EDC Flashlight?

In the time I've been doing security I've gone through a bunch of lights (including the old D cell Maglight). These two are the ones I carry every night

Batteries, Chargers, LED Flashlights, and More!

The first light is a Fenix E12. This the light I carried when I was working straight days and occasionally asked to stay over after dark. It has 3 settings 8 lumens, 50 lumens and 130 lumens. It runs off of 1 AA battery which is widely available and its small enough to fit in my pocket. Now that I'm working straight nights it's my back up. The one drawback to this light is that it doesn't "remember" the setting so you turn it on at the lowest setting and you have to click it up and sometimes you turn it off.

Cost 25 (ish)


An Error Occurred - TheFireStore

Fenix UC 35 This is the light that's clipped to my vest right now. It's the only light I have that doesn't run on AAs (It runs on 2 CR123s or a rechargeable 18650 battery) but it IS rechargeable and it charges through a USB port which means I can recharge it with my phone charger at work if I need to.

It has 5 brightness levels and a strobe (that I never use)

14 lumens
50 lumens
180 lumens
480 lumens
960 lumens

This light "remembers" the last setting you put it on so I keep it on turbo and step it down if I need to.

Cost 89


I carry both every night but I find I use the E12 more often than the UC35 when I'm just doing a check. If I run into someone on a site I use the UC35
 
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SweetMK said:
The dilemma with acquiring a flashlight will be all the knock-offs.
my SIL gave me one for a birthday present last week.

I am positive it is a knock-off, that is what he buys!! :D

The flashlight is a VIixit,,,
the 18650 battery is a "Ultrofire" 6800 mAh

In spite of all that,,, it does work,,,

I have not tried charging it yet,,,
I will probably check my home fire insurance before the first charge,,,
Click to expand...

Top shelf 18650 batteries are 3400mAh. Battery doesn't hold 6800mAh. Cheap junk and fraud.
 
diamonback68 said:
I have a NEBO REDLINE NS13C that uses the three AAA batteries. It has 220, 110, 22 Lumens, S.O.S and Strobe with adj focus. Got it at Batteries Plus for about 30 bucks. Great little light.
Click to expand...

Got that one, too. It seems like a decent light for the price. I have another Nebo that has a green light in addition to the white LEDs. It was about ten bucks at a gun show a few years ago.

Both of them will go out or go dim every so often.
Loosen the cap and retighten, and hold your mouth just right and it will go back to normal.

The experience gives me just enough reason to try something a bit more expensive in hopes the reliability will be better. I will follow this thread for suggestions.
 
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After decades (for most of us) of flashlights the size of nightsticks ( think 5-6 D cell Maglites) just to get a 100 yd beam....... the LED revolution with first 200 then 300 then 500 now 700 lumens in a small handheld light is overwhelming.......

I have 3 500+ lumen lights..... home, cabin and on the Polaris RZR( stored with batteries removed)

I like the mid-range 200/50 lumen maglite for around the house and cars...plenty of light on low (50) for most jobs.... at 200lum a nice 200 yd beam ( about as far as you can see in the burbs of the burgh or Penn's Woods) and I can still drop it in my pocket (4.5 x 1 inch and 4oz.)

But........................

in all honesty the 35 lumen...... Micro Streamlight in my pocket meets 95% of my needs........ and get used at least 2 or 3 times daily..from taking the dog out..... looking for something in the garage or barn..... to figuring out if the shirt is blue or black while trying not to wake the wife!!! It lives in my pants pocket..........................


I like the AA and AAA lights as it's easy and cheap to store an extra set (or two) of batteries with/near the light...... a CVS pill bottle holds 3AA or 6AAA batteries...............
 
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Too much tactical not enough noodling. What scenario do you envision you'll use it?

I prefer something in a non-explosive flashlight. If I need light in a bad situation the last thing I want to do is make it worse by making a bright flash and a lot more heat than my flesh can sweat away.

The 1930 is a good choice. 1930 Flashlights - Small Flashlight | LED L1™ | Pelican Products, Inc.
pelican-emergency-preparedness-flashlight.jpg


A little bigger and brighter 3315 Flashlights - High Lumens Flashlight | LED Standard | Pelican Products, Inc.
pelican-safety-led-certified-durable-flashlight.jpg
 
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It doesn't qualify as EDC, but I use a 3 D cell Mag Lite. One in the truck, one in the garage, another on the night stand. Pretty handy as a non-lethal SD option. I'd like a Surefire, can't afford the one I want.
 
I typically have 2 flashlights on me, a 4Sevens Quark X Tactical 123^2 clipped to my pocket and a Fenix PD20 on my keychain. The 4Sevens I have isn't currently made but they have versions that use AA or AAA batteries (I can't remember which). It's programmable, but I have it set so that it's normally on max power, about 360 lumens, and twisting the head sets it to medium power, which I think is 65 lumens.

The only issue I have with the Fenix lights is that, unless they've changed recently, they're not push clickies, in that you have to push the button then release for the light to turn on. With the 4Sevens you can get a momentary on by pushing or push-to-click to keep it on. It may not be an issue for most people, but I prefer the push-clicky type tailcaps.
 
For those following this thread, the Streamlight Protac 1AAA and Pelican 1910 also appear to meet my criteria. I'm not 100% sold yet on which flashlight I want. ....talk about 1st world problems. :D
 
I currently carry a Fenix PD25 that runs on a single cr123 battery, I carried a Fenix E11 for a couple years before that. I only have one minor complaint about the PD25 and that's due to I prefer a more focused beam than Is used on this model.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I've been carrying a iTP A1 EOS on my key chain for several years now. Runs on 1 cr123 battery. Has 3 settings - high maybe 200 or 250 lumens and about 2.5 inches in length and 3/4 inch diameter. Pretty small yet powerful. It's not a tactical flashlight - no push button - you need to turn the head. But its always with me because my keys are always with me. You can find them on ebay for about $22.00.
 
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