What are the best AAA keychain lights in 2021

LOL, I was going to give the OP one if he wanted one. I knew you probably had a box full of them. :smiley:

That’s what I thought was so strange, like, “Hey Bezos, need a few bux for lunch?”.

Figured I’d be polite anyway. :laughing:

I’d like to add to the list Jaxman i2. And the classic, DQG Tiny.

I am still satisfied with the light that has been my EDC for four years now, the AstroLux A01 AAA Nichia 219B High CRI. Pros: small as the dickens, neutral tint, and high-CRI. Cons: Not sure about durability or ruggedness, but mine is still humming along. Claims 100 lumens, but probably more like 70 or 80.

I value CCT near 5000K and high CRI. For EDC, I like tiny.

Which of the new keychain flashlights feature high CRI?

regarding: …Flashlights as gifts to “normals”…

posted previously in another thread: the Amazon, FedEx, UPS, USPS, etc.
delivery personnel sure do appreciate flashlights as gifts during the winter.

Waouw thanks for all your answers.

This forum is very active and the members are very helpful, that's really cool.

Finally, my old Fenix E99Ti is still average of what is currently being done. Except its beam which has a really horrible bluish tint.

Since about 6 years I have the E99, I thought there were now new leds adapted to AAA that can give more light/runtime by requiring less power. But no.


So I knew you would give me suggestions that I never would have found on my own, even looking for years lol

The Jaxman i2 and the Skilhunt E3A (I also love the slate gray!) are my fav. I will start with these 2 and buy them both !

(Sofirn C01S BLF is also interesting for its high CRI .... The Astrolux A01 have a nice design .... Hmmm I think my AAA collection will grow quickly, I will avoid coming here too often. Maybe that's what @Turkeydance was trying to tell me lol)

Thanks again everyone for your help !

The Thrunite Ti3 goes on a pretty good sale sometimes, and even at full price isn’t a deal breaker. I have the older version on my keys right now which is ever so slightly smaller but the newer ones seem to have better twisty contact. I picked up a handful to swap LEDs and compare, head to head, the various high CRI options out there. EASY to swap the leds and great little keychain lights. Another good budget option would be the Sofirn C01 and C01S.

Personally, I would love to see the old LRI Photon Microlights get a refresh with some of these high CRI 5mm LEDs. If I could find any that were in the 15 degree range I’d do a retrofit myself.

It's a good place, good people, and that seems to have held true for nearly a decade now!

Enjoy the new lights. I think longer run times could be had with some emitters but with the low capacity of AAA size there isn't a lot that can be done, and some have moved in favor of increasing lumens a little rather than taking the longer run times. The emitters that have a little lower forward voltage show bigger gains at higher outputs I think. Actually taking a look at some of these lights mentioned I might have to pick up one or two...I'd gotten rid of AAA in favor of AA/14500 but there's just something cool about tiny lights that can still punch above their size. I also noticed that a) Ultratac doesn't appear to be so healthy in the market right now...I wonder if they'll still be around in the future, and b) the K18 I mentioned appears to apply to the regular light and also a much smaller mini version (I had no idea the mini existed).

If your heart is not set on aaa or replacable batteries, the seeknite S11…or an S11 under multiple brand lables is a good keychain light. They are fairly cheap, and have a 350mah li-ion battery. It is an amazing 400 lumens on high, and has a magnetic tail and some usable side lights along with gimmicky police like blinkies. For the money the S11 is hard to beat. I have no idea who actually makes them, but I just ordered 3 more to add to the 3 I already have for 12 bucks and change each. These were on ali express with no brand name attached. They are the same though, and even the box is identical. The seeknite does not actually have their name on the light anywhere. It requires a double click to turn it on to prevent accidental activation in the pocket.

the Ti3 is on sale again and that link includes a modding tutorial.

I agree they are great hosts for High CRI upgrades

the microlights are easy to swap in High CRI Yuji or the 5mm LEDs rngwn sells

Is it modding friendly? Could be a nice target for a 219B if the optics works well with it.

Good values:

Fenix E01 V2
Thrunite Ti3 with neutral tint

I like these lights because of their reliable switches, their quality, their mode choices, and their tints. And they are a good value for the price, especially when you can use coupon/sale prices.

imo no, the Skilhunt E3a, Olight i3e and Thrunite Ti2, are not moddable,
but there are people with more skills than mine

afaict they are all the same single mode light, whose pill is plastic. The mcpcb is held on by a deformed plastic post… that would be the disassembly and reassembly issue…

the pill does unscrew without drama, if you want to inspect the assembly…

The Thrunite Ti2 is on sale two for $6… they are also having a sale for $6 for the 3 mode Ti3 V2, which IS easily moddable.

I prefer 3 modes, but the single mode is more muggle friendly, and smaller.

.

glad you are enjoying your little lights…

here is a size comparison to one of those thumb style lights

[QUOTE=luipermom]

- Nitecore Tiki (not AAA, but lovely too)

- Olight i3E-Cu EOS

  • Thrunite Ti3 Ti V1

[/QUOTE]

Thank you, Jon. My i3E modding success ratio is 1/2. It was worth to kill one. Problem is not swapping itself, but the tiny contacts of the Luxeon TX. Too easy to bridge the pad, so it took longer than usual. Too long in one case.

The Skilhunt has an XP-L pad, right?

To me, size and single mode UI are key elements of a good keychain light.

Jaxman i2 is probably the smallest modding friendly AAA light.

Too long, but it has a shelf :+1: .

I do not know, no Skilhunt experience

the Ti3 uses XP-G2 but has 3 modes.

the single mode lights were discussing are 90 lumen lights… so, faster battery consumption, but I agree sometimes just one mode is enough

It’s just right for finding the keyhole and such things. One twist and there’s enough light. No need to lock and unlock it. The poor man’s RRT-01, limited edition ;-).

that is why I’m carrying a Maratac (MLH), and not carrying a Ti3 (LMH), that lives in the bathroom.


One twist and I get Medium of 20 lumens of High CRI.

I prefer the deep carry clip, instead of adding weight to my keychain.

This being BLF and someone having mentioned cheap giveaway lights above, there’s these:

Normally 3/$9, they go on sale at 3/$6 all the time, with free shipping if you’re a meh member, so I got 3 a while ago.

They are a little bit larger than the typical Arc-style 1aaa light but still very pocketable, thinner than any 1aa light I’ve seen. They have just one level and I like that simplicity. I don’t know the lumen level but it is fairly substantial, maybe 30 lumens? I similarly haven’t tested runtime or power consumption.

QC is not the greatest. I’ve only opened one of my three and it seems fine, but other users have complained about bad machining etc. They also say it eats batteries. I put an L92 lithium cell in one and it seems to have lasted for a while, but that doesn’t mean much. When that runs out I’ll probably use an eneloop.

Each light comes with a little carabiner ring that is insanely heavy for its size. I removed it immediately.

The lanyard/keychain attachment is kind of weird. There is a small leather loop permanently attached to the light tail. It seems reasonably sturdy but I don’t remember encountering anything like it before.

I haven’t weight the light but will do so when I get a chance. Basically it is a few grams heavier and a few mm larger than it really needs to be, but it is still quite usable. I like to carry my edc light in the watch pocket of my jeans and this light fits fine there, where a 1aa light is uncomfortable.

Anyway, at $2 each, they are hard to beat.