Arc AAA regular vs Glo-toob regular keychain

which would you cpf-ers recommend for a keychain light? i already have the old arc but i am considering buying a glo toob adn want to know if it is worth it.
Things i have been considering:
battery life
durability
lighting--from your experiences, which is more useful: a relatively weak flood light (glotoob) vs a decent spot (arc)

any other opinions appreciated

The new Arcs look like everything the old ones used to be and then some. You might want to check into them. Also, check out the Peak line of lights or CMG Infinity Ultras that occasionally pop up in the B/S/T forum.

I would prefer a decent spot for a useful keychain light. I would rather have more light where I need it rather than some light everywhere. It seems to me that Glo-Toobs are well designed and just about perfect for their intended use: being seen (not seeing).

Personally I prefer a spot, although not many lights are a true spot (the Inova X1 being a good example of a true spot). I've never used one of the old Arc lights (I have two new ones on Pre-order), but I do EDC a Gerber Infinity Ultra occasionally. Dim area lighting is OK, but not as useful for navigating...lights like the Glo-Toob are more designed to help others see you rather than lighting your own way. It depends on what kind of light you want.

Anyway, one thing you should really consider too is the battery used. The Glo-Toob uses an odd battery. Regardless of how long the runtime is, eventually you'll need to replace the battery. Personal lights like the Arc often use easy to replace batteries.

Some popular keychain light brands are Photon, Peak and Arc which has started up again and is shipping a newer version of the Arc AAA. My current personal favourite is the Princeton Tec Impulse which was previously known as the Eclipse 2.

Do you intend to carry this light on your keys or is it going to be in a pocket? A have a few lights which I rotate around for my backup EDC. My current favourite is the Nuwai 0.5w 1AAA, I clip it to my pocket instead of carrying it on my keys. The 0.5w series doesn't feature a way to attatch them to keys, but I prefer pocket carry anyways. Other popular lights for EDC like the Gerber/CMG Infinity Ultra are similarly too big for keychain lights but are suitable for clipping to a pocket or carrying inside a pocket.

I have both lights. Get the Arc AAA vs the Toob. It's no contest for keychain carry. I like the Toob, but keychain carry is not it's forte.

What these guys are saying. The Glo-Toob also provides some nice soft "atmosphere" lighting that's great for dimly lighting a tent, too. But it's not really enough to work by and the ARC is bright enough and versatile enough for you to use it for EDC, multiple uses.

well EDC for me is either going to be surefire e1l type light or keychain light. i was thinking that maybe a glotoob would be good for illuminating path within a few feet, for when walking at night to parking lot, etc. however i dont go camping or anything that uses an area light like that so i guess glo toob isnt for me. thanks

any other opinions welcome

I have a glo toob that I just got about two weeks ago... Still carey my photon fredom though. Never leave home with out it

My JIL DD(up) has become my keychain light, replacing an Inova Microlight.

GloToobs are cool, and have some uses, but are far too much of an 'area' light for keychain use, IMHO. If I'm going to carry one thing on my keychain, I think a proper flashlight, even a coin-cell one, is a better bet, but that's just me.