ARC AAA Premium vs. MaglLite AAA.

I have a MagLite AAA key chain flashlight which I have always liked. Is the ARC AAA brighter or duller than the MagLite ? Is the ARC's tint the same whiteness, or is it blue.

I'm thinking about getting an ARC . . .

Thanks.

The Mag Solitaire is a complete piece of crap compared to the Arc. The Arc is brighter and has far more battery runtime. The Arc AAA standard is bluish-white and the premium is a warmer white; neither is really a neutral white, but the Mag isn't white either. The Mag is yellowish and degrades to orange as the battery goes flat, while the Arc's color doesn't change.

Here's a review:

http://www.dansdata.com/ledlights4.htm

Scroll to the end of the Arc AAA part to find a comparative beamshot with the Solitaire.

There is another review here that includes some other beamshots between the two.

I carried an AAA Mag Solitaire on my keychain for years. I didn't use it much, but it was fairly reliable, albeit yellowish light and short runtime. I also had to replace it every year or so because the finish wore off. I've carried an ARC AAA on my keychain for over a year now, and it is far superior to the Solitaire. The only advantages the Solitaire has over the ARC AAA are the much lower cost ($5 vs $25), and the ability of the Mag to focus its beam and with a fresh battery, out throw the ARC if it is focused to a spot, although with much less overall light output. I've got four Solitaires that sit in a drawer now and aren't used. The Mag Solitaire isn't completely bad IMHO, but only with a fresh bulb, a fresh battery, and clean battery/switch contacts. The Mag isn't terribly useful after the first 20-30 minutes of battery use.

-Keith

If you turn on the Mag AAA first until your eyes perceive it as "white", you will find the arc AAA quite blue in the center (with even, whitish corona). But when you do it other way around, you will find Maglite beam is not really white, but actually yellowish orange, with beam artifact all over the place, and can only get worse as the battery depletes. Get Arc, you won't be dissappointed. Cheers /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Here's another review, this one from Quickbeams site
http://flashlightreviews1.home.att.net/reviews/arc_aaa-p.htm
Also check the runtime plots in the Review Forum here on CPF
The ARC has a ten year warrantee too. The ARC is considered "best" quality.

The beam on the arc is so nice too. Nice throw, and lots of side spill. Will illumate a dark room, large room, or outside very nicely! Smooth even beam. No rings, dark hole in the middle, or tiny spot with no side spill like the mag. Just turn it on and everything is lit up! No sweepign back and forth!

"White" is in the eye of the beholder. Many of us used to think that incandescent lights produced "white" light. But after using LEDs for a while, incandescents are positively yellow. If you like the yellow of an incandescent, then LEDs will likely be a letdown. Incandescents still have better CRI than LEDs, so colors will not be rendered as accurately with a "white" LED.

I'm a huge fan of LED lights, and they're all I use. Most of the LED lights I carry will outperform just about anything that Mag makes. The Solitare underperforms the Arc AAA in every metric that I can think of.

I need to go find Ryan... he'll tel you what you need to know...

You can purchase warm white LEDs, yourself, and retrofit though...Nichia, LumiLEDs Luxeon, etc.

If you don't mind the size, drive over to your local walmart and find a $ 5.94 LED flashlight - the Dorcy 1AAA. Beats the Soiltaire in every way, and isn't much more expensive.

http://www.dorcy.com/41-4234.htm

I'm partial to the blue myself. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

i'd rather have a single arc aaa than hundreds of solitaires.

there is absolutely no comparison in any way. do yourself a favor and get one now /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

the dorcy is a good light, but not even close to the arc aaa.

Here is your flashlight:


Here is your flashlight on drugs:


Any questions:


Seriously, how long have you had the Arc? As has already been said, coming from an incandescent world you're not going to be happy just shining this thing against the wall. Give it some real world use. Run over it with an EV a few times. Stick it up your 2-year old daughter's nose. Freeze it in a block of ice. I think you'll learn to like the thing, but give it some time.

I've seen your other posts and you seem to be unhappy with the performance of 5mm LEDs. Maybe you should up the ante and try a Luxeon-based light. While still blueish in comparison to incandescent lights Luxeon stars are whiter and brighter then the LED found in your Arc and Brinkmann.

Welcome to the forums, enjoy your stay.

Pssst. Ryan... he doesn't have the Arc yet. He's wondering if it'll be better than his Solitare. Wanna try that again? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Those are great pics and I thank you, but I can't tell which one is which. Is the top photo the ARC and the middle photo the MagLite ?

The ARC AAA is shorter & the one in the picture has a clip.

Ooh..lemme try again.

The Arc is better. Lots better. It's been a while so I'm a little rusty but I think my phrase goes something like this: Get the Arc. NO really. Get it.

My solitaire sits unused...I never use it....it's not bright enough for anything I would ever need it for, unless I was dropped in a hole and wanted to 10 feet in front of me.

Welcome Johnny,

Your post made me grab one of my Arc AAAs out of my coat pocket and handle it. Haven't used it in a few days ( I depend on my LSH-P which never leaves my side ). If you could handle and compare the Solitaire and Arc AAA, you would choose the Arc without question, because there is no comparison. Buy one, soon you'll be just as infected as the rest of us. And, if by some chance, you don't like the Arc, you probably wouldn't have a problem selling here.

Joe

Both will do the job but the white light of the arc is more pleasing to me.
The arc really shines in no ambient light situations. It really is a lot of light. When we got back to the house after a fireworks show and it was too dark. The arc shined where the door would be.

There is no comparison - one's a POS and the other is a dependable tool.

I'd recommend a $1.00 coin cell light over a mag AAA for usablity and dependablity.

I've thrown away 2 mag AAAs since I've discovered ARCs.