Looking for a short light with a clip.

[FullAuto]

I wear carpenter style jeans with two small pockets on the right leg. My Benchmade knife goes in the bigger one. I want a flashlight to go in the smaller pocket. It must have a clip. I would really like it to take some kind of rechargeable battery. This really needs to be in the lower 3" range or preferably shorter. I don't need a ton of light but the little 10 lumen only lights aren't going to work for me. 50-150+ lumen range (something with multiple modes) would be good. Other than that, physical size and a clip are what is important.

The Olight i2 looks attractive because I carry spare rechargeable AA batteries in a charger in my car for other equipment. It's about as big as I'd consider and it may be too big. The Olight i3 looks attractive because it's smaller. And the truth is a single AAA battery will probably power it for how often I'd use it for a month. The Olight i1 looks awesome but it takes the CR123 battery. Anyone know if it will take the rechargeable version? I've noticed some will specify they'll accept both and specifically say not to use the rechargeable version. There is no mention of it in the ads and I don't know what the issue is whether it will or will not accept it. I'm not attracted to a non-rechargeable CR123 only light.

So looking at what I'm considering, is there a different brand/model I should look at? These are cheaper lights too but budget isn't a concern. Thanks.

 

[davecroft]

Fenix LD01 might be worth a look as well.

 

[GaAslamp]

The Olight i2 looks attractive because I carry spare rechargeable AA batteries in a charger in my car for other equipment. It's about as big as I'd consider and it may be too big.

There's the ZebraLight SC51, which is currently, to my knowledge, the most efficient overall 1xAA flashlight. It's about the same length as the i2 (maybe a touch shorter) and a bit wider at 3.15" x 0.85", but it has 200, 140, 100, 30, 8, 2.5, and 0.2 lumen output levels (the UI is simple and quick to use despite this) with class-leading runtimes on all of them--it's way more efficient than the i2.

If the SC51 is too long, then the ZebraLight SC31 would be a good alternative at 2.6" x 0.85". It runs on one CR123A primary cell or RCR123A (16340) rechargeable cell, and has 220, 120, 43, 24, 5, and 0.5 lumen output levels, all with great efficiency as well. Note that when running on a rechargeable cell, runtime is reduced by up to 50% on the lower modes and 25% on the higher modes--this is true of all CR123A flashlights.

The Olight i3 looks attractive because it's smaller. And the truth is a single AAA battery will probably power it for how often I'd use it for a month.

We could explore additional options in the 1xAAA configuration, but look at the SC51 and SC31 (even shorter than the i3 and almost as short as the i1) first, and tell us what you think.

The Olight i1 looks awesome but it takes the CR123 battery. Anyone know if it will take the rechargeable version? I've noticed some will specify they'll accept both and specifically say not to use the rechargeable version. There is no mention of it in the ads and I don't know what the issue is whether it will or will not accept it.

Officially, no, the i1 does not support rechargeable CR123A cells. Unofficially, people have tried it and say that it works fine, getting very bright and heating up extremely quickly on the High mode, though, possibly causing damage to the flashlight--maybe, maybe not, but there is probably a reason the manufacturer says it's not supported. The SC31, on the other hand, does officially support rechargeable CR123A cells, and it behaves the same as when it's running on primaries (except for the reduced runtimes).

I'm not attracted to a non-rechargeable CR123 only light.

Personally, I think that using rechargeable AAs is more convenient (since you use them for other things anyway) as well as safer; it also offers more capacity than rechargeable CR123As. The trade-off is slightly over half-an-inch of additional length, typically.