Advice on my first keychain flashlight

Hello everyone. I would like to get a keychain flashlight but not sure what to get. My wife has a Fenix E01 on her keychain and it is not bright enough for my use. It is ok at 6 inches but not so much at 3 feet for walking lets say. What is out there? ITP, Quark mini, any advice? I found myself tonight in a dimly lit store trying to read and having a keychain light would have been very handy. Also in a keychain light should I use primary batteries or rechargeable? I almost forgot, I would prefer a warm tint compared to a blue/white/cool tint.

1. E01 is plenty bright for walking if you're a little bit dark adapted.

2. ITP and Quark Mini (AA or 123 models) are a bit large for a keychain and in my opinion the build quality is not that great. I like the Fenix LD01 which is about the same size as the E01. You really want to use it with a rechargeable but it's a nice light. Unfortunately there's no warm tint version as far as I know.

3. For reading you want a flood beam. Try Zebralight.

Based on your tint preferences, look at the limited run warm tint Preon 2. Swap out the two cell body for the Preon 1 body to make it suitable for keychain use. $46 with CPF8 discount and standard free shipping.

Like paulr stated, the AA and 123 sized lights are a bit large to put on a keychain.

If you don't plan to use your key chain light more than a few minutes a day, a lithium primary will likely last you for several months.

I have a Preon 2 in titainium and I love it. However I wish it were the warm tint model...which I just found out about from the 47's website. Does anyone own a warm tint they do not like and would want to trade? LOL It is the light I like, the body and color of the body is not so much a factor to me.

cm_mtb said:

Based on your tint preferences, look at the limited run warm tint Preon 2. Swap out the two cell body for the Preon 1 body to make it suitable for keychain use. $46 with CPF8 discount and standard free shipping.

Like paulr stated, the AA and 123 sized lights are a bit large to put on a keychain.

If you don't plan to use your key chain light more than a few minutes a day, a lithium primary will likely last you for several months.

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You know what, I never thought about Preon accessories, that is a great idea. I also can make a light to my preferences on looks by going here http://www.4sevens.com/index.php?cPath=297_332_337 I already have a Preon 2 in titainium, so swap out a body and have a two toned single AAA light, great idea thanks.

I think the Quark CR2 Mini may be exactly what you're looking for. It's small, bright and there's currently a neutral white version for sale. It'll work with an RCR2, but I don't think it's recommended.

The Fenix E01 is only rated at 10 lumens, so it's easy to see why that's not enough.

Man, for a keychain light, I just don't see how you can do much better than an ITP A3 like this: http://www.batteryjunction.com/itp-a3-eos-standard.html

Alternatively, you could get the 'UPGRADE' edition, which has three modes: http://www.batteryjunction.com/itp-a3-eos-upgrade.html

I have given away a few of these and people are very happy with them. They are advertised at 80 lumens and put out a terrific amount of light for such a small package. Plus they use AAA batteries, which are available anywhere - even the most remote general store will have AAA batteries on hand.

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The ITP and other comparably powerful lights (including the Preon) will work on alkaline cells but with poor performance compared with nimh or lithium cells. Alkalines work well in the E01 are quite inefficient at higher power levels.

That said, it sounds like the Preon is what you want, because of the availability of the warm led. Just run it on nimh or lithium when you can, and treat alkaline as a fallback power source that you can use in a pinch. If you do use alkalines, try to avoid over-use of the high power level, which will drain the alkaline very fast.

I wouldn't really worry too much about this lumen stuff though. CPF'ers have inflated ideas about lumen usefulness. The E01 is about a 5 lumen light (it says 10 lumens on the package, but that is an inflated rating). The classic 2aa minimag is also about a 5 lumen light, and was one of the most popular flashlights of all time. 5 lumens really is enough for a lot of purposes other than reaching across long distances. My own keychain light is a titanium Photon Fanatic LPK running at maybe 3 lumens (10 mA) on an SR44 watch battery.

If you like the Fenix E01, you might consider going with the Fenix LD01. It's has 3 light levels and is brighter thatn the E01. I've Been carrying one for about 6 months now and it works well. Standard AAA batteries too.

peak eiger.

i have a neutral tint quark mini 123, and itp A3, but im not satisfied with either.

so im going to get the peak, still deciding on which brightness setting to get. also still waiting for other lights to come in the mail I try not to buy them faster than they can ship them. i like the neutral tint and brightness of the mini, but hate all the twisting i have to do. and the twist action on the mini isnt the best. i tend to skip modes while twisting, so i have to twist more to cycle through the modes again.

the peak eiger is only 1 mode. but you can choose from 8 different brightness'. has NEUTRAL tint option, body type option, body material option (HA, brass, or SS), and beam width option. all for about $40!

the 10440(AAA) version also supports li-ion 10440 which will make it much brighter. but i plan on using energizer lithium AAA. also has smaller versions using 10180, and 10280 size cells.

Quark mini CR2. Warm white, neutral white, or cool white, its your choice.

Mr. Lite "lady light" KC-05 lipstick

I found out about this light from the CPF Marketplace. Do any of you own this light and if so, what do you think about it? I am looking for a pink EDC keychain light for my wife. I am also looking at the Fenix E01 and ITP A3 EOS in purple. I would like your thoughts on these lights please.

Re: Mr. Lite "lady light" KC-05 lipstick

Never heard of your first light myself but I am a noob,the other 2 have shed loads of info on here about them,just do a search and you will be reading for hours.

To make it easy for you the EO1 is bomb proof and great value most members have at least 1 and the ITP A3 is fantastic value for money and again lots of members own them.

Just buy both,no reading needed,you will not regret it.

As you have opened a similar but more comprehensive thread here, this one can close.