Lanyards > clips

[etc]

I could never get the clip concept to work. Seems like it's pretty easy to lose a light clipped to a pocket. Knives also fall in the same category. Just easier and safer to put the light in the pocket. Not to mention more discreet. I work in a business casual environment so clips are an impossibility anyway.

What works for me, I found out, if the light is compact enough, an around the neck lanyards works well. It's discreet - can be carried under a shirt, a great way of EDCing. When using the light, if suddenly one needs hands, just release it and the lanyard catches it.

 

[RayMiller]

I don't feel like I need a clip on a light unless I'm wearing shorts. The pockets are usually shallow and the material is thin so lights tend to slip out when I sit down. I do feel like a clip is a necessity on a knife. It keeps the knife secure and accessable no matter what I'm wearing.

 

[Olumin]

Since I almost always wear suits I can use the inner jacket pockets to store all kinds of stuff, even fixed blade knives. Lanyards don't work at all for me as you can imagine. Suit jackets often have pockets for pens & other accessories, those are perfect for holding knives and lights. In that case neither a clip nor lanyard is required. Possibly one of the reasons why it took until the 80s for the clip to be introduced that people don't usually think about.

 

[Chicken Drumstick]

I like clips. I don't want a light floating in my pocket loose. A clip doesn't mean it isn't in my pocket, it just means it is retained. Not sure if the op means having the light on the outside??

I think this is fine even in a suit if the light is slim and compact with a deep carry clip. Or I'd opt for a smaller light and put it in my inside suit jacket pocket, but still use the clip.

Lanyards... not really keen. If I was on boat or anywhere of high risk of dropping it out of sight, a wrist strap lanyard makes sense. But it makes the light bulky an untidy to carry otherwise.

Round the neck lanyards. Not for me at all. I don't want a light round my neck. Even a AAA is too heavy for this. The tiny 10180 lights are just about small enough, although still quite chunky for neck wear. I'd only do this as a 3rd backup light type of thing. It makes the light far too inaccessible to use easily or quickly otherwise.

 

[scalpel_ninja]

Purely subjective of course, but I see it the other way around. I prefer clips so my light, knife, and pen are not jumbling with other items in my pocket, especially my wallet. Each time I pull my wallet out with an unclipped knife or light, I feel the knife or light wanting to come out with the wallet. My wallet is by no means bulky, I carry a Fantom R (medium thickness).

I've tied lanyards on multiple lights and knives; then found myself either not carrying them because the lanyard (with or without a bead) gets in the way, or just removing the lanyard again so I can clip it.

This is the closest thing to a lanyard that's lasted more than a few weeks on any light:

 

[treek13]

I prefer pocket clips on most lights. Other than my keychain light, if I have a light in my pants pocket it's clipped. It's just more comfortable, more secure & much easier to deploy.

 

[Monocrom]

Have to be honest, I use clips; exclusively.
The convenience is just amazing. As far as losing knives or lights with clips on them.... only once. Late 1990s, lost a Benchmade Panther one-hander folding knife on the NYC 7-Train. Realized in a couple of minutes it was missing. Ran back down to the subway, into the same subway car. (Last stop on the 7 is a dead-end wall. No more tracks to a train yard beyond.) Knife was already gone! Someone got themselves a nice little folding knife. Early Benchmade. I bought it literally a week before I lost it.

But other than that one time, countless folding knives and countless lights, never lost a knife or light all these decades later.

 

[etc]

I have cargo pants, with so many pockets that I can afford a dedicated pocket for an EDC light. Actually Vertx pants have a small knife/light pocket inside one of the pockets. Very convenient.

The other two problems with clips are:
1) They irritate me when holding the light, I am not getting a great grip.
2) It's takes time and usually 2 hands to clip a device onto a pocket, inside or out.

I really have come to like an around the neck lanyard because when running or climbing or doing any other outdoor activity it just won't get lost. It's *always* there for you. Granted, a 6P /MD2 type is too large for that. Seems a 1x123 is the max I can stand.
Clips are not safe. I hear all the time how people lose knives they thought they clipped. I remove all clips from everything and just carry things inside my cargo pants pockets, which are numerous.

 

[Olumin]

Have to be honest, I use clips; exclusively.
The convenience is just amazing. As far as losing knives or lights with clips on them.... only once. Late 1990s, lost a Benchmade Panther one-hander folding knife on the NYC 7-Train. Realized in a couple of minutes it was missing. Ran back down to the subway, into the same subway car. (Last stop on the 7 is a dead-end wall. No more tracks to a train yard beyond.) Knife was already gone! Someone got themselves a nice little folding knife. Early Benchmade. I bought it literally a week before I lost it.

But other than that one time, countless folding knives and countless lights, never lost a knife or light all these decades later.

I lost a Knirps umbrella the same way about a couple years ago, except I diddnt have the chance to go back into the subway car as its doors closed behind me about 2 seconds after me realizing I left it laying beside where I sat.

 

[scalpel_ninja]

I have cargo pants, with so many pockets that I can afford a dedicated pocket for an EDC light. Actually Vertx pants have a small knife/light pocket inside one of the pockets. Very convenient.

The other two problems with clips are:
1) They irritate me when holding the light, I am not getting a great grip.
2) It's takes time and usually 2 hands to clip a device onto a pocket, inside or out.

I also prefer to wear cargo pants or shorts whenever possible, especially those with zip on/off pant legs to convert from pants to shorts. It's great to be able to evenly distribute carried items in all the nooks and crannies.

Some clips do detract from the grip for me too, but usually because the clip creates hot spots. Most factory clips need to be modified before I'm happy with them. I usually have to put the end of the clip in a vise to flatten out the ramp. Also, some clips are so tight or the texture of the light/knife is so rough, I also have to adjust the clip for those too. The worst offenders were the Demko AD15 G10 scales and Reylight Dawn frag pattern. Stonewashed titanium seems to create excess drag, so I usually sand the part of the clip where it touches the light/knife with 1500 wet and polish with CrOx to make a smooth surface.

With others, I'm able to clip and remove with one hand.

 

[Monocrom]

I have cargo pants, with so many pockets that I can afford a dedicated pocket for an EDC light. Actually Vertx pants have a small knife/light pocket inside one of the pockets. Very convenient.

The other two problems with clips are:
1) They irritate me when holding the light, I am not getting a great grip.
2) It's takes time and usually 2 hands to clip a device onto a pocket, inside or out.

I really have come to like an around the neck lanyard because when running or climbing or doing any other outdoor activity it just won't get lost. It's *always* there for you. Granted, a 6P /MD2 type is too large for that. Seems a 1x123 is the max I can stand.
Clips are not safe. I hear all the time how people lose knives they thought they clipped. I remove all clips from everything and just carry things inside my cargo pants pockets, which are numerous.

Love my cargo pants. Rare for me to get a knife or light that is uncomfortable in the hand due to the clip. Has happened. I just switch to a different knife or light to EDC. Plus, I've found that cargo pants pockets are great for clip retention.

Every knife or light I carry clipped, easily clips and unclips with one hand. I guess it just depends on the individual models.

 

[Lumen83]

i hate having something around my neck and slapping into me when I walk and move. Or dangling. Everything to do with having a light on a neck lanyard is in all ways less than ideal. Then what do you do about over shirt or under your shirt? Over your shirt, you look like a meatball. Under your shirt you have to go awkwardly pull it out while people are looking at you like WTF? Or they see the impression it makes under your shirt and think you have some sort of weird bionic third arm.

Pocket is carry is fine. Pocket clips work well if they are deep pocket style clips. Or just put them in your pocket and let the ladies use their imagination as to what you have in there.

 

[Monocrom]

I've found that black cargo pants, with a black handled knife, with black clip and screws; absolutely disappears. People have to look long and hard to notice. Obviously, they won't. Particularly nice with non-low-profile clips. Much easier to access the knife.

I've tried just tossing items into a cargo pants pocket. If they don't flop over inside the pocket, they just sit at the bottom of it; letting you feel all that weight. No such issue with using the clip.