Favorite EDC Flashlight

[Explorer]

the Rook by Reylight and Vosteed has become my Favorite EDC Flashlight lately. its small size makes it extremely pocketable for the 1800 lumens it puts out. the triple nichia 519a emitters have a pleasant 4000K tint and they are both pretty floody and have an excellent throw. the 18350 battery will last a good while depending on how much turbo is used but it charges pretty fast via a usb c charging port on the battery itself.



both the Rook and my FX easily fit well together in the coin pocket of a pair of jeans. I'm such a fan i had to get another Rook in red to match my FX 



its got a moonlight mode but can also be programmed and customized to many different settings and options such as:

(Moonlight)-2%-20%-100%
(Moonlight)-10%-40%-100%
(Moonlight)-2%-10%-50%
(Moonlight)-50%-100%-strobe-SOS



here's a pretty poorly done beamshot   


so what's your Favorite EDC Flashlight?

[AzteCypher]

Good looking flashlight and pretty bright as well.

[Sos24]

Nice light.

Reylight makes some nice light.  I have a couple Pineapple minis, which I think are one of the best AAA/10440 lights out there.  I also have a Lanapple.  I’ve been considering the Rook, but haven’t decided yet.

As far as my favorite edc, it would be the Mateminco CSF-04 keychain light and either the Reylight Pineapple Mini or HDS Rotary.  The HDS is a little heavy for pocket carry but definitely my favorite to use and most trusted.

[Explorer]

thanks to you both. 

SOS i've been looking at the pineapple mini as well as the penlight might pick one up. i've never heard of the Mateminco CSF-04 i'll check it out awlways looking for a good keychain light 

[powernoodle]

Lights were my first obsession 30+ years ago when a Surefire incandescent rocking 60 lumens (for 10 hours until the bulb died) was all the rage.  I have continued to love lights through the years.  During the current Micra Challenge I have tried to go minimalist, so I have been carrying this Olight AAA i3E EOS that was free with another Olight I purchased.   You can get them for $9.95 which I think is quite a bargain.  Its just a basic 90 lumen, single output twisty.  I use an Eneloop rechargeable.  But it does everything I need just fine.  When I take the dog out every evening, I'll carry something a lot bigger and more throwy.

[Sos24]

thanks to you both. 

SOS i've been looking at the pineapple mini as well as the penlight might pick one up. i've never heard of the Mateminco CSF-04 i'll check it out awlways looking for a good keychain light 

The CSF-04 is similar in form factor to the RovyVon A-series, but with a ramping UI which I really like.  I have carried the same one on my keychain for over 3yrs and it is still going strong.

[AzteCypher]

We're an Olight family.

• My EDC one
• The one in my car
• The wife's purse
• The one in our SUV
• My son's

Picked up this imini2 and it's pretty good for a keychain light.  Haven't had it long enough to make an honest assessment but carrying it on the carabiner that it comes with, makes it easy to remove for recharging purposes.

 

[nate j]

My current favorite EDC light is the Nitecore MH10S.

Overall, I’m fairly happy with it, though I would replace it in a heartbeat if I found something objectively better for my needs.  I’ve posted a lot of this before, but…

Pros
- While certainly larger than some would want to EDC, it is pretty compact for a 21700 flashlight.
- Water and impact resistant (should be table stakes for any flashlight these days, but hey)
- Simple and intuitive UI - This is important, as I don’t want to be out camping or working after dark and have the flashlight accidentally get stuck in some programming mode or submenu that I can’t navigate out of without help from the manual.
- Built in charging port - I love this feature, as I don’t need a separate battery charger and I don’t have to take the battery out to charge it.  Just a few strategically stashed USB-C cables and I’m good to go.
- Low battery indicator (another feature I feel should be standard on virtually all modern flashlights)
- The turbo and high modes (rated at 1800 and 1050 lumens, respectively) are good for searching, trying to see things at a distance, and just showing off to your friends.
- Depending on how well adjusted my eyes are to the dark, I usually find either the mid or low mode (rated at 300 and 50 lumens, respectively) to be good for general outdoor nighttime navigation.
- The 1 lumen ultralow mode is enough light for most close-up tasks with eyes that are adjusted to the dark, but can generally be used in a room or tent where others are sleeping without disturbing them.  It’s a good brightness when out camping and nature calls in the middle of the night.  And with a rated runtime of at least 1000 hours, it can be used as a nightlight on weeklong camping trips without significantly draining the battery.
- Lanyard is serviceable, and hasn’t broken yet, but otherwise not particularly noteworthy.  Lanyards (or at least attachment points) are another feature that all modern lights should have.
- Tail stand capability may not be an issue for some, but I’ve found it useful often enough to appreciate it.
- I admit to being a longtime critic of strobe mode, but I have found a use for it.  When crossing or walking along a road at night (or sometimes even in a dark parking lot), I’ll activate the strobe mode to make me more visible to drivers.  (I keep the light pointed at the ground when I do this so as not to blind anyone.)
- I find the fixed beam angle to be a good compromise between spot and flood.
- Mode memory - another good feature that should be standard

Improvement Opportunities:
- The button can sometimes take a bit longer than ideal to locate in the dark/by feel.  A design that had more tactile landmarks would be an improvement.
- The pocket clip works well enough for clipping the light to a pocket, and it is nice that it can be rotated to any position (head down only) or removed if desired.  I would generally like to keep the pocket clip pointed at the button to help my fingers find it.  However, the pocket clip is too loose on the light, and it takes so little force to rotate it that I often find it has gotten rotated out of the desired position simply from riding around in my pocket.  Definitely an improvement opportunity.
- There is no lockout function, and accidental in-pocket activation has sometimes been a problem.  I’ve mitigated this by checking the light once or twice a day to make sure it is off, and generally keeping it set to ultralow mode when in my pocket (so it doesn’t use much energy if it does accidentally get turned on).
- For some unknown reason, the included battery is a 4000 mAh instead of a 5000 mAh.  Hasn’t been a major problem for me, but kinda lame.

Vic Explorer for scale…

[Explorer]

We're an Olight family.

• My EDC one
• The one in my car
• The wife's purse
• The one in our SUV
• My son's

(Image removed from quote.)

Picked up this imini2 and it's pretty good for a keychain light.  Haven't had it long enough to make an honest assessment but carrying it on the carabiner that it comes with, makes it easy to remove for recharging purposes.

(Image removed from quote.)  (Image removed from quote.)

very cool! and nice colors 
the only olight i've got is a i3uv eos UV light and it is a great little keychain UV light. pretty durable as well. thanks for sharing

[Explorer]

My current favorite EDC light is the Nitecore MH10S.

Overall, I’m fairly happy with it, though I would replace it in a heartbeat if I found something objectively better for my needs.  I’ve posted a lot of this before, but…

Pros
- While certainly larger than some would want to EDC, it is pretty compact for a 21700 flashlight.
- Water and impact resistant (should be table stakes for any flashlight these days, but hey)
- Simple and intuitive UI - This is important, as I don’t want to be out camping or working after dark and have the flashlight accidentally get stuck in some programming mode or submenu that I can’t navigate out of without help from the manual.
- Built in charging port - I love this feature, as I don’t need a separate battery charger and I don’t have to take the battery out to charge it.  Just a few strategically stashed USB-C cables and I’m good to go.
- Low battery indicator (another feature I feel should be standard on virtually all modern flashlights)
- The turbo and high modes (rated at 1800 and 1050 lumens, respectively) are good for searching, trying to see things at a distance, and just showing off to your friends.
- Depending on how well adjusted my eyes are to the dark, I usually find either the mid or low mode (rated at 300 and 50 lumens, respectively) to be good for general outdoor nighttime navigation.
- The 1 lumen ultralow mode is enough light for most close-up tasks with eyes that are adjusted to the dark, but can generally be used in a room or tent where others are sleeping without disturbing them.  It’s a good brightness when out camping and nature calls in the middle of the night.  And with a rated runtime of at least 1000 hours, it can be used as a nightlight on weeklong camping trips without significantly draining the battery.
- Lanyard is serviceable, and hasn’t broken yet, but otherwise not particularly noteworthy.  Lanyards (or at least attachment points) are another feature that all modern lights should have.
- Tail stand capability may not be an issue for some, but I’ve found it useful often enough to appreciate it.
- I admit to being a longtime critic of strobe mode, but I have found a use for it.  When crossing or walking along a road at night (or sometimes even in a dark parking lot), I’ll activate the strobe mode to make me more visible to drivers.  (I keep the light pointed at the ground when I do this so as not to blind anyone.)
- I find the fixed beam angle to be a good compromise between spot and flood.
- Mode memory - another good feature that should be standard

Improvement Opportunities:
- The button can sometimes take a bit longer than ideal to locate in the dark/by feel.  A design that had more tactile landmarks would be an improvement.
- The pocket clip works well enough for clipping the light to a pocket, and it is nice that it can be rotated to any position (head down only) or removed if desired.  I would generally like to keep the pocket clip pointed at the button to help my fingers find it.  However, the pocket clip is too loose on the light, and it takes so little force to rotate it that I often find it has gotten rotated out of the desired position simply from riding around in my pocket.  Definitely an improvement opportunity.
- There is no lockout function, and accidental in-pocket activation has sometimes been a problem.  I’ve mitigated this by checking the light once or twice a day to make sure it is off, and generally keeping it set to ultralow mode when in my pocket (so it doesn’t use much energy if it does accidentally get turned on).
- For some unknown reason, the included battery is a 4000 mAh instead of a 5000 mAh.  Hasn’t been a major problem for me, but kinda lame.

Vic Explorer for scale…

nice write up nate that light looks like a beast!
i've never owned a nitecore but i hear they have a robust build quality. 

[Explorer]

The CSF-04 is similar in form factor to the RovyVon A-series, but with a ramping UI which I really like.  I have carried the same one on my keychain for over 3yrs and it is still going strong.

i'm also a fan of ramping UI- well at least i am now that i've got my first hank light  (i'll post more on this later) thanks for sharing Sherry i've been looking for a durable keychain light and it's good to know you've put it to the test. 

[Explorer]

(Image removed from quote.)
Lights were my first obsession 30+ years ago when a Surefire incandescent rocking 60 lumens (for 10 hours until the bulb died) was all the rage.  I have continued to love lights through the years.  During the current Micra Challenge I have tried to go minimalist, so I have been carrying this Olight AAA i3E EOS that was free with another Olight I purchased.   You can get them for $9.95 which I think is quite a bargain.  Its just a basic 90 lumen, single output twisty.  I use an Eneloop rechargeable.  But it does everything I need just fine.  When I take the dog out every evening, I'll carry something a lot bigger and more throwy.

nice setup noodle 
I've got one of those i3E but it's with a UV led. they are definitely handy and put out a respectable 90 lumens. Mines been beat up fairly well but it's still holding up. That MICRA challenge looks cool I've been following along. I used to have a micra but alas it was unknowingly sacrificed to the MT gods. was going to order one to do the challenge but never made it that far. Thanks for sharing! 

[nate j]

nice write up nate that light looks like a beast!
i've never owned a nitecore but i hear they have a robust build quality. 

Ex

It has a solid quality feel, but I don’t (yet) have any stories of dropping it 20 feet, running it over with my vehicle, or anything like that.

With regard to size, I suppose it is all relative.  At roughly 5” long and 1” in diameter, it is certainly no key chain or coin pocket light, but as noted above it is fairly compact and light weight (5.4 oz including battery) compared to most other 1x21700 torches.  YMMV, but personally I don’t think twice about sticking it in a pocket of my cargo pants and heading out.  And compared to the multi-C or -D cell Maglites that were once the standard in flashlights, it is positively petite.

[buggs]

Ex

It has a solid quality feel, but I don’t (yet) have any stories of dropping it 20 feet, running it over with my vehicle, or anything like that.

With regard to size, I suppose it is all relative.  At roughly 5” long and 1” in diameter, it is certainly no key chain or coin pocket light, but as noted above it is fairly compact and light weight (5.4 oz including battery) compared to most other 1x21700 torches.  YMMV, but personally I don’t think twice about sticking it in a pocket of my cargo pants and heading out.  And compared to the multi-C or -D cell Maglites that were once the standard in flashlights, it is positively petite.

I still have a 3 D-cell Maglite.  Might be more useful than a club if you have to hit someone    The incandescent bulb is sadly quite poor performing relative to modern flashlights but adequate in some situations. 

I have a Fenix E03R on my keychain that's always with me.  It's perfectly fine.  Used to be an Olight I1R EOS and honestly to me they aren't much different. I know that's blasphemous to some, but the Olight performed just fine and seems entirely comparable to the Fenix. 

Have some Olight i3T/i3R or i5T/i5R around the house and they are great little lights.  When I retire the plan is to have one on my tool pouch with my Leatherman due to lack of size/weight/bulk. 

Lots of other Olights around (I got into them before discovering brands other than Maglite): Baton, Seeker, Marauder, Warrior S or X.  Seeker is my favorite of the bunch.  Warrior X would be because it lights up the next neighbourhood over, but it heats up much more than the Seeker so I'll take less light. 

Always looking for new lights though I'm probably done with Olight simply because I have no need to upgrade my Seeker 2 for a Seeker 4. 

For in house utility though the Swivel Pro from Olight has been extremely handy when I've had to cut power for electrical work.  Magnetic base, adjustable angle, very bright.  I believe I only got it because it was in a bundle with other lights I wanted but it turned out to be really useful and probably gets more use than any other flashlight I own.  Not at all useful for EDC though.   

[greenbear]

This week's favourite is my new Acebeam H16 (the photo is a trade photo, but it gives an idea of the size etc)