I recently realized that I rely way too much on my cellphone's light so it is time to get a proper, small EDC flashlight that I can carry on me most of the time, perhaps on a keychain or just in my pocket. I have done a lot of reading on the subject with many open tabs in Chrome, but now my brain hurts and I can't think anymore so I decided to post my thoughts here for discussion.
Requirements:
Small (hence twisty type AAA)
Tailstand ability
No noticeable PWM, preferably none at all
High output >80 lumens
Good regulation (steady brightness even as voltage drops)
High and low modes for versatility
$25 or less, with international shipping
Nice to have:
Neutral white light (daylight)
10440 compatible, but mostly I will use LSD NiMH
Firefly mode or similar very low lumen around <5 lumen
Clip
Rather tighter beam with slight flood and further throw distance as opposed to shorter distance floody beam
Currently considering:
Tank007 E09 ~$15 on AliExpress
Thrunite Ti3 ~$20 plus shipping from Amazon
Fenix E05 2014 version ~$17 on AE
After writing this post I think there is no real reason to consider the Fenix E05 over the Tank007 E09. I do, however, like the fact that the Thrunite Ti3 is available in NW, comes with a clip, has a true firefly mode and a nice UI (always start on dim FF mode). This makes it a tough decision for me.
Feel free to add any other considerations, comments welcome.
I love my Tank, but it does exhibit PWM. The Fenix it replaced was great, almost as bright and no visible PWM. Not sure if the Fenix does 10440 (sister has it now), but for EDC 10440 compatibility is a must for me now that I’ve experienced the difference. Good hotspot and clean spill with both. Haven’t tried the Thrunite yet but a lot of folks here like it.
None of these tiny lights tailstand well so if that is a major need you might want to consider AA/14500 instead- they are much more stable when tailstanding.
It doesn’t satisfy all your requirements—
( it’s clicky, etc)
but I gotta say,
I can’t recommend strongly enough—the value of the SF-348
AAA light that also takes 10440’s, and is only $6 !
Dqg AAA's from gearbest one is a twisy and the other is a clicky but it's still way small (on my keychain now ) comes in a NW tint // the thrunites are nice little lights .. i think tailstanding is a bit of an odd thing to want in a keychain light ...and if it isn't a keychain light i'd jump up to really small AA just for runtime and sheer output numbers /tailstand etc
the 348 group buy with a nichia are easy to buy lights but no modes .. olight I 3 and preon po / atom might work
If i were you i'd figure out what you want the light for . if it's a key chain light than you probably want flood and if it's a pocket light you may want more throw or a brighter light
I can’t say much about pwm, I’m not really sensitive to it, but I like my tank. It is cheaper on fasttech too. I like my trustfire mini 01 more, way brighter,but it’s 16340, although there is a trustfire mini03 as well which uses aaa. Mini don’t tailstand…
Like I said, you are bound to spend lots of money on here….
Just get the Olight i3S EOS for around $20 - you will not be disappointed. Great quality light, AR lens, square cut threads, 10440 compatible, very compact, believe it does around 200 lumens with a 10440, no PWM that I’m aware of, excellent EDC. I have 2 x black ones (both on key chains) running Efest 10440s. Really an excellent light. My perfect EDC :).
I'm going to recommend the ThruNite Ti3. It's an amazing little light that meets all your requirements and can be had in NW tint. You won't regret it one bit. ;)
Just my further opinion on the Ti3 vs i3S… The Olight i3S EOS has better threading than the Ti3. The Ti3 is also not 100% 10440 ready. One has to add a small solder blob on the driver positive pad for proper connection. I’m using the flat top Efest 10440s. Button tops should not present the problem, but, I’m also not sure if button tops will be too long to use? Not a big issue, just saying. The i3S EOS is 10440 ready out of the box. I find with the Ti3, as soon as theres pressure on the threads, thus, when you install a battery, the head-turn-effect is not nice, its kind of sticky, turns more difficult than the Olight. The Olight’s head-turn-effect is very, very smooth. I did lube the threads on the Ti3, did not help a lot. Problem with the Olight is the tint. Not sure if you’ll find it in NW. Might be a problem.
Hmm that was what I was afraid of, I really dislike PWM, it’s just a personal thing but I hate it. Perhaps it is not so bad, but the point is I don’t really want it. Otherwise for the price the E09 seems like a great flashlight.
Thanks for the mention. For the price it seems really nice. However it is a bit long and heavier for EDC I think. In this area I already have a Hugsby XP-1 and Lumintop Tool AAA on the way.
Good point. I will probably actually not use it on my keychain much, I actually despise a big and bulky keychain and usually remove everything I don’t need. Therefore it will probably be in my pocket, but AA is just a big too big for me, I just really want something small and I think a twisty AAA will be perfect. I do want bright throw, but with a low output mode as well. It probably seems a bit silly. Perhaps my requirements will change once I actually use one for a while.
Thanks for your opinion, I see it is available on BG too for $18.4 with the anniversary coupon. Those efests are impressive, I’m trying to order some of them.
On paper this is the one I prefer right now. But I’m not going to order off Amazon, the shipping is too expensive, and I don’t find any other sites like BG GB AE etc that sells it, only on ebay for about $22.
Running well on Eneloops is important for me, because I don’t have 10440 yet and I’m not sure yet if I will be able to order the Efest batteries.
According to a review on another forum the Thrunite Ti3 was measure to output a steady ~150 lumens on Eneloops for aroung 17 minutes which is good for what I expect from a small, relatively bright flashlight.
According to this (comparison of Tank E09 vs i3s on AAA) I think I actually prefer the tank’s beam profile as well as the fact that it is brighter…
But probably on 10440 both i3s and Ti3 will be equally bright, direct driving the LED?
Are you planning on doing a direct driven mod? If so, the 2 lights should perform very much the same, both running XP-G2s and having very much the same setup. Standard, the 2 lights will not be DD with a 10440. I don’t have experience with the Tank E09 but I do own a TK-703. My opinion is that the Ti3, more so the i3s, is quite a bit more refined that the TK-703, but that said, it does not imply anything about ‘value for money’ - the tank may just be better in this category. Also, I’m not too fond of XP-E LEDs. I’d much prefer an XP-G2 above an XP-E especially if you’re planning on doing some mods.
I’ve threatened to mod my i3s for some time now, but have not gotten to it yet. I’ll do it in 2 steps. Just a dedome first, this should hopefully give a better tint with a nice addition in throw, then DD driver with 10mm sinkpad. Still need to source the sinkpad though.
Actually, that is not what I meant. I thought I read somewhere that many of these AAA flashlights automatically direct drives the LED when you use a 10440. Thanks for the clarification.
In any case, it appears the Thrunite Ti3 doesn’t really handle a 10440 well, I read of a few cases where it killed the light. But like I said I might just stay with normal NiMh batteries.
About the mods, you have made me curious, I should probably google it but do you have a good link for info on dedoming? Does this throw a brighter spot with less flood? Am I right in saying you should reach about 300 lumens with a 10440 direct driving the XP-G2?
I can’t really comment on prolonged 10440 use in the Ti3. My i3s is handling the 10440 very well, have been using it for longer than a year now. The 10440s obviously drains very quickly on high, but I’m willing to take the trade-off for maximum output. To counter this, carry a spare battery, change to a lower mode if needed, and just make sure to frequently have the battery charged.
Unfortunately not 1 resource that will satisfy all your questions, but, I’d recommend just doing a search on BLF for ‘best dedome’. You’ll find some good posts… Theres basically 2 common options: Using chemicals like fuel, which takes longer, or using heat, which is much quicker but possibly more risky in damaging the LED - what they call a ‘hot dedome’.
Correct. You normally loose around 10-20% of the light output (lumens) but you gain around 50-100% in light intensity, thus, the kcd figure will be 50-100% more than before a dedome. This translates to a more defined, more intense hotspot, with less flood, exactly as you say. Also look out for a shift in tint, which normally becomes warmer, which I prefer. The shift is normally around 1000-1500K down, thus a 6500K LED will drop down to probably around 5000-5500K. The biggest negative around dedoming is (normally) the introduction of greenish colours in the tint. This is not always the case and the ‘degree of green’ normally depends on which tint you start off with and how that specific LED/dedome turns out, bit of a gamble.
I believe you’ll get more around 500-600 lumens, that is for a short period of time if you take into consideration the capabilities & capacity of the Efest 10440 (choose the Efest 10440 V1 and look at its review) compared to what the XP-G2 LED requires to give the relevant output.