Incandescent keyring lights?

I'm looking for a keyring light--one that can use 1XAAA lithium, 1XAA lithium, or 1X14500 cell. Many cool keyring lights are short, slim, and powerful. But they're all LEDs. Are there any comparable incans?

I used to use the Underwater Kinetics 2xAAA side-by-side, but it would be nice to have something brighter.

I'd consider 1x123A or 1x17500 cell.

I really don't want to have to build one from scratch with Aleph-caliber parts.

I had a Solitaire on my keyring for many years if that helps. (I know it doesn't )

They still make those old squeeze lights that looked like a mini bar of soap?

Yea, I wouldn't mind something that ran on lithiums that was about the size of a solitaire, but had the output of a minimag...

There are some incans but they're less bright than leds. If you're willing to use 1x123 try something like a Firefly, Fenix P1, etc. If you want a lightweight 1x123 incan, you could try a Tekna Splashlite, but it's nowhere near as bright as a Luxeon light. In fact with the stock #222 bulb it's about as bright as a CMG Infinity Ultra-G (I did a direct comparison). With a K222 krypton bulb it's somewhat brighter.

E1e?

UK 2AAA, best 2 cell incan

I would recommend the UK 2AAA too.
Next stage would be the SF E1e, imo. Highest quality, good throw.

I know you aren't looking for LEDs, but I have one someone gave me for xmas from Brookstone a few years ago and this thing has taken a beating and is decently bright. Probably ~$10 and I can't reccomend it enough.

I may have to settle for a wimpy, 11-lumen light like the UK 2xAAA. I'll also check out the E1e.

What about a UK 2AA with two 14500 cells and a lamp from a 4xAA? Except I can't see how I'd get 2 lithium-ions to add up to the correct voltage (4.8V?).

The Pentagonlight PX1 looks promising: 40 incandescent lumens from 1 123A, $50 list price.

Digilight 1200XB hits the sweet spot: 19 lumens, $20. But I don't see how I could attach it to my keyring.


Digilight SL1 has a great. slim form factor (0.91in. max diameter) but it's an LED. I wonder if I could use it with an incan lamp assembly.

Paul_in_Maryland said:

I may have to settle for a wimpy, 11-lumen light like the UK 2xAAA. I'll also check out the E1e.

What about a UK 2AA with two 14500 cells and a lamp from a 4xAA? Except I can't see how I'd get 2 lithium-ions to add up to the correct voltage (4.8V?).

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Would just one 14xx0 power the 4AA lamp?

The Princeton Tec Blast is pretty bright, but might be a bit chunky for the keychain. The beam is decent, and the price is right.

I think it is similar to the little UK in output.

That Digilight looks interesting.

Would a PT Tec 20 be too big? Solid light, water proof at depth, and I've run mine on 2x14500 cells driving a Mag 5 or 6 cell bulb.

Tec 20 is large for a pocket light and completely oversized for a keyring. Same with UK 2AA though its head is smaller than the Tec 20. PT Blast is a little bit large for a keyring; similarly the UK 2AAA though it's smaller than the Blast. The Blast uses a reflector-lamp assembly with a minimag-like bi-pin bulb soldered to a PC board. I guess you could replace that with a higher voltage bulb and put in two 10440 li ion cells. Is there any particular reason you want an incan instead of a led? I think leds have completely defeated incans for low powered lights (= anything you can reasonably put on a keyring).

With 1x17500 and a Strion or similar bulb, you could beat most leds, but I think a 17500 light isn't really a keyring light. If you'll accept lights that large, maybe you want to think about a 2x123 light, e.g. Surefire E2e, or UK 2L with the 4 watt lamp.

Tek-tite Splashlite?

paulr said:

Tec 20 is large for a pocket light and completely oversized for a keyring. Same with UK 2AA though its head is smaller than the Tec 20.

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Exactly. I want something with a bezel slimmer than 1.25 inches to eliminate the telltale bulge.

paulr said:

Is there any particular reason you want an incan instead of a led? I think leds have completely defeated incans for low powered lights (= anything you can reasonably put on a keyring).

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I've found that when I shine an LED light outside, I can't easily discern what I'm looking at.

paulr said:

With 1x17500 and a Strion or similar bulb, you could beat most leds, but I think a 17500 light isn't really a keyring light. If you'll accept lights that large, maybe you want to think about a 2x123 light, e.g. Surefire E2e, or UK 2L with the 4 watt lamp.

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I am, in fact, looking into a 1x17500 body + Surefire E head. I'll check out the UK 2L, though if I must use AAs, I strongly prefer lithiums, and I think that any UK lamp will hotflash with lithiums.

Is there a hotwire Minimag 1AA or 1x14500?

Paul_in_Maryland said:

Is there a hotwire Minimag 1AA or 1x14500?

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Ledean sells cutdown 1AA minimags here on CPF, Lighthound sells hotwirekits for 2xAA minimag running on 2x14500, change the bulb to a Strion bulb and use on 1x14500, et voila! 80 lumen from 1AA sized minimag... It might be pushing the li-ion cell a bit hard tho...

The Tektite Splashlite comes in xenon, 5mm LED, and Luxeon Star variations... The Xenon Splashlite is pretty cheap too. I thought I saw a review around here that says it's not bad...

The regular (incan) splashlite comes with a #222 screwbase bulb that's quite dim, as I mentioned. It's a nice little light, but I'd say to think of it as a "vintage" piece that's technology behind the times. You get more output AND more runtime from the led version.

I think the PT Blast bezel is less than 1.25", anyway I don't think it makes a significant pocket bulge. The UK 2L maybe makes a bit more bulge because it's a larger light, though the old version's max diameter is about the same. I have both lights and can try to measure the diameters later today if you want. The new UK 2L has a bezel shroud that makes the diameter larger, though I think you might be able to remove it. You get some backspill without it, but that never bothered me much.

I guess you could set up a 1AA minimag with a 14500 plus the hotwire socket/reflector and a Strion bulb. Or maybe you could mod a Surefire E1e to take that bulb, and power it with an RCR123A. A cut-down Streamlight TL2 would take the bulb directly, but might be a little larger than an E1e.

Thanks, PaulR and others; these discussions have been fruitful.

It seems that the three high-output xenon 1x123A lights--Digililght T3 (30 lumens), Pelican M1 3310 (30 lumens), and Pentagonlight X1 (40 lumens), all have 1.25-inch bezels. For this reason, I'm going to rule them out as a keyring light. I will, however, buy the X1 to attach to one or both of my commuter bags. Of the three, it alone has a way to attach it to anything--in this case, a swivel clip.

Humble and dated though it may be, the Splashlite (0.75-inch head) emerges as the keyring winner! You can't beat the price or the size. Digilight's 1200XB (0.9 in. head) was runner-up, but there's no way to attach it. Yes, LEDs put it these xenons to shame. But once I go the LED route, there are so many great options, you're talking many hours of comparing! And LED beams leave me cold.

Most of the time, I'll have a Wolf Eyes 100-lumen 1x168A light in my pocket. The keyring light is for those few times when I don't.