Penlites - do they still have a purpose?

[Chauncey Gardiner]

It's a work car

Well, that is what James Bond would say.

 

[Jean-Luc Descarte]

Old penlights have only niche use, as mentioned in the thread. Newer ones are a very nice form factor that is sadly held back by the currently available battery technology. I wager as soon as a long and thin battery format for small devices gets developed and marketed, penlights have a good chance to make a comeback, if nothing else for the more minimalist people that say 18650 is too big/heavy/difficult to store.