Best "cheapy" for the wife...

[Xacto]

Fenix E01 - no lens or optic that can shatter when the light gets dropped, easy to operate, enough light for most close-up tasks.

Cheers
Thorsten

[IcantC]

I don't know about your wife, but a few points.

Most women will not want to actively carry a light or deal with one. Easiest solution?

Something small that attaches to the keys and is small(aa or aaa). That way she will always carry it.

I got my wife a purple E01 and she carries it on her keys everywhere. I use lithium batteries and they last. My old e0 is running strong on a energizer lithium aaa for over 3 years now.

I do want to get her something slightly brighter, contemplated the itp eos aaa.

[AaronG]

+1 for the Fenix E05. My Dad loves his and I've got another one in the mail for my father in law. Nice floody beam for EDC tasks, long runtime and Fenix reliability.

[jhc37013]

No disrespect intended to any of you but I don't think I should have a 800lm light and then give my wife a E01 barely able to light up her path, she is not a flashaholic and could care less than it runs for 10hrs, she just wants bright easy to use light and expects me to manage her battery situation. I've been down that road and she was not impressed so in the dark she would just walk beside me dependent on my light and not bothering with her own.

I changed the E01 on her keychain to a E05 with a lithium and bingo she light's up the dark on her own, I also put a P2D in her purse and she occasionally uses it but the E05 gets the most use. I've been thinking about changing the P2D to something in the 1xAA light but I'm not sure what to give her.

The deal with the PD2 is she only pulls it out when she need lots of light so I have the head tight to max output but she does not like the heat on extended usage and I don't want to loosen the bezel because then that would defeat the purpose, she don't like twisting a simple off and on has to do.

I'm glad this thread came up I have been meaning to revisit what she carry's in her purse but I've just been putting it off, I'm thought of giving her my Quark AA Tactical and maybe program it to max with Energizer lithium's but I've always used 14500 so I don't know if it gets hot with Energizer lithium's set to max. I guess I'm off to do some testing or look for something else.

[Satanta]

I liked the small size and bright pink colour, but was less impressed when the heads kept falling off due to loose threads (I have several, all with the same issue). Those teeny batteries are difficult to find when they are scattered all over the floor.

I was on Amazon reading reviews on this light-here is what ibe person suggested to resolve the head falling off and changing batts. 'plumbers tape' for the head. and the batts:

I came up with is for all of you that have trouble loading this flashlight up with batteries. Next time, try this. When you are ready to change the batteries, carefully open the flashlight with the keychain clip facing down. Unscrew the cap (with the led in it), and set to the side. Now take the half with the keychain clip on it, with the old batteries still inside, and place it upside down on a counter top or desk top surface. Next, very carefully lift that half of the flashlight STRAIGHT UP, so that all the batteries are stacked on top of each other. This will now show you the direction in which you will now make a similar stack of batteries with 4 NEW BATTERIES. NOW, place that same half of the flashlight over the stack of new batteries and go STRAIGHT DOWN with it until it is completely over ALL the batteries (now inside the flashlight half). Carefully slide the flashlight half with the batteries inside over to the edge of the counter top or desk top, keeping the flashlight half straight up. Only allow that flashlight part to get just to the edge not past it, and now place your finger by that edge so that you can slide the flashlight half over the edge and onto your your finger. You should now have the flashlight half with the batteries inside and the batteries held in there with your fingertip. Now screw on the other half of the flashlight to it and THERE YA GO!! :-)

I'll get one of these for the wifey. Yesterday afternoon she was talking "Well, I have plenty of those c-cells around the house so don't need anything super-duper..." [[Those plastic 2C's in pink, blue, yellow you see at Wally World]].

OK.

Then I reminded here of us going into old buildings and sucj and her trips to Gettysburg [[she is a re-enactor]] and how dark 'dem dere woods can be when one needs to go pee or find the truck. DING!

Now, I'm looking for a better light for myself and the Olight M20S R5 seems to fit the bill for my needs so likely I'll give her my Coleman Max-nice and bright so even my bad eyes can use it for near everything. The dad got it at Home Depot for about $30. Cheao? Sure but tough enough to go out on photo trips with me and keep running after getting wet and banged around a bit in my vest.

I'm enjoying learning about lights but I'll never be a lightaholic. Can't afford it so I need to find what will work for me and sometimes the KISS principle applies [[Keep it Simple Stupid or 'Sir' depending on their rank.]] So for a purse/pocket the nao seems to fit. A little larger? My Coleman works and for a few steps up I'm going with the Olight M20S R5 or comparable.

Might think about that with your wife... KISS.

[guyg]

It may have been mentioned and I missed it but... how about giving her a light from your collection. I'd bet you have something floating around that will work for her and you would be happy to see it used.Thats what I did with the pocket knives my wife and kids have. I picked something from my stash for what they were gonna use it for.

[Thedugger]

I would say the Fenix PD31 is a great choice. It's small and has lots of features. The 2 lumen feature is perfect for reading maps and looking into bags and things for lost items. There is even a strobe and SOS feature.
Hope this helps.
Doug

[ericjohn]

My suggestion would be a 2AAA Mini Maglite penlight. It costs less that $10 at Sears Hardware, and it is American Made.

The model has been around as long as I have (since 1987).

I know this is a decent flashlights because I own several of them in my collection.

The only draw back is that the bi pin bulb is a vaccum bulb, and not a Krypton or Xenon bulb like it's 2AA Mini Maglite Counterpart. This means that the bulb will grow dimmer with use, regardless of how fresh your batteries are.

However, if she only keeps it in her purse only uses it from time to time I don't think it will be an issue.

PS I bought one for my wife, to keep in her purse. (She is also born in 1987.)

[pounder]

my wife snagged my ultrafire C3 and carries it in her purse..there's a protected 14500 in it..everytime I offer to get her something better she says no..she likes it and it works fine..I don't know what it is with her..but she really likes it..so I would recommend a c3 for your wife out of experience lol

[slowxturtle]

My vote is for the Streamlight Stylus Pro. It now comes with a Cree C4 led with 48 lumens. I just got one for a friend. It was $20 shipped from Amazon. The info on Amazon described the 24 lumen one, but what came shipped was the newer 48 lumen light. I didn't even know it was updated until I received it. I also got the Streamlight Microstream for myself which was 20 lumens. I use it as my EDC and it works great. Just enough light to be useful and small enough for me to want to carry. Since your wife has a purse to carry the light in, she should get the Stylus Pro.

[Vesper]

Fenix E01 or E05.

It's tiny + go with the lithium AAA. You want to give her something small and simple she can tuck away and it stays out of the way.

[shao.fu.tzer]

my wife snagged my ultrafire C3 and carries it in her purse..there's a protected 14500 in it..everytime I offer to get her something better she says no..she likes it and it works fine..I don't know what it is with her..but she really likes it..so I would recommend a c3 for your wife out of experience lol

I know what you mean... The women-folk do seem to like that light. I've tried to offer upgrades, but she's adamant about keeping the C3. I think she digs the stainless and I know she hates twisties... I suppose it's time to start looking for a QUALITY SS AA/AAA clicky...

[fixitman]

my experience is that women tend to prefer clickies, and fairly simple. Though given a choice between and ugly clicky and a pretty twisty, they tend to take the twisty. The clicky preon's I have given away have been HUGE hits, as have the ITP A3's I have given out. Last Xmas I gave out a bunch of lights, letting them choose which lights they wanted, and the Preon 2 and ITP A3's were by far the most popular, over ITP A2's in black, or quark MiNis. Sure the Preon's aren't the cheepest choice, but they are really nice for a purse light.
One thing I have definitely noticed, is that women don't want something that you wouldn't consider a decent choice for yourself. If you are packing a 150+ lumen light, and you give them a 10 lumen light, they wont be happy. But if you give them a 80 lumen light that looks nice and works well, they will be very happy.

[Samy]

What about a Klarus X6 or a 4Sevens Revo in stainless steel? They both do a whopping 80+ lumens and only need 1xAAA and go on the keychain so they are always there.

My wife carries a Quark AA with Tactical UI (for simplicity) in it's holster, in her handbag. It doesn't take up hardly any room and she's got over 100 lumens ready to go from a single AA. It's very small, but super bright so she can light up street numbers while driving down the street if she needs to. Plus i kind of think she likes the black tactical look of the light.

cheers

[smarkum]

This is an interesting thread. I've been reading it with interest and have been replacing the word "wife" with "kiddos". See, my kiddos love my McGizmos and my (38DD - so much so that it is missing . . at the moment). the problem is that they "blind" themselves too often and have some fear. AND, they be onery with each other and "blind" on purpose. ARGH. I've tried the Streamlight nano, and as mentioned above, the little batteries are way too difficult to manage if one of them hits the floor. We've also tried the other little keychain one with the exposed LED part. That didn't work for a variety of reasons. We have a Fenix 01 and they don't want to use it because it is 'crap light'. Nice. That is their description of the tint and the low output. I like it because they cannot blind each other with it and they have not hurt it or lost it yet. I will try the suggested batteries on it and see if that makes it a little brighter. . . I'm wondering if the batteries you've all suggested, Lithium, are inherently okay for the kiddos to be using. . . in whatever manner they might. . . lights have been frozen in OJ, "just to see what would happen". (the light was fine. . . smelled for some time, but worked okay after) and other unimaginable things. We're past the eating of the batteries stage, although, they may still lick them. . .
I will keep watching this thread and will strongly consider the suggestions not for the wife, but for the kids. It is awesome to me that they are interested in my hobby and I want to foster that interest , but in a safe way. . . they are kids afterall.
If this should be moved to a different thread, please do so. I didn't mean to hijack. I reasoned that the info is the same in terms of usefulness, at least to me! I'd be reading it anyway. . . You guys rock!

[smarkum]

... I suppose it's time to start looking for a QUALITY SS AA/AAA clicky...

Does that offering for the smallest AAA count? I guess it is a twisty though. . .

[GunnarGG]

There is a Streamlight Nano on my keyring but you have to admit it: It has a pretty dim and ugly beam. I don't have a E01 but I guess it's about the same.

I gave my girlfrind a E05 with a lithium AAA.
It has the "right" amount of light and a nice beam and tint. Doesn't take up any space.
Of course, even wifes and girlfriends have there opinions on lights so just ask her what size, output and ui she would prefer.

The Xeno E03 is a little bigger and has a clicky. It always start on medium so for "wife use" it could be seen as a single mode light.
If she then wants to go "advanced" it also has low and hi.

Both lights are about $20 (well, the Xeno is maybe a little more expensive but not much) and will probably last for years on a primary lithium battery when it get only occasional use in short bursts.

You could also put a 3V lithium primary AA in the Xeno and it would be brighter if she would like that.

[Meganoggin]

Another vote for the ICON Rogue or Link, put a lithium AA in it and it will work when she needs it. They are funky designs that she will like to have and are great value.

[wuyeah]

How about buy your self a great light from Battery Junction and give the free promotional key chain light to her...LOL

[think2x]

I don't know about your wife, but a few points.

Most women will not want to actively carry a light or deal with one. Easiest solution?

I do want to get her something slightly brighter, contemplated the itp eos aaa.

My wife has had an ITP A3 SS on her keys for the better part of a year. Lately she's had power outages at work (lucky her) and no one else had a light. She came home one day and asked me for another light to keep in her purse. She said "this time one with a button, not a twisty". Talk about hearing things you thought you never would. She still has (and likes) the ITP A3 but to go with it I got her a Jetbeam BC10. So far she seems to like it.

[js-lots]

I put a mte 2mode p7 in the wifeys car. It has a protected 18650 in it. It was one of the first flashlights I got a couple of years ago and was pretty beat up. The battery has made it through the summer so far in her car. I was concerned about the heat but so far so good.
On the 4th of july she made me very proud. We were sitting in the front yard and out of nowhere she pulls out the flashlight. We let the kids run around the yard with it and helped the neighbors with some of the cleanup from fallen debris from the fireworks. I now have over fifteen lights but was nice to see an old standby come out unexpectedly.

[whiteoakjoe]

Mine loves her Microstream...

[Surefyr]

I would agree with Ishango here. Remember, a Lady's purse is always full of nitty gritties. Carrying a flashlight is the last thing on their mind. If at all, they would want a small unobtrusive light like the Photon Microlight II Pro with just the on/off option. It hides under a quarter, hardly under 7 gms, waterproof, quite bright to walk around the house and car, and can be hung with the keys. All under 13$! I gave my wife one, and she uses it more often than she thought. If you feel the switch can be accidentally switched on in the purse, there is another Photon microlight II which too has a simple on/off plus a nail activated constant on (this, i carry in my key pouch and a minix in my jean coin pocket). Of course, if she has to go around a large unlit area, there is the Zebralight Sc31 (220 lm, 67mm length, CR123/RCR) or SC80 (220 lm, 82mm, Cr123/AA) - both with a soft side click, not a cumbersome twisty (for a lady). Both the Zebralights, though are around 70$ each (remember, 'cheap' is a relative term ), and a wife is invaluable (again a relative term?)!

[Echo63]

My wife EDCs the Aluminium version of my TI EDC light
i have the SWM V10R TI - she has the Aluminium XML version (which was half the price)
I figure if I'm giving her a light, she will be using it when I'm not there, so I had better get something well built.

[Danielight]

I originally gave my wife a 4Sevens Mini AA for her purse. She never used it, so I "traded" her my Thrunite Ti (blue aluminum). It's smaller, runs on one AAA, and she can hide it anywhere in her purse. This is a nice two-mode twisty which doesn't require you to twist it off before changing modes. The low mode is 3 lumens - plenty low for map reading or finding keyholes, and the high is 60 lumens - bright enough to find your way around in the dark, whether walking the dog or looking for your car at night. I don't know if she has used this light, either, but it's there if she needs it. I stuck an Energizer lithium primary in it, which should last a long time (and not leak as it gets older).

[tolkaze]

I've always said that my Wife needs the best, cheap or not. She has had a HDS in the past, but found she really only uses an EO1. I have tried a number of times to get her to carry a small light of some kind besides her keylight, but generally she just assumes I will always be there. I will be insisting she carry something as soon as I can find something bulletproof, small, unobtrusive and i gues.... cute. But again, price shouldn't come into it when its a loved one

[lapis]

No disrespect intended to any of you but I don't think I should have a 800lm light and then give my wife a E01 barely able to light up her path, she is not a flashaholic and could care less than it runs for 10hrs, she just wants bright easy to use light and expects me to manage her battery situation. I've been down that road and she was not impressed so in the dark she would just walk beside me dependent on my light and not bothering with her own.

I changed the E01 on her keychain to a E05 with a lithium and bingo she light's up the dark on her own, I also put a P2D in her purse and she occasionally uses it but the E05 gets the most use. I've been thinking about changing the P2D to something in the 1xAA light but I'm not sure what to give her.

The deal with the PD2 is she only pulls it out when she need lots of light so I have the head tight to max output but she does not like the heat on extended usage and I don't want to loosen the bezel because then that would defeat the purpose, she don't like twisting a simple off and on has to do.

I'm glad this thread came up I have been meaning to revisit what she carry's in her purse but I've just been putting it off, I'm thought of giving her my Quark AA Tactical and maybe program it to max with Energizer lithium's but I've always used 14500 so I don't know if it gets hot with Energizer lithium's set to max. I guess I'm off to do some testing or look for something else.

I agree with this gentlemen on his point here. I would just add and ask if she is comfortable at all with using this light as a weapon? Would she think to use it like that, or is this more of a utility sort of situation only? If she knew how to and was comfortable to use it in a self defense situation, that would surely make a difference in the light you choose for her.
Best wishes...

[Norm]

A flashlight is not a weapon and discussion of use of a flashlight as a weapon will be deleted. Thanks Norm

[Bullzeyebill]

Moving this to Recommend Me A Light for ... forum. Remember to follow rules for posting links in that forum. See heading at top of thread listing page.

Bill

[bushmattster]

I want it to be reliable, easy to operate. I know she'll rarely use it. Maybe a few times a year. That said, I want it in her purse if she ever needs light (especially in an emergency.)

The very reasons you shouldn't let price be a deciding factor. With that said, I bought my wife a 4sevens Mini 123($35), Eagletac D25A clicky Ti($70) and a Fenix PD30($60). All of these can be easily carried in a purse. She carries the Mini 123 the most. Great outputs and runtimes. She also loves the neck lanyard that came with it.

+1 on lithiums no matter what you buy.