Keychain lights

knarfeng said:
Well, to voice a dissenting opinion, I still use a Maglite Solitaire. Its biggest virtue is its size. It is tiny and does not take up much room in my pocket so that it is always with me. It's also robust. And it is cheap. I buy a new one every 3-4 years at Target for about $5.

I use it when I'm fussing with computers and other boxes that have hard to see labels on the input jacks. The solitaire is always in my pocket and it is enough light to see the labeling. I also use it when I come into a dark room. Not very bright, but enough to find the light switch without tripping over the cat.

If I need a real flashlight for LOTS of light, I can always go get one. But for something that is small enough to keep in my pocket all day everyday along with all my other stuff, I haven't found anything as small and robust as a Solitaire.
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You obviously have not used an Arc-AAA then. The Arc AAA (or Fenix E01 for that matter) is smaller and tougher than the Maglite Solitaire, as well as being brighter and more useful. If I can find a Solitaire tomorrow I will post a picture for you. The E01 is not so bright that it is like a little spotlight but it offers plenty more light than the Solitaire making it really, really useful. The Solitaire is extremely pathetic and honestly not even worth using now that there are other lights that cost very little more and have much more to offer.

Locust, the Solitaire is only bright for the first few minutes of the battery. After that it is a steep decline in usefulness.

I don't understand why it's so hard to try something new and upgrade to the PRESENT DAY sometimes? In this case it's extremely easy -- click this link (Fenix-Store.com), pay $15.00 (just FIFTEEN, unless you're in GA) and you will get your brand new Fenix E01, a nice bright durable and inexpensive light within a week with free shipping worldwide. Completely painless and, they even take Paypal.

For reference:
Maglite Solitaire review
Fenix E0 review (older and dimmer model of E01)
Fenix E01 review (different website from the other two)
 
Just to add to what carrot said...

The Fenix E01 being LED is also not going to let you down if you accidentally drop it. The Solitaire's bulb can go POOF on you and then what do you do? Do Solitaires even include a spare in the tailcap?

I vote get the Fenix E01.
 
Mercy, I must have come off as really intense about this in my post, judging by the tenor of the responses. I was just trying to say that the Solitaire does for me what I need it to do. Sorry about that.

That being said, I may well upgrade next time I need to get a new one.

Cheers.
 
knarfeng said:
Mercy, I must have come off as really intense about this in my post, judging by the tenor of the responses. I was just trying to say that the Solitaire does for me what I need it to do. Sorry about that.
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It's a good thing you did not talk about your dog huh. You probably would have been told that it was too old and not worth having either.

Fanatics, they are everywhere my friend...
 
Sorry if I came off as harsh. I just don't like seeing people struggle with dim lights.

Plus-- knarfeng did not mention any sentimental value attached to the Solitaire, after all he replaces them every 4-5 years according to him.

There is nothing wrong with liking what you have.... but if you're going to replace it I do recommend the E01 as a strong contender, especially at its price.
 
I also don't mean to sound resistant to the idea of the E01. Someone gave me the Solitaire and I don't want to be ungracious but I also wanted to find out if it would be useful at all without opening it.
I just don't like seeing people struggle with dim lights.
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I don't think I'll have that problem. Like I said earlier I don't usually need much light. I anticipate using my light a total of 2-5 minutes a month. That being said when I do need a replacement I'll probably go for an E01.
 
I have a Streamlight Keymate mounted on both my keyrings and on the wife's. For the size it just cannot be beat. My pocket space is limited too, so size is important. I've dropped them many many times with no effect. Tough little light. Highly recommend it.

One quick update is that the little springload clip on most of my Keymates has broken over time. It's not the springloaded wire, but surprisingly, the metal in the little hook shaped attachment simply shears. Out of the 4 my family is currently using, 3 have broken as described. Not a big deal as I just take the hook off and attached the light to the key ring using part of the little chain, but ... Streamlight might want to think about a different design, or about different metal for the hook attachment.

Razz
 
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qqfob said:
i can't imagine you guys find it acceptable to carry such a big flashlight on your keys. sure, they run on AAA batteries, but my pocket space is valuable and that's why i had recommended the Keymate and the Nano.
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This is why I love the Photons: Bright enough for indoor use, small, light, and great runtime.
 
I have a Solitare on my keychain. It is durable, light and has a spare bulb. It is a mediocre light/time using normal batteries so I always use the energiser titanium. It means that I have a light at hand when the lights go down. It is an emergency on hand, no more and fares well. I have a light on my cell phone as well. The LED plastic keychain lights were a big fail.

It doesn't scare off vampires but gets me to a light that scares bogey men s@#$s.
 
I have boosted my one mini mag with a streamlite bulb, a little reaming and 2x AAA lithium batteries. Now that there are lithium AAAA that would be great for boosting the solitare if only there were 1.5v bulbs around (I'm Bored).
 
I have both a Keymate and an Arc AAA. IMO, if you just want a back up light and don't us it much, the Keymate is fine. However it takes weird little expensive batteries so if you use it daily it will get expensive in the long run.

Something like the AAA Arclight is great if you use it a lot. The fact you can use the ubiquitous AAA batteries is very helpful. Especially if your camera and or bigger light also takes AAA batteries. A bit pricey if you never use it though.

For pocket occupying space, it is a wash. The Arc is skinnier but longer, the Keymate shorter but fatter.

Each carries well on a neck loop. I find the Arc to be exceptional for rummaging around at night while getting ready for sleep while camping....or just making a quick trip to the bushes for relief.

I know that isn't quite the OPs question but both lights were mentioned above so I thought I'd throw my 2 cents into the coin pile.
 
A single AAA light is desirable -

Fenix E01 Comparison Review (similar to the ArcAAA but much cheaper - direct comparison)

Fenix L0D-Q4 Comparison Review, or its replacement the LD0 - very versatile light with 3 levels of brightness.

I find 1x AAA light still a bit big to be on my keyring -
should really consider a Photon microlight -
or cheap clone "fauxton" - that can be found for less than 50cents.
These are small and light enough that they are almost "not there" and are very useful as a backup light - and the fauxtons are cheap enough that they can be given away as gifts..... I've EDC'd a yellow Photon on my keyring for well over 10 years -

EDC - What's in Your Pocket(s)??

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I think the solitare drops down to 50% brightness after about 7 minutes run time. For comparable price the e01 will maintain it's brightness for about 7 hours, then run for about 10 hours more. I think the e01 would run for hours on a battery that was so dead it wouldn't even light a solitare any longer. LEDs have come a long way and show no signs of slowing anytime soon.
I bought 5 e01s for gifts this Christmas and wish I bought one form myself. I do have a l0d (rebel version) though, and highly recommend the l0d or ld01 if you have a little more to spend. If not, can't beat the e01 in my opinion.
 
Siggyhk said:
I think the solitare drops down to 50% brightness after about 7 minutes run time. For comparable price the e01 will maintain it's brightness for about 7 hours, then run for about 10 hours more. I think the e01 would run for hours on a battery that was so dead it wouldn't even light a solitare any longer. LEDs have come a long way and show no signs of slowing anytime soon.
I bought 5 e01s for gifts this Christmas and wish I bought one form myself. I do have a l0d (rebel version) though, and highly recommend the l0d or ld01 if you have a little more to spend. If not, can't beat the e01 in my opinion.
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The LD01 is only $36 at lapolicegear. That's incredible.
 
artdeg said:
+ 1 on the Photons.
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They're brighter, lighter, more compact than the Mag Solitaire too.

Really, for the footprint size of a Mag Solitaire, there are MUCH better options out there.

darklight said:
a decent light for a keychain would be a lummi raw or wee. you get what you pay for.
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Only if your end goal is collecting the best of what's out there. For the average person, $100.00 keychain lights fall well outside the "decent" range.
 
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