

[Quartz]

how do you verify this?

Well I mean I don't, I'm mainly joking. I just don't want complicated electronics in my flashlight.

[lowtech]

Most - if not all - LED Flashlights have a more or less complicated "chip" or circuit, the most basic would be a current/voltage controller which takes care that your light maintains a certain brightness with teh varying output from a battery.

In case of teh Thrunite TI -afaik- there is this and for the 2 modes they use a conductive rubber material which changes it´s conductivity/resistance when it gets compressed and so allows for 2 modes.

[Santos]

how do you verify this?

Well I mean I don't, I'm mainly joking. I just don't want complicated electronics in my flashlight.

Oh how dissapointing 

I do tend pick things for servicibilty (ussually means simple) over flashiness and features.
I love the Ipod Mini for example cause its so easy to repair and built like a tank. Fast forward a few models on and you might as well bin them & the last 4 ipod minis i have bought have been $10 each! (and will gladly spend $10 every year to service one if need be)

Lowtech: i think a lot of the 3xAAA single light led china offerings would be chipless. Just a whole lot of white led wired in parrelel and a switch (possible a resistor) i could be wrong.

[Quartz]

As an aside, does anyone have any experience with the new Solitaire LED? I get the feeling here that Maglites are "too mainstream to be cool" and people are always geeking out over the esoteric brands, but it would be nice to read a real review and see how they compare.

[N_N_R]

Hi : )

I'd suggest the Fenix E01. Someone suggested E05, but I think it's more expensive than your preferred price. The E01 has only one mode, twist-on, it's a little slimmer than the E05 and is rugged as hell I love the Olight i3/s  as well, but you sid you don't want modes and they're a little more expensive. They have cool clips, though.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Hi : )

I'd suggest the Fenix E01. Someone suggested E05, but I think it's more expensive than your preferred price. The E01 has only one mode, twist-on, it's a little slimmer than the E05 and is rugged as hell I love the Olight i3/s  as well, but you sid you don't want modes and they're a little more expensive. They have cool clips, though.

Another vote for the Fenix E01 here too.

Incredibly tough and reliable light, that just runs, and runs

There are plenty of pics on the web with them being frozen in ice while still turned on!

[Quartz]

I'd suggest the Fenix E01.

I know I said I wasn't that picky about brightness, but 10 lumens is kinda on the low side. Super long battery life really isn't that important to me.

but I think it's more expensive than your preferred price.

The thing with price is that I'm all about what you get for your money, ie; I'm ok with paying twice as much for something that's three times better. I'm not ok paying twice as much for something that's subjectively the same or worse.

but you sid you don't want modes

I'm not strictly against modes per se, just that in most lights you have to tap/twist out your life story in morse code to switch between them which I find incredibly irritating. Half of them have a memory too so I never know what mode it's going to start in. Also, the more crap the light does, the more complicated the circuitry/switch and the more likely it is to break in a few years. I don't need fancy features, I do need long term reliability, so I tend to lean towards more primitive designs. I've looked at the Olight i3.... the mode switching is simpler than others but I still have concerns (not interested in the i3s). The Olights don't have a lot of reviews though, so that doesn't help either.

[Quartz]

Oh, one more thing:

I made a mistake/assumption when writing out my initial paragraph. The light doesn't HAVE to be 1xAAA, I'm willing to look at 1xAA or others, providing that they're small and the battery type is a 'standard' that can easily be found in a corner drugstore.

[Santos]

As an aside, does anyone have any experience with the new Solitaire LED? I get the feeling here that Maglites are "too mainstream to be cool" and people are always geeking out over the esoteric brands, but it would be nice to read a real review and see how they compare.

Maybe you can be the first to convert us to the fold 

http://budgetlightforum.com/node/14182

also i got my solitaire yesterday, really happy with the light it throws with just the 13.5lum led kit, for such a small unit on hand unit i don't need to light a place like i just turned on an imaginary wall switch to a imaginary 100w incandecent globe.
i tried making a video in the pitchblack of my bathroom but i don't think it does it justice

Time will tell how reliable the 20,000 hour led is to being knocked around on my keychain, but the way i see it i still have a spare incadecent in the bottom if it fails, a feature which the official 35 lumen model might not have

[Quartz]

http://budgetlightforum.com/node/14182

Yeah I saw that already. That's pretty much the single sole review I can find though.

[Gareth]

For me it's not the light I'd pick, but given your wants/needs I am thinking it might be the right light for you.

Personally I really like the Fenix E05 for a simple, single mode AAA light.

[Quartz]

Personally I really like the Fenix E05 for a simple, single mode AAA light.

Ok, so, the e05 is a little dimmer but runs a little longer (which in my mind cancel each other out). Considering it's about $6 more than the Solitaire, what else does it offer? Trying to find hard technical data on all these lights is almost impossible. Is it regulated? Focusable? Better waterproof rating? etc.

[Quartz]

Maybe I can get better suggestions by rewording the question.

If I want a light that is:
- no bigger than a SAK (1xAAA, ultra compact 1xAA, etc)
- bright enough to overpower dim lighting (maybe 25+ lumens?)
- EXTREMELY reliable and durable, with a good reputation, a robust non-fiddly switch mechanism that won't die in 10 years, and circuitry that won't burn out

... what are my choices?

[Gareth]

Personally I really like the Fenix E05 for a simple, single mode AAA light.

Ok, so, the e05 is a little dimmer but runs a little longer (which in my mind cancel each other out). Considering it's about $6 more than the Solitaire, what else does it offer? Trying to find hard technical data on all these lights is almost impossible. Is it regulated? Focusable? Better waterproof rating? etc.

it's a heck of a lot shorter for one thing.   It is also regulated.  The beam is all about wide spill (not focusable), great for close up work but not intended for throwing the light way out in front of you.  The UK prices of these two lights is nearly the same (about £1 between them).  The difference in Lumen level won't, I suspect, actually be all that noticeable, but the extra hour run time is a big bonus IMO.  There are even some people who think that the E05's run time is much too short.

Like I say, I suspect the LED Solitaire is a good light and if I was in the market for yet another AAA light I would seriously look at getting one myself.

There aren't actually that many lights that are doing quite what the Solitaire does, so if it's features suit you I think you should go for it.  The only light that I can think of that is similar is the LED Lenser P2 AFS.  Lener's product have always left me feeling a little cold for some reason and their claimed runtimes need to be taken with a very large pinch of salt apparently.

[Quartz]

It is also regulated.  The beam is all about wide spill (not focusable),

Hrm. Ok, I'll have to look up some videos on youtube to see what that's like. Regulation is a mixed bag for me, on the one hand it's nice to have, but on the other it's one more thing to short out in a decade.

[Gareth]

The problem with asking for 10 years reliability is that there are very few LED lights that have been around that long.  I certainly I don't know of anyone who has used one LED light, every day, for ten years to test to see if it will hold up, so any estimates on reliability is just an educated guess.

[Quartz]

The problem with asking for 10 years reliability is that there are very few LED lights that have been around that long.  I certainly I don't know of anyone who has used one LED light, every day, for ten years to test to see if it will hold up, so any estimates on reliability is just an educated guess.

No that's a valid point, it's one of the main reasons I'm looking at the Solitaire (more primitive design by a company with a known history).

[Quartz]

Also worth mentioning is that the Solitaire LED has a limited lifetime warranty.

[Cupboard]

My Fenix E05 has been on my keys for probably 6 months now. My keyring isn't mollycoddled and has been accidentally dropped, kicked, thrown etc and the light is still fine. It's also had a swim at the bottom of an oil tank (not much oil in, but some) and is fine.

For my use, that's peering inside things, lighting up things that are in corners etc it's extremely good.

In comparison to my old incandescent Solitaire or my dual AA Mini-Maglight I'd say the Fenix was a lot more durable but of course YMMV. I have to repeatedly hit the Solitaire on things to get the light to come on brightly and it hasn't had as much abuse as the Fenix. I got my Solitaire off the side of a Weetabix packet about 15 years ago and it's had ongoing light use, some pocket carry, some time in a drawer etc.

The AA Mini-Maglight was a more recent purchase that had heavier use over about 3 years. Over that time I got through a lot of lamps and a lot of batteries until one day the switch unit fell out of the bottom when I was changing the batteries. When you screw the head all the way down it pressed against a plastic ring on the switch which turns the light off. It seems that that ring also holds the switch in the body of the torch because the ring came off all the way around this allowed the switch to fall out
That left me with a partially working torch that fairly quickly got replaced with my first Fenix, an LD01.

[lowtech]

The problem with asking for 10 years reliability is that there are very few LED lights that have been around that long.  I certainly I don't know of anyone who has used one LED light, every day, for ten years to test to see if it will hold up, so any estimates on reliability is just an educated guess.

My longest living LED light was a Lucido Lightwave. It replaced my Mini Mag AA as my Go-To  light years ago.
It had 4 5 mm LEDs with no optic whatsoever. It worked very well, while not the brightest, but died after being retired as my shop light in a big gasoline spill - The plastic was not gasoline proof , apparently.

Back to topic: I´d say, with most of the lights suggested, you are not making any  big mistake even if it should burn out in only 5 years. For my everyday 8or night) chores, teh Thrunite and Solitaire with LED dropin work really well. They have no fancy modes, are not the brightest or most neutral lights, but they are small enough to not get into the way but bright enough to check teh interns of a shut down 300kW wood heater, look down a drain, find your seat in a cinema or help to look under the tank of my bikes.
and if i break them, I´ll be mad for a day or two, but won´t be broke.