What kind of mini EDC flashlight do you like?

Commercial Sellers' Spot
21

There are different address auditory for mini EDC FL.

For one of them, mEDC used for typicall fast works, where no high light output or runtaim required. So, they are looking for builtin flat FL, or AAA.
For other, size have matter, but runtime and amount of light - too.

As for me, i think would be nice reincarnation of old Trustfire Z1 with XTAR quality and features.

At first, it is very compact, not as AAA but close.
16340 is not bad, may be 18350 with close size if possible.

Good feature -* i can dismount reflector and receive 100% floody light against true thrower with it.* Yo should only provide additional glass inside to protect led in this case
I can use it with head strips as headlamp. And even with any lent.

At stock there are no magnet inside, but i add one.

The main problem is old XP-E inside and bad driver with hi-lo mode.

So such FL would be nice with new led 4000-5000k HiCri and CC regulated driver. Of corse with LVP and overtermal protection
UI:
Anduril, but if not - something like manker. One mode for click&hold which could be adjusted with memory (from 0.1 lumen up to high), and lo(30)-mid(90)-hi(200) in main line, turbo(400-600) for double click as example.

22

I would study the RoviVon line. The masters of the mini flashlights.
Any of them, with exception of the 21700 are examples of mini lights perfection.
I carry one in my necklace, another in the keychain, and the E300S in my back pocket.

Say hello to David for me, will’ya?.

Cheers.

23

Single mode AAA keychain light used on a keychain, ano be damned. 2 Thrunights and one Olight. Last ditch lights only. When working, I throw a Thorfire TG06S in the same pocket with keys, again ano be damned. When home with nothing in my pocket, Emisar D4. Small enough to EDC and still can light up the lawn for short bursts. Never use clips for either lights or guns. Pocket carry only. I can’t stand things attached to my belt or pocket. Jet 1-MK sometimes takes the place of D4.

24

I picked up a Zanflare f3 a few years ago literally because it was dirt cheap, and I worked in construction. I just wanted a cheap light, and I was curious if it would hold up. And if not, it was like $7.

That light is still in the side loop of my Leatherman Surge sheath, and has been all over the country as I was OTR truck driver of about a year.

It is a little wonky in that I need to really screw the tailcap down tight, but it’s been an excellent light. I have most definitely gotten my $7 worth.

I did recently pick up the Folomov EDC c1 in brass as a small pocket light. I’m liking it. It’s almost too small, but works just fine. I’m contemplating fabricating or modifying a two way clip so I can carry it bezel down, and maybe attaching something to put a lanyard on.
Maybe if I do that, I’ll post it.

25

Perhaps you should put ‘keychain’ in the title rather than edc, people are starting to show their favourite small edc, when the actual question is about a mini keychain light.

26

Lets examine some of the competition and I will suggest my idea of improvements

starting on the right
the smallest light, the brown Olight i3e has one mode of 100 lumens
It is Low CRI
uses a TiR

1. you could make it better using HIGH CRI and the output of about 15 lumens, keep the TiR

I dont like colors that are hard to see such as brown, prefer yellow, orange, red, or purple. Or better yet, build a Titanium host.

.
next is the black Thrunite Ti3
it has 3 modes, always starts on the lowest, which is an ultra low double digit sublumen (firefly)
It is Low CRI
uses as reflector

2. you could make it better using HIGH CRI and make the medium mode come on first, with a TiR lens.

I dont like black, prefer yellow, orange, red, or purple. . Or better yet, build a Titanium host.

…

on the left is a Sofirn C01, has one mode of 7 lumens, and is High CRI with a wide floody beam

3. you could make it better by making it shorter, and made of Titanium

.

Here is a Titanium version of the C01 design. It sells for $150… if you can sell me one for $25, I would buy.

4. You could make it better by changing the tail to allow a tritium marker. I would pay an extra $10 if you install the tritium for me. Please use the Acqua Blue.

.
Here is a Volsion SP11

it is Low CRI and made of Stainless Steel
I post it so you can see an example of a tail that allows a tritium.

5. You could make it better by making it High CRI, Titanium, use a pebble TiR, and knock the sharp corners off the keyring attachment cutouts.

.

Here is a Lumintop EDC01

it is Low CRI, with a Pebble Tir, that I like
and includes a clip, that I like

6. You could make it better by making it HIGH CRI, with a knurled body. I prefer these slightly less bulky clips:

they are very handy for freeing the light from the keys when desired.
Also note the mini jump rings, if is very useful if they are included.

—
In all cases, AAA eneloop friendly, Please NO magnets, NO memory

to me, the Drop Copper Tool AAA on the left, is the one to beat:

it is available in Hight CRI

You could make it better by using Titanium, a pebble TiR, a Tritium slot, and MLH mode sequence :slight_smile:

27

All of this talk about lights on key chains triggered a memory. My ex had a bunch of keys (about a dozen or so) on two linked key chains. We had a Dodge 300 [mid-size sedan] at the time that was her primary car. Me were on the way to western Illinois from Cincinnati for Christmas. Having very young children, we learned that leaving about 2AM for the eight hour drive worked well because they would sleep most of the way. We stopped after they woke to get some breakfast. When we went to start out again, we discovered that the heater fan had stopped working. I thought we were going to have real problems since we had a couple hours of driving yet to do, and it around zero outside. While we were debating what to do, the ex bumped the key ring and the heater started up. We determined later that all of the weight of those keys had weakened the return spring that rotates the ignition switch back to run from the start position. It would return most of the way, so the car would keep running, but not far enough to engage the connection for the accessories. So from then on we had to manually help the ignition switch return to the run position to make sure everything worked. And the ex split her keys into two separate sets to lighten the load on the switch.

Long story, but just keep in mind that too much weight in your key ring can have unexpected consequences.

28

Yeah, a lotta damnfools had their cars actually turning off when driving because of 6lbs of crap hanging off their keys, despite warnings in the owners manual, but sued GM anyway.

29

Please do! I never carry my Folomov because it does not have a lanyard and things are too busy around here to deal with it.

30

Now I’m inspired to do it.
Haha

31

For me, a keychain light is something like the initial budget squeeze lights that were part of what made this forum. Entirely different from an EDC. I no longer have a light on a keychain but if I did it would be something like that. A pocket EDC is something like the Tank 007 EO9 or the Thrunite Ti3 for my purposes. Here is what is the most important for me in a compact EDC:

1. Durability and reliability. These are going to drop and likely at some point go through the washer and dryer. Simply have to work regardless of the abuse. Not sure what to make of the newer lights with built in charging. Seems like it would be a failure point. OTOH, having the ability to recharge is nice but I have chargers for that.
2. No more than a 1 lumen low. Must have a good moonlight! Simply not an EDC if it does not have this. Need to be able to use the light without disturbing others or loosing night vision. In a catastrophe this also gives useful light for very long periods of time without changing battery.
3. 15 to 30 lumen or so working mode. This is very useful amount of light and I guess I could re-phrase it to say a 6+ hour working mode. Good amount of light for a AAA, that also gets the most from the battery.
4. Somewhere around 100 plus lumen high mode.
5. Good quality clip for hands free use.
6. Needs to comfortably disappear in my pocket yet be distinct enough in texture to find.
7. Not too bright of hot spot with decent beam pattern with neutral tint.

Probably it is inherent in the list above that the light must be a twisty. Would be open to a switch but not sure it could be done with the durability and pocket-ability concerns.

Would it be possible to have a right angle AAA that meets all 7 points above? I think that might be an improvement as I don’t like to wear hats and a clipped right angle would be good for hands free. High CRI would also be a nice improvement over what I have. The more efficient the driver is the better! Perhaps a way to check the voltage?

32

Hmm, I thought I posted this here, but was probably another thread.

When you mentioned sqeezy-lights, I don’t think of separate lights, but these handy-dandy ones that are part of the key-blank.

No need to go two-handed, one to hold the key and the other to hold the light. As you’re holding the key, just squeeze to turn on the light. Even though it’s like a 0-cri monochrome red (or blue) light, it does its job.

Something like that but in white might be nice, but as far as I can tell the included coin-cell isn’t replaceable.

I also remember snap-on thicker lights that go onto an existing key. Thicker Hg cell, kinda flat-mushroom shaped, and a small hotwire bulb (like a 222 bulb but seriously shrunk down). Replaceable cell by just popping it off the key.

So something like that would be a real honest-to-B’harni (pbuh!) “keychain light”, or even a “key light”. Maybe a supercap instead of coin-cell, quick usb charging, nice LED, and it’d be quite useful.

Any mfr would of course put its own stank on it to make it Unique.

33

Manker E02

34

Take the Skilhunt e3a hi CRI with TIR. Just put in a 3 mode driver that can be programmed like the sofirn C01R to be LMH or HML with no mode memory. 100 lumens on high, 15-30 lumens on medium, and 1 lumen on low works well.

35

How do you think the switch would survive a trip through the washer and dryer? Looks like it would do everything I want if it is durable. The switch does look good in the pictures.

36

Size: AAA/10440 or maximum AA/14500 battery size
Output level: Eco/ Firefly (1 lumen) - Low (5 or 10 lumens), Medium, High, Turbo (max. 800 or 1.000 lumens)
Lighting mode: Answered above and NO MEMORY MODE, please
Power source: AAA/ NiMH/ rechargeable li-ion 10440 or AA/ NiMH/ rechargeable li-ion 14500. NO ON-BOARD/MAGNETIC CHARGING, please.
UI design: UI answered above. Flashlight operation can be tail-switch or side-switch
Carry options: Deep carry pocket clip is ok but not must. Lanyard is optional, a lanyard hole would be sufficient. NO MAGNETIC TAIL CAP or just make it optional.

37

Can’t believe it took 34 posts for the Skilhunt E3A to be mentioned.

This is about as good as it can get in the compactness dept. with AAA.

I think creating a lower output (maybe multimode) competitor will create interest.

SS or Ti for durability might be a plus, but honestly, a keychain light of any material is going to get beat up.

Using an ultra hi CRI emitter behind a pebbled tir sounds ideal to me. I like the Seoul Sunlike 3030 mid power emitters for this application.

I wish for very aggressive (sharp diamonds) knurling on a super mini twisty light.

The idea of a dual mode twisty that steps up as you continue to tighten sounds awesome. A single pogo pin for low and a secondary solid contact for high should do it.

38

I wonder if XTAR is sorry he asked. Most of the lights described sound like EDC lights to me. Perhaps keychain light has become a generic term for any small flashlight. My idea of a keychain flashlight is a Photon squeeze coin-battery light that is small and weighs nothing. Any AAA light would be the largest thing on my keychain by far.

I have an EDC in my pocket (Zebralight SC52 AA) so if I need light I can whip that out. I use the Photon occasionally to find the keyhole in a lock. Or a dropped glove in a movie theater. Close-up, short-term use. Any other need, it’s the EDC.

I enjoyed the story of the 6lb. keychain and the ignition spring. Once your keychain weighs that much, may as well put a Maglite with D cells on it.

So, if XTAR wants to lure me away from my AA Zebralight, it would make a pocket-friendly AAA side-clicky with 3 mode interface, medium throw, with a neutral or warm emitter and a trustworthy pocket clip. Side-click would attract me; I have many nice AAA twisties, but I prefer the side-click.

Good luck!

39

Oilights and Wubens do that. No need for a pogo, just a shallow dome. Contact turns on low, actuation jumps it to high.

40

Even slicker then. :wink: I like it