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39 of 42 found the following review helpful:
 Well built, but uselessFeb 16, 2004
The Solitaire is relatively well built, but the poor beam makes it useless. Its not bright even with fresh batteries, and it QUICKLY dims. There is almost no sidespill, even when adjusted to wide beam. It eats up batteries, and has very poor beam quality. This is the only Maglite model that I rate as below satisfactory. It flat out fails. There are better options out there. Arc flashlights are very bright for their size, reliable, and have a good beam. They use LED bulbs that never burn out. Plus, they are semi-regulated so that they maintain their brightness for longer periods than the Solitaire. Other pocket lights worth looking at are Photon Microlights and the CMG Sonic (both use LED bulbs). Shop around, decide what works best for you and is in your price range. That said, I cannot recommend the Mag Solitaire regardless of price. Its poor beam and dim output make it all but useless.
21 of 22 found the following review helpful:
 Solidly built battery burner that doesn't really fit well to its intended functionNov 30, 2005
By T. Hassler
The construction of this Mag-Lite Solitaire is really quite good. It's very sturdy and I've had one run over by my truck and had a 150 pound (68kg) Television drop on another without much visible damage (scratches).
I have received this as a gift and as a corporate tchotchke as well as having bought one and they do come in handy. The problem is that it runs through batteries pretty quickly if you use this for anything more than looking for your keys on the ground or the deadbolt on your door when you forgot to leave on the porch light. The lens cap tends to turn itself on in your pocket or bag... draining away the power. I haven't ever used it as a keychain device as I don't like a lot of bulk.
I haven't ever experienced the reported problem with the end cap loosening. The best task I've found for this light is to hang it on the keyring holder in my laptop bag. It's simply not well suited to a pocket or to a keychain, and I believe that was its intended purpose.
I found the light, itself, to be fairly bright at full power, but with a more robust LED, it would probably be a better unit. It does have a better light distance than an LED would produce, though. All-in-all, a bit of a miss, but I'm a flashlight hound, so I still like it. If you are looking for a good keyring light, get a smaller LED with an on/off switch. This would probably make a good light for a purse or in a glove compartment. I would recommend pairing it with a Lithium Battery (Technuity L92BP4 Battery, Lithium Aaa Photo Battery for example) - especially if storing in car or bag for long periods. Make sure you tighten the lenscap well so it doesn't accidentally turn on.
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
 mini-flashlight, always "at-the-ready"Jun 14, 2000
By Peter Smith
I have carried a Mini-Magi flashlight on my key chain for 3+ years, and find it handy for finding the right key in the dark, even for lighting the way--it puts out an amazing amount of really bright and well dispersed light. For reading (or checking maps) in the car without disturbing the driver's vision it is excellent. The switch is very well-designed, and will not be accidentally activated. In the 3 years the battery has needed replacement only once. Am considering it as a lasting business "thank you" gift.
11 of 12 found the following review helpful:
 Well made, but...Aug 28, 2005
By E. M. Van Court
"Van, emvc (at) lycos.com"
The Mag-Lite Solitaire is well designed and well made but simply isn't bright enough. However, if all you use a flashlight for is looking for your keys under the seat of your car or assisting with reading menus, it may be OK. It has a sleek design, and it's appeareance won't draw attention on a keychain. It functions like any other (large) mini mag light, by twisting the end where the light comes out to turn it on and off. Change the battery by unscrewing the other end. A spare bulb is concealed within the end cap.
Pros:
-It's small.
-it's well made, with all components fitting together smoothly, and a clean simple appearence.
Cons:
-it's just not that bright. Some of the newer LED flashlights are of a similar size but much brighter.
Overall, I'd have to give this one a pass, unless I developed a fetish for small, well designed gadgets (like watches, watches are SOOO cool! and miniature sextents, those things are SOOO neat!). OK, so I have this fetish, and this would explain why I have a Solitaire in my toolbox.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 Neat little stocking stufferDec 04, 2005
By Alex Schira
I've had one of these lying around in my pocket or behind my ear for close to eight months. It's just the perfect little light for looking in small places, without blinding some one with the LED Mini Mag I also carry. That's right, I actually like that it's not LED, it's nice to have both kinds of lights for different situations. In the eight months of casual to daily use I've put it through, I've had to change the battery three times, but the bulb is still like new. This is very unusual, considering how Mag bulbs usually last a couple months at most.
But I have to agree with the other reviewers, if you do keep it on a keychain or the larnyard it comes with, keep an eye on the battery cover. I personally passed over the keychain and just carry and use it without my mess of keys jingling and pulling the thing apart entirely. This is a decent keychain light, but it won't fall apart on you if just carry it in the change pocket of your jeans, a shirt pocket, without the keychain this light is small enough to fit in a larger wallet if it had to.
And one little not to Mag, they should start advertising the 'candle mode' on this thing as well as their other lights. When you keep twisting the head after turning it on anf focusing, the cap comes off and leaves the small, candle-like but exposed in a miniature lantern effect. Just set the flat end down on a table, rock, floor, any little situation where you need a small area light, and don't lose the cap. And if you really want to use the larnyard, I've also had this thing hang from zippers in tents and from bathroom mirrors in a power outage.
I would have written this sooner, after a few months of using this thing, but yesterday I went out and bought about ten of these in assorted colors. For five bucks, this fine product must have been designed to fill stockings and pad out smaller gift purchases. Sure, they may not wear the sweater you give them, but a tiny flashlight is a tiny flashlight. It's just dang cool.
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based on 103 reviews
