What's a good keychain light?

ExZeRoEx

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What is a good keychain light? Hopefully something with decent battery life and easy to find batteries (AAA?).

Would be nice if it was a red light too, just for nighttime and all.
 

h2xblive

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The Arc-P AAA is good and can be modded with a red LED, I believe.

Some of the Fenix lights are better performers (more features and more brightness), but less durable - at least that's my impression.
 
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EsthetiX

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h2xblive said:
Some of the Fenix lights are better performers (more features and more brightness), but less durable - at least that's my impression.

How are they less durable. I've never heard of anyone's breaking.
 

Hellbore

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I use the crappy ones they sell for $5 at any store... the ones that just have a crappy Nichia LED.... They usually come in different color LED's but sometimes I just use a super bright LED from my parts bin (I buy regular cheapo Nichia leds at superbrightleds.com) and put a red LED in one.

I use them cuz I like to have a red light that isn't very bright, for urban exploration purposes. They last pretty darn long, the red doesn't ruin your night vision, they aren't noticeable from a distance, the red makes everything look high-contrast so it's easy to see what you are doing when picking a lock or just to not trip on things.

Once I'm inside and out of sight i break out a brighter light.
 

thunderlight

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The new Gerber Sonic with the recessed LED like the old CMG Sonic. Available for around $16 at REI, may be cheaper elsewhere. Avoid the older Gerber Sonics with the protruding LEDs.
 

PAB

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I like the Fenix AAA lights. At the moment I like the L0P-SE the best. I like the size. I like the Inova keychain lights too, but I also noticed that they can turn on easily in your pocket and drain the batteries to nothing. I prefer rechargeable batteries in the lights I use most and then lithium or even alkaline in a second backup light. 1AA can be a bit big for a keychain light for some people, but I find that I don't mind that size. I've also ordered a Fenix P1D-CE and I think that will make a good keychain light. I think that and the Fenix AAA as a back up on the keychain is a great combination.
 

Paul6ppca

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Streamlight keymate! I put in a smjled,6 monts on the same battery.Watch battery lr44,vey cheap on line,4 for a dollar.
 

Bill97z

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Definately go with a Fenix E0 or E1. Perfect for a keychain, bright, and good battery life.
 

moontroll

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Fenix LOP-SE,or E1-47,I have both and love that E1-47,dont really need the extra modes.Have the E1 on the Car key chain,the LOP-SE on the Motorcycle key chain.You really need two,no really you do.
 
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x2x3x2

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i'd also go for the LRI Photon Freedom

comes in many colors including UV and IR too.
about the size of a thumbnail and so light u will hardly notice it.
5mm nichia is the best for a keychain lights as its still more effecient than luxeons.
runs 4 hours on max, 12 hours total.
ramps up and down for multi levels, fast blink, slow blink, sos and momentary modes. (Fenix finally got to putting this little circuit in their lights :p)
all for $9.99
 
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carrot

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Welcome to CPF!

I'll just sum up your choices:
Fenix E0, $20 shipped -- 9+ hour runtime, can probably be modded to red by David at Fenix-Store.com
Arc AAA-P, $45 shipped -- 5+ hour runtime, you could ask MillerMods or someone else to put a red LED in it -- Arcflashlight.com
Peak Matterhorn, $50 shipped (I think) -- 5+ hour runtime, sold in 1- or 3-LED versions, can be bought with red LEDs -- PeakLEDsolutions.com
Photon Freedom, $15-20 shipped -- 12 or 120 hour advertised runtime, sold in various colors, including red -- Photonlight.com

Personally, I'd choose the Fenix E0 with a white LED as a nighttime light, or a Peak Matterhorn 3-LED with red LEDs. Single red LED output is not all that strong, generally.
 

h2xblive

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EsthetiX said:
How are they less durable. I've never heard of anyone's breaking.

The finish on the Fenix is not as durable as the Arc-P AAA. Also, I don't think they are as waterproof as the Arc-P AAA, but I'm not sure.
 

Flying Turtle

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For your money I think the Fenix E0 is currently the best buy in 1 AAA lights. Alternately the Arc AAA-P is classier and bit more durable. The other AAA Fenix lights are brighter but slightly larger with shorter runtime.

Geoff
 

Roy

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Here's four AAA lights that are all about the same size and fit on a key ring very nicely:

...............Alkalline runtime.....Lithium Runtime
Fenix E0.............10h 50m........12h
Fenix E1.............3h................4h 46m
Fenix L0P...........1h................1h 29m
Huntlight FT-A3..53m..............1h 37m

They are also listed in order of brightness...top to bottom with the E0 being the dimest.
 
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ExZeRoEx

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Hmm, it's been a tough decision but I actually decided to go with the photon. It looks decent and is pretty cheap. I was thinking about getting an Arc though...

Thanks for all your input.:goodjob:
 
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