fw3d. After I etched it I’ve been digging it. I still think 18650 lights are a bit big for pocketing/edc’ing all the time but everything else about them hits the mark.
Just yesterday I received the blf muscle combo. The mc13 is the first throwy light to pique my interest in ages. I’m thinking of finding/making a lens cap for it and keeping it in the ute.
My top two are FF5 and K1 90.2 The FF5 is virtually the same size of a TN42, but with a smaller diameter head. But it is quite a bit more powerful at 10,000 Lumens and 1.2Mlux. The K1 90.2 doesn’t have the extreme throw of the oslon variants, but still gives significant throw at 420Klux and 4500 Lumens. Also the K1 is a single cell light with onboard USB-C charging making it compact and convenient.
I have purchased 13 different models/manf. LED lights in 2020, but the one that brought the most performance value, is the Sofirn SC31 Pro(mine is 5k temp).
$28, including battery, and free magnetic tail cap, is a steal for what you get.
2020 purchases:
Olight BALDR RL and BALDR Mini weapon lights
Olight S2R2 Cu; i5T Cu; original Warrior X
Sofirn SP40; SC31 Pro; SD05; LT1
Lumintop Tool AA; (Drop buy)AAA Blue Ti; ED20-T
Wowtac A6
No 2020 flashlight can come close to my Nitecore MH20 NW which sadly died after falling from about 1m. I’m negotiating a repair with Nitecore as nothing can come close to the balance of form factor, simple UI, well spaced modes, efficiency and most importantly a mature beam profile of MH20.
Love my MH20 and MH20GT as well but think that the Lumintop EDC18 has replaced them in my heart. As far as the comment upthread on 18650 being too big for EDC, Lumintop has a shorty tube available that Neals Gadgets ran 300 of that takes the 18350 size, effectively shrinking it down in 1/2 for sensitive and small pockets.
The only ambivalence on my part is having a tailcap magnet. I appreciate that it can stick to the van roof and with a diffuser give my wife hours of decent reading light into the wee hours when camping, but I generally don’t want magnets brushing up on my $250 key fobs, memory sticks and other small electrically sensitive things I might stick in my pocket.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but magnets do not affect USB drives and SD cards; neither do they affect the function of car key security chips and remotes. At least from anecdotal experience, strong neodymium magnets sitting next to my USB drive, memory cards, and car keys (remote and keyless entry) have yet to cause any problems. Neither does it affect the chip on my credit cards, however the magnetic stripe on the back is vulnerable. Also zero effect on my RFID key card for work.
I’m not sure which ones (if any) were released this year or not but the lights I bought this year that I’ve used the most are the KR1/W1, the FW4A/XPL HI 3D and the FT03/XHP50.2, in that order.
My Boruit D-25 headlight was used more than any other this year- mostly out in the gardens at night (picking squash bugs- sexy right?) But I also WILL use the heck out of it hunting this year too as I need two hands to gut a deer shot right after dark I REALLY like the WIDE flood for close-up work, but it also throws quite nice too. The Sofirn version has a nicer tint and for a few more bucks is worth getting lately at $15.
But the IF25a has been my EDC for about everything else since May when it came out. And now that it’s cold out, it makes a great little hand warmer
My wife LOVES her SC31 Pro and uses it daily for early (dark) morning walks with the dog. Both it and and IF25A stand by the back door with a USB C charger cord always dangling.
Although technically it came out last year, the LT1 has been used (two of them) on each bed stand when not out camping. I thought I’d never give up my Coleman gas lanterns but the LT1 is a game changer and we had no idea we’d end up putting them on our night stands!
Wow now that’s a tough question. For raw power, the Imalent MS18 I got is pretty sick. I also got my first 2000K light - Noctigon KR4 - which I love. Acebeams W10 and W30, Fire Foxes FF5…
The lights that i usually grab are the Baton Pro in blue (got Dec 27), S1R Baton II Blue for the donation sale in April, then i’ll keep a D4/KR4 variant also. I enjoy carrying multiple lights on any occasion!