My situation doesn’t call for or allow a headlamp, so just rule that out now. I have several and would use them if I could.
What light would you recommend for keeping on my person at work, when I occasionally have to pop the light in my mouth to use both hands briefly. It isn’t frequent, but it happens often enough that I wouldn’t mind an excuse to buy another light.
My work EDC is a SolarForce P1 (plastic body) quad. It is plastic, which helps (biting, or even “gumming” metal lights with lips sucks), but it is on the heavy side.
My ideal mouth light (lol) would be plastic, not metal. And it would be lightweight, like 16340 or 14500 size.
Thoughts?
Yeah, I know this is a slightly strange topic.
Edit:
I learned two things from making this thread:
1. The Definitive Answer to my question, “What’s a good light for clenching in teeth/mouth?” is: Any AAA light with heatshrink or rubber wrap added.
2. This thread was not near as weird as I was expecting, apparently you guys spend just as much time as I do, debating the merits of which flashlights to stick in your mouths.
For that, I would think a lightweight AAA-sized would be your best bet. Mine’s an older Tank007 E09; I’m thinking something about that size. It’s aluminum but still light enough to hold in your lips without having to bite down. You could add a section of heat shrink tubing for a bit of extra protection if you wished. Also, I would think a twisty would be better, since that eliminates the possibility of saliva entering via the switch…
My frequently mouth-used light is a Thorfire PF03.
Lightweight and you can put your incisors where the clip is. Never had a saliva problem so far, though.
But I’ll try some heatshrink tubing on that one, so I can bite on it.
A lot of folks around here may not think much of TerraLUX but they’re not bad lights. Underpowered by todays standards and a little over priced but not bad quality, not for modding though.
The LS 80 is ok, mike has held up fairly well, unique thing about it is it has a rubber “bite ring”. Worth taking a look at.
I’ve used a Maglite Solitaire (LED) that way a quite a bit - I cut a short piece of clear 3/8” (maybe 1/2”?) clear plastic tubing and slipped it over the body. The tubing is the kind you might use for a lawn mower gas line, for example. Fits good and snug, works like a charm, and you can bite as hard as you want.
I’ve also put a piece of shrink tube on an Astrolux AO1 and it worked well too, but it’s not as tough or resilient as the plastic tubing.
If you don’t need it to be very bright there are several different bite light options that are designed just for that task. Some are disposable, and others take button cell batteries.
Search for one that might fit!