*rubs eyes*
…
Reminds me of that time someone tried to sell me half a dozen eggs, I said no, because I only wanted six.
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AI china bot is AI china bot?
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The generic responses appear to support that hypothesis.
Feed it some “information”:
A very popular EDC light is the BLF GT due to the long runtime, side switch, neutral LED and keychain attachment 
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Thanks for sharing, gravelmonkey! I also agree that ultra-compact designs have gradually disappeared in some flashlight markets, especially when higher battery capacities are required. The DQG flashlights are a great example of a compact design, which makes many 18650-powered lights look bulky. As for Skilhunt headlamps, their lightweight design is definitely something I appreciate. However, ultra-compact designs do present challenges like heat dissipation and battery capacity, so I aim to find a balance between portability and performance in my design. As for e-switches, I think they definitely help reduce the size and offer more streamlined operation. Looking forward to more discussions on ultra-compact designs!
Most power for big runtime is 5 × 32650 ultrafire cells in parallel, to power the best single CREE R2 LED. Circuit board should be exposed to air for maximum cooling, and switch should be aviation toggle switch with red safety covers.
Oh my god, finally I can talk!!! Why do some people think I’m a bot? Just because I reply to everyone? But come on, I really think what you guys are saying makes sense! That’s why I politely reply to everyone!!!
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Haha, ToyKeeper, you’ve got a great sense of humor! Of course, I get what you’re saying, not every piece of advice needs to be fully adopted. I just want to hear different perspectives during the design process to optimize things better. This doesn’t mean I’ll take every suggestion as it is; I’ll still make adjustments based on actual needs. That’s why I gave such a reply! Thanks for your understanding and feedback, my friend!
Some of us here do type as you do, when the situation requires it. However, you seem to be exhibiting signs that you’ve fed our answers into chat GPT, and are trying to train it to trawl the forums to do market research for you. Just speak to us extemporaneously, we’re all real people here. Well, I dunno about Toykeeper, might be some high level AI in human form…@toykeeper I totally have a nerd crush on your firmware design.
I think we scared it away…
20W output is already a lot! Faster output would not be necessary and would age the battery faster.
I don’t see how 2 18650 cells can fit in the space specified: they are 130mm long in series and 36mm wide in parallel. What am I missing?
2000lm from a SFT25R is completely infeasible. With optical losses, around 1500 is all you can hope for.
If you are aiming for efficiency at high drive currents (implied by the 2000lm aim), the SFT25R is not the best choice–the higher power density absolutely eats efficiency. SFT40 would be more appropriate and can actually attain 2000lm even with optical losses.
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There have been polls here in the past and the largest number of people carried either a keychain light or aa size stuff as an EDC. I seem to recall it was probably less than 25% who carried something in the 18650 range.
So the most important feature is related to size.
How and where you’re going to carry it is also relevant and related to size. Examples are, front pants pocket, shirt pocket, cargo pocket, pouch / bag, jacket pocket (implies outdoor night time use in many cases) or other.
My front pants pockets are dedicated to other items so that’s not an option.
I carry my primary EDC in a horizontal belt pouch. It needs to be 100 mm Max and a very good thrower.
I carry my secondary EDC clipped in a cargo pocket. It is an 18650 90° headlight with a very floody beam. It has a magnet in the tail and a very good clip for many different hands-free options. That is a high priority.
There is nothing out there where I can get enough throw and enough flood in a single light and still keep the package relatively small.
So for me one is not enough.
So size matters, they need to be waterproof and overall rough and tumble ready, have easy button access with gloves without looking, warm high CRI for all weather conditions, a reasonable UI, , on board charging is a bonus.
There is no perfect single EDC.
Obviously other specialized lights need to be available outside of the EDC category.
It’s pretty straightforward for me. I’m retired, and I’m always home unless I’m out getting groceries, so the main reason an EDC exists is to give me light to safely move through the house to reach a “real” flashlight or lantern when the power goes out unexpectedly. So, that means:
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Small and light enough to go on my keychain without adding a lot of noticeable extra weight or bulk in my pocket
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Simple On/Off UI that is dead simple to use by feel in complete darkness (‘twist the head to turn on’ works well for me.)
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Capable of giving me a comfortable amount of light for walking around in a pitch-black house (say 100 lumens) for a reasonable amount of time to get a real flashlight (say 5-10 minutes just to be on the conservative side.)
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As this is a light that won’t be used very frequently, I would prefer a design that took either AAA or AA lithium primaries, as these have a very long shelf life and I don’t have to worry about constantly checking the charge level of my EDC’s battery.
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There’s a certain consistency to the responses. It not completely AI then perhaps using it to assist in the analysis/response or using a template of some sort.
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Idle! I’ve missed you buddy
I’ve been around here for years. The other place not so much so.
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I like the other place because I can be an absolute trash…I like this place because most of the influence on and resources of reliable manufacturers, no gatekeeping BS.
Nobody’s going to agree on battery size, end vs side switch, CCT, UI, USB charging, aux lights etc etc.
One thing I do value in an EDC light is a battery indicator, I like to be able to tell if the battery needs to be swapped or charged without having to test it with a DMM. Ideally something that can be seen at a glance.
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All is invented long time ago. The best EDC light is your smartphone.
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Let the games begin! 