Best LED lithium coin cell light?

Which is the best and why? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif

Sort of a matter of opinion, maybe the CMG O4 depending on what you're looking for, but it's kind of an odd question. Coin cell lights were mainly supposed to be small enough for a keychain, as compared with (say) a 2AA light. The motivation for making really good coin cell lights sort of disappeared when the Arc AAA came out. If you want a high quality keychain light, get an Arc. Get a coin cell light if you want something cheap and simple. Or a Swisslight/Freelight if you want something with no maintenance (no batteries, just some sunlight from time to time).

Pi, I'm partial to the photon 2. Bought in bulk they can be had for around $6.00 and always seem to work fine, even after years of non-use....
I've had bad luck with the Inova. They always seemed to come apart after a while.

paulr, I agree that the arc aaa is excellent. My standard application for the coin cell light is as zipper pulls on jackets. Every jacket I own has at least one somewhere on it. They are also great to stash in 1st aid kits, taped to the spare tire, etc.
Hope this helps,
Paul

If you want a lot of cheap coin lights to put all over the place, Countycomm has them for $1 each. They are pretty good except they lack a constant-on switch (squeeze only).

There's also someone on Ebay selling what looks like Photon II clones at $39.95 for 50. That's plus $11.95 shipping so it comes out to a little over a buck each. I'm sort of interested in that since there's six colors available including UV, and you can mix and match as you like. Maybe some folks on B/S/T would be willing to split up an order (I'd take a few myself).

I've had not-so-great luck with the Photon II since they get intermittent after a while. It's a little bit annoying with a Photon, but with a $1.00 light I figure if it lasts a while before flaking out, that's all I expected.

As everyone has said so far, it depends on what you're looking for.

I prefer the Inova Microlight for daily carry since it's LED is fairly well protected, battery changes require no tools, and the constant-on switch is large.

If you want features, the Princeton Tec Eclipse has dimming and flashing modes and can be removed from it's clip for ease of use. It requires no tools for battery changes and is quite water resistant.

If you want as small as possible, the Tag Light is absolutely tiny, but dims rapidly due to the drain on the tiny coin cells.

Personally, I like the Covert Photon III. It's small, the LED is well-protected, battery changes don't require tools, it's "water resistant", and has different levels of brightness, strobe, etc. Mine's got a white LED, but I'm considering yellow due to runtime issues.

Inova Microlight
That's all I got to say about that.

Depends.....

For White there's a split between:

Photon 2
Inova Microlight

with some regarding the Photon 3 as clever - but perhaps unnecessatily complex.

In Photons there is a much wider range of colors -
eg: I've EDC'd a Yellow Photon (mk.1) for over 5 years and it works well for me - ie: I see well under yellow - with good definition and contrast - but the yellow doesn't glare/dazzle my eyes when in a dark environment - also the Photon yellow (along with red and orange) are advertized at 120 hours battery life (other colors are 10-12 hours)

So my vote goes to a Yellow Photon 2......

But YMMV.

I picked up a Princeton Tec Eclipse a few weeks ago. I don't have experience with other button batt lights, but am quite pleased with the PT. I don't use the flashing modes, but the dimming modes are handy for use closeup after my eyes are fully darkness adjusted. The Eclipse disappears in a pocket and is comfortable in my hand. The ability to snap the head off and hold it either away from your keys or between your teeth while hands are busy is valuable. No idea of battery life so far, but it started off slightly brighter than my Arc AAA (on NiMH) and, after maybe 30 minutes total operation, hasn't dropped off noticeably.

My vote is for the Photon II. Small, rugged, constant on switch, variety of colors. BTW: I also own an ARC AAA and an Inova coin cell.


Chris

Like ewick, I rely on the Photon 3 (covert option). I have them in white and red. They don't have the best reputation on this forum due mainly to early production reliability issues, but the latest version is reliable. I always have one on me. I think it is the best. I am not saying it is better than the Arc AAA, but it's not in the same size category either.

I would suggest the Inova Microlight. I have several of them and haven't had a problem with one yet.

I got a little sculpted slide switch LED light at Target a couple days ago. It was in the same area as the knives and Eddie Bauer LED lights, but is a private branded one for Target. I'm not home right now, but I'll give more detail later if you'd like. Heck I MIGHT be able to put up a pic...

It isn't as small as an Inova (or I presume Photon) but holds nicely, switchs easy but firmly and is quite nice for 5 bucks!

I have an inova (blue) and several photons (II's and III's). I prefer my photons, mainly because the inova has a really ringy beam. I mean super ringed, and pretty thin. I might be able to post a pic in a bit...

I prefer the Photon 3 over the Photon 2 and Inova Microlights. It has housing options to protect the LED, where the Photon 2 has failed to do. I like my Inova, but the Photon 3 is smaller and has a better beam.

My preference is the Inova Micro for my key chain. It has a protected LED & a clip that's easy to take off the key ring. I also like my PT Eclipse. I leave the clip on my jeans belt loop & it's easy to snap off when you need it seperate. I don't even take the clip off the belt loop when I run them through the wash. Just snap the light off. It's also a great light. TX

I like the Photon 3- for its auto turn off feature. I have a Jeep TJ. and the dome light is dim. I hang my Photon to light up my Jeeps interior.

Led Lenser V9. It's very small, bright and made of aluminum.

I have a PT Pulsar, but I want something with a constant on switch. I'd like something durable, reliable, and fairly long running with output similar to the Arc AAA. I'm thinking about getting the Photon III, maybe covert. Is the output of the Photon III covert less than that of the regular because of the shroud on the sides?

The brightness is the same, just without the peripheral glare when your eyes are dark adapted. The beam is reduced to a narrow spot, which is much more like a flashlight.