Paging all Photon owners, what do you do with yours?

Reading over some random testimonials about Photon keychain lights, something about the portability of these things really draws the wild users in. Photonlight.com has a forum just for people who dance at clubs using Photons as glowsticks. Doug Ritter,a popular survival guru, loves the things so much he custom designed a yellow Freedom to sell with his survival kits. I personally neck-carry a 2X Brighter Freedom on a bead-chain, without the keyring on it can pass as a generic 'surfer necklace'. They even make these things in full Realtree Camo, as if a Special OPS trooper that required complete coverage needs a quarter-sized light to blend in with its surroundings.

This got me wondering. What does the average Photon buyer end up doing with it? Is it hanging off a camera bag zipper? Tucked away in the change drawer of your car? Did it get bumped from keychain duty to drawer duty since you cashed in for an Arc-AAA? Do you swear by the name, or did you cross over to the dark side with the .99 clones? Is it the perfect EDC, or a back-up's back-up? Engineering joy, or cute little collector piece?

I'm not taking a survey, nor am I in any way connected with L.R.I. or dealer websites. I'm just a guy with time to kill and a curiosity about what happens to most Photons in the hands of flashaholics and Unenlightened alike. Thank you in advance for any responses.

My almost four year old Photon 3 has never seen much use. It was EDC for a few months until being replaced by an Arc AAA. Except for a short stint on the keyring it's spent most of its life clipped to the inside of my winter coat.

Geoff

One on every keychain, first aid kit, shave kit, wifes purse, etc. There may be other, better suited, lights there too, but the Photons are just too small and capable not to be around whether primary or back up.

Exactly as BigIron stated. I have a few scattered around but the primary one is on the keychain backing up the Arc. They dim from max brightness quickly but the beauty is that it will run many hours at a dim but emergency usable light.

I've got them all over the place. I put them on strobe mode and clip them to my son's shirtails when outside at night.
I consistantly use a red one for map reading and paperwork in the car at night. They are attached to bug out bags, emergency bags, first aid kits, and my war bag. They are there when you need light.

My photon was one of my very first LED lights. I can't remember how many years ago I got it, maybe 10 or so? I used it a little, but wasn't really impressed with it that much. I realize the new ones are much better and should probably get one.

EDC a white Fredom X2 on my keys. Have a red Fredom in the car. Girlfrend has my old (x1) fredom on her keys. I have a UV one that hanges out with the rest of the light colection.

On my keychain, I have a Photon Freedom modded with 4-die SMJLED and a Li-Ion 2032 cell.

Have a red Photon III with a 2032 on my keychain for over three years now. Still on the original battery. Never removed the tag from the battery because I don't like all the crap it does. Most likely to just go dead from being accidently turned on. By not removing the tag, I got a really bright red LED squeezelight keychain light, which is exactly what I want.

Have a white keychain light from Lighthound on my keyring as well for backup. Uses a couple of 2016's.

I don't see any need for an Arc AAA. Especially when you gotta twist it to turn it on... in the dark.. while holding a bunch of stuff going in the backdoor.. give me a break.

Now I can see plenty of situations where an Arc AAA or AAA-P would be more useful, but in those situations, I hope to have alot better light than an Arc AAA.

I, too, have them all over with the main use on my EDC keychain. I also have the small clip, lanyard, and magnetic base with flex-arm.

Can't beat them!

Best,

RedLed

It's attached to my motorcycle keys

I have carried a Photon from day 1 on patrol and keep it hooked to a keeper on my duty belt. I alternate between green,cyan and white and find they are perfect for writing reports while parked in a dark patrol car. I like it because it does not have such a wash out effect and never thought that a light could be too bright....I found out real quick that a bright light is not always the best for small tasks.....the little Photons have never failed me and do come in very handy.

On a side not I am not sure what type of LED is used in the freebie from LightHound however this is my latest addition to my keeper....man that little thing is amazing and has a great tint and spot for a cheap light.

Do you folks have problems with them turning on during keychain use? Their method of turning on seems like it would be easy to cause accidental activation.

Afultz075, I have the Photon Freedom and yes it will sometimes activate in my pocket and kill the cell. To alleviate that problem when I am not using it, I put it in mometary mode.

I have the Doug Ritter model on my keys, it's great.

"I don't see any need for an Arc AAA. Especially when you gotta twist it to turn it on... in the dark.. while holding a bunch of stuff going in the backdoor.. give me a break."
I have 3 Arcs and all can be turned on using one handed. Back to Photon. I use my Photon III when out walking the dog and a car is approaching. I turn on the stobe. Works great and the batts last a long time.

Robocop said:

On a side not I am not sure what type of LED is used in the freebie from LightHound however this is my latest addition to my keeper....man that little thing is amazing and has a great tint and spot for a cheap light.

Click to expand...

It's going direct drive off of two 3V 2016 batteries, so that's why it's so bright.

Various Photons (I/II/III/Freedom) stashed around the house. Some are attached to keychains, some are in bags, some are in survival kits.

Still have my ancient Photon I on my keychain... Photon Freedom has been temporarily retired until I get more batteries.

Photon LED, how many mcd's ?

I quite like my ebay 16,000's.

I find the 5th Unit 12,000 mcd's just too dim.