Any keychain lights bright enough to be emergency tactical?

I have an Eagletac T20C2 MKII that I use as my primary light, but I'm wondering if there are any 'keychain' lights that are bright enough to use for tactical shooting situations if my primary light isn't accessible?

Yeah man, I EDC a iTP EOS A3 'Upgrade' XP-G R5 with a 10440 battery, and this tiny little sucker will crank out 326 lumens (according to BigChelis's chart below)! The 4Sevens Preon1 has same emitter and same output with the 10440 battery.

I use a 'unprotected' 10440 battery, but I am careful not to run the light too long on high, nor do I let the battery run completely down. If you want to be safer, then use a IMR 10440.

It's hard to believe the amount of lumens that come from these keychain lights. Very impressive....



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A safer way to go is with an itp A1 using a protected RCR123 battery. Same output as above except much much safer since you arent pushing the battery past its safe current limits. The A1 is still a fine keychain light and it does light up an area quite nicely.

indychris said:

I have an Eagletac T20C2 MKII that I use as my primary light, but I'm wondering if there are any 'keychain' lights that are bright enough to use for tactical shooting situations if my primary light isn't accessible?

Click to expand...

Did you did mention you need emergency tactical (SOS, strobe, beacon) the Quark Mini X comes to mind, it normally has three modes, but switch the modes really fast then you will enter into the "hidden" modes, these include the Strobe, SOS and Beacon.

Good Luck!

I second this. I have an itp A1 with protected RCR123. I find it small enough to keep on my keys and it is very bright for it's size. One of the best deals going!

Thrunite Neutron 1c with an rcr123. Powerful floody beam, compact and has an XML

I think that to qualify as "tactical," a light must come on in its highest mode. I don't have a Peak, but from what I know about them, I think their lights would make for reasonable tactical keychain lights.

When you say "emergency tactical", what does that mean?

Maratac AAA Extreme Tactical would do the job.

Jay R said:

Maratac AAA Extreme Tactical would do the job.

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i tried three of them and didn't find them as bright as many other 1xAAA, not to mention being bigger and bulkier.

but its one of a handful that does have a clickie, if thats what "tac" means here.

I think any key chain light that would serve for "tactical shooting situations" would probably need a tail clicky, and a forward clicky at that. Nevertheless, I'll put my two cents in by suggesting the Quark MiNiX 123 XM-L T6 - 210 OTF lumens in a 2.3 inch light! The CR2 Mini S2 or S3 might do as well. I have a CR2 Mini and find that I can operate it pretty quickly with one hand and even my older version is pretty darned bright. These days you can find good quality CR2 primaries for a buck apiece.

I got to thinking further about this thread after posting to it yesterday and so I offer another suggestion that might meet the purpose described by the OP. How about a Preon 1 with the tail clicky option running on a 10440? This should provided the key ingredients of a very small powerful light with a tail clicky that could be used on a keychain. While not exactly "tactical", it could certainly serve in a pinch, and besides, it's a great light. There are many comments about this set-up that you can find by searching CPF but perhaps that biggest proponent of this configuration with this battery is member DHart. You might enjoy his thread from last September on the subject that can be found here.

Thanks everyone! You've all given me some good lights to look through. I'll have to spend some time looking at the suggestions. My initial impression is that I like the Preon 1 that I see on the 4 sevens website. From what I can see, it looks like I would have to purchase the clicky tailcap separately?

As for the 10440 battery, are some batteries better than others?

Thanks for the help, guys! Much appreciated.

And BTW, I'm not looking for the strobe features, etc. that I have on my Eagletac. Just something bright enough to get the job done and small enough to have with me all the time if bad circumstances would arise.

I wouldn't rely on the preon 1/10440 with a clicky tail switch for a tactical situation ... I mean, it would do in a pinch, but then again, if that situation were to ever arise, every millisecond counts. You need something that has a forward clicky and most importantly, comes on in HIGH/TURBO mode and will not change modes by clicking the tail switch. Simplicity in conjunction with muscle memory is key.

I know, we are talking about a keychain light, and I know that this scenario is far from likely. But, the last thing you want to do in a life/death/harm situation is fumble through modes.

My 0.02$:

Don't rely on a keychain light in a "tactical situation". If you think you're ever going to need a gun and a light at the same time, get a small 1xCR123 light, like the SF E1B Backup, HDS Tactical or Jetbeam RRT-0, and carry it. Always.

the univex AAA/10440 has a forward clicky. Comes on in high. Has 3 modes though. See cpfmarketplace for more details.

radioactive_man said:

My 0.02$:

Don't rely on a keychain light in a "tactical situation". If you think you're ever going to need a gun and a light at the same time, get a small 1xCR123 light, like the SF E1B Backup, HDS Tactical or Jetbeam RRT-0, and carry it. Always.

Click to expand...

Solarforce L2m configured for 1xCR123 use with a forward clicky or better yet a momentary only switch.

Cheers
Thorsten

indychris said:

Thanks everyone! You've all given me some good lights to look through. I'll have to spend some time looking at the suggestions. My initial impression is that I like the Preon 1 that I see on the 4 sevens website. From what I can see, it looks like I would have to purchase the clicky tailcap separately?

As for the 10440 battery, are some batteries better than others?

Thanks for the help, guys! Much appreciated.

And BTW, I'm not looking for the strobe features, etc. that I have on my Eagletac. Just something bright enough to get the job done and small enough to have with me all the time if bad circumstances would arise.

Click to expand...

Ah. You are back.

So, I will ask again: What do you mean by "tactical situation"?

When you say 'get the job done'...what job? What, exactly, are you talking about?

Warp said:

Ah. You are back.

So, I will ask again: What do you mean by "tactical situation"?

When you say 'get the job done'...what job? What, exactly, are you talking about?

Click to expand...

Sorry. I have only popped in when I've got time.

By 'tactical' I mean in an emergency situation where I might need to draw my sidearm and need to 1) Light up a target in an emergency situation, and 2) hopefully momentarily disable it with a bright light.

indychris said:

Sorry. I have only popped in when I've got time.

By 'tactical' I mean in an emergency situation where I might need to draw my sidearm and need to 1) Light up a target in an emergency situation, and 2) hopefully momentarily disable it with a bright light.

Click to expand...

In that case you NEED something with a clicky, probably on the tailcap, that will allow momentary on. No twisties. You will want it to come on on high every time. This can be because it only has on mode or it has a UI that allow sit to be programmed this way (such as a quark tactical programmed to have high/turbo for bezel tight). I would also recommend, say, 100+ lumens as an absolute minimum.


By and large these requirements do not generally get met by keychain lights. For example, the iTP A3 is not what you are looking for.

What did you think of the preon 1 with forward clicky and 10440 option?

Does it have to physically go on your keychain, or would something very small that could hid in a pocket/watch pocket do?