My current EDC is an old-ass 2xAA Maglite I’ve had forever, but with an added Nite Ize LRB-1W upgrade. I’m extremely happy with the NI all around in terms of throw/brightness/runtime/etc, but I’ve decided that a 2xAA is just too big and I’m sick of dragging it around all the time, so I’m looking for some flavor of LED keychain light to replace it with. I want something basic, durable and reliable that’s effectively a shrunken version of what I have now. Something that can be reasonably guaranteed to survive 10+ years of moderate abuse.
I’m not fond of anything with complicated circuitry in it if I can avoid it, as I really don’t want to deal with my flashlight freaking out due to an environment with high RF/EM noise or a chip frying because I left it on a hot dashboard for hours. Also, circuit boards with a lot of crap on them don’t tend to like lots of vibration either.
Single brightness mode is fine. Hi/Lo is ok only if it’s a straightforward linear mechanical action, ie; I’m not interested in having to control my flashlight with morse code.
I’ve had poor luck with buttons and tail clickers dying after a few years so I’d prefer twist actions like what Maglite uses. Either way, it needs to be one-handable.
Obviously needs to be puddle-proof and durable enough to survive a couple foot drop onto a hard surface (which will happen many times over the years).
It needs to use “standard” size batteries, ones I’m guaranteed to find in a corner drugstore. There seem to be a lot of options in the 1xAAA format, but I’d be willing to go with a 1xAA if it’s super compact or some other form factor in the same ballpark. If it’s AA or AAA, being able to accept multiple different chemistries is a plus.
Whatever format it is, I’d needs to be basically a straight cylinder with either a clip or be thin and smooth enough to be rammed into a sharpie holster. I don’t want something with a huge ass reflector dish.
Price wise I’d prefer it to be on the cheaper side, but I’m perfectly willing to pay for quality. As long as it’s actual quality and not just a pile of goofy features.
As for brightness and runtime, I’m not all that picky. It would be nice if it was as bright as my NI (which I think is 55 lumens?) but I understand that that’s hard with a smaller battery. This will be exclusively for home/office work so I’m not too concerned with the particulars as long as it’s reasonable.
Lastly, for purchasing it needs to be mainstream enough that I can snag one off Amazon. I’m not interested in special ordering something from overseas.
The new Maglite Solitaire LEDs go for about $15-20 range and seem to hit everything on my checklist, but before I bite I’m wondering if there’s anything better out there. I’ve heard of Fenix and Olight and others, but they all seem too wacky. I’m looking for a tool rather than a gadget.
Go to the Fenix site and look at their AA and AAA lights, I have carried an LD0-1 on my keychain for 6 years, and I beat it to death, and aside from paint being rubbed off, it operates like it is brand new, nothing changes with it.
I just click on any of the sites, and if they have the runtimes, the photos and descriptions and charts and stuff then fine, I have lost track of which one I used to buy from but you can find the model you want and then shop for price.
Also: like I said I’m not keen on lights with a bunch of modes. Especially not ones where you have to futz with the switch a bunch of times to change between them and/or remember which mode you were in last time you used it.
The others are probably official resellers.
I’ve purchased from Fenix-store.com and Fenixoutfitters.com both good stores and official resellers.
In fact they are the same company, have been for a while (that’s another story).
The LD01 is a solid light, 3 levels so no futz involved unless you get futz very easily.
It’ll become second nature changing through levels.
High level is very bright for its size ~70 lumens with good runtime on Energizer lithium AAA.
Nice low level too, 3 lumens, great for when inside a movie theatre or dimly lit restaurant.
Also, regardless of which light you get I wouldn’t recommend regular alkalines unless you’re in bind. They are known to leak, it’s not a matter of “if” they’ll leak but “when”.
There was a Solitaire LED thread recently on CPF that mentioned the E01.
The gist was that its apples/oranges, as the Solitaire is ~3x brighter than the E01 but much shorter runtime. It’s more comparable to the E05.
The E01 is definitely a tough little light since it’s potted, don’t know about the new Solitaire LED.
It would depend on what you’re looking for but in the end they are both single level lights so not much versatility imho.
> LD01
I’ve looked at this, but I really don’t like the unintuitive m>l>h cycle and how on hi it drops to this weird half-high after a few minutes.
>E01
Yeah, I know I said I wasn’t too picky about things like brightness but 10 lumens is kinda on the low side for a single-intensity scheme. Also, I question the durability aspect- my experience is that Maglites are pretty solid (if perhaps not terribly sexy).
>alkalines
Honestly, if the light can’t run properly off alkalines I’m really not interested. If I’m caught in a situation where my battery dies and I need to replace it RIGHT NOW, I’ll have to take whatever I can get, and that usually means grabbing a random alkaline from a drawer or corner drugstore. Being able to use rechargeable or lithium primary is nice-to-have, being able to use alkaline is a hard requirement no exceptions.
I’m talking about the new ~37 lumen LED solitaire, not the old 2 lumen incandescent one.
That doesn’t bother me, I don’t need fancy features. For times when I needed a ‘low’ setting on my 2xAA I just cover half the lens with my finger. A bunch of modes/options are great in theory, but not at the expense of reliability or usability, not in my mind.
Fenix E01 has potted electronics and is the most durable and simple. That’s why it was probably suggested.
The E05 is simple, single mode and 30 lumens. It’s floody but a great keychain light.
I kinda do. I’m often in situations where I’m bent around or over something trying to juggle 10 things at once. I don’t want to have to divert any brain power to remembering how to operate my flashlight. And again, I don’t need all those features anyway.
I’m going to +1 this as it’s all to easy to over look.
High output torches will need better batteries than alkaline AA or AAA’s - fact!!!
If you don’t want to run lithium primaries (pricey) or NiMh rechargeables then there is little point. The Maglites are at least designed to work well with alkaline cells and they probably do it better than anyone else.
You may want to consider the Mini Maglite AAA as well as the Solitaire. The Mini mag is a decent chunk smaller than your current AA one and brighter.
If you can stretch to using lithium primaries it’ll perform really really well too.
I never understand comments like this. You don’t like the company because you didn’t like one of their lights How weird.
BTW - what exactly was a joke about the Solitaire? Or put it this way, what other 1xAAA alkaline 1.5v light really offered more lumens and throw with a regular incan bulb? Not too mention one that was slim and had a spare bulb in the tailcap.
You can’t understand my comment because you jumped to an inaccurate conclusion.
There was no reason to think that I developed my opinion of Maglite merely based on owning one of the early solitaires.
I have decades of experience with them, and like many flashlight people, I have come to dislike them and the company, if you respect them and trust them and want to buy their product, then that is fine, I don’t.
As far as the Solitaire, it was so dim and so much trouble, that I gave up on it, my model must be from about 20 years ago or more, I still have it because I gave up on carrying it.
I have bought many maglites in my day, but I don’t anticipate ever buying or recommending one again.
I bought my first solitaire in 1996 (I think), and it was great 15 years ago. It is not right if you buy now say it is not good (that you know before you buy), the new LED solitaire is not bad.
Now I recommend OLIGHT I3S, goes well with NiMH, but also is ok in medium mode (20 lumens) with alkaline.
Edit: I Love my incandescent Solitaire, but now I do not use it.
I think I asked a question, I made no conclusion. That said I find it strange to hate any company - it’s an inanimate object, there really is nothing to hate.
Good lord man, no one said anything about hate, I don’t like maglite or their product, if you think they are the lights you want then fine, if you like the company, then fine.
You are missing a lot, perhaps you are young and new to flashlights, or Maglite.
Maglite hit the market almost 35 years ago, many of us have been dealing with maglite for 30 years or more, and using lights in our contracting businesses and trades and work, we know how we feel about the company and their product, and it shouldn’t shock you that someone interested in flashlights doesn’t throw one away, especially when it is as tiny as the Solitaire and an example of a type, perhaps you would like to see the AA light that I was jumping out of airplanes and helicopters with almost 30 years ago, I haven’t used it in decades either, but I still have it.
It seems that not liking Maglite and their products can be an issue with some, but if you are a fan of Maglite, enjoy them all you want, I am not shopping for one though.