Maglite Solitaire

G'day guys

Just wishing to buy my brother (and myself) a Maglite Solitaire each for our keychains.

I'm just curious as to whether or not there are any good LED / Incan mods that can give it a nice lumen output.

Currently, my Maglite Solitaire has a TerraLUX LED in it (Not sure which one exactly) but it seems to be much better than the incan that was orginally supplied.

Would something like this be any good perhaps?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Bi-Pin-LED-MODU...ewItemQQptZUS_Flashlights?hash=item19bab60617

If possible, I'd like one that puts out a decent amount of light that also lasts for a reasonable amount of time (so I guess a good balance between the two).

Any suggestions/recommendations? At this rate I'm half expecting someone to point me in the direction of a 1/4th-of-a-marble sized bulb and some NimH AAA cells or something knowing the users of CPF

Would you be willing to consider another light? The iTP and Maratac AAA lights are very reliable, inexpensive and have 3 immediately accessible output levels.
High on them is quite nice, much smoother beam than you're likely to ever achieve using the Solitaire and great battery runtime.

If you are set on improving your Solitaires there should be help along soon, but it has the possibility of costing more for lesser results.

kaichu dento said:

Would you be willing to consider another light? The iTP and Maratac AAA lights are very reliable, inexpensive and have 3 immediately accessible output levels.
High on them is quite nice, much smoother beam than you're likely to ever achieve using the Solitaire and great battery runtime.

If you are set on improving your Solitaires there should be help along soon, but it has the possibility of costing more for lesser results.

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Couldn't find any places to buy the Maratac AAA but the iTP looks pretty neat. 80 Lumens out of such a small package. I'll definitely consider the iTP.

I tried one of the bulbs you had the link to and sold it right away. The iTP is such a great deal I bought a dozen a while back to use as gifts and even with all the much more expensive lights I've got it wouldn't be a problem at all to carry nothing but one of these. Well, maybe two! Nice range of HA colors too.

kaichu dento said:

I tried one of the bulbs you had the link to and sold it right away. The iTP is such a great deal I bought a dozen a while back to use as gifts and even with all the much more expensive lights I've got it wouldn't be a problem at all to carry nothing but one of these. Well, maybe two! Nice range of HA colors too.

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What's the cheapest I could acquire one of these for?

No doubt they'd sell for about $50 here in Australia, so I'm guessing about $20?

They are relatively cheap in Aus from http://www.torchworld.com.au/

Or even a Fenix E01 would be a far better option than a Maglite Solitaire, and pretty well in the same price range with choice of colours. Just something else to consider.

I'll third the iTP. Awesome lights, for me I wouldn't even consider a mag-lite solitaire. That said, I did buy my sister a LED upgrade for her solitaire on eBay. No word from her as to how it compares to the incan. She likes her pink solitaire so I didn't argue.

I didnt know about torchworld here in Oz. Thanks for the heads up.
David

James Miller said:

What's the cheapest I could acquire one of these for?

No doubt they'd sell for about $50 here in Australia, so I'm guessing about $20?

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You can get the A3 for around $25 from a retailer in sydney, they are hard to find and it's the only retailer I'm aware of that carries the iTP brand.
He also has free postage worldwide.

+1 on the iTP/Maratac. :thumbsup: I have the Maratac and it is even smaller than the Solitaire.

The Maglite Solitaire is just about the worst AAA light, you can see many other and better AAA lights in these comparisons:

http://www.lygte-info.dk/review/Beamshot AAA lights 2010-01 UK.html
http://www.lygte-info.dk/review/Beamshot ITP A3 EOS comparison UK.html
http://www.lygte-info.dk/review/Review AAA UK.html

Agree with the maratac recommendation. Nice little light.

AAA lights in Australia eh?
Try here and here.
The Fenix single mode E01 & 3 mode LD01 are not bad either. They are around a lot longer than the other AAA lights and have proven their reliability.

My solitaire was dead during the 2003 big blackout of northern US & Canada. Have to feel my way up 7 flights of stairs. Did not know about the 11 minute runtime.

Another plus for the ITP A3,why on earth you would buy the baby mag is beyond me more light from a match total rubbish,was given a new one as a gift and someone bought it off me on the bay,really was glad to sell it.

HKJ said:

The Maglite Solitaire is just about the worst AAA light, you can see many other and better AAA lights in these comparisons:

http://www.lygte-info.dk/review/Beamshot AAA lights 2010-01 UK.html
http://www.lygte-info.dk/review/Beamshot ITP A3 EOS comparison UK.html
http://www.lygte-info.dk/review/Review AAA UK.html

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Poor Maglite X) But you guys are right, they're nothing special.

I can't find the Maratac but I'll definitely get some of those iTPs.

Thanks for the information guys 8)

You can find the maratac here:
http://www.countycomm.com/aaa.htmlhttp://www.countycomm.com/aaastainless.html

County Comm doesn't ship outside the U.S.

Three levels (all of which are higher than the Solitare:green, better construction and a much more efficient package all the way around.

What's not to love?

And it's smaller...

OCD said:

+1 on the iTP/Maratac. :thumbsup: I have the Maratac and it is even smaller than the Solitaire.

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OCD said:

County Comm doesn't ship outside the U.S.

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Reckon anyone here on CPF would be able to post one here if I have it shipped directly to their door and then pay them to ship it here (Australia)?

I just feel really left out down here, not only do most people not ship to Australia, but Australia doesn't import anything decent in general ANYWAY. We don't even have Mega-gulps or Taco bell here!

Unless you really want the Maratac, the iTP is equal in every way and you can save money and hassle. All just personal choice.

Getting the iTP definitely would not be settling...and depending who you ask...some may say the iTP is better than the Maratac.