Pelican L1 vs. Streamlight Key-mate

anyone tried/have both? looking at one of these two for a keychain light. need something more on the durable side. which is better?? they seem to be brighter than single AAA style keychain lights with better runtime.

I can only comment on the Streamlight Key Mate. I have been carrying one for the past several months. Durability does not seem to be an issue with the light. It was made to handle a little abuse. The keyring attachment also makes it easy to attach and reattach the light from your keys. The Key Mate is also some what smaller than than the Pelican L1. My only concern with the Key Mate is that you have to be careful not to lose the plastic sleeve inside the flashlight when you change the batteries. There is also quite a bit of out for such a little light.

https://edcdepot.com/merchantmanager/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=27&products_id=83

i think they don't have as mush runtime as those aaa lights...

beside, they may be bright for the first few minutes ONLY.

so unless you are gonna just use it for a few seconds(less then 5) each time, you are better off with a AAA light. or even cr2 or aa or cr123.

durability on the streamlight was very good, the finish can take a beatting, It's pretty bright, and a decent price if you shop around. (mine was included free with a galls order) but i found myself loosing the head and batteries into my pocket ocasionally.

The pelican L1 is also a nice little light, id probably choose it over the pelican overall, however, in my opinion, it is too big for keychain carry. Its got the clicky switch which i usually like on a light, its also got more accessories like colors lenses and is available in IR.

My vote is for the Keymate, the pelican looks very cheap.

I had the keymate on my keys for 6 month,first set of batteries,still really bright.I did mod it with a SMJLED ,big improvement and it has turned out to be %100 reliable.Still shows no scratching.
Search for keymatemod.
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/124433

I love my SL KeyMates. They stay bright for quite a long time as the batteries don't sag quite as bad as they do in other alkaline-powered lights due to the low current draw from the 5mm LED. Most of my KeyMates are upgraded with Nichia CS LEDs and thhey give a very good amount of light (almost too bright when eyes are dark adapted). Output with a CS is about equivalent to a Fenix E1 when both batts are fresh. Between the Keymate and Pelican, I'd pick the Keymate for it's size. My Keymates have been dropped, banged around in pockets and various packs with various other metal objects including knives and have no problems functioning. The black finish will show wear, but the silver always look great (until you look real close, but who will and who cares). Replacing the LED is super easy (easiest I've ever done). However, keep in mind the button batteries (cheap online, but not as easy to find as AAAs) and as mentioned previously, the plastic sleeve that electrically isolates the batteries from the tube wall.
For a good AAA light that's quite bright, take a look at the Fenix E1 and E0. The E1 is brighter while the E0 runs longer. I have the E1 and like it a lot and AAA batteries are easier for me to get. But I still also use my Keymates often. On my last trip, I brought my Keymate with me instead of my E1 because I know the Keymate runs for much longer. The E0 would run for a good time tho, so if I had one of those, I'd probably bring both an E0 and a Keymate for emergency backup long runtime lights. I usually also bring my Gerber IU with me on trips as I've personally tested the runtime on that and it goes for a loooooooooong time.

I had the Streamlight Keymate and it was a decent little light. However, after a few years, it literally fell apart.

It doesn't need to be dropped, stepped on, or driven over. The every day abuse of it moving around in your pocket, placing your keys on a table, etc. will take a toll.

For me, it took about 3.5 years until the head fell off. Oh well, I'm going to get an Arc-P AAA very soon

Top, Pelican L1. Bottom, Streamlight Key Mate



Left, Pelican L1. Right, Streamlight Key Mate



Left, Pelican L1. Right, Streamlight Key Mate @ 6.5"



Left, Pelican L1. Right, Streamlight Key Mate @ 33"

wow, nice shots ersanada!

I haven't had any probs with mine and it's been a year. But even if it poops out after 3+ years, I'm ok with that since it only cost me less than $8.50 shipped.