Micro Keychain Light

d13avo

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Sep 25, 2011
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Hi all could someone recommend me a quality reliable micro keychain light please. I've been looking at a few but cannot decide which one to get. I quite like the look of the astrolux but have had no experience with this make. Also would prefer a USA, German made than Chinese made, cheers.
 

bigburly912

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The factor equipment ghost is an awesome keychain light. Pretty sure they are made in China but the company is based in America and they take care of everything out of that facility. Customer service is amazing.
 

archimedes

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What size and form factor do you prefer ? Replaceable cell or built-in ? Budget ?

If the Astrolux discussed above is the K1, that model looks similar to the MecArmy SGN3, which I have. I do like the SGN3 overall, but am generally not enthusiastic about items lacking user-replaceable batteries.

Peak has been a preferred keyring light for me for many years, and I carried an Eiger 10180 until finally upsizing to AAA torches a while back.
 
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Timothybil

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I have both the Nitecore Tube and Tip CRI as keychain lights. They each have their strengths. Some users complain that the Tip is too easy to accidentally turn on in one's pocket. I just move the clip around to the switch side and that doesn't happen. It only takes a matter of seconds to move it back when I want to use the light.
If you want a more standard form factor, the Streamlight Microstream is still one of the foremost keychainable lights. Another is the Lumintop Tool AAA. I have both and really like them. My Microstream lives in my jeans pocket as my backup small light, and has done so for the last five years or so.
 

d13avo

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I have just placed an order for a couple to see how they turn out. The ones I ordered as in the UK were the Maratac Peanut Light, the DQG Fairy and the DQG Hobi Plus. I did look at the DQG Spy but this was only available in Titanium at nearly £50 so thought I'd see how I got on with the Fairy before pulling the trigger. I could not find the ghost available near me and didn't see the McArmy SGN3 but will check this out too.
 
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Sos24

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I have just placed an order for a couple to see how they turn out. The ones I ordered as in the UK were the Maratac Peanut Light, the DQG Fairy and the DQG Hobi Plus. I did look at the DQG Spy but this was only available in Titanium at nearly £50 so thought I'd see how I got on with the Fairy before pulling the trigger. I could not find the ghost available near me and didn't see the McArmy SGN3 but will check this out too.

I hope you find one you like of that group. I have and really like the DQG Hobi Plus. I really like the variance in brightness and the recharger being built in.
 

this_is_nascar

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Hi all could someone recommend me a quality reliable micro keychain light please. I've been looking at a few but cannot decide which one to get. I quite like the look of the astrolux but have had no experience with this make. Also would prefer a USA, German made than Chinese made, cheers.
Photon Freedom for the keychain.
 

Monocrom

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Micro keychain lights.... Photon Freedom found a spot on my keychain. Perfect in every way, but I wanted more output. Since then, one contender after another has been tried. Two failed miserably, the rest just kept coming up short in some way, shape, or form. Photon Freedom always ended up back on there. About a month ago, Nitecore Tube ended up on my keychain.

I don't think it's going to leave. Which surprises the heck out of me. Remember those two keychain lights that were a miserable failure? One was the Streamlight Nano. The other was the Nitecore TIP. And, I generally despise Nitecore. Why? All of the few Nitecore models I've owned have let me down, and proven to be incredibly unreliable. I honestly have no clue why I decided to take a chance on their Tube. No clue at all. Sometimes you just say, "What the heck. Let's toss it against the wall, and see if it sticks!"

That expression has nothing to do with whether or not something sticks around, but yeah; looks like the Tube is sticking around. Pictures simply do NOT paint an accurate look at this light. It is a bit smaller than in pictures. It is a whole heck of a lot thinner than any picture I've seen of it. Use the triangle-shaped attachment point directly onto your main key-ring, and the light rests flat against your keys. It feels like it's not even there. Low-mode is what you'd typically expect out of a keychain light. High is 45 lumens and at least to me, seems brighter than that. The U.I. is ideal too. Especially if you just want momentary-on at the highest setting.

The Tube got right.... everything that the TIP got wrong. TIP is too thick. Attachment point is too low-profile. Requires a separate, small split-ring be attached before you can attach it to your main key-ring. The problem is, now the light doesn't lay flat against your keys. (Oops!) Charging port is exposed. (Unless you buy a version with that big, black, ugly, bulky, plastic clip that goes on the light and covers up the charging port. But then it's even less suitable to put on a keychain.) It switches on in your pocket by itself because.... It's dark in there and the light is scared of monsters? (You can lock it out. But unlocking it is a pain unless you use two hands.) And the buttons apparently hate the body because they keep trying to pop out of it.

None of those issues with the Tube. I highly recommend it. And no one is more surprised than I am that I'm recommending a Nitecore product.
 
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xevious

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Check out the Olight i1R EOS.
I second this. It's the "ultimate" keychain light, IMHO, for those who want to keep things simple. Just 2 very usable modes. Charging port hidden in the screw threads. Seriously small size, excellent build quality. And during the discount period they were so cheap -- $8.59 shipped!

I also picked up a Nitecore TIP. I think it's pretty good for what it is. The lockout works well for preventing accidental turn-on. But it's a bit large for a keychain light.
 
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Timothybil

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I'm sorry you have had problems with your Nitecores in the past. I own about a dozen or so of all sizes, and have not had problem one. I have a TIP on my keychain, without any problems. What I do is reverse the clip so it is on the switch side, that keeps it from accidentally turning on. Yes, it does mean two hands to move the clip out of the way to use the light, but that is not a problem for me. And I just used a small O-ring to fasten the Tip to my keys O-ring. It doesn't add much to the setup, but allows the Tip to be used parallel to the keys like you want. And I have several Tubes as well. One is on my other key ring. They also make nice gifts. Some of mine I got when I signed up for the pre-order, so they were some of the first ones shipped. Still going strong.
 

xevious

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I have to report that out of 3 Nitecore TIP's I ordered, the CRI one was DOA. Completely unresponsive to button presses. Charging worked--showed red at first then green after fully charging, so that function worked. But still no response, no sign of lockout change. Sent it back to Andrew & Amanda for a replacement. I had to pay return shipping... :scowl:
 

Vemice

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I have had very good luck with the Nitecore products. Have purchased several TIPs, Tubes and a TINI. No failures.
Not aware of a lockout on anything but the Tube (except the older TIPS).
Lockouts are nice but a bit of a pain if you use the light much. The TINI is probably the best in that regard as it has a 2 second delay at turn-on which is also a bit of a pain but unlikely to activate in the pocket. Also in Demo mode it will shut off after 30 seconds.
Of these 3, I would only carry the TUBE or TINI on a keychain.
 

peter yetman

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I have just placed an order for a couple to see how they turn out. The ones I ordered as in the UK were the Maratac Peanut Light, the DQG Fairy and the DQG Hobi Plus. I did look at the DQG Spy but this was only available in Titanium at nearly £50 so thought I'd see how I got on with the Fairy before pulling the trigger. I could not find the ghost available near me and didn't see the McArmy SGN3 but will check this out too.
It's MECarmy SGN3, Flashaholics have them....
https://www.flashaholics.co.uk/products/mecarmy-sgn3.html
P
 

Monocrom

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I have to report that out of 3 Nitecore TIP's I ordered, the CRI one was DOA. Completely unresponsive to button presses. Charging worked--showed red at first then green after fully charging, so that function worked. But still no response, no sign of lockout change. Sent it back to Andrew & Amanda for a replacement. I had to pay return shipping... :scowl:

You just reminded me of another issue I have with my TIP.... I can't charge it up, using a Battery Bank. Seriously, I know when it's very low on battery life. Use a B. Bank, the red light comes on, then a few seconds later the green one comes on. But I know it's no where near charged up in a few seconds.

When I switch to a USB cable with a wall outlet plug on the other end, the TIP actually charges up properly. No clue why mine does this. I carry such a cable in my work-bag, so not too big of a deal for me. But still a bit frustrating. I attached a tiny clip onto the split-ring that's attached to only the light. Now I just carry it clipped flat in one of the smaller pockets on my cargo pants. (Locked out, of course.) It's just an extra light.
 

leggera16

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Oct 11, 2012
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You just reminded me of another issue I have with my TIP.... I can't charge it up, using a Battery Bank. Seriously, I know when it's very low on battery life. Use a B. Bank, the red light comes on, then a few seconds later the green one comes on. But I know it's no where near charged up in a few seconds.

When I switch to a USB cable with a wall outlet plug on the other end, the TIP actually charges up properly. No clue why mine does this. I carry such a cable in my work-bag, so not too big of a deal for me. But still a bit frustrating. I attached a tiny clip onto the split-ring that's attached to only the light. Now I just carry it clipped flat in one of the smaller pockets on my cargo pants. (Locked out, of course.) It's just an extra light.


My maratac peanut wont charge fully on a 26000mah ravpower bank. Once current gets low i think something shuts down.

My maratac also failed in a week. So now ive added a xpg3 s5 copper 5000k led with direct drive. 1.2amps and 500 lumens for 5 minutes of fun lol. In hindsight I think aa sized batteries or something with over 30 mins runtime is worth the extra weight after having 20 mins max as standard at only 150 lumens.
 
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