As 16340s are dimensionally similar to 123As - especially with a protection circuit - adapting drivers to Li-ion ranges was an obvious means of extending the market lifespan of those offerings. But I expect them to remain fairly niche as the popularity of Li primaries seems to have peaked some time ago, and inbuilt cells - often arbitrarily-sized/proportioned pouch-encapsulated - are taking over all the things.
An option you could consider is epoxying a keyring attachment point to the tailcap.
Frequently the light won’t come on. I can eventually get it to come on by unscrewing and re-screwing the head. But then the problem happens again several hours later. This happens on multiple fully charged batteries.
After a bit more googling, I stumbled into the Cyansky M3 which does have a lanyard hole. Seems to be discontinued as well though
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256803613208833.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt
I don’t prefer the right angle form factor, but Olight did retain the lanyard hole in their Perun Mini 2:
I had a light that did that… turned out the negative side of my batteries were dirty…
After cleaning the battery and tailspring with alcohol the light worked normally again… I hope youre so lucky
The Trustfire MT10 is a tiny 16340 light with a 1000 lumen pure white beam. Only con is the hold for on/off UI.
TS10 for scale
Aha! Thats the one I saw recently and couldn’t remember where/what brand to post it. Was wracking my memory trying to remember where’d seen a current production compact 16340 light recently.
UI isn’t a con, especially for this thread, if you’re coming from Fenix, since that is their standard UI!
(And its far superior to the stupidity of click on/off anyway
)
Great recommendation!! There also appears to be a Trustfire MC1 thats even shorter, although hard to find reviews of that one.
Should I still be scared of the “fire” batteries that come in the trustfire?
There is a Cyansky M3 up on the " E " auction site . Bit expensive, imo.
Also saw a old run, Four Sevens Mini being offered up, if anyone is looking
Any thoughts on what to make of all the “TrustFire Store” and “TrustFire Official Store” pages on Aliexpress?
TrustFire Official Store 5476224 Open since Dec 5, 2019
TrustFire Official Store 1102597392 Open since Feb 2, 2023
TrustFire Store 1104069204 Open since Aug 2, 2024
Are any/all of them legit?
Thanks for all the recommendations - I ordered both the 62 mm long TrustFire MT10 and the 55mm long TrustFire MC1. I’ll update this thread when they arrive.
The 67mm long Fenix E18r is a bit longer, but if I’m not happy with either of the TrustFires then I’ll try it next.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on those. I like the 16340 format, and in theory 16650 but I’ve never had one. I’m slowly building my own 16340 light.
Yes I agree single use cells are largely redundant with availability of rechargeable; however, if one wants to avoid built -in cells, it seems to me the keychain offerings in order of size are 10180, 10280(?), 10440/AAA, 16350, 14500/AA, it is a shame for the number of available options to be reducing if 16350 lights are becoming extinct.
I dont think so, I have used the trustfire battery without any issues so far.
Exactly!! I want more runtime than a 10440/AAA and 14500/AA is a bit too long. Surprised there’s not more interest in stubby keychain lights.
Well, there are plenty of keychain lights with a Lipo and USB C charging inside like this one:
A lot of people don’t want to bother charging a LiIon outside the light or have a charger that has a current small enough to not kill the cell quickly.
Since I’m in the US, I may not get the TrustFires after all due to the package block from China…
A few trustfire sellers on Ebay claim US locations.
One for instance (I just picked the one with the most sales/high percentage good feedback, I have not used this one, I’ve only used one that is in China. )
Now, I waited 2 months for an item recently that I made damn sure I was ordering from a US address, so it would be faster to arrive, from Texas, and the jerk had it drop shipped from China… or is in China. But I’m better the former, as I think Ebay would be screening seller addresses to get seller locations. But anyway, actual location of the item can be suspect apparently…
But Ebay is a whold hell of a lot easier to deal with to file a claim and cancel a lost or refused shipment than Aliexpress etc.
You can also probably sort Amazon by location as well… (I dont know, I avoid them) Probably with the same caveat of item vs seller locations. Although I’d bet anything listed as shipped from/fullfilled by Amazon will be physically stateside.
Good luck!