The one that has perhaps changed the game for current lighting technology in terms of tiny size and big output is the 1x AAA Maglite Solitaire. Like Don Kellers sprinkler pipe cop lights changed the game from thin wall tubing flashlights to capable of being used as a hammer, the 2 lumen Solitaire opened the door for todays current crop of tiny flashlights capable of big output. Not big like several zeros long big output, but like the ant, capable of amazing effort from such a small physical body.
Back in the latter half of the 1980's decade Tony Maglica's marvels were the undisputed king of the flashlight world. Companies like Streamlight, Bright Star and others were building their own versions of Maglite creations. As the story goes, Tony built a 1x AAA bi-pin bulb flashlight for his girlfriend and called it the Marquis. A couple of batches were produced and sold in California stores. Tony realized that name was already used elsewhere so he renamed it Solitaire. Capable of being attached to a keychain was not a brand new idea. But sprinkler pipe durability in a really small flashlight was. In time the idea caught on. Now being limited at the time to about 2 candle power was stepping back in time in terms of output. Yet those candles could be focused to a pencil beam and light up a small targeted area some 20 feet away.
Again, others built their own versions. Streamlight did the Keymate, BrightStar did a 1x AAA with a clicky and Don Keller was heading up a start up called SigmaLite where he took some Mag ideas and incorparated some Keller tweaks. But the Solitaire was tough to beat.
Some incan Solitaire-esque lights.
A 2x N cell Sigmalite, a 1x AAA Bright Star, a 1x AAA Brinkmann, a Streamlight Keymate and a Solitaire.
With a wider head the Streamlight was actually brighter. But to avoid being sued again by Maglite they devised a funky way to change batteries which easily resulted in a broken flashlight.
The KeyMate and it's flaws.
A small pin retained the bulb fastener to the light with a push and twist. The pin moved or fell out. If it moved it dislodged from the channel in the light body and the bulb retainer would get stuck in the head due to a tight fit of the bulb inside the reflector opening. If you dropped the tiny pin you were out. You either had to find it or make a new one. Yeah, right.
The tight fit of the bulb into the reflector at times resuluted in a crushed bulb.
And it did not have a removable tailcap so if your battery leaked onto the spring at the tail end getting conductivity through the spring again was an excersize in futility. At $12 it was far from disposable for most. A great light when things went well. But too many things could go wrong too easily.
So for a long time a single triple a flashlight was an aenemic source of light, yet enough sold to remain a viable product for the industry. Then the invention of the LED began to shape the future in ways not many dreamed of. Like older flashlight tech from the 20th century, bright was not available for a while. But thanks to some inovative thinkers the LED triple A was capable of lighting as well as the Solitaire or KeyMate, then the Keymate was gone and LED lights were way brighter than a Solitaire...yup 10!!! lumens. Then 15, then 20. The battery was the achiles heal back then. Alkaline cells just couldn't hold the voltage enough to provide consistant output for very long.
Perhaps the Energizer lithium saved the triple a flashlight from falling into oblivion with the hoola hoop. Designed for high drain stuff like toys, once they had begun to be seen as a viable source of flashlight fuel, the sky was the limit.
The SureFire 2x 123 lights had changed the game by then. PK once told me he was devising a 1x AAA for SureFire but battery tech made it a moot point. No way to make a SureFire bright capable light from a triple a fuel source. He said in time he was learning from his brother who worked at Motorola in Florida and ARC's Peter Gransee to learn the LED.
Peter was likely one who opened the door to what we see today. SureFire continued to focus on brighter light bulbs until they had their own LED ideas capable of SureFire reputation for output and tint. Maglite was quietly working on LED's while tweaking xenon bulb technology. Still strapped for cash Streamlight was generating revenue via police issue and fire personnel products.
Eventually the Solitaire was available in LED format. But by then the market had left Maglite. ARC, Peak and others were the new players.
The industry was showing the public that LED lights were here to stay. And LED clad 1x AAA flashlights were selling well enough to entice the market to partake in lights with brightness never considered possible in the days of the inception of the Maglite Marquis. 35, 50....60 lumens. Then the Fenix E01 touted sprinkler pipe bomb proof durability with plenty of useable light with long long runtime.
Lumen wars caused exagerated specs with brief bursts of whopping output. PK had left SureFire and for a blip in history had the brightest 1x AAA light ever made. 100 lumens, sustained. He called it PL2. The PL1? Who knows if it was his design from SureFire days or a PKDL idea that didn't make it off the computer screen?
Lumen wars touted unheard of numbers but the market wanted runtime and better tint. Neutral began to show up via Nichia LED's. Modes, modes and more modes meant outputs as low as the original Solitaire or less. Firefly mode became an option.
So now that the originator, Maglite is relegated to an also ran in the field of flashlights they have introduced a warm version of the Solitaire that mimics a xenon clad original with 10x the output. Thusfar it's high only but lately they have introduced 2 setting versions of some classics. Like PK's PL2 with a twist on for high or second for a useable, battery saving low time may reveal a 2 speed Solitaire. The venable E01 is discontinued and ARC is long gone. A new player Sofirm built some Yuji clad E01 style lights and now have 2 speed versions. They went with a mid-ground tint color for those.
So the legacy of the 1x AAA flashlight has evolved into a big player in a small package.
