Maglite 47 lumen LED Solitaire vs. Fenix E05

Hi all;

First time post - long time flashlight enthusiast.

I'm looking to get some nice keychain LED as gifts for friends this Christmas. I was thinking of the Maglite 47 lumen Solitaire since I have one and think it is a great light and has fantastic Maglite build quality. But then I was looking at the Fenix E05 which seems more compact and advertises a higher lumen output - although I know lumen output is not always comparable between manufacturers. Can anyone comment between these two choices or even throw in a third? Requirements are: excellent built quality, compact, as bright as possible.

TIA for any help!

Hello and welcome. I also have Maglites, and appreciate the build quality, but do not have experience with that particular Solitaire. I do have the Fenix E05, and am happy with the build quality. I have several of their lights, and their quality & customer service are top notch. The E05 with the 3 different levels gives a good choice of using lower modes if needing to extend battery life, or brighter when it doesn't matter. In my experience, their listed lumen ratings seem pretty accurate.

Lots of other choices if you go to Li-ion, but in staying with the more common AAA, I think most folks would be happy to get an E05 as a gift.

Hi, been a LONG while since I posted here but I am getting my friends that new nitecore tup. If you don't want to spend that much I also like the Maglite Keychain light or even some by coast. Nitecore really goes a step above though in this area. Hope this helps.

Having both I find the Solitaire a great light and the E05 as well.

Now to compare;
The Solitaire is a one setting on/off what you see is what you get light that runs about $10 at Home Depots. The beam is tailored for throw with enough spill to be great at seeing cracks in a sidewalk, roots on a path and the like. You get about an hour runtime on a duracell. Works with energizer lithiums or eneloops. No 3 volt cells though as that will poof the LED.

E05 is a 3 setting number that starts on about 5 lumens, goes to similar to the Solitaire output with a quick twist of the head, or a pretty stout 85 lumens with another twist. Turn it off and it starts on low again. The beam is more flood than throw, yet does send photons forward enough to see your dark steps or down a dark hallway even on low at 2am. Lots of runtime when using low or medium. More than likely it's about $20 and online purchase likely required. A wee bit more girth than the Solitaire, but shorter in length. Runs off same batteries as the Solitaire. I do not know if it can tolerate 3volt cells.

Both can tail stand for ceiling bounce. But the head can be removed on the Solitaire for what they call candle mode.

Now my perspective is that you know and trust the Solitaire so gift those this year. After the new year purchase an E05 and try it out for a while, then decide if you want to gift E05's next year.

I gift Maglite products because everybody kbows how to operate them. And unless they ignore my advice to use lithiums and theirs is ruined by a leaking alkaline the light will last them a good long time.

you might like the brightness and size of the Olight i3E (battery is included), second from left
it only has one mode


or the similar length
LUMINTOP EDC01 (battery Not included)
it has 3 modes

No experience with the EO5 but the Solitare and Olight i3E are both nice. For compact size and output I would opt for the i3E but you are limited to black.The Solitare is available in black,red,blue,pink and rose gold for the 47 lumen model at my favorite online retailer for Maglites.

I gifted some Olight i3Es in the past and they were popular with the recipients but there were several colors available then and I was able to give each person a color I knew they would like.

I'm pretty happy with the thrunite ti xpl and ti3 for tiny aaa format. The L3 L08 is also fantastic but significantly larger.

The L3 L08 is no longer in production. SBFlashlights indicated they are likely going to put their remaining stock on closeout soon.

I see three possible reasons to go with the Maglite: simple 1 mode interface is easy for most people; the very slim body may have some appeal compared to shorter, fatter bodies; the lower max power means it is less likely to cause alkaline batteries to leak.

Otherwise, the Fenix E05, Thrunite Ti3, or Olight i3E are all good choices.

The Fenix has 3 modes. The lowest should be lower in my opinion, but not everyone might agree.

The Thrunite has a firefly mode, which is great for dark adjusted eyes, but casual users might think it useless.

The Olight is one of the smallest AAA lights available and 1 mode interface, which is a pro and a con in my opinion - very easy to use, but only 1 output choice which is too bright for some situations.