What happened to all the 16340 flashlights?

I’m looking to replace my Fenix E16 on my keychain and not finding many good options. The output and runtime is sufficient for me on a single 16340 rechargable, and the size is ideal:

Length: 2.0” (51mm) Diameter: 0.7” (19mm) Head: 0.8” (21mm)

The only reason I’m replacing it is that its becoming unreliable. Can anything else come close to this nowadays? Anything AAA powered would be insufficient and anything AA powered is too long. Anything 18350 powered would be unnecessarily wider, but that might be the only option.

The Olight Baton could be nice if it had a keychain hole, but anything else I can find is from unknown brands that will likely have more reliability problems than my Fenix.

These 16340 lights seem to have fallen out of favor, but that baffles me because their output/runtime was sufficient and nothing smaller can compare. What am I missing?

Pictured: My Fenix E16 next to a 16340-powered Sofirn SC21 that’s 50% lodget and a Lumintop Tool AA thats twice as long.

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Sc13a.
16340 lights can mostly be found at
The VHS Warehouse in Area 51.
(They just aren’t popular)

You might look closer at specs on current AA lights. My AA lights outperform what I used to use in 16340 when it was so popular several years ago, by a long shot.

I don’t doubt it, but my problem with AAs is the length

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Ouch!

Wow that E16 is tiny in comparison. I know you want 16340, but take a look at the Wurkkos TS10 if you haven’t already. It’s actually slightly shorter than that SC21 and definitely skinnier.

The E16 is discontinued. What do you think of the E18R?

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Compact twisty light seem to have fallen out of favour for e-switch lights.

There are not many options in the AAA, AA or CR123 format currently.

It’s a little dated but perhaps the Jetbeam Jet-IIMK?

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How about this little fella?

Just a centimeter longer than yours
63.2 x 22.3 x 21.9 mm

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The E16 is one of my favorite lights, I regret not purchasing duplicates.A tiny footprint that takes up minimal pocket real estate, and has really good runtimes in it’s lower modes. And while far from HiCri, it competes fairly well, in my opinion . t’s a popular light among my coworkers as well. The only failures experienced have been contact related, the black disc over the battery + contact mostly conceals the drivers negative contact path. Careful cleaning has removed the intermittent issues . The trend towards larger and brighter lights has had the unexpected benefit of saving me money, as I prefer the smaller lights.
Another choice that I’ve recently seen as carry, while discontinued, but still available ,is the floody and marginally longer Sunwayman T16 R.

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It might just need to be cleaned. Can be as simple as wiping the end of the tube with a dry paper towel… If you see a dark ring on the paper towel after wiping the tube, you probably fixed the problem.

congrats!
Ive had similar success when my AAA Twisty Maratac became unreliable… it was excess lube that contaminated the end of the body tube, and the contact ring in the head…

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I found 17 options for you that were reviewed between 2022 and today. Some are small and interesting. :

Brand Model Review date Links
Gift Glow A1 2023-08-31 Gift Glow A1 Reflector Flashlight Review - ZeroAir Reviews
Olight Baton Turbo (SFT-25R) 2025-01-01 Olight Baton Turbo Orange Flashlight Review - ZeroAir Reviews
Olight Baton Turbo (SFT-25R) 2024-09-16 Olight Baton Turbo review | Small EDC thrower with 510m beam distance | 1Lumen
Olight Baton Turbo (SFT-25R) 2024-09-14 Olight Baton Turbo Review – EDC Thrower Excellence – Grizzly's Reviews
Olight Baton Turbo (SFT-25R) 2024-09-14 Olight Baton Turbo Flashlight Review - ZeroAir Reviews
Reaver Arms Citadel 2022-02-11 Reaver Arms Citadel Flashlight Review - ZeroAir Reviews
Fenix E18R V2.0 2022-08-30 Fenix E18 v2 review | EDC Flashlight with 1,200 lumens | 1Lumen
Fenix E18R V2.0 2022-07-24 Fenix E18R V2.0 Review (1200 Lumens, 16340, USB-C) – LiquidRetro.Net's Reviews
Gift Glow EDC Dawn Titanium 2022-08-16 Gift Glow EDC Dawn review | Titanium fidget flashlight | 1Lumen
Surefire EDC1 DFT 2024-04-24 Surefire EDC1 DFT Review — Everyday Commentary
Cyansky M23R 2024-09-14 https://youtu.be/I5tDtppxjKQ
4sevens/FOURSEVENS Mini Turbo Mk. III (Ti) 2023-08-20 https://www.everydaycommentary.com/
Nitecore MT1C Pro (UHi 20) 2024-08-30 Nitecore MT1C Pro review | Tactical style EDC flashlight with 18350 | 1Lumen
Nitecore MT1C Pro (UHi 20) 2024-07-17 Nitecore MT1C Pro Flashlight Review - ZeroAir Reviews
Nitecore MT1C Pro (UHi 20) 2024-07-06 Nitecore MT1C Pro Review – Mini Pocket Thrower – Grizzly's Reviews
Fenix PD25R 2022-08-31 Fenix PD25 review | 16340 Tactical EDC light with 800 lumens | 1Lumen
Armytek Prime C1 Pro 2024-03-22 Armytek Prime C1 Pro Review – The Lite Review
Sofirn SC21 Pro 2022-08-05 Sofirn SC21 Pro Flashlight Review - ZeroAir Reviews
NEXTORCH TA15 V2 2024-04-03 https://youtu.be/PIR6lOEJF0s
NEXTORCH TA20 2024-01-29 NEXTORCH TA20 Tactical Torch Review :: Tim McMahon
NEXTORCH TA20 2023-09-29 NEXTORCH TA20 review | Small tactial flashlight with 1,000 lumens | 1lumen.com
NEXTORCH TA20 2023-05-05 https://zeroair.org/2023/05/05/nextorch-ta20-portable-tactical-flashlight-review/
Fenix TK05R 2024-09-04 Fenix TK05R review | Small tactical flashilght with 1000 lm |1Lumen
Sunwayman V11R revolution (XM-L2) 2023-12-15 Sunwayman V11R Revolution review | Wolfgirl Reviews
(no name) X24 2025-01-13 I bought a bunch of cheap flashlights from AliExpress - Thoughts
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When I look at the lengths of what is currently available, I appreciate the E16 even more. While a niche light, it’s impressively tiny.

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123A in particular has fallen of of favor as li-ion can easily deliver more power without significant recurring expense. The CR2 formfactor seems to have winked out earlier.

My sole carry today is a Fenix E16. Since early 80’s I’ve carried CR123 pocket lights. Carried the Tekna Splash-Lite back then. I remember several folks back then stating that the CR123 was all but dead as a cell.

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Glad I found some fellow E16 enthusiasts in this thread!

I appreciate all the suggestions, and I imagine I’ll have to settle on something, but in my view they’re all inferior to the E16. The Fenix E18 v2 is 33% longer than the E16. Even the Cyansky, the shortest one mentioned, is 25% longer.

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I use rechargeable 16340 lithium ion cells in it

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There is still the Cyansky M3. But my example was horribly blue. The bezel is press fit, so I broke the lens and removed it, replaced the emitter and lens with SST and sapphire watch lens. Much nicer. Titanium does add weight. It’s basically the E16 in titanium with a reflector

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The only thing stopping me from trying the Cyansky or Olight Baton is that they don’t have a small keychain hole. I’m looking for something without a clip to use on my keys.

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What did you use for cleaning, compressed air? It seems clean and I’ve wiped everything accessible down already.

sorry that did not help

What kind of unreliability are you dealing with… does it happen with a new battery?