I was very stubborn about not using 14500 cells.

I tried some DC-Fix film on the lens of the E05. Just made the beam look worse. That film usually works wonders.

Sooo True teacher. Love mine. Will never leave collection.

Any related note 14500 much better for run times than any AA. Not knocking AA but prefer 14500 as primary and AA NiCad as backup.

NO ALKALEAKS!!! unless out of options.

Agree!! Even after putting a Luxeon on it, there are some “rings” on the beam that would be only eliminated by a diffuser or a reflector mod!
Despite this, it is a very good flashlight and is still very useful on AA batteries (even without turbo)!! :+1:

Hum, have you tried a different type of diffuser? I tried a piece of a “frosted” diffuser once sent by Boaz and the beam improved greatly! No greens or other shifts! Loses throw, but gains quality!

It was closer to $10 at one point. I got two of them. It’s a very simple, 3-mode, great little light with no blinkies. No nasty greenish tint either. Mode spacing is a little weird on Li-Ion, from what I’ve read, but on NiMH it’s fantastic.

Couple of lights I’d like to try A1 and the wuben 05 ... just keep missing the deals .

I think 14500’s have their place but sort of default to the nimh . 14500’s usually kill the moon modes and don’t have very much runtime.

Otoh .... some lights are just begging for more horsepower so I recently added another 6 cells to my colle tion of 14500’s but I find I don’t normally reach for them .

Been wearing a lumintop tool on my collar for years now and recently find I’m grabbing the Boruit 11$ EHL0628 Super best budget headlamp with the headband 100% loose over my head / around my neck .

For me, when I just want to run out to the back yard and spotlight a skunk or head to the park to walk the dog, the little Nitecore MH20GT (18650) is my fav. It’s light, small, easy to turn on or bump the brightness, and the distance I get is both needed and sweet.

The Thorfire TK05 is really nice as a 14500, but I carry an 18500 quad daily, never without it. When I discovered the Samsung LH351D in 80 CRI at 5000K I updated this quad from XP-L HI under a Khatod optic to the Sammy under a Carclo optic, with a very pleasant result of a Beam profile that is essentially one large hot spot. This light comes in handy on a regular basis, with Bistro allowing 7 levels and reversing function so its easy to stay in ultra low levels when required. With a Turbo over 3200 lumens and a moon around 1/3 of a lumen I’m always ready for whatever presents. The 18500 cell with 1000mAh capacity allows that extra bit of run time as well as power.

Of course, the 10440 Texas Poker is always around my neck waiting to be needed. :wink: In spite of it’s rather dimunitive size it can still put out over 700 lumens and makes a good showing of itself. :smiley: I have a spare 10440 in a custom Ti carrier on my key-chain should it be required.

Also have the super tiny DQG Spy on my keychain, just in case…

The newly announced GT micro has my eye… will def be getting this new 14500 asap to add to my arsenal.

A quick pic of part of my EDC, these 3 are with me always… regardless of what else I may carry…

FWIW, the Texas Poker is only off the chain when I bathe, it’s with me all other times, even sleeping. Has been for over 5 1/2 years.

(ok, the Dr’s made me take it off when they cut my throat, but it went back around my neck asap afterwards)

Hey, is this beautiful knife here just to looks nice on picture or you actually carry around $500 knife as an EDC beater? :slight_smile:
(I am sorry for being offtopic, but urge to ask is too strong)

Totally agree! Just got mine and it’s a winner. Tiny and powerful and so well built.

Everything in that pic is part of his EDC.

Yep I’m now favoring 14500 lights now too for every day tasks. 18650 is overkill in terms of runtime and host size. The wuben E05 is growing on me immensely

“So just for around the house work and short walks which type of lithium Ion powered flashlights are most favored? I vote for 14500 size cells.”

My favorite is 16340/CR123A. The reason I say that is that with a few 14500/AA lights that I’ve tested, I’ve found the 16340 to perform as good if not better from an efficiency standpoint even despite the fact that the 14500 will have 100mAh more capacity. And the only explanation I can offer is that it has to be related to the type of electronic driver to cover the voltage range from 0.9v up to 4.20v……….which overlaps the typical Vfwd of an LED around 3.0 volts. This complicates the driver. Some cheap out and use PWM when using a 14500.

The Nitecore MT10A and Jetbeam Jet I MK use a good efficient boost driver for the AA battery and PWM for 14500. The Jetbeam Jet I MK is one of my favorite AA lights but I keep an Eneloop in it.

4-Sevens was probably one of the first to put 0.9 to 4.20v driver capability. I found their lights were not as efficient as others that did not cover that voltage range.

The Fenix E15 and PD25 with a 700mAh 16340 have better run times per comparable output than do the LD11 and LD12 using an 800mAh 14500.

So after discovering this I absolutely fell in love with the 16340/CR123A size and only considered AA/14500 lights if I was intending to use them with an AA Eneloop. Disclaimer: I still use a 14500 in the two LD11’s that I have……….knowing that in a pinch I can always use AA. And that I think is the most important aspect of an AA/14500……….the fact that it will take a very common battery.

I carry the Koenig 16-18 hours a day, every day. BUT, to keep it from being a “beater” I use this little Stedemon also with CTS 204P blade steel to open cardboard boxes and cut tape and such. :wink:

I DO have way too many lights to use each one daily of course, with some 220 lights here, other than that I use the things I buy. I don’t have money to buy fancy things and let em sit around to be admired. I use quite a few of my lights on a regular basis, even the Thorfire TK05 in 14500… but I modded the TK05 with TK’s Anduril and put a nice Samsung 80 CRI 5000K emitter in it so I use it quite often in candlelight mode. :smiley:

I have an X5 with JHorton glass aspheric lens (fixed, not zoomie) and I have a high CRI Nichia X5 as well as a very cool little 14500 prototype that also gets used frequently. The Manker Godmes T01 is similar to the X5 in that the reflector is virtually identical, but it too is a unique little 15400 light that I really like a lot.

My TexasLumens chopped 14500 MiniMag has a triple XP-L HI and as a twisty is an all time favorite with over 2000 lumens on tap. This one sports an engraved outline of the Great State of Texas and I also have a unique battery carrier that has a threaded lid that is itself the State of Texas, standing proud and unbelievably well done on a CNC machine by TexasLumens himself. :smiley: (another chopped MiniMag by Dan is micro chopped, using a half cell… the diminutive 14250, this one so small it was difficult to operate as a twisty so I made it a tail clicky.)

The Klarus Mi7Titanium is another 14500 of mine that is sleek and elegant and one of the few lights I own that is not modified in any way. That’s how much I like it! :slight_smile:

The UTorch UT01 is also quite special, in it’s own right…

And that all said, Rey’s Bronze pineapple light is another 14500 that I have left completely stock, a status not many lights that come my way get to keep. :smiley:

Olights S1A Baton in solid copper with a Rose Gold PVD coating even got modified with an emitter more to my liking in the tint region. A very sweet 14500 light though…

And yes, the Zebralight SC52 is unique enough to garner a permanent residence here.

I would be remiss if I didn’t say anything about Jaxman’s M2, I did modify it to use only 14500 cells as it now has an XHP-50.2 making just over 3000 lumens, terrific performance from a “penlight” , an outstanding 14500 light that is another cherished variant in my arsenal.

The 14500 format is alive and well over here, fear not! :slight_smile:

I have not tried the other small size lithium ion battery flashlights yet. I am waiting for the smoke to clear so to speak. I want to see which size turns out to be most efficient, cost effective, and reliable. I am not comfortable using the CR123 size rechargeable batteries currently available. I use as few primary type batteries as I can because batteries are a large source of pollution. Thanks for the info. I will take a look at some 16340 flashlight now.
:+1:

I have heard a lot of love directed about the Zebralight flashlight brand. I just can not allow myself to spend more than $50.00 for a flashlight or multi-tool. So i do not have any Zebralights or FourSevens. Sounds like you have a real nice selection of gear for EDC. I opted for the Lumintop edc05 instead of the Utorch UT01. I naively felt more comfortable thinking since it was a larger company than Utorch that I would be more likely covered by their warranty. I like the design of many Lumintop flashlights. And to date have never had any issues with my Lumintop flashlights. I think I would be person non grata with my wife if I owned 220 flashlights. I own about 15 different flashlights models and feel overwhelmed choosing which one to use. I do have multiple units of some. I do have a Klarus Mi7 ordered from Massdrop. I am going to give another go.
My 14500 flashlights are:

  1. Jetbeam MK-1
  2. Klarus Mi7
  3. Lumintop EDC05-Warm Tint
  4. Lumintop Tool AA V1
  5. Olight S15
  6. Olight S1A
  7. Sofirn SF14-Warm Tint
  8. Thrunite Archer 1A V3-Warm Tint
  9. Wuben E05
  10. Xtar 007-Most bluish tint I have seen in a name brand flashlight.

:slight_smile:

I like the designs of the Nitecore flashlights. The two negatives for me is their beam tints tend to be very cool white and of course the price. I have two Nitecore HC50’s headlamps I purchased on sale. They both have warmer tints. I have a Nitecore P16 18650 original version. These are great products.

What I don’t like about 16340 cells is their low capacity. You’re much better off with 18350 cells instead. Maybe there aren’t as many 18350 lights out there as there are 16340 lights, but some 18650 lights can be easily converted to 18350 lights by using short tubes, for example Convoy S2+ or BLF A6/Astrolux S1 or Emisar D4. An 18350 cell can also typically deliver more current than 16340.

For me getting the Zebra I really liked was cheaper than buying 5+ other lights, not being quite satisfied with them and going with ZL in the end anyway. If others work for you that’s good but I will say I feel more confident in the durability of my ZL over other lights I’ve owned or handled. At this point the only other EDC I’d really be interested in is a PFlexPro or if something totally new comes around.