smallest/best light/bottle opener combo for EDC

Was just reading a thread about EDC in this forum, thinking about what i carry and i'm in conundrum. I like to carry a bottle opener (yes, for beer) - I currently have a nice small Gerber product that has an opener and a small led - problem is, the button gets activated and the batteries die fast. So it hasn't worked in a year-- the replacements are two button batteries that run like $3 a piece. I dont want to carry an opener and a light - one must go and i like beer.
Does anyone know of a (very small if possible) combo light and bottle opener that wo'nt turn on in my pants - maybe a AAA one? You would make my day. -- gotta be small.

Careful--around here, you are likely to have someone recommend a light whose turbo mode will just vaporize the cap.

Hell, that's why I don't carry a knife anymore--my 3 trillion-lumen Photon Switch-beam does all my cutting chores!

A Foursevens Preon and Gerber Shard together are more serious tools and less mass than any combo option..

tubed said:

...I dont want to carry an opener and a light...

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Welcome to CPF!

I personally use a Tikka XP Plus headlamp and a Leatherman Juice when enjoying a barley pop or six. That way when I pass out my friends simply roll me on my back and activate the red LED strobe so my wife can find me!

kelmo

I used to carry a P38 for years on my keychange.
it also opens cans and can be used as a weapon or to skin an small animal in a pinch.

I would really recommend getting a Swiss Army Knife (SAK) Rambler keychain sized multi tool. It has a serviceable bottle opener.

There are lots of good lights I would check out one of the many AAA light threads like this one:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...3-Very-difficult-NOT-to-love-AAA-s-these-days

yeah - I went on the internet and found all sorts of crap. now I agree- there are a bunch of good, small keychain bottle openers (Nite eyes makes one) that you can clip a small AAA onto. I just got an Olight i3 that i love. I may try to rig something with those

It's not a difficult trick to learn to open a bottle with a Bic lighter, or with any other short lever.
You grab the bottle so the cap is right about even with your index finger knuckle, then loosen your grip slightly and insert plastic base of bic lighter between edge of cap and index finger knuckle, then work the bic as a lever while simultaneously squeezing down on the bottle with your hand.
If you do it slow it might kind of hurt a little on your knuckle, but once you get the sweet spot figured out it's quick, you don't feel a thing, and if you give the bottle a little tap on a table first you can make the cap go ricocheting off the ceiling with a theatrical POP!

this video could be a little more exciting but shows the details well enough: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9KJtKXCHx8

here's a guy doing the same trick with a folded piece of paper: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrXmDiYHUY0

Maybe if you can carry 2 small objects, you can find a better choice. Lights have many choices that uses AAA. So next is the bottle opener. There are SAK that are small enough like the Victorinox Bantam(Alox for a Thinner body. Or Those metal cards the size of business cards that also has a bottle opener

do you carry your keys on a clip? Get a leatherman carabiner. Key clip+ bottle opener

the problem these days is that car keys now generally come with a large electronic gadget to lock/start the car - often the biggest thing in my pocket. when i add 5 or 6 keys, a light, and an opener it gets pretty big. That being said, i think i'm going to experiment with really small AAA and a combo keychain/opener.

tubed said:

when i add 5 or 6 keys, a light, and an opener it gets pretty big.

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Yeah, I'm not a fan of the modern fat car key; I use a Berkeley Point titanium split ring on my car key set, which actually does reduce overall weight noticeably. The light/opener combo I mentioned above adds a grand total of 1.36 ounces with an Energizer Lithium battery (lighter than some standard bottle openers.)

Oddly enough, about two weeks ago in the UK, Aldi, a German owned supermarket, had for sale a flashlight with a bottle opener bezel!

I kid you not. $6, and fortunately Aldi's business model is to sell "special offers" for a week at a time. When they are gone, as they say ...

I even had a look - they are no longer available - and were definitely not recommended. Strange notion even for campers - what's wrong with screw top wine bottles?

less words.
once you work out how to move your knuckle as the fulcrum,
Almost Any lever becomes a bottle opener.

A couple key sized openers I've seen but have never used are the:
- Swiss Tec Utili Key
- "KeyTool Bottle Opener" that slides over a house key

Google should bring those up.

eh4 said:

less words.
once you work out how to move your knuckle as the fulcrum,
Almost Any lever becomes a bottle opener.

Click to expand...

yea opening a beer is usually the least of my concerns. Bic lighter,a key any rigid object for the most part.

Get a Stainless steel AA light, and use the tail end to open the bottles. Personally, I always carry a knife, so bottle opening chores stay away from the EDC keychain light.

The gerber microbrew is a keychain light and bottle opener. Uniquetitanium got some in stock.

I usually use the xeno e03 or a bic as a bottle opener

Why do we need an opener to open a beer?
Pretty much most thing around you can do the job...such as 2 bottles can open 1, a cheap plastic lighter, a chop stick, table edge, the plastic beer cage itself or even with my tooth LOL those are things people do when they don't have one. Many others as well that I can't remember all.