Good cheap keychain flashlight?

T

TFin04

Joined
Aug 21, 2005
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I looked around a bit and didn't find the info I wanted.

I'm looking for a single AAA flashlight to carry on my keychain, but want something a bit more bright than the standard Maglite versions. Does Maglite make an LED version of their AAA flashlight?

I'd really like an ARC, but I'm not looking to spend that much on it. I've got a surefire for cases like that.

Something with a bright light (even a watch battery type light) will do, as long as its bright and costs about $20.

Any ideas are welcome, thanks.
 
The little Dorcey AAA at Walmart for all of 4.95. Gives a very surprising amount of light, good run time, and if something happens to it you don't cry over it.
 
I bought a Coast LED light called the pocket torch, about the size of a micro mag but MUCH brighter...It came with two watch type batteries and cost me around 6 bucks..I carry it on my keychain and use it all of the time...Plus...like the man said...if you lose it...no big deal...just get another one...In fact I have one on standby just for that occasion:thumbup:
 
The AAA battery option may be hard to find. LED's need a higher voltage than a single alkaline battery cell puts out. That means you would need a built in voltage-boosting circuit to run the light. That is a big reason why these things run on lithium batteries (higher cell voltage).

Here is one that runs on a stack of alkaline button cells. The stack adds up to a higher voltage.
http://www.theledlight.com/keymate.html

If you go with a lithium battery design you can get a remarkably bright light in a micro size. I carry one rather like this:
http://www.theledlight.com/inova-microlight.html
 
jackknife said:
The little Dorcey AAA at Walmart for all of 4.95. Gives a very surprising amount of light, good run time, and if something happens to it you don't cry over it.
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Thanks, but I dont buy from Walmart. Do other stores carry them?

What about Xenon bulbs? I know Maglite makes those bulbs for most of their other lights.

I may pick up one of those lithium ones you posted, thats something like what I'm looking for.
 
The Inovas you can find at Target, and Photons you should be able to find in luggage stores or knife stores at the mall.
 
If your looking for a good small keychain flashlight thats under $20 I would check into the Streamlight Keymate. I own the Keymate and the Arc AAA P and the streamlight isnt the Arc but its a great light.
 
I decided to pick up an Inova Microlight at Target for about $6.99. It has a big problem for my use. Here in Colorado Springs the high altitude air is thin and dry which promotes high static electric voltages. The Microlight is electronically controlled rather than having a direct power switch. Simply handling the light is enough to get it to turn on. It turns on in my pocket without any pressure on the switch. It also turns itself back on after I turn it off--simply when I put it down. PS. I have been an electronics engineer for the last 30 years so I do understand how it is supposed to work and the likeliest cause of its misbehaviour. Static glitches have enough energy to trick the microcontroller into thinking that the switch has been pressed so the microcontroller is turning on the light.
 
I also picked one up from Target today too. It works extremely well for me (here in Michigan).
 
For the money, the Streamlight Keymate is really hard to beat. I've been carrying one for about a year and haven't had to replace the batteries yet. It's a tough little flashlight.
 
Razzierb said:
For the money, the Streamlight Keymate is really hard to beat. I've been carrying one for about a year and haven't had to replace the batteries yet. It's a tough little flashlight.
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Another vote for the Keymate. After having it on my keychain for a year I can't imagine going back to a Photon.

Frank
 
Gerber Sonic is nice as well. Runs on AAA a little easier to find than the Keymate batteries.
 
SilverFoxKnows said:
Another vote for the Keymate. After having it on my keychain for a year I can't imagine going back to a Photon.

Frank
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I have both and couldn't imagine keeping a Keymate on my key chain. ;)

Get a Photon Freedom. Very small, you won't notice it on your keychain. Variable brightness levels that you WILL use simply because its so bright.

Yes, the Keymate is cool and I even carried a green version for a while, but why not spend a few bucks more and get something that is much better?

Mark
 
the slide switch on the Photons. My wife's not got an Inova keychain light that seems to be holding up better but I'll stick with the Keymate. I found the batteries for it at Target, and they're more expensive than AAAs but they seem to last longer. And the 4 watch batteries are more compact than a single AAA. So the keymate is bigger than the Photon but is smaller than the single AAA lights.

Oh, I just remembered about the ASP Sapphire. Not a bad little light. There's no constant on switch but I got it for free so I'm not complaining too much. Pretty bright, though, and it's been on a secondary set of car keys for a couple of years now with no problems.

I'll have to check out the Photon Freedom, thanks.

Frank

edit: Oops, it wasn't the Photon I had problems with, it was the Princeton-Tec Pulsar II. Their Attitude is a decent light, though.
 
SilverFoxKnows said:
the slide switch on the Photons. My wife's not got an Inova keychain light that seems to be holding up better but I'll stick with the Keymate. I found the batteries for it at Target, and they're more expensive than AAAs but they seem to last longer. And the 4 watch batteries are more compact than a single AAA. So the keymate is bigger than the Photon but is smaller than the single AAA lights.
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The batteries for the Keymate are pretty easy to find as Frank suggested at Target, your local drugstore, or even the grocery store in most places. One thing I would recommend is sticking to the silver version of the Keymate. I've got one of each (black & silver). The silver finish still looks new and the black finish is pretty worn looking after the same amount of pocket time. I've also got one of the INOVA keychain lights that is pretty handy as well. The battery for that one is a bit pricy though.

Razz
 
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