I know some of you guys are flashlight experts, or at least enthusiasts, so I want to pick your brains about a really good, very small flashlight... like one you can clip to your keys and still put out some decent light. Is there such an animal? Thanks
pocket flashlights
- Thread starter cpool222
- Start date
Take a look at the Fenix AAA and AA lights.
I have a mini AAA mini maglite that I have carried for 5 years. I put a new AAA in it once a year and back in the pocket it goes. A metal and good lite.
I have a Fenix and love it!!!
http://www.4sevens.com/product_info.php?products_id=2411&newsletter=082510
I've been eyeballing one of these. Very bright for the size, but I am questioning reliability.
Fenix is very good, I've used many of those.
I've been eyeballing one of these. Very bright for the size, but I am questioning reliability.
Fenix is very good, I've used many of those.
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I forgot about 4sevens...they are very nice.
I've been investigating LED flashlights for home.
Personally, I like the Fenix or Nitecore lights.
Others will be along shortly who acutally own one of them
Personally, I like the Fenix or Nitecore lights.
Others will be along shortly who acutally own one of them
Fenix E01 I paid about $15 bucks for it. It's actually one of the cheaper Fenix pocket lights. It's absolutely amazing as far as I'm concerned, and takes a standard AAA battery. It stays on my key chain and has helped me out in multiple situations. It has lower lumens, but a much longer run time . It's also waterproof.
There is also the LD01, which puts out many more lumens in about the same form factor, still using a AAA battery. However last time I checked it was $45 and I didn't really care to spend that much. Also, generally the higher outputs on the LD01 can't be sustained for long periods of time without draining the battery. Also waterproof.
Finally there is the LD15, which has the highest output of the three. It uses a AA and is larger than the other two. I've never really looked into it, so I don't know about price or any other major details. Seemed like overkill for something that was going to bounce around in my pocket all day. Also waterproof.
Hope that helps, I really enjoy my E01. Just google Fenix, you'll find it.
There is also the LD01, which puts out many more lumens in about the same form factor, still using a AAA battery. However last time I checked it was $45 and I didn't really care to spend that much. Also, generally the higher outputs on the LD01 can't be sustained for long periods of time without draining the battery. Also waterproof.
Finally there is the LD15, which has the highest output of the three. It uses a AA and is larger than the other two. I've never really looked into it, so I don't know about price or any other major details. Seemed like overkill for something that was going to bounce around in my pocket all day. Also waterproof.
Hope that helps, I really enjoy my E01. Just google Fenix, you'll find it.
I've had my Inova's for ~7 years now.
I buy my 123A's online, toss em through my Surefire 6P (P61 head only gets 20min of burn at 120 lumen)... feed those batts though my Inova X5 for another 10-15hrs of burn.
If you want smaller, I love my Inova X1... single AA, I get about a month on a fresh battery, and can pop a battery in it that is "dead" in just about any other device.
I used to carry a mini-mag all the time, and bought the X5 when I finally got tired of changing the bulb. Bought the X1 when I couldn't find 123A's cheap (and lots of the current online dealers didn't exist). Both Inova's have been torture tested and will survive a short drop (eg missed the belt holster) onto cement without any issues.
The X5 was borrowed at my last job and came back non-functional, Inova replaced it on warranty. More than enough reason to promote them.
I buy my 123A's online, toss em through my Surefire 6P (P61 head only gets 20min of burn at 120 lumen)... feed those batts though my Inova X5 for another 10-15hrs of burn.
If you want smaller, I love my Inova X1... single AA, I get about a month on a fresh battery, and can pop a battery in it that is "dead" in just about any other device.
I used to carry a mini-mag all the time, and bought the X5 when I finally got tired of changing the bulb. Bought the X1 when I couldn't find 123A's cheap (and lots of the current online dealers didn't exist). Both Inova's have been torture tested and will survive a short drop (eg missed the belt holster) onto cement without any issues.
The X5 was borrowed at my last job and came back non-functional, Inova replaced it on warranty. More than enough reason to promote them.
For $0.45 each, something that is nice and bright, and small enough to always be on your keys, you cannot go wrong with this. It's way brighter than those keychain lights you see at the hardware store.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1100
For $2.90 each, something that is even brighter, a bit bigger (AAA), you really cannot go wrong with this. It's brighter, cheaper, and smaller than a maglite.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.44168
I carry one in each form factor, and they have never let me down.
Cheers.
J
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1100
For $2.90 each, something that is even brighter, a bit bigger (AAA), you really cannot go wrong with this. It's brighter, cheaper, and smaller than a maglite.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.44168
I carry one in each form factor, and they have never let me down.
Cheers.
J
I own the Fenix E01 AAA keychain light and I love it. It is 10 lumens and ok for close tasks. The Fenix LD01 is a 3 mode light with a low/med/hi with a max of 80 lumens and is a single AAA keychain light and plenty bright. I love the Quark and Preon lights from www.4sevens.com you can not go wrong with any of these. Now if you want something a bit cheaper then check out the ITP A3EOS for around $20, it to is a nice light.
I have the Fenix LD10. It's a great light - small, powerful, and very pocketable.
For sheer toughness, I still love the ARC AAA. It is not the brightest any longer, but it is stone cold reliable. It's fun also.
You've got a few things to consider when picking a small keychain light. As a basic premise the laws of physics apply so everything is a tradeoff - smaller size means a smaller power source and either less light or shorter runtime or both. The smaller the light the less heat dissipation capability of the light so generally that means lower output or much shorter usable runtime.
First you need to determine the job it will perform - is this a backup light or going to be your primary every day carry light? For many, a key ring light is a backup in case your primary pocket light goes down - in which case you may not be as concerned with long runtimes, etc... your post says pocket light but then mentions clipping to your keys. This matters because>>
What size are you looking for? There are some people who consider a Surefire 6P to be a pocket light (they must wear BDU's every day!
) and some who would never carry anything over a AAA or even a smaller size in their pocket. Also, some including myself don't want a huge light on my keyring (since it is backup and I almost always have another light available).
The size drives the battery type - for key ring lights you're generally limited to AAA (like the Fenix E01, Arc AAA, Fenix LDs, Liteflux LF2XT, etc...) or coin/button cells (Photon microlights, Streamlight Nano, Lighthound coin cell lights). If you're willing to look at alternatives in the li-ion world 10180/10280 powered lights will give you a lot of power in a really small package - something like the Lummi Wee or the less expensive but well made Peak Eiger falls into this category. But you won't be able to go into the corner store and get a new battery if it runs out with one of these unlike a AAA and to a certain degree a button/coin cell light (although depending on the cell the replacements not bought online can be expensive, sometimes more than the light cost you new).
Lastly you can decide on the features you want - do you want multiple levels of light or a single level, how bright do you want it to be understanding that the brighter the light the shorter it will run at that level, even moreso as the light gets smaller, etc... Do you want it to be programmable or fixed levels? What kind of interface do you want - a twisty or a clickie (forward or reverse)?
None of these are discrete decisions and they work together to help you figure out your needs and the best light for you.
After a good bit of experimentation - my personal approach is to have a key ring light as a backup and carry a pocket light as my primary EDC. Mostly because two is one and one is none when you really need something. Therefore my key ring light is not carrying the water most of the time, so it can be small since I don't like a lot of weight on my key ring, but it must be really reliable. I carry a Photon Microlight II on my keyring because it is a single stage simple design that is ridiculously reliable, and very small and light weight. I've had mine for about 10 years and believe it or not I'm on the same battery it shipped with ... it gets used infrequently but has never failed to work when asked. Here is a link :
http://www.photonlight.com/products/Photon-Micro%2dLight-II-LED-Keychain-Flashlight.html
And I tend to carry another pocket light - in this case I'm willing to carry something larger, almost always multi level and something more powerful. I rotate a handful of CR123 based lights in this role - mostly carrying a Surefire E1L, a modified Novatac 120P (has a K2 emitter installed), a custom "Creemator" Surefire head on a Vital Gear FB1 body, and sometimes an older Surefire KL1 head on an Aleph body with an Aleph/McE2S tailcap switch. But you don't have to carry a modified light for EDC.
If I were to make a recommendation of a stock light in different battery configurations I'd probably consider the following:
AAA - Liteflux LF2XT. This is a pretty cool light and I have the larger LF3XT (CR123 based) that is very flexible, you can program it in a variety of ways to get exactly what you want.
AA - this one is tough as I don't use a lot of AA lights - but the Jetbeam BK135 looks pretty nice other than the ugly anodizing - but it is a clickie with their IBS programming setup so it is flexible and pretty bright and very small for a AA light.
CR123 - I'm very partial to the Novatac series lights, the 120P remains a great light, and the successor Ra Clickie is also nice although a bit bigger. The only downside is they are somewhat large for pocket carry, not huge but bigger than some other choices (but they are more rugged as a result). I also think the the new Lumapower Incendio V3 is a nice looking light for a less expensive alternative.
And just to give you an idea of the variety in the really small light world here is a thread over at candlepowerforums showing a range of lights powered by things other than a AAA or AA battery that is worth some time taking a look at...
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=231920
First you need to determine the job it will perform - is this a backup light or going to be your primary every day carry light? For many, a key ring light is a backup in case your primary pocket light goes down - in which case you may not be as concerned with long runtimes, etc... your post says pocket light but then mentions clipping to your keys. This matters because>>
What size are you looking for? There are some people who consider a Surefire 6P to be a pocket light (they must wear BDU's every day!
) and some who would never carry anything over a AAA or even a smaller size in their pocket. Also, some including myself don't want a huge light on my keyring (since it is backup and I almost always have another light available). The size drives the battery type - for key ring lights you're generally limited to AAA (like the Fenix E01, Arc AAA, Fenix LDs, Liteflux LF2XT, etc...) or coin/button cells (Photon microlights, Streamlight Nano, Lighthound coin cell lights). If you're willing to look at alternatives in the li-ion world 10180/10280 powered lights will give you a lot of power in a really small package - something like the Lummi Wee or the less expensive but well made Peak Eiger falls into this category. But you won't be able to go into the corner store and get a new battery if it runs out with one of these unlike a AAA and to a certain degree a button/coin cell light (although depending on the cell the replacements not bought online can be expensive, sometimes more than the light cost you new).
Lastly you can decide on the features you want - do you want multiple levels of light or a single level, how bright do you want it to be understanding that the brighter the light the shorter it will run at that level, even moreso as the light gets smaller, etc... Do you want it to be programmable or fixed levels? What kind of interface do you want - a twisty or a clickie (forward or reverse)?
None of these are discrete decisions and they work together to help you figure out your needs and the best light for you.
After a good bit of experimentation - my personal approach is to have a key ring light as a backup and carry a pocket light as my primary EDC. Mostly because two is one and one is none when you really need something. Therefore my key ring light is not carrying the water most of the time, so it can be small since I don't like a lot of weight on my key ring, but it must be really reliable. I carry a Photon Microlight II on my keyring because it is a single stage simple design that is ridiculously reliable, and very small and light weight. I've had mine for about 10 years and believe it or not I'm on the same battery it shipped with ... it gets used infrequently but has never failed to work when asked. Here is a link :
http://www.photonlight.com/products/Photon-Micro%2dLight-II-LED-Keychain-Flashlight.html
And I tend to carry another pocket light - in this case I'm willing to carry something larger, almost always multi level and something more powerful. I rotate a handful of CR123 based lights in this role - mostly carrying a Surefire E1L, a modified Novatac 120P (has a K2 emitter installed), a custom "Creemator" Surefire head on a Vital Gear FB1 body, and sometimes an older Surefire KL1 head on an Aleph body with an Aleph/McE2S tailcap switch. But you don't have to carry a modified light for EDC.
If I were to make a recommendation of a stock light in different battery configurations I'd probably consider the following:
AAA - Liteflux LF2XT. This is a pretty cool light and I have the larger LF3XT (CR123 based) that is very flexible, you can program it in a variety of ways to get exactly what you want.
AA - this one is tough as I don't use a lot of AA lights - but the Jetbeam BK135 looks pretty nice other than the ugly anodizing - but it is a clickie with their IBS programming setup so it is flexible and pretty bright and very small for a AA light.
CR123 - I'm very partial to the Novatac series lights, the 120P remains a great light, and the successor Ra Clickie is also nice although a bit bigger. The only downside is they are somewhat large for pocket carry, not huge but bigger than some other choices (but they are more rugged as a result). I also think the the new Lumapower Incendio V3 is a nice looking light for a less expensive alternative.
And just to give you an idea of the variety in the really small light world here is a thread over at candlepowerforums showing a range of lights powered by things other than a AAA or AA battery that is worth some time taking a look at...
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=231920
What size are you looking for? There are some people who consider a Surefire 6P to be a pocket light (they must wear BDU's every day!
Actually I wear carpenter jeans
I carry a main multitool (rotate 4 different ones according to what I'm doing), flashlight, leatherman squirt EL (wirestrippers), and a colibri lighter on my belt every day.
Actual pocket content is small... cell phone, wallet, knife (12 years of collecting Spyderco, have a few I rotate), custom ti moneyclip (usually $20-50 in it), couple bucks loose change (toonie, loonies, quarters), Boker Subcom Folder with keys in my back pocket, small FMP with 3 pens and spare cellphone battery, bluetooth headset... and of course the watch and custom ti chain.
you don't want to know what's in my backpack that goes everywhere with me
I don't know anything about Flashlights, but came across this on my RSS feed after looking at this thread:
http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/384...net+Frontpage)&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher
it appears REI is having a sale on a couple Fenix lights.
http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/384...net+Frontpage)&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher
it appears REI is having a sale on a couple Fenix lights.
I've tried Surefire flashlights and have been somewhat disappointed. The flashlight that has given me the most bang for the buck is OLIGHT. I have one of their tactical series and couldn't be more pleased.
+1
I really like my MiNi Quark 123. Although, it's mainly used as a spare battery carrier for my Ra, it offers great value in a small package.
There are a lot of swell lights mentioned here. However at the moment in my part of Texas we live close to a Harbor Freight store. And every week is a coupon in the newspaper for a free LED flashlight. It is about 3 1/2 inches in length with 9 leds. And it is FREE. Just take the coupon to the store. And that coupon is in the newspaper most weeks (the Sunday paper here for us) so you can get quite a stock of handy flashlights at no cost. For me, they are working out fine.
if you want real light in a tiny pocket flashlight.check out the quark mini cr123 .....high quality,low price and you can find energizer,panasonic ,and other name brand cr123 batteries for under 2 bucks now,when they first came out as a camera battery they were $13 each ! check out 4sevens.com
