Modern EDC Flashlights

J

JH225

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Feb 7, 1999
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1,136
After many years of using Surefire CR123 flashlights as an all around, multi use flashlight. Walk the dog at night and need to pick up after him? Surefire. Look in the deep dark corner of the safe? Surefire. Look under the seat of the car? Surefire. You get the picture. Problem is that the run time is basically a joke.

I don’t recall the model of Surefire, but it takes 2 CR123 batteries and is approx. 5” long.

I am looking for real world opinions on rechargeable LED personal sized flashlights. I see quite a few different companies (Olight Warrior, Fenix, etc.) that offer handheld/pocketable lights, but have absolutely no idea what to buy.

Do rechargeable lights hold their charge if not used for a month or so? I ask because obviously a battery light will work when needed.

So, what rechargeable light should I be looking at? I will probably be buying 3 of them to keep in various places around the house.

I know about the flashlight forum, but most guys there are fanatical about this or that brand. Really not looking for that.

Thoughts?
 
JH225 said:
After many years of using Surefire CR123 flashlights as an all around, multi use flashlight. Walk the dog at night and need to pick up after him? Surefire. Look in the deep dark corner of the safe? Surefire. Look under the seat of the car? Surefire. You get the picture. Problem is that the run time is basically a joke.

I don’t recall the model of Surefire, but it takes 2 CR123 batteries and is approx. 5” long.

I am looking for real world opinions on rechargeable LED personal sized flashlights. I see quite a few different companies (Olight Warrior, Fenix, etc.) that offer handheld/pocketable lights, but have absolutely no idea what to buy.

Do rechargeable lights hold their charge if not used for a month or so? I ask because obviously a battery light will work when needed.

So, what rechargeable light should I be looking at? I will probably be buying 3 of them to keep in various places around the house.

I know about the flashlight forum, but most guys there are fanatical about this or that brand. Really not looking for that.

Thoughts?
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For compactness and light weight it’s hard to beat the RovyVon Aurora A7 G4 blue rechargeable light, about the size of a person’s pinkie finger. Compactness is appreciated when you want to keep it in your pocket or on a keychain. I have several fenix and olight etc but the Rovyvon is the one I keep in my pocket for EDC.
 
That gives me something to look at, but honestly, I am trying to stay with the size of the Surefire. It’s a bit large for pocket carry, but for general around the house/walk the dog use, I find it to be a great size.
 
Hickory n steel said:
How bright, what size, and do you want simplicity or a ton of modes ?
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Just a simple single mode light. I have no idea as to brightness. Bright enough to actually be able to see outside after dark, and run for long enough that its not a joke. Put new batteries in my current ones, turn it on and 30 minutes or less later, dead as a doorknob.

In looking at the Surefire website, it came back to me. The lights I have are old school 6P. They run on 2 CR123 batteries as opposed to current LED ones.

Like this…. https://www.surefire.com/6px-tactical/
 
My experience is that rechargeable batteries slowly lose their charge in storage, even when stored outside the flashlight. YMMV. So for emergency flashlights that will sit in the drawer for months or years, I use flashlights loaded with non-rechargeable lithium batteries. I have a couple of Rayovac Virtually Indestructible Flashlights in various places and in each car. They have a simple click switch on the back. I've got 5 and when checked, they fire right up. I also carry a lithium AA battery in my pouch as a backup power source for my daily carry light. I've never needed the backup battery, but I'm happy to have it with me.
Note: do not use alkaline batteries in lights that you expect to be stored for any period of time. My experience is that alkalines will leak, no matter what the brand. Pay the extra for lithium batteries and you will know the flashlight is always ready.

For my daily carry I use an Acebeam AA pokelit clipped to my right front pocket. It will run on either an AA or a 14500, but I use a 14500. I use the light daily. High beam is 550 lumens. But I normally run it at medium, which is 190 lumens. (Eyes are logarithmic for light perception, so 190 lumen Medium setting to my eyes is about 3/4 as much light as 550 lumen high. Still plenty bright.) Acebeam estimates 2 hr run time on 190 lumen Medium with a 14500. Haven't tested the runtime myself, but I charge the battery once a month and have never run out of juice. And if it did run out, it will accept any AA battery, which I'm never without.

There's a bunch of flashaholics on this site, and I'm sure they will have fancy options to share. But a simple AA light fills the bill for me. Small enough to carry on my person at all times. Bright enough to light up the immediate area.
 
Thanks for the advice.

I believe that I need something more powerful though, for the times I have to light up the yard to see if any deer are out there before letting my dog out. I don’t relish the thought of chasing him down if he decides he wants to play with them. And again when walking at night, for the same reasons.

I use the flashlight, but not every day, but they do see use. They don’t sit for months at a time.

I actually really like the size of the Surefire 6P, just hate the fact that the expensive CR123 die by just looking at them. I know the new generation is LED and rechargeable, but I know nothing about where they stand quality and performance wise next to everything else.
 
Here's my suggestion.
I'd get something I liked for pocket carry, AA or AAA.
I'd buy a few of the $15 Maglite AAA minimags to stash around. ( 2 AAA batteries , single mode LED, fairly bright, decent runtime )

Then I'd get a bigger flashlight to take out at night with the dog, if you want something rechargeable check out the Maglite Mag charger ML150LRS.
They're designed to live in their wall mount charging cradle 24/7, and because of that you get a long lifespan out of the batteries.
Repeatedly charging a battery from a low or almost dead state greatly reduces their lifespan but keeping the battery charged is good for them.


The flashlight that's small and convenient to EDC is going to have a small battery, so it's either going to be less bright with a decent runtime or really bright with a short runtime.
That's why I suggest not trying to find 1 do everything flashlight, prioritize convenience for your EDC light, brightness for your nighttime outdoor light, and something affordable reliable and bright enough for lights to stash away.
 
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JH225 said:
That gives me something to look at, but honestly, I am trying to stay with the size of the Surefire. It’s a bit large for pocket carry, but for general around the house/walk the dog use, I find it to be a great size.
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You might want to check out the Jetbeam RRT03 rotary flashlight https://everydaycarry.com/posts/39890/jetbeam-rrt03-raptor


I have an older version (the Jetbeam RRT01) which is great with continuous intensity adjustment
 
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I really like this Reylight as it's Titanium so no finish to rub off and it has a very substantial clip. I'm hard on clips.

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I have used the Fenix brand of flashlights for many years.

The PD 35 and PD 36 series are one of the best general purpose flashlights out there.
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The TK 35 series is a great walking light in both urban and woods scenarios.
very bright and throws a wide beam. Can last 10+ hours on 350 lm. My version maxes out at 1800. The new ones are brighter.
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Fenix also makes good batteries. I went with rechargeable batteries many years ago and have saved a lot of money by not having to buy batteries all of the time, especially AAs.
I use Eneloop batteries for my AAs and AAAs. Fenix batteries for my CR 123’s, 18650s and 21700s. Well worth the effort and initial investment.
 
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JH225 said:
Do rechargeable lights hold their charge if not used for a month or so? I ask because obviously a battery light will work when needed.
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Some do, yes. It really depends on what sort of rechargeable battery you're talking about - some will hold a charge longer than others. But I've pulled 10440s and 14500s out of storage after a month and they still had plenty of charge left in them.

I would take a look at the Maratac Tri-Flood for a compact edc light with good performance for the price.

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The Reylight Pineapple and the Streamlight Microstream USB are both good inexpensive rechargeable lights as well, and cheap enough that you can buy several and stash them in different bags, etc.
 
I have had good luck with Sofirn products, the past few years.
They do have their own batteries too, basically putting their name on some other companies' batteries, which is what most light manufacturers do, and they are OK, not brilliant but OK.
 
I stopped using A123s in my Surefires awhile ago. Rechargeable 16340s have more power, can sit for a long time unused (although I charge all of my rechargeable batteries every 6 months - June & Dec), and last practically forever. I keep a box of A123s as back-ups only.
 
I bought a Fenix PD25R rechargeable model for $48 in November 2022. I just keep it in my home office for when I need a light, I don’t use it all the time. It came charged and I just charged it for the first time, it was completely dead. It only took a few hours to get it back to 100%. It’s a cool little light and I like not buying CR123 batteries.
 
If you’re using an incandescent with CR123s you will be absolutely shocked by the run time of modern LEDs. I have 2-3 flashlights I rotate though taking the dog out at night and walking to/from the train in the winter (so not a ton of use) and I charge them every couple months at most.

I really like Zebralight for a good quality moderately priced light. Look at one that takes AAs and 14500s (same dimensions as a AA but higher current) and you can keep a couple AAs around for emergencies. Or get one that takes 18650s and they last a long time.

Another decent company is Prometheus Lights; their main line is very expensive but they bought a moderately priced company called 4Sevens a few years ago. I have one of their Maelstrom MXs with an inductive charging base so it’s always charged when you need it. Great light to keep by the bed or door but too bulky for a pocket.
 
I have been messing with flashlights for a long time, going from incandescents to early LED to current LED. There is a big difference between an older incandescent and modern LED lights. A modern LED light the size of the old Surefire will be a high performance light. I have been buying Fenix for awhile but there are plenty of other major brands such as Olight and Thrunite, and a lot of lesser brands. You can buy a basic light that will run on a pair of CR123 batteries or a single rechargeable 18650 cell. My evolution of lights has left me with an older Fenix PD32, a PD35 and a PD36R. The 32 and 35 will run on a pair of CR123 batteries but these days I run mine on rechargeable 18650 cells. The PD36R runs on a slightly larger cell, I don't remember the size number. Mine all hold a charge for a long time. I can leave them on my desk and 2 months later they will still work well. I suspect for outdoor use you would want a minimum of 500 lumens. You can easily get lights with 1000+ lumens but they may or may not seem all that much brighter due to the way your eyes see light. Also different brands will have different size beams so that might make a difference to you- some will have smaller spots that go farther, others will light up a larger area.
I have 2 other Fenix lights that I regularly use- a PD22 and PD25. These each run on a single CR123 battery and are easy to EDC pocket carry. For that matter if I need a light my larger ones will fit in my pocket easily enough. You can buy rechargeable batteries the size of a single CR123 if you use the lights more than I do but my batteries last for a long time. You can buy pretty good lights these days that run on single AA or AAA batteries, and I have a smaller rechargeable Fenix on my keychain that is surprisingly bright.
These larger lights will run you at least $50, maybe $75. If you have bought Surefire in the past you probably don't mind this cost. There are lesser brands you can find that are cheaper, with lesser quality.
 
If you want an actual "every day carry" light, don't worry about battery drain. You'll be using it enough that you'll need to recharge it, or at least periodically top it off anyway.

For other uses, like in your glove compartment, tool box, back door...a light that might sit around for weeks or months without being used, it's not a bad idea to use a different type of light that uses non-rechargeable batteries (or can use both rechargeable and non). I'd also recommend considering headlamps instead of typical handheld lights. Also, keep the batteries separate. Definitely don't use alkalines, as they can leak, but keep even the lithiums outside of the light. The reason for that is many lights use an electronic switch rather than a mechanical one, and electronic switches have "parasitic" drain. The drain can sometimes be very minimal, but it's there. No big deal with an EDC, but you don't want that if you expect the light to work after sitting around for a few weeks or months. And/or get a light that can be "mechanically" disabled (ie: unscrewed) in a way that prevents them from being turned on.

Fenix makes a lot of lights that can use either 2 CR123as or a single 18650.
 
The 2 CR123 vs single 18650 is a great platform for a stash light or EDC. I have a few that I've used carried quite a bit, though I don't typically reach for those anymore.
The size is a bit large for (pants) pocket carry; though they typically come with a belt holster. That isn't why I've moved on though; as I prefer slightly larger lights. Mine are just older... battery and LED technology have advanced; and, like with knives, sometimes we just want new things even though our other things are still good.
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The middle light is an old Fenix PD35. I run a protected 18650 (better performance than 2x CR123, plus protection against over discharge), and it has been a great light - I gave several as gifts, and have loaned this one out.
To the left is an Olight R50 Seeker in copper. It's bigger and heavier, and it's probably my favorite general purpose light. A belt holster became available - I bought one, but have never used it. I often carry it in my coat pocket; but it probably sees the most use being carried to where I'm working on something and it gets grabbed and set down repeatedly or when I'm needing a handheld light for an extended period.
To the right is an Olight Seeker 3 Pro - thinner, lighter, and more powerful than the original Seeker. I mostly use for quick trips to the yard (when one of the dogs isn't quite ready to come inside when I call). The accidental turn-on prevention is annoying to me - there's a rotating ring around the power button that has to be turned before it will work. I use it often enough that I generally don't have to think about it...but as soon as I use a light with a normal button, I have to relearn how to turn it on. *a smarter person may fare better...I have the same problem switching to different knife locks after using liner/frame locks*
 
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