ICON SOLO FLASHLIGHT
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You have no chance to survive make your time. 
ICON Solo Flashlight, retail $19.97 (www.radioshack.com...)
Manufactured by (Unknown) for ICON in California (www.myiconlight.com)*
Last updated 10-04-13
The Solo is a two-AAA cell flashlight that has a white high-powered LED at the bottom of a stippled (texturised) reflector.
It comes in a thick "pen-style" aluminum body with a very attractive pewter-grey finish on it, comes with a beefy pocket clip, and has a transparent plastic window in its "business-end" to protect the LED and reflector.
The Solo is turned on and off using a rubberised button on its tailcap. It is a two-stage light (high and low); these can be easily selected by pushing the tailcap button.
The Solo was designed by Paul Kim aka. PK of Surefire.
* The website is offline (as of 07-18-12) for an as-of-yet unknown reason.
SIZE
To use the Solo, press & release the tailcap button once to activate it in "low" mode, press & release it again to turn the flashlight off, press & release it a third time to turn the flashlight on in "high" mode, and press & release it a fourth time to turn the flashlight off.
Anytime you desire "high" mode, you have to turn the Solo off and back on again within several seconds (this is advertised as "2 seconds" but testing of my own unit shows this to be 10 seconds {timed on a clock with a second hand on it}) of initially turning it on in "low" mode.
Just like it reads on the back of many shampoo bottles, "lather, rinse, repeat".
In other words, pressing & releasing the tailcap button again turns the Solo on in "high" mode.
Momentary (signalling) operation is available by pressing the tailcap button less firmly (before it clicks) and holding it that way for as long as you need light. As it is for constant-on mode, if you need "high" mode, you have to turn the Solo off and back on again within ~2 seconds of initially turning it on.
A very substantial pocket clip is affixed to the Solo's body; this allows you to carry the Solo in a bezel-down position in a pants pocket or clipped to your pants wasteband with very little chance of product loss.
To change the batteries in your brand spanken new (or corroded old) Solo, unscrew and remove the tailcap, gently place it on the ground, and kick it in the garden so the praying mantids will think it's something yummy to eat and subsequently strike at it...O WAIT!!! YOU'LL NEED THAT!!! So just set it aside instead.
Tip the old used-up AAA cells out of the barrel and into your hand, and dispose of or recycle them as you see fit.
Slide two new AAA cells in the flashlight barrel, orienting them so their nipple-ends (+) positives go in first.
Finally, screw the tailcap firmly back on.
Aren't you glad you didn't kick that tailcap into the garden with all those hungry, hungry praying mantids now?
Here is what a praying mantis looks like.
I found this guy on the morning of 09-08-06 clinging to the basket of my scooter.
Current usage measures 25.40mA (low) & 111.40mA (high) on my DMM's 400mA scale.
The flashlight appears to be very durable and sturdy, and it is. Ordinary flashlight accidents should not be enough to do it in. I administered the smack test on it (I literally beat the living tweedle out of it - ten whacks against the concrete floor of a carport; five whacks against the side of the tailcap and five whacks against the side of the bezel), and found the expected damage. There is some minor gouging to the bare Metalgallantmon - er - the bare Metalrapidmon - um that's not it either...the bare Metaldemidevimon...er...uh...wait a sec here...THE BARE METAL (guess I've been watching too much Digimon again! - now I'm just making {vulgar slang term for feces} up!!!) on the sides of the bezel and tailcap where it was struck. No optical or electrical malfunctions were detected.
The primary purpose of this test is not necessarily to see if the exterior of the flashlight would be damaged; it's more about the internal components which would be subject to a high shock load ("G force") every time it strikes the concrete.
I also performed "The Knife Test" on it; with only very minor difficulty, I was able to scratch through to the bare Metaldemiveemon - er - the bare Metalseadramon - um that's not it either...the bare Metalwormmon...crap that's not it either...the bare Metalmegabeelzemon...er...uh...wait a sec here...THE BARE METAL (guess I've STILL been watching too much Digimon again! - I'm still making {vulgar slang term for a single or multiple fudge bunnies} up!!!) where the knife blade was applied.
This tells me that the finish is very likely a Type II anodizing.
The Solo is highly water-resistant, but not quite submersible. It failed "The Suction Test" that I administered to its barrel; although it does not quite hold a partial vacuum, it ***ALMOST*** does (e.g., it did not fail this test miserably like a lot of other flashlights have). This means that the flashlight is weather-resistant at absolute minimum, and shallow water landings should not kill it either if you fish it out of the water right away. And if it falls into something yucky or if it falls next to the mailbox and the dog pisses on it, just take the hose to it or douche it off under the faucet (with the bezel {the Solo's "business end"} pointed down) and dry it off with a paper towel, some bungwipe, or a nasal tissue, and everything should be right as rain.
Low mode uses PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) where the LED is rapidly pulsed. This was evident when the light was activated in low mode and then rapidly waved about.
The Solo is texturised (not mirror-smooth) with very fine circumfrential ridges, some depressed "dots" on the barrel, and some longitudinal ridges on the bezel and tailcap, so retention (the ability to hold onto the flashlight when your hands are cold, oily, or wet) should not be much of an issue at all.
The reflector is stippled (has an "orange peel" texture to it), and as a result, the beam is extremely smooth, with no artifacts (blotches, rings, or other nasty things) in it.
Beam photograph on the test target at 12".
Photo was deliberately left uncropped to show beam details.
Measures 57,500mcd (low) and 259,000mcd (high).
Both measurements taken on an Amprobe LM631A light meter
Beam photograph on a wall at ~10 feet (high mode).
Spectrographic analysis of the LED in this flashlight (minimum intensity).
Spectrographic analysis of the LED in this flashlight (minimum intensity); spectrometer's response narrowed to a band between 430nm and 470nm to pinpoint native emission peak wavelength, which is 447.650nm.
The raw spectrometer data (tab-delimited that can be loaded into Excel) is at http://ledmuseum.candlepower.us/43/iconsol1.txt (minimum intensity)
Spectrographic analysis of the LED in this flashlight (maximum intensity).
Spectrographic analysis of the LED in this flashlight (maximum intensity); spectrometer's response narrowed to a band between 430nm and 470nm to pinpoint native emission peak wavelength, which is 447.650nm.
The raw spectrometer data (tab-delimited that can be loaded into Excel) is at
http://ledmuseum.candlepower.us/43/iconsol2.txt (maximum intensity)
Note if you will, that minimum and maximum intensity modes show virtually the same native emission peak wavelength; this is a direct result of PWM which virtually eliminates current-related wavelength shift -- and hence, perceived LED color.
USB2000 Spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.
Beam cross-sectional analysis.
Image made using the ProMetric System by Radiant Imaging.
TEST NOTES:
Test unit was purchased at a Radio Shack store in Federal Way WA. USA at 9:04am PDT on 07-17-12 (or "17 Jul 2012" or even "Jul 17, Twenty Stick-Very-Twirly-Stick" if you prefer).
UPDATE: 10-04-13
I have given this flashlight to my aunt so that she could have a light in her purse. Therefore, the dreadful, "
" icon has been appended to its listings on this website to denote the fact that I no longer have it at my disposal for future testing, comparisons, or analyses.
PROS:
Bright for its size
Nice to look at - whether on or off
Reasonably durable construction
Water-resistant
CONS:
Not hard anodized
Not submersible -- but it ***ALMOST*** is!!!
MANUFACTURER: Unknown, for ICON in California
PRODUCT TYPE: Small penlight-style flashlight
LAMP TYPE: High-powered white LED
No. OF LAMPS: 1
BEAM TYPE: Medium spot w/wide corona
SWITCH TYPE: Pushbutton on/mode change/off on tailcap
CASE MATERIAL: Aluminum
BEZEL: Metal; LED & reflector protected by plastic window
BATTERY: 2x AAA cells
CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 25.40mA (low), 111.40mA (high)
WATER RESISTANT: Advertised as 'weatherproof'
SUBMERSIBLE: ĦĦĦHUSOOS CRISTO USANDO UN ANDADOR NO!!! 
ACCESSORIES: 2x Energizer AAA cells
SIZE: 144.0mm Long x 19mm Dia.
WEIGHT: 64.90g (2.290oz) incl. batteries
COUNTRY OF MANUFACTURE: China
WARRANTY: 1 year
PRODUCT RATING:
There's no rating for an *ALMOST* perfect score here.
ICON Solo Flashlight * www.radioshack.com...
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