Ordered Photon Freedom Micro - White beam. good keychain light?

I was reading some reviews on the web and this seemed to be the best for what I am looking for. I already have pocket lights, but am looking for one I will always have on me even when I can't take a larger light.

This one is water resistant, and has constant on and momentary.

How long does the battery actually last in one of these and are there any other lights like this one that are significantly better? I'm only interested in coin cell lights for right now.

Nothing comes even remotely close to the Photon Freedom in the coin cell market.

Great little light with one of the best flashlight UI's, period.

Been my experience that Photon Microlights are not very water-resistant.

Had a couple die on me while using them in the rain. I switched to a Streamlight Nano for minimalist keychain carry. The Nano's design is very water-resistant. Used it oudoors in the rain a few months ago. No problems at all.

The Freedom is made differently than the II, and it is indeed water resistant.

Regarding battery life, I find that, because of the excellent ramp-up feature of the UI, that I change out the batteries about once a year. It's survived years in my pocket as a daily carry, several washes, and shows little wear. This is truly one of the unsung heroes of led lights.

passive101 said:

I was reading some reviews on the web and this seemed to be the best for what I am looking for.

Click to expand...

The beam the Nichia GS led puts out has got a really nasty purple hotspot. You have to see it to believe it. :sick2:

CPFer selfbuilt posted a Photon Freedom (GS) beamshot and runtime graph in his August 2009 ThruNite TiKey Review thread.

The runtime graph is very interesting.

I got a red photon freedom micro with covert nose for reading in bed without bothering my wife. It's gotten (near) nightly use for almost half a year now and is still on its first battery.

Sadly, I think it makes a poor gift for non-gadget folks since very few people would realize that it's not just another $1-$2 coin-cell light. :sigh:

It's fairly popular with some of our more technical IT folks, though.

--flatline

The batteries in these things are really hard to replace. Plus it is very easy to damage the light during a battery change. I have 4 Photon Freedom Micros' the new bright white, night vision turquoise, and red. I would not recommend them. If you need to read a menu then I guess you will be happy. The tiny button batteries do not really give you very bright light for long.

If the new Mini 123 from 4 sevens gets good reviews, get this instead. This is a product I am sorry I purchased. It is my plan to retire these lights in a trash can if the new mini gets good reviews.

007Runner said:

The batteries in these things are really hard to replace. Plus it is very easy to damage the light during a battery change.

Click to expand...

Could you please explain the difficulty you had changing the batteries?

I haven't had to replace mine yet, but I popped it open to see how it was done when I first received the light and don't remember having any difficulties at all (my photon only has a single battery, if that makes any difference).

--flatline

The battery is super easy to replace. Just pop the cover off, slide a knife under the cell, gently pry up, and it slides right out. The second cell just slides right out then. Slide new cells back in, snap cover back on, and you're good to go. The hardest part is getting the new cells out of the package.

Also remember that the runtime will never continuous, but just a few seconds at a time. So instead of being logarithmic, it will look more like a fine tooth carpenter saw blade in real use.

Absolute best keychain light IMO, especially for only $9.

I can't wait for it to arrive then. I looked at some of the other options, but they are just to big to have on my keys right now. I can always carry another light, but this is for those times I only have my keys and I want to keep them light.

flatline said:

Could you please explain the difficulty you had changing the batteries?

--flatline

Click to expand...

Getting that plastic back cover off is really hard. You need to pry it off with a knife blade. After a few battery changes this cover will be in bad shape. It snaps in really hard, and does not come off easy because there is only a tiny nub you can use to pry it off.

Then to get the button batteries out you need to slip it out from under this fragile metal bar. This bar is very easy to bend. Then the operation of the light becomes unreliable.

I've used Photon lights since 1997 when I encountered my first white LED ever! They are nice little lights, but so easy to lose. I have upgraded the LEDs in them as the whites have improved.

Some people don't like the angry blue center of the GS LED, however, I find this LED renders colors better than most other white 5mm LEDs.

After the losing my second Photon, I have a red one left and I stopped buying them. I now just buy the Energizer keychain light for $3. It has the Nichia GS LED and no big deal if it gets lost. Battery life seem longer as the 3 alkaline button cells have a long tail of operation coupled to the efficiency of the GS LED works well.

If anyone is going to throw their Photon away, throw 'em my way. At least I can extract the Nichia GS LED for other uses. It is a hard to obtain LED.

I had one of the typical photons (must have been either the Micro Light I, II, or Freedom Micro -- not sure which) and I never liked it that much. It wasn't that bright, and I always found the button / UI annoying.

Later I got an X-Light Micro that I've been much happier with. It's significantly brighter. I like the switch a lot better -- it's got a good solid click instead of the mushy feeling I had with the old light. It can be setup for momentary or constant on. I leave it set for constant on since that easily enough covers both use cases. I carry it all the time on my keychain, in my pocket, and it's rarely accidentally turned on, and when it has it's so bright that I notice it soon.

The X-Light also has variable brightness and strobe modes. I don't know if it's waterproof or not, but I've never expected it to be. I use mine for brief periods on a regular basis and the batteries seem to last for a good while.

My first X-Light did break. It eventually cracked where the key ring attaches and eventually a piece of the plastic broke off and it wouldn't snap together anymore. I sent it back to the manufacturer, per their warranty, and they sent me back a working one with no hassle -- they even sent it back with batteries.

007Runner said:

Getting that plastic back cover off is really hard. You need to pry it off with a knife blade. After a few battery changes this cover will be in bad shape. It snaps in really hard, and does not come off easy because there is only a tiny nub you can use to pry it off.

Then to get the button batteries out you need to slip it out from under this fragile metal bar. This bar is very easy to bend. Then the operation of the light becomes unreliable.

Click to expand...

Use a small flat screwdriver to pop the cover off, not a knife blade. I use the screwdriver on a Victorinox Classic SD and it doesn't leave a mark. If you find youself bending things, try slowing down instead of using brute force. The cells slide right out the opposite side of the bar with little effort, bending nothing. You just pry the first one up enough that a little push will slide it right out. The second cell will essentially fall out then. New cells slide right in with no tools.

The Freedom has the same UI as the X-Light, but is smaller with a better case material. It's well worth the extra $3 IMO.

Marduke said:

Use a small flat screwdriver to pop the cover off, not a knife blade. You just pry the first one up enough that a little push will slide it right out. The second cell will essentially fall out then.

Click to expand...

The screwdriver does sound better then using a knife blade. However getting that first button battery out can be difficult. If you get the top one out the other battery will just fall out like you said.

This light is more trouble then it is worth.
They give you a lifetime warranty with this light. Even so, I have had them fail too many times.

Well, none of the six I own have ever given me a lick of trouble, and I take them caving with me even.

I am a huge fan of the real Photon lights. I carried a Proton II on my key ring for about 7 years with no problems at all. While at SHOT Show 2009 I stopped at at the LRI booth and showed it to them and the gave me a new brighter one to put on my key ring. I have a UV Covert Freedom for when I need UV, a Proton Pro and several white Freedoms attached to various bags and packs. I like the Photon II for pocket carry because it will not turn on by mistake. Choose whichever one suits you best, they are great little lights and they take away the excuse of not having a light on you at all times. You can even carry one on a dog tag chain around you neck.

If it turns out you are unhappy with it, maybe a cr2 light might be good?