and I really need a small keychain (AAA or smaller?) light. I need it for 2 reasons:
1) Power goes out at least every other month…pretty unsettling in a prison situation. I can’t alway be by my desk to retrieve my standard flashlight, so I need one I can carry and won’t forget…ie…attached to my keychain.
2) I would also like one for self defense purposes…so I need it to be painfully bright, and perhaps with some sort of self-defense style bezel…believe some people call them ‘Klingon bezels’…lol.
Of course…all on a budget. I work for the prison system!
What are your thoughts on the most appropriate light? Is a AAA LED the ticket?
imho, no, AAA is not the ticket. at a minimum (for painfully bright), 14500. xeno e03 comes to mind, though you might prefer something that starts on HIGH
There is a light in DX that has an intimidating bezel. You might actually stab someone with it, but it IIRC takes an 18650, so it might be too big for keychain EDC.
Perhaps a Crelant V11A (1xAA) or a V31A (1xCR123 or 16340) will fit your needs?
BTW, what’s the cause of the frequent black outs? Just curious.
I'd suggest moving up to a AA to get more output (and run a 14500 for max output). There is the well loved Balder SE-1 from a US seller for $24.99 and in neutral white (extension also available there to run on 2 AA's). Rated 325 lumens on high on a 14500. This won't mount on a keychain though, but has a clip. An alternative is the Balder HD-1 which should be able to be put on a keychain (but might need the ring to do so). Rated 448 lumens on a 14500. I myself am considering the HD-1 for keychain duty. There are reviews here on both. The HD-1 seems harder to find (I had a hard time finding you a link). Not a lot of runtime if you want a bright light on AA / AAA! Do you want/need strobe? Neither of these has strobe.
I reckon a clip would work ok…probably easier to access. I could clip it to the inside of my pocket. I don’t like having items hanging where they can be easily taken.
Do any of these lights start on high or have memory that will allow it to do so?
ryansoh3: Not sure why lights tend to go out. We are in a very rural area, and lights tend to go out pretty often all across the area. Lots of blinking clocks around here.
The Balder's start on High with no memory (at least after being off 10 seconds or so). I am on the search for a AA keychain light and find some are just too long for keychain duty. I like the looks of that Crelant, but it's a bit too long for me. Oh, and International Outdoor has the Balder HD-1 available in neutral white for $1.99 more.
Bought 7 Ti so far from Ebay, averages out to $8.50. Easy to get on HI. I understand can run on 10440, then it’s really bright! Most importantly, AAA form is small so it’s in the pocket always, could be used as last resort for self-defense like keys. Cheap enough, buy a few for spares.
Safe use and safe storage and safe charging and making sure other people dont try to put them in something else, not leaving them in flashlights if not in use, not having flat batteries for long periods, not having fully charged batteries for long periods, etc etc…
Its not something I was told when I was recommended my first flashlight here, and there was no mention of any of it in this thread either. I was told “get this and that” without knowing what I was getting myself in to.
It's the "blindingly bright" part of it and "self-defense" part of it, that worries me. You don't get blindingly bright till you get to something like a full 3amps on an XM-L and you don't see that in Any key chain light, or even any single AA light.
There's a big difference from a little light that irritates the eyes and a bigger light that literally will hurt and confuse an attacker.
AAA and AA won't cut it, unless you are talking aboutthe newest 4AA lights that are coming out. That is way far away from Key chain or even belt clip. It is more like holster carry for sure. Nothing I see listed here, so far, is Blindingly bright, not even close.
OP, if you are looking for a mega bright key chain light, there are none. You need about 750-1000 lumens to blind someone to the point that they can't just move and get around you. 500 lumens is uncomfortable and makes you want to move out of the beam, but 1000 lumens hurts the eyes and makes you not be able to see anything for a few seconds. At least that's my feeling.
It sounds like you want the kind of incapacitating light needed to stop someone cold for a second or two and nothing small will do that. If you want self-defense, you need mace or a taser stick, or a night stick. Those sharp bezels will just anger an already angry and desperate animal.
Perhaps I’m a little too hopeful of having blinding light in that small a package. How about as bright as possible?
I know there will be no perfect light and I will have to find a balance. I don’t think I can get away with the Ugly Stick recommendation (over 17” long), as the Warden would certainly look at me quite funny…lol
So…revising my search, I would like to have a clip light, not too large (is that a flashlight in your pocket or are you just happy to see me), starts on high, perhaps w/a defense style bezel.
Also, garrybunk asked if I wanted a strobe setting…would a strobe be effective in disorienting an attacker?
I think the members here should recommend P60 style lights that have a good belt clip, such as Solarforce, with a E1320 drop in. A P60 style light can usually cover both small and bright enough to blind. Solarforce are well made and dependable. The "budget" lights are many times, nothing more than "cheap". I would trust a Solarforce over most of the budget lights out there.
Other members here will know more about Solarforce. I know they have defense bezels and high powered drop ins can be had for not very much money.
I'm just a maglite guy, but Foy would know all about Solarforce and so do others here.
