What are the requirements for your EDC?

LED Flashlights – General Info
41

1. Quality = Has to work all the time , every time .

2. Price = If you cant afford it ?

3. Modes = High Med Low ( Moon ) , discard or hide the flashy modes

4. Efficiency = Is it efficient with your battery of choice ?

5. I want AA = New technology , more development has resulted in much better AA lights

ATM my fav EDC is the C15A , this little light has become my flashlight of choice , I used to Love the L2's , but better made AA lights are making them a 2nd or 3rd choice .

Its getting to the point Im considering a " garage sale " for most of my single 18650 flashlights , I hardly use them anymore .

A few more years , a few LED updates , new tech , and the single 18650 might become redundant ( replaced by single and double AA lights )

I know , the single 18650 will offer more power , more throw , etc , but will it fit in your trouser pocket , will it be there when you need it ?

This is where single AA or AAA rule the roost , easy to EDC .

I have a small AAA on my keychain , and when I go out for a walk in the evening , the easy to pocket C15A goes with me .

( Parasitic drain has not been a issue with the C15A , it seems to go into hibernation mode and draws very little current )

42

1: As small as possible, no sharp edges.
2: 16850 cell so I can go weeks without recharging or changing cells.
3: Very bright (~500 lumen high) With good steps to medium and low moonlight would be nice
4: Zoomie so I get flood and throw.
5: No audible noise, no visible PWM
6: Good UI with no blinky or disco modes.

What I’m using now:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/UltraFire-12W-CREE-XM-L-T6-1000LM-LED-Zoomable-Zoom-Mini-18650-Flashlight-Torch-/310688922084?pt=US_Flashlights&hash=item485680b9e4

The size and high mode are good, the medium and low modes are not large enough steps down, and they make a high pitch whine.

43

My requirements…

1) Small (duh!)
2) Runs on a standard, everyday battery that can be bought at any corner drug store.
3) Has some throw (oddly enough, it needs throw because lights without it are A. too dim, and B. too small, which makes them uselessly floody in their lesser capacity). And, I like the offset of small-but-with-throw dynamic.
4) Has a clip.
5) Has one mode. No confusion or complexity needed for such devices, hence, the reason I carry my now three-year-old SK68.

44

There are many good replies to your 1st question so I will forgo that and answer the second.
I see only one reply to this question thus far.
I think a programmable UI would be a very good option if it was possible to program it via a mini USB or something similar so that more people could have the ability to tweak thier EDC to thier liking without the need to acquire a hardware specific programmer.

45

No, not really, as long as the flashlight has a low low with very good runtime. Programmable could even complicate the flashlight and make it less robust, depending on how it is done. Things like good lock out and simple interface is more important.

46

When I got my two brass lights, I actually made sure to hold them in my hand practically nonstop for the first day or two to give it a nice patina instead of being so shiny. I love the patina look, and would love more lights made from brass. Copper seems a bit too soft for EDC though, and I don’t like the green rust as much.

A little while ago I took a picture of the bare-metal lights I had at the time. This pic shows brass, steel, bare aluminum, and another steel light. Brass is pretty, steel is durable, and aluminum… well, it looks nice after a polish, but it dulls quickly and scratches easily. I’m not sure how titanium will hold up since I just got my first titanium light. IIRC, it’s weaker than steel per volume but stronger per weight, and a bit softer, so it’s much lighter but probably also easier to scratch. Anyway, I love how my artificially-aged brass light looks:

47

This would be great, but I don’t know how you could do it without adding size to the light.

48

A simple pin out could be soldered to the legs of the MCU.

49

How copper weathers: