Mac,<br><br>Well, I don't own a Solitaire, but I've seen them - nice and compact. As long as it suits you to carry it, it seems to me that it's a whole lot better than striking a match for illumination in a dark place... and it is probably less risky than many to use in an environment with a flammable or explosive vapor build up. Maglite does not rate it as "waterproof", and it in fact has a vent in it (I presume to vent Hydrogen gas), so I'd be careful in any situation involving potentially explosive vapors (and that goes for me and my Photon IIs as well, hmmm...)<br><br>However... Check here to see what several folks have to say about the Solitaire for daily pocket carry. It does not seem to be a very highly regarded MagLite, and many folks seem to prefer the similar sized AAA powered ARC or ARC LE, which is a very bright single LED light similar in size to a Solitaire (actually a bit smaller). Another highly regarded single LED light that is about the same size as the Solitaire is the Infinity task light - not as bright as the ARC, but a lot more run time on a single AA battery.<br><br>But I really like the Photon II for pocket carry. So do my wife and our 4 kids - everyone has at least one on them at all times. We collectively own all the visible colors except blue and green, and each color has its advocates in my household. The only one that all of us agree on is the white one - quite remarkable for its size. I slip a white one around my neck on a proper lanyard when I am going out of urban areas - it's handy there.<br><br>As for hiking, packing, and camping, up until now we've each always carried a Mini-Mag 2 AA - cheap, sturdy, and good enough for many tasks. But my wife and I are about to get rid of ours in favor of 4 LED Tek lights (use 3 AA). After using incandescant "spotlight" type flashlights all these years, it's a bit wierd using the very white and broad beam from an LED flashlight, but I'm about "converted". They are awesome for real tasks. They will not reach out like a laser beam - but that's not been important to me very often. I have 3 D Maglites for that sort of task, but they are far too heavy for my tastes when packing, so they stay with a vehicle.<br><br>If you can borrow a decent LED light to use, I think you will like it. There are a number of LED light reviews - starting here, with Doug's reviews. I'd also sugggest checking The LED Museum - it used to be called the LED Punishment Zone (Doug - change the link, please, sir - it's not going to keep re-directing forever).<br><br>As I wrote originally, though - since you have the Solitaire... why not use it? I think that some one has made an LED conversion for it - that would require some circuitry to boost the voltage - but I do not have any info on that.<br><br>Hope that helps and I apologize if I've sent you to the dictionary several times. I have no trouble with your english - hope mine is not too difficult for you <grin>.<br><br>Regards,<br><br>Tom