Yet Another Led Keychain Flashlight (Maybe something different)

Hi guys.

Does a keychain with the following specs exist?

- Of course AAA batteries.
- Under $20.
- Has NO or NEGLIGIBLE parasitic drain. (A keychain flashlight will obviously have its battery permanently.
-Current regulated (constant output, no dimming)
The fenix e01 is a contender. Does it have parasitic drain?? Any other contenders?

E01 doesn't have a parasitic drain. Flashlights that utilize mechanical clicky switches or twisty work in the way that, when the light is deactivated, the physical contact between the battery and the light is broken. On the other hand, lights that use electronic switches will have parasitic drains.

Also, you have a lot of options with your specifications. I carry around an Ultrafire A3 3-mode, which serves its purpose well. Dealextreme SKU 47702. Check it out.

I forgot to add in my first post that the light has to be current regulated. Ill edit and add those. Are the lights you mentioned regulated?
Checking them out. Thanks

i got itp a3 (it's PWM regulated and dims *sigh*) and the lumintop worm (both in aluminum and in stainless steel).

the aluminum retails under 20 bucks and is current regulated (no dimming. top of class regulation and runtimes), no PWM.

PWM isnt bad at all. the a3, my Romisen's they all have PWM .. and it's sorta fun to draw light pictures on the wall. looks funny when you shake it yeah.

kreisler said:

and the lumintop worm (both in aluminum and in stainless steel).

the aluminum retails under 20 bucks and is current regulated (no dimming. top of class regulation and runtimes), no PWM.

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Now that seems like a real winner :thumbsup: Any other options guys?

Worth a look the Nextorch K1-Fenix EO5,both I own and both used often.One of my favourites though is the AAA cell light by Cybalite but only sold in the UK.

mcnair55 said:

Worth a look the Nextorch K1-Fenix EO5,both I own and both used often.One of my favourites though is the AAA cell light by Cybalite but only sold in the UK.

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No clue if the nextorch K-1 is regulated but the runtime is very poor compared to others. What it gives up in runtime, it makes up for price.
The Fenix E05 is nice but what advantage over the lumintop worm with its 2 modes (HI 60 and LO 10 lumens)

And are you guys sure the ITP EOS3 is not current regulated??

Take a look on my website, I have compared many different AAA lights.

Not many of them are stabilized, Klarus and Fenix is stablized, but they cost more than $20.

*poke* *poke* E01 is not a current regulated light
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...Fenix-E01-unpotted-amp-driver-efficiency-data

Illum said:

*poke* *poke* E01 is not a current regulated light
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...Fenix-E01-unpotted-amp-driver-efficiency-data

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E01 has a regulated output in that it will maintain a constant output until the battery is no longer capable of doing so. After that it will drop to moon mode. The E05 is regulated as well.

Current controlled vs. PWM is a means of varying brightness in a multi mode light. PWM is unpopular because unless the frequency is quite high there can be a noticable flicker which is very obnoxious. I would only buy a PWM light if I knew the frequency was high enough.

The E05 is my personal favorite for a keychain light because I really like the flood beam and very compact size

Also +1 for HKJ. He has a lot of great info :thumbsup:

Geez...That is a most through review and beamshots and analysis. Thanks HJK. Will look into it later this afternoon and read ALL of it....
Any chance of adding the lumintop though?

SuLyMaN said:

- Of course AAA batteries.

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J: How about AAAA batteries? I really love my diminutive Klarus X5

H: However that's way out of your price range.

SuLyMaN said:

(A keychain flashlight will obviously have its battery permanently.

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J: Not sure what you mean by this statement.

H: You can use AAA Eneloops if you'd like.

J: Or Energizer Lithium Primaries for long life and cold-resistance.

H: Or even Lithium rechargeables.

SuLyMaN said:

Any other contenders?

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J: The Olight i3 EOS is an inexpensive little light.

H: 2.5, 20, and 70 Lumens (Low, Med, High - twisty).

Good luck,
J&H

SuLyMaN said:

And are you guys sure the ITP EOS3 is not current regulated??

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there are hundreds of youtube videos with the tip eos3. on the videos you can see the PWM regulation very clearly. PWM should not be a deal breaker.

i have a Titanium eos3 on order because it runs on 10440. My 2 Lumintop Worms explicitly run on AAA only, no 10440 allowed. They have can throw 42m (FL-1 Standard) and have serious light output (brightness, throw, beam pattern, runtimes) and remain my EDC keychain light. well, i mainly have the titanium eos3 on order because i got it for 29.99$ and it's a steal at this point. (suggested retail is 39.99$ from hongkong).

edit: tank007 e09

@jekyll & hyde: 4AAAA's not so commonplace I think. What I mean is that you put a battery in a key chain flashlight, the parasitic drain should be at the least possible, else you could find yourself not having a light when you most need it!

I got confused and thought PWM = not constant light output. That is not the case. So PWM also will do.

UPDATED SPECS:
- AAA batteries.- Under $20.
- Has NO or NEGLIGIBLE parasitic drain. (A keychain flashlight will obviously have its battery permanently.
-Current regulated/PWM: HAS TO HAVE CONSTANT LIGHT OUTPUT
-At least 2 modes

To sum it up, lights that will fit the under $20 bill. The Fenix E series gets disqualified.

Olight i3 EOS: 2.5/20/70 lumens
ITP A3 EOS: 1.5/18/80 Lumens (nearly ruled out as output dims as battery goes down)
Lumintop worm: 10/60 Lumens

Any other options under the $20 options?
The olight has nice 3 options but an ugly protuding ring for the keychain. However, it can tailstand from what I gather.
Lumintop only 2 modes but its 'ok' I guess.

check out the brand new Tank007 offering.

Tank007 E09

kreisler said:

check out the brand new Tank007 offering.

Tank007 E09

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Is that light regulated/constant light output?

Just so you know, the Olight i3 replaces the ITP A3 EOS (which was always made by Olight), and late model A3's have the same circuit as the i3. Earlier A3's had 200 Hz PWM, which was a bit noticable, and modes went med-lo-hi. The late models have 2500 Hz PWM, so you won't see it, and modes go lo-med-hi, and the low and medium, while still well spaced, are brighter than the early lights.

I think you will find the level of light output from either of these is as constant as almost any AAA light you will find, especially if you use NiMH or Lithium (primary or rechargable) batteries. It is near impossible to get a high output light to hold it's brightness from an alkaline, the battery just can't deliver the power. Alkalines will give great, long, constant output on the low mode, however.

The EagleTag PN20A is supposed to be current controlled. I don't own one but that will probably be my next keychain light. Edit: Sorry, it's not anywhere close to $20 though.

I do have the I3 and it is one heck of a little light. I am normally very sensitive to PWM and this one doesn't bother me at all. I've carried it around for the last few months and my appreciation for it seems to grow. This one was $21 I think but it's right at the edge of your price range.

The E01 is a great light too, but it's hard for me to get past the purple tint. On paper it's probably a better light to have in an emergency. Mine appears to be indestructible. Another excellent design. And it's certainly cheaper at about $13. The output of my E01 seems to be about the same as the medium mode on my I3.

I gave away about a half dozen Nitecore T0 AAA lights for the holidays this year. Somebody begged for the one I kept for myself so I didn't have it long enough to learn much about it. Same emitter with the same tint as the E01 though. It has a cool looking titanium bezel too. The emitter isn't as recessed though as the E01 so I would probably give a slight edge to the Fenix. But the T0 does look to be a winner, and it's about $13 as well.

My Thrunite Ti (firefly) should be here tomorrow. It looks to be a contender as well as my new night light. I think it is current controlled though I am not sure. Certainly the thought of having a moonlight mode on a keychain light is great. I get a lot of light just to look for something in the dark car, or a lot of run time in an emergency. Seems like Thrunite is one of the only companies that understand how important the mode is, as evidenced by other companies basically giving you a camera flash for turning their lights on into moonlight mode. At $16 it looks like a good light!

Edit: I've owned a couple Tank007 AAA lights and didn't like them. One had a flaky driver. I do have a DX $10 AAA light with an R2 in it that seems decent.

IlluminaTi light in aluminum might be an option. Same light as itp a3, but with a (to me) nicer feel and ability to tail stand. Can't recall what I paid for mine, but not too different from my itp lights.

Since it hasn't been mentioned, i'll put a vote for the thrunite ti. I believe it's regulated and it doesn't have PWM. It also has the lowest low mode of AAA lights that i am aware.