Never give up your keychain light! No matter what else you have!

Recently I have seen several people on various boards discussing the abandonment of the keychain light. They claimed they have so much better lights now that they no longer need the keychain light. I have to say that you should never give up your keychain light. It serves many functions. The primary function is to backup your main light, but there is more. Some have claimed that their main light is robust enough to stand alone. What they have forgotten is that you may need the backup light to reload or work on your main light. "Hands find hands" works nicely, but not when your dealing with small parts like batteries and tailcaps. Throw in bad conditions and you really need a backup. Last year I had a run in with such a situation. We were having a huge Blizzard here on Cape Cod. The wind was blowing over 75mph. I had to reload my Inova T3 in a parking lot. Every light in town was out. As I crouched down facing my back to the wind, I pulled out my SL Lux Jr as a backup. In a huge gust of wind I dropped the SL on the ground and it rolled away into the snow. As I tried to grab it, the tailcap of the T3 also rolled away (thanks Inova for replacing it for free!). I turned on the little photon light and was able to get a handle on things. Before I go any further and people think "where were all your other EDC lights" , yes I am a fanatic like most people here and had an X5 in another pocket and a SF 9P. Point is that if I did not have flashlightitis, I would have been in trouble. Even having the SL did not save me. Thank heavens for a little guy we forget often. Seriously folks, its easy to forget you even have a keychain light. You find yourself looking for a light when you got one already:shakehead. I guess my lesson here was:
1. Beware of lights that roll
2. Beware of parts and batteries that roll
3. Always have a keychain light, and use it once in a while so you remember you have it.
4. Remember that you are a flashlight fanatic and should have even more lights on you like a damn headlamp!

happy 4th

great advice fieldops. I think I will heed it. right now....

Also in a pinch you can let someone else borrow or even have a keychain light - so you don't have to let them have your good one!

KDOG3 said:

Also in a pinch you can let someone else borrow or even have a keychain light - so you don't have to let them have your good one!

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I have 6 or 8 of the 99Cent keychain lights stashed around and in my bags just for that reason.

You make a good point. Good thing I bought a new keychain lights from KevinL recently.

I couldn't imagine letting anybody borrow my HDS U60....

Wow. I now intend to always have a microlight II max and a glo-toob fx on me no matter what.

Agree with OP.


I use my keychain photon clone(s) almost as much as my EDC.

I never let anyone borrow my keychain light as it has my house and car keys attached to it

I carry 2 keychain lights on my keys for just these reasons. I also try to carry extras for give aways so I don't have to give out mine.

-LT

my keychain light is my L4 LOL
its more like my keys are attached to my flashlight rather than the other way round

I have to admit having attatched an arc AAA to a car key, and it disappeared months ago. I think it is in a jacket pocket, or under a pile of junk, not gone for good, but I really wonder where it is, it was my backup key.

roguesw said:

my keychain light is my L4 LOL
its more like my keys are attached to my flashlight rather than the other way round

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At least you'll notice if it goes missing. I carried a solitaire once and had it unscrew and all I was left with was the tailcap. I'm not a fan of coin cell lights either, so I just pocket carry usually.

I came across this page while image searching an L4.
Beamshots galore of several types of lights:
http://fuja.s22.xrea.com/hikaku/10m/luxeon/

Ok, fess up. Who does it belong to? :laughing:

wow, that is an old site, i remember that site from 2004
and a few new lights added there as well
the HDS is there now

i always have 2 keychain-lights 1x inova and 1x princton

I always have my ARC AAA-P on a neck cord, when I'm outside of my own bed. It's the minimum I carry, and I always have it, even when I am not wearing anything with pockets that could contain my usual EDC of AF M2 and 6P.

I almost had a power outage in an elevator I was in recently, the lights went out for a couple of seconds, but it was long enough for me to be glad I had some lights with me. Even on a summer day, you can still be caught in the dark.

I'll always have a light on my keychain, if only because I occasionally forget my EDC light. I occasionally forget (or simply leave behind) my main EDC light, once in a rare while I'll forget my knife, but I never forget my keys. Almost everything I carry in the sense of "being prepared" is redunant at least a couple times. If I'm working that night, I'll not only have my keychain with a light and Leatherman Squirt, I'll have my main pocket knife, a 2ndary pocket knife (hawkbill for work use), a SAK, and a LM Charge in the backpack. I'll have my keychain light, my EDC light (an HDS or PD), as well as spare batteries for each in the backpack, and since 99% of the time I'm riding my bike, I've got my bike light as well (35/55/85 lumen LuxIII Light and Motion Vega).

Most of the hours I spend awake are while the sun is down, so having a flashlight or 3 is a no-brainer.

I have photon clones on my keys and my wife's keys. Never had to use them "in anger" but they are always there...

Because "two is only one" an Inova Micro is clipped to the keychain, an Arc AAA is in the "watch" or other pocket, and a larger light (E1L, U60, P1, E2e) usually goes on the belt, hip pack (because I'm not hip) or larger pocket.

My "main" EDC is outfit-dependent, but the latest addition to the stable is an Aunoc AAAA on a Photon neck cord. A bit pricey for a torch i don't actively plan on using - the original plan was to get a Firefli for that position - but i'm a sucker for stylish *and* dive-worthy. I'm a firm believer that the first torch you should buy is one small enough that you won't mind having it with you regardless of the outfit and the second is a D-cell torch. After that you can buy start buying the fancy ones.