MagLite Solitaire Key Ring Flashlight > Reviews > Shine a little light

Author's product rating:   

Advantages:	convenient size, good brightness, extremely durable, water & shock resistant
Disadvantages:	more expensive than comparable inferior models

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Most people who know me well are aware of my obsession with torches and flasks. There’s probably some deep and meaningful psychological reason for this but what causes it I don’t know. The results are an incapability to walk past a display without browsing, which frequently ends up with me buying. There is no doubt that in the event of an electrical failure I cold illuminate my street and keep its residents supplied with hot drinks!

I have a lot of torches including little key ring ones, credit card style, forehead lamps to he more standard, traditional torch. I’ve got wind up, rechargeable, kinetically charged and battery powered ones and from this choice I’ve selected the MagLite Solitaire Key Ring Flashlight. MagLite are one of my favourite brands as they are so well made, so nicely presented ad somehow so sexy- yeah I know that sounds a bit weird but they are just so cool.

MagLite are made by Mag Instruments, a very well established company based in the USA, but their products are used all over the world. The name is taken from the founder, owner and president Anthony Maglica (sounds more like a Clive Barker character than a manufacturing innovator) and he has guided his company's growth from a one-man machine shop in 1955 to an enterprise that employs over 800 dedicated employees today. The range of MagLites contains a torch for virtually every scenario.

The MagLite Solitaire Key Ring Flashlight
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This is an incredibly well made small torch. It comes either in a plastic blister pack or in a very attractive presentation box with a black matt finish. MagLite is embossed in raised silver lettering on the front. Both choices contain the torch, a key ring lead and a battery (it takes 1 AAA). It is available in a choice of colours: black, dark silver, light silver, dark red and bright blue.

The solitaire consists of 13 parts in all:
1) tail cap
2) lip seal for the tail cap
3) electrical contact
4) spare lamp
5) battery spring
6) the main barrel with on/off switch
7) O-ring-barrel
8) switch assembly
9) lamp
10) reflector
11) clear lens
12) O-ring head
13) head

It is very compact being 81 mm in length with a barrel diameter of 12.7 mm and it weights 24.4g with the battery.

Its average lumens are around 2.3 and its peak beam candlepower is up to 213. It has a battery life of approximately 3.6 hours on continuous use but this obviously depends on battery quality.

The casing is anodised on both interior and exterior surfaces for more durability and protection from corrosion. The main body of the casing has tooled grooves in the surface to give better grip and both caps have grooves to assist in turning them. All MagLites have a spare bulb in the base compartment which will be really useful if one blows but this has never happened to me a yet

It is both water and shock resistant and the aluminium casing means as well as being strong it is also very light. The quality of design shows throughout the torch, from the build quality to the extended key lead which means you can point the torch at the lock to be opened which is actually very useful.

Operating the torch is very simple. The battery compartment is unscrewed and the battery inserted and screwed shut again; the threads are metal and easy to screw/unscrew. The spare bulb is reached by unscrewing this compartment and the bulb is securely stored by the electrical contact. To turn the unit on you use the switch on the body and again to turn it off. When the torch is on you can adjust the beam for a narrow spotlight type to a wider flood light style beam simply by twisting the head.

The torch works well on all settings but the wider the spread of the beam the less powerful the amount of light. The spotlight is very bright and this goes down in degrees as you widen its spread. If you need a wide beam frequently you would be wise to purchase a larger MagLite but this small one is perfect as you can keep it with you always. (I don’t know about you folks but I am rarely without my car keys)

My opinion
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These are brilliant torches and although seem expensive compared to cheaper alternatives in real terms they aren’t. These torches are very durable and are designed to be hard wearing. Not many other makes supply a spare lamp either.
This size is perfect for my key ring but would be as much at home in a handbag or glove box. It has survived the rough and tumble my car keys go through on a daily basis with out a mark and has survived several falls onto a variety of surfaces. Because they come in the stylish presentation box they are suitable to pass on as a gift- I’d always be happy to receive one