How To Convert A Maglite Solitaire Flashlight To LED

Maglites are well known for being one of the finest made and longest lasting flashlights on the market. The Maglite Solitaire is no exception. I keep one of these on my keychain for daily use and also take it along when hiking. The Solitaire is super small, features a machined aluminum housing that is waterproof, and uses only one tiny AAA battery. I even made my own headband using a piece of stretch band that I use to hold the tiny flashlight to the side of my head when setting up camp and cooking. Light output of the Maglite Solitaire is not exceptional however, nor is battery life if you plan on using it a lot as I do. That's why I was excited to find that there is an LED upgrade bulb for the Maglite Solitaire.

How To Upgrade Your Maglite Solitaire In Three Easy Steps

You can find LED retrofit bulbs for Maglites of all sizes. The LED upgrade for Maglite Solitaire that I bought was made by TerraLux and cost about eight dollars. That might seem like a lot to spend on a ten dollar flashlight, but if you can save about five AAA batteries a year, it's worth it.

The first step to upgrading your Maglite Solitaire to LED is to unscrew the end of the flashlight and pull out the bulb. Your Solitaire's bulb sticks in using two wire pins. Simply pull it out and set it aside.

Next take the Maglite Solitaire LED upgrade bulb out of the box and stick it into the two small holes at the end of the flashlight where the old bulb was. Note that LED bulbs are polarized. They will not work if put in backward, however there is no marking on the flashlight or the bulb to tell you if the LED replacement bulb has been inserted correctly. The solution is to pull it out and reverse it if it does not come on immediately.

Finally screw the end of the Maglite Solitaire back on. You should notice that the beam is now about twice as bright as it was before. In addition, LED bulbs are much more rugged than standard Maglite bulbs, and will likely last for the rest of your life.