please vote and help decide the fate of my keychain.

[burntoshine]

i've had a Fenix LOD on my keychain for years now. i recently converted it to neutral white (thanks to gunga for the help! :wave: ). it's my secondary (back-up) EDC. my primary EDC is a titanium Liteflux LF2XT with slotted Ti button/blue trit (AAA light). i carry an old advantix film canister in my pocket that contains 4 spare AAAs (with a piece of paper towel to fill the remaining space). so if i keep the LOD on my keychain, then i have 2 different lights on me that can use my spare batteries.

here's my all-too-serious dilemma: i'm getting some neutral white Quark minis and i can't decide if i should keep the NW LOD on there or put a NW Quark mini AA on my keychain instead.

the thing is, i love scratches and wear. the LOD looks quite splendid and will only get better with time. also, i'm curious as to how long the LOD will last before it falls apart. and it's been there for such a long time; it's like an old dear friend (who recently had a heart (emitter) transplant). i kinda wanna see how long this old dear friend can stand the pain.

on the other hand, the NW Quark mini would be new and fancy with a better UI. it's not much bigger than the incumbent and there's some more room in my pocket, so size isn't an issue at all.

just to recap...

NW LOD

• distressed and beautiful
• 4 spare batteries always nearby

NW Quark mini

• new and fancy
• better UI

current keychain duty

yes, the lower part of the head looks excessively strange. it's from a different color (olive) LOD. i traded someone on CPF a knife for a natural LOD, but the lower part of the head was off of an olive LOD and had wrench marks on it. i decided to use this light for my first emitter swap. then i decided i wanted a neutral on my keychain. by this time i was out of neutral LEDs. i decided to just switch the lower head of the modded LOD with my keychain LOD. i put it to my grind wheel to make it look "cooler" and stuff.

and yes, that's a fat hole i drilled through my saturn key and the filled with glowpoxy (glow powder and epoxy).

you can see my tritium keyring in there, too.

so anyways, please help me decide the fate of my keychain. this is an important decision and it needs careful consideration.

thank you!

 

[fhenixlynx]

one quick question what does the lens on the light look like? as i have a keyring light on the way. thanks

 

[Oddjob]

Keep it on there until it dies. I think its quite rewarding to have something take a lot of abuse and continue to work.

 

[burntoshine]

one quick question what does the lens on the light look like? as i have a keyring light on the way. thanks

there are absolutely no scratches that i can see on the lens, which is pretty awesome. it stays pretty decently protected, set back a little into the head...

Keep it on there until it dies. I think its quite rewarding to have something take a lot of abuse and continue to work.

yeah, it is; i know exactly what you mean. i sorta wish i had some more scars.

 

[B.D. Dubloon]

I agree, keep the LOD until it dies. It's given you years (decades by the look of it) of faithful service. You should let it finish the job.

Do you have a Chrysler minivan? Was my first vehicle.

 

[Lumenz]

Put the new Mini on your keychain for a week and see how you like it. If you prefer the L0D, then it is still there for you to put back on. If you like the Mini better, then it is only a matter of time before it too gets some war wounds.

 

[tucolino]

keep the lod on your keychain, and carry the mini on your poket, in fact that´s what i do!

my edcs lights are:

keychain: fenix ld01 ss
car keychain:iluminatti
poket: quark mini aa
jacket:liteflux lfx2xt
maxexpedition bag:fenix mc10 anglelight,petzl e+lite and quark 2aa r5

yep, i´m pretty covered with all this lights!!

 

[Haz]

Definately put the new one on!!!, it's time, the one old has fulfilled it's duty and time to retire

 

[Yucca Patrol]

That well-worn LOD deserves to stay on the keychain. I think it looks particularly nice.

I have an EZAA on my backup keychain and I think it is too big.

 

[burntoshine]

I agree, keep the LOD until it dies. It's given you years (decades by the look of it) of faithful service. You should let it finish the job.

Do you have a Chrysler minivan? Was my first vehicle.

i have a saturn ion and the (soon to be wifey) girlfriend has a jeep wrangler. i have a key to hers and she has a key to mine.

...polls are fun! :tinfoil:

...thanks everyone for the suggestions!!

lovecpf

 

[THE_dAY]

Put the new Mini on your keychain for a week and see how you like it. If you prefer the L0D, then it is still there for you to put back on. If you like the Mini better, then it is only a matter of time before it too gets some war wounds.

I agree, try out the MiNi, if you like it keep it, if not then go back to the L0D.

I know you'll appreciate the extra lumens from the MiNi though

 

[burntoshine]

i keep going back and forth. i pretty much agree with the points on every side which is why i need help.

decisions, decisions.

life is tough.

with everyone's help, i have decided that i will carry one of the new neutral white Quark minis with me somehow. whether or not it goes on the keychain is yet unsure.

most people seem to think i should keep the LOD on there.

i'm definitely leaning towards keeping the LOD on the keychain and keeping a NW mini in my pocket. maybe i can rotate pocket lights between the AA and the 123 NW mini.

so then maybe i'll be carrying 3 flashlights, just like a caver. keychain, deep pocket clip and loose in pocket.

i'll see how i feel when i actually get my 3 neutral white minis...

thanks again everyone for the input! :wave:

and MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR! :santa:

 

[Flying Turtle]

You know you won't be happy until you've got a QMini 123 in your pocket. I think the slimmer AAA form does better on the keychain. Happy deciding.

Geoff

 

[Tixx]

put on your NW Quark mini 123 (wasn't mentioned, but an option)

 

[TDL]

I think that we would not know the ones we will keep until we use them for a while. I will also have to decide whether to keep my LDO1 SS as an EDC or one of the NW Minis as I purchased one AA and one 123.

 

[burntoshine]

I think that we would not know the ones we will keep until we use them for a while. I will also have to decide whether to keep my LDO1 SS as an EDC or one of the NW Minis as I purchased one AA and one 123.

true; only time will tell for sure. i have a LD01 SS that i converted to neutral white and was considering putting that on my keychain a while back, but it's much heavier than my LOD, so it stays in the shop as my see-inside-small-places light.

neutral minis are on their way!

 

[burntoshine]

i have decided that old neutral Fenix LOD for sure stays on the keychain.

i am keeping my neutral Titanium Liteflux as an EDC clipped to my pocket,

BUT, i have been carrying my neutral Quark mini 123 loose in my pocket next to my wallet as another EDC.

i now carry a spare 123 in a custom made battery carrier in my other pocket with my other EDC stuff.

the neutral mini AAs stay at home. i have them in key places in case i need a flashlight around the house.

...and now i have a neutral Titanium mini 123 on its way! not sure if i will carry the Ti or the reg. i'll figure that out later.

HAPPY 2010!

 

[LEDninja]

The little one goes on my keychain.
The big one is loose in my pocket. AA lights are too heavy for a keychain. Do not want to hold keys when using my goto light.

 

[burntoshine]

yeah, i agree. i tried putting the AA mini and 123 mini on my keychain separately; they were both too bulky. i've been carrying that LOD on there for years and i'm so used to its size. i like both the minis a lot, but they're not keychainable for me.

i use this clip on my keychain light and i highly recommend it if you want a quick and easy way to disconnect your light from your keys without any danger of accidental disconnection.

 

[BlueMarble]

Very awesome pictures! I'm waiting for my LD01 to one day look like that. Thanks for sharing.