are the photon key ring lites worth the money

i need a new light for my keys.i am considering a photon type light. any suggestions. and also which color.? for walking and general useage.also since they are reasonalby priced,which is best for reading maps?.i could get 2?.sorry for the ramble here
dirtie

I have had a Photon brand squeezy light on my keychain for years. Every version up to my current Freedom Max. Really neat it does a whole bunch of different things including four flashing modes. I do not use any of them.

The other thing it does really well, is turn itself on in my pocket and kill the batteries. For some reason the Freedom seems much better at this than earlier versions. I would not buy another one, nor would I recommend them for the money.

Go to Lighthound and buy a bunch of his $1 no name squeezy lights. They are plenty bright and simple: on or off. When they die, break out a fresh one. A nearly lifetime supply of these will cost about the same as one Photon Freedom.

For map reading, a white LED is the best choice.

Mark

Have several Photons and numerous other similar lights. The Photons are the ones that I use, so I guess I like them best. My preference is the covert in turquoise. Brighter than red but doesn't mess up night adaptation like white.

I'd really like a PII (with momentary squeeze and on/off slider) covert, but there are no plans to make one (at least per email a few months ago).

I read about the Photon lights for a couple years before I bought one. I was very biased against the coin cells and for the life of me I couldn't understand the raves I kept reading about these little lights, over and over. The loyal following finally pushed me over the edge and I bought the Freedom NV Green w/covert nose. Now I'm one of the ravers.

It is a well made, well thought out light with a useful UI and a thoughtful retail package with accessories that will allow the light to fit the carry quirks of most of us. (Included is probably the coolest hat bill clip I've ever seen.)

I run mine on a cr2032, but if you use the stock cr2016s you may still get them for 35¢ each at Batteryspace.com. I am a convert. I wouldn't go anywhere without mine on a bead chain around my neck.

EDIT: Mine also came with a nifty, low profile, skeletonized holder that I always use. The holder goes on your key ring or neck chain and it enables the light to be snapped into it in such a way that the switch is protected from accidental activation.

Cradle

With all today's choices, I'd say no. I have one with an iffy switch and requires screw removal to replace batteries that your local store my or may not have in stock. a 1xAAA light would serve you better.

just my 2 cents.

grapplex

Photons are great because they're inexpensive and small. I feel that everyone should have at least a Photon with them.

However, if you plan on using it a lot, I'd go with something more substantial with "proper" batteries. Arc AAA-P comes to mind. It runs just fine on alkaline AAAs, and you don't have to mess around with expensive coin cells, or buying them bulk (much cheaper) on ebay. It's still small enough to be unnoticed on your keychain, but I feel its larger size makes it more usable. An Arc will take care of pretty much any incidental every-day lighting need that might arise, without needing a bigger brighter light. Of course, having a bigger brighter light is a good idea too, but unless you're doing something every day that would need a dedicated light (walking the dog at night, inspecting buildings, etc), you can keep that one in the glovebox, backpack, etc.

I personally prefer CR2 based keychain lights (Jil Intelli, CR2 Ion, etc), since this form factor gives you more to work with in terms of features, but CR2 lights are also generally more expensive.

I think they are just too cool not to have at least one, just for the novelty factor if nothing else. I have a couple, a NV turqoise and a yellow. The yellow is a porchlight on my Maxpedition Proteus thanks to the awesome clip that comes with them. Clip it on a hat and you have instant headlamp. Doug

I have a cheapie from lighthound and a 2x Freedom in white. If I had to do it over I would buy 15 from lighthound. They are nice, but nothing special to me. I do use the little plastic holder that comes with it. I built it into a necklace w/ 4 foot of paracord. It works well. With fresh batteries though, you could not tell the difference between a photon and a cheapie in the dark. The photon's gold plated contacts are a nice touch though.

Been carrying one for 10+ years... only on my second and never have had to change the battery. The first one was in my pocket so long, it was smooth and shiny like sea glass. Don't use it much, but as a last resort it is invaluable. I like the red best for night vision, if your available light is so small why screw up your night vision? The original was my favorite, my current one has the switch for always on and I preferred the squeeze only for some reason. A couple of times mine has been switched on, I have no idea how. Just put it on your keychain and forget about it until you need to read a map, mess around in a computer, find something you dropped under your movie seat, or the power goes out and you need to find your "real" light...

I have a red one and a white one on my keys (white Photon II, red cheap clone). They are great.

dirtie,

The L.R.I. Photon Microlight Freedom IV in White with a covert nose would be my choice. It is head and shoulders above anything else on the market in terms of features, brightness, and accessories. If you put it in the neck clip backwards, it locks the switch out and prevents accidental activation in your pocket. You absolutely need the covert model (or the bounceback from the LED will drive you nuts in short order). It has infinitely variable brightness levels when turning the light on or off, so as long as you can keep it very dim, you can use white for true color and map-reading and still preserve your night-vision. Unless you are going to exclusively clip the light above the bill of your cap or use it remotely on the magnetic clip, you will have to have a covert model to avoid bounceback irritation. I know that this limits the flood/spill angle projected by the light but it is still very usable and I have learned the hard way that you really don't have a choice. Who cares what it costs if it works and is the best?! This one is!

Hope this helps.

FYI-lighthound's photon clones fit in the real ones clips, so buy 1 real photon freedom and a few $1 clones:rock:

I love my Photon Freedom, never leave home without it in my pocket. All my relatives and friends have the 99 cent Lighthound clone that I have given them. I cant place an order to lighthound with out ordering half a dozen of them....I just cant do it!!!!!

I have a Photon Freedom attached to my house key and carry it all the time. In my other pocket I never leave home without my Arc AAA-P. I think the only reason I carry the Photon is that it is very small and will make a good back-up if the battery in the Arc dies. I use the Arc 99% of the time.

I have had my photon on my keyring for around 8 years now and I am still on my original batteries in it. As someone mentioned earlier it is great to use to find your real light when the power goes out. Or when your navigating an unlit yard with biological landmines placed by the family dog.

IMO, the Fauxtons aren't worth carrying unless it's a tertiary backup or something. It is not a light I would rely on in any sort of serious situation. I've had 4 of these that I received with lightound orders and such, and none of them are still working. At least they still got use by providing more batteries for my real Photons.

As a primary light, the Fauxton will stop working, and you'll be in the dark. As a backup light, it's more likely to fail than your primary.

Take the money you were going to spend on the 2 Photons and order an ArcAAA standard - IMHO, a light much better suited for keychain duty.

As far as the Photons and Faux-tons (knock-off or "generic" Photons), I like to clip these in all sorts of handy little places. I like clipping them on the zippers of bags, lanyard holes on pocket knives,etc. You get the idea. You can order Faux-tons cheap from several different dealers online.

The real Photons are worth the money. If the light is going to go on a keyring, or especially in your back pocket, I'd recommend avoiding the Photon Freedom, which, while a great light with a great UI, seems to turn itself on a lot accidentally when pressed up against something else. Get a Photon II, white LED.

But if you're going to be using it *all the time* I would agree with the other posters that an Arc-AAA would be your best bet simply for the ease of battery replacement and better runtime.

The Photon Freedom Max is the best in its class. It is more expensive than its competitors. I think it's worth it. Having said that, it's not bright enough for me to consider it a real flashlight.. FlashlightReviews.com lists its Lux as 51. I carry it as a backup for my EDC (either an AmiLite Neo T3, or a Surefire L4).