Need a Thin, Clicky Flashlight

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jwalker497

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Nov 7, 2008
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I'm looking for a thin in diameter flashlight. I prefer clicky operation, however, every other clicky I have had was not reliable enough for pocket carry and would turn on inadvertently. The Preon are just about the perfect pocket flashlight but the clicky version isnt sturdy enough and I have found on SEVERAL occassions that the light was accidentally clicked on and the battery drained when I needed it. So for now I am sticking with a twisty until I can find my holy grail pocket light.

Let me know if you have any ideas, its been a while since I reviewed my options. Looking for a very small AA or AAA flashlight similiar, very thin in diameter

Price isnt a concern if I can find what something that fits my needs.
 
Most people think the clicky on the Fenix model is better than the Preon, so you might like that. The clicky on the back of the small Streamlight microstreams seems to have been very reliable and it is nice and crisp no accidental activation. Some people put that on a Fenix LD01, if you can get the light apart. The electronic switch on the LiteFlux was pretty good, the only problem was I sometimes activated the switch as I pushed it into the pocket, but once there, even though it was quite sensitive, it seemed reliable. These are all slim AAA lights.
 
Have a look here...
The Preons are great lights, simple UI, hardy and bright... The Preon 2 is a clicky light, and you can get a clicky switch for the Preon 1 if you only want the single AAA size.
Hope that helps =)


Sory if I wasnt clear. I HAVE a preon with a clicky but the clicky gets turned on while in my pocket so I cant trust it. On several different occassions, I have found it to be on while in my pocket.

SO, I am looking for something similiar in size but with a sturdy clicky!
 
Unless I've missed something I don't think any new offerings have come along in the last year jwalker. I've shopped for a aaa pocket clickie with minimal accidental activation and only found two I could even slightly consider. You might look at the Lumapower Avenger again or try one of the Akoray aaa's. It should take some serious umph to have any of these turn on in your pocket. Not much for eye candy here, but switches should offer the needed resistance. No, I haven't thrown my $ down yet either, I'm just sharing my research. Good luck with whatever you choose.
 
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To the OP ... if you don't want your Preon clicky to come on in your pocket, just unscrew the head a bit so it CAN'T turn on.

Bill C
 
To the OP ... if you don't want your Preon clicky to come on in your pocket, just unscrew the head a bit so it CAN'T turn on.

Bill C
Having to tighten the head before clicking the switch kinda negates the advantage of having a one-hand-operable clicky light, doesn't it?

Perhaps the Jetbeam PA01 will do what you need. It's an AA light, but it's barely wider than the battery itself. I tried its IBS-equipped cousin, the BK135, and while I decided it wasn't what I needed it did have a secure clicky switch. I prefer lights with mode-memory and for some reason Jetbeam just won't go there, but if that's not something you care about then the PA01 might be just what you're looking for.
 
Univex AAA perhaps? Has guarded tail around the switch, it's slim and that you mentioned price isn't a concern....
 
Nitecore EZ AA? Built like a tank, it's a lo/hi twisty, and is almost AAA in size.
I carry one on my keychain.
 
Peak Eiger with momentary switch? Not a true clicky, but unlikely to stay on long enough accidentally to significantly drain the battery. Or, of course, you can always loosen the head further to lock out completely ....
 
Second on the PA01. It's very thin and small for a AA light. The knurling feels great in the hand, and the clicky is fairly stiff and recessed. It's easy to use, but there's basically no chance it will accidentally turn on in the pocket.
 
Nitecore EZ AA? Built like a tank, it's a lo/hi twisty, and is almost AAA in size.
I carry one on my keychain.

I have an R5 EZAA and the thing is garbage. The threads are incredibly loose. So much so that the only thing keeping the 2 halves of the light from wobbling is the tiny ultra-thin o-ring. This in itself might be ok, except that screwing the flashlight together after putting in the battery causes the o-ring to bind. The result is it takes about 5 minutes to put the battery in. It takes a ton of patience and a dozen tries to reassemble the light without destroying the o-ring.

And even when together the interface is pretty lousy. Half the time the light will turn slightly on then off then on again putting the light into its ramping mode. The Quark Mini AA has a similar problem with mode-switching, but at least it doesn't have the loose-thread and bad o-ring issue.

A much more functional light is the Jetbeam PA01. It feels great in the hand and has an easy to use click switch. The worst thing about the PA01 is its UI. Jetbeam should've kept the BK135a's UI for the PA01.
 
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