Maglight Solitaire - Why not an LED?

R28

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The Maglight Solitaire is not LED - why do you people think that Maglight does not move ahead and improve this light?
 

Tomcat!

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I've often wondered this myself. I used to have a stock incan Solitaire as my keychain light many years ago, but it was such an unreliable POS that I stopped using it. Since joining CPF I've seen so many advances in LED technology and the advent of LEDs in the Mag product line, that it seemed like a no brainier that they would update the Solitaire, but still nothing. I thought perhaps that maybe there are too many competitors in the AAA size. Certainly the folk here can easily rattle off the names of a great number of quality AAA lights, but then I realised that Mag has always been about providing decent lights for the masses, and I can't say that I've noticed many alu lights at that size for Joe and Josephine Public in shops. (At least not outside the US.) It seems like such a glaring gap in their product line, yet I can't fathom why Mag appears to have dropped the Solitaire. I would have thought it might sit pretty well with regular folk, especially if the already own another Mag.
 
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tam17

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That would be nice, and there is already a CPF thread regarding LED Solitaire.I was hoping to see New Soli at the recent Shot Show, but still not a word from Mag. It was unofficially announced (i.e. in replies to customer e-mail enquiries) first for xmas 2011, and then for early 2012. I guess any announcement from Mag must be taken with a grain of salt...

Cheers,

Tam
 

ragweed

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My Solitaire is reliable but, the beam is pathetic IMO. I don't think Mag can compete with the AAA lights already out there.
 

hank

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There's an old dropin been around a long time; usually too expensive to be worthwhile, though.
 

chriztt

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My Solitaire is reliable but, the beam is pathetic IMO. I don't think Mag can compete with the AAA lights already out there.

^This^ I have a solitaire and do not use it more b/c of its weak beam. An LED version might change this though.
 

gsr

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The Solitare has a style that defined its segment, but I have to agree with others that the output of the Solitare is barely better than useless. I would love to see a Solitare LED, but I am not holding my breath. It would be very difficult to meet the price point of competitive products while keeping the production in the US.
 

ficklampa

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The Solitare has a style that defined its segment, but I have to agree with others that the output of the Solitare is barely better than useless. I would love to see a Solitare LED, but I am not holding my breath. It would be very difficult to meet the price point of competitive products while keeping the production in the US.

Well, depends on how advanced they want to go. If they just want to do a single mode they can just go for a 3/5mm LED and remake the holder for it. If they want multiple modes, sure, maybe cheaper to do it outside of the US.

I sure love the formfactor of the Solitare, but like you all say it's pretty useless. Even my Leatherman Monarch 200 which runs on 3xLR44 and uses a 5mm led is better...
 

Chrontius

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Realistically, all they need to do is build a clone of the Arc or Fenix E01. If they want to make it impressive, they'll do it with a TIR optic cast-in-place inside an aluminum reflector, and it'll even make getting an adequate seal easier.

Don't forget - Mag has been automating everything automatable. They can go very far with very modest labor costs.
 

Cataract

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There's an old dropin been around a long time; usually too expensive to be worthwhile, though.

Yes... I almost bought it, but I think it was more expensive than my solitaire itself. Then came a cheaper AAA light which bumped my solitaire from backup in the car to backup of the backup.

The beamshots where very interesting, though. Day and night compared to the stock solitaire.
 

Kitchen Panda

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The Maglight Solitaire is not LED - why do you people think that Maglight does not move ahead and improve this light?
There's got to be some market research reason behind it. Evidently Rayovac found a demand for a AAA LED penlight, and last time I was in a store belonging to a certain widespread discount retailer I found the Rayovac LED was selling for about a dollar less than the Mag Solitaire incandescent. At the price point of the Solitaire many's the time I've wanted to buy one as a give-away, but the thought of the tiny spot of brownish light and the idea that the light would quickly become a junk drawer item has discouraged me every time.

How hard can it be to make a flashlight? Everybody who can turn aluminum in Shanghai is making them...surely Mag could bring out a $10, AAA that did 30 lumens and that would rule every keychain.

Oh well. I'm still boggled at the Illuminati that fits through a wedding ring and can put out about 100 lumens...mind you, at about 5 times the price of a Solitaire.

Bill
 

WDG

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I definitely agree Mag should upgrade the Solitaire, and when I recently looked at their line-up, was surprised they hadn't already done so.

Around 2007, I had a Sandwich Shoppe drop-in in my Solitaire, and rather liked it until it died. Too expensive for the short lifespan, so the Solitaire and I parted company. I've got some cheap AAA lights I keep as pocket lights, now.
 

leon2245

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The Maglight Solitaire is not LED - why do you people think that Maglight does not move ahead and improve this light?

You people?!


no I've been waiting for an LED solitaire myself. Just hope if/when it gets here it remains a solitaire, only an LED version- no accelerometers or ramping strobes. Although I wouldn't mind an AA version of it too, or of the E01, or E05 etc.
 

tacticaltony

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Maglite has been a American household name. Everyone has had a maglite, known for dependability. Yes there are a lot of competitors from overseas, but none have lifetime warranties, and I suspect their not completely honest with their ANSI/fl1 standards. I really do hope they find this these and make it into a brigh led. I would be confident using it as my backup edc
 

fyrstormer

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My guess is, they haven't upgraded the Solitaire because adding the necessary driver circuit would make the light too expensive to be competitive. Similar lights can be had for less than $20 which have harder anodizing and multiple modes.
 

Hooked on Fenix

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I think it's too little, too late. We already have the Fenix EO1 and plenty of high powered 1AAA lights from $20 and up. Mag would have to make one for around $10 with a decent l.e.d. to even have a chance of selling the product. Mags don't really have regulation and without it, a 1AAA light would get dim quickly. I can see an unregulated light with a cheap Cree XP-C being a possibility at that price, but nothing having a chance to corner the market.
 

eh4

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Are they still making them?!
When I see them on the shelf I always assumed that it was old inventory that hadn't sold, and not being into stocking and marketing I don't know, but assumed that there was some kind of standing arraingement (can't spell) with supplier and dealer that kept old unmoving dead wood in circulation as just another market inefficiency.
 

somnambulated

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Mag's strategy, like a lot of American companies, is to keep selling an outdated product for as long as they can, because their customer base doesn't know any better, and they think it will still sell. ;)
 

Narcosynthesis

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I will have to admit I am a bit baffled about the still vacant hole in the Maglite lineup for an LED solitaire...

Certainly nowadays there are multiple options out there for an AAA LED light - Fenix, Preons, etc... - but none of those have the mass market appeal of Maglite. A lot of the general public still see Maglite as a high quality and reliable light (going on the amount of D cell lights out there and incan solitaires on keychains), so it is irrelevant if you can get a Fenix e01 for under $15, they have no idea who Fenix are, don't see them in shops regularly and would still gobble up an LED solitaire even if it was otherwise identical to the Fenix. Especially once you add in the Maglite supply chain and the ease you can find them in real stores versus having to order online.

I don't know if/when they release anything it will be worth buying over the LD01 or e01 I already own, but I would certainly be interested...
 
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