Opinion on pocket flashlight please

[Kev83]

I'm looking to pick up a decent kinda middle of the road flashlight to keep on me for edc. I'm a big fan of streamight products seeing that I own a streamight survivor light the never leaves my turnout gear at the firehouse. I've kinda narrowed it down to two. The streamight 66118 stylus pro, and the 66318 Microstream. Anyone have any experience with these? I'm open to other suggestions as well and any and all pics would be appreciated, particularly any in hand for size reference. Thanks!

[Blerv]

I don't own any Streamlight products but know they serve people well. Aesthetically the new Foursevens Preon Penlight is intriguing if you want to spend twice the money for more performance.

[1623]

I've been carrying and using a Microstream daily since December and find it to be outstanding for everyday use. I power it with an Energizer Ultimate Lithium and the output is on par with the mid rating of 45 lumens out of the Fenix PD22 that I had. The beam isn't quite as clean as the Fenix but I do like the color and flood of the Microstream better.

The momentary on takes very little pressure but the clicky is a bit harder to engage than my Fenix or Klarus were for constant on. Honestly though, I use momentary about 95% of the time.

For me, it's a perfect EDC light and all but disappears in the pocket which is exactly what I was looking for. It weighs in at exactly one ounce with the Lithium AAA cell.

I carry mine to the back of my left front pocket and since it rides almost flush, it's well protected from snags. The clip is just tight enough to prevent the light from popping or riding out of the pocket and has held its tension perfectly over the past few months.

The finish on the body and clip as well as the lens itself have held up perfectly well and show no signs of wear. It's a great little light and for the price, completely worth having one or two.

[Kev83]

I don't own any Streamlight products but know they serve people well. Aesthetically the new Foursevens Preon Penlight is intriguing if you want to spend twice the money for more performance.

Yeah I checked into the foursevens and they seem really nice I'm just looking to spend a little less as an intro to the penlight world. Maybe a future purchase though.

[jackknifeh]

I've bought 3 or 4 little EDC lights and my bestes and mostest favoritest is the Fenix LD01. It uses one AAA battery and has 3 brightnesses selected with a twisty head. One twist turns it on to a med. brightness. Another twist gives you the low and one more gives you the brightest light. With the med. I can easily walk my dog on a cloudy night. The low is perfect for a little light when you don't want to disturb anyone or looking for the grandson's toys under the couch. :) That's all it does, 3 brightness levels but that's all I want. It also has a clip so I attach it to my Manbug FOB. The Manbug doesn't have a clip so two things are accomplished. The light is easy to get to and so is the Manbug. The Manbug hangs outside my pocket most of the time. So, I can grab the knife and pull the light out and use the knife or just use the knife as a FOB to get the light. I really like this EDC option. My light experience has been like buying a Delica and loving it. Then I buy other knives for different features or other reasons but I keep coming back to the Delica. I have tried a few other lights but now I know I don't need anything else unless I want a BIG light. :D I have pictures of it attached to my Manbug but I can't post them now. Look in my album to see it.

[einstein2001]

+1 for the Fenix LD01. Its as bright as you can get for a 1xAAA and it comes with pocket clip. The clip can be reversed so you can attach the light to the brim of your hat and in this configuration the end of the clip functions as a momentary button.
This light has seen hard use as my work EDC for the past year and a half, been dropped from 15ft+ multiple times and still works great.
I just got a Zebralight h502d to replace it but the LD01 is so small and awesome it wont leave my shirt pocket. Now I carry both.
Pics of my LD01 and other stuff here.

[BD583]

I have had the 4Sevens Preon2 for a few years and it is worth every penny. It is bright enough to light up a large area of the woods in the dead of night or illuminate most of a room in the house. By comparison of light output the others are more expensive. Streamlight 66118 Stylus Pro 10 lumens $19 or Streamlight 66318 MicroStream 20 lumens $17 vs. 4Sevens Preon 2 160 lumens $41. I do wish that it would have a reversible clip like the Fenix LD01.

[Blerv]

The Peak Eiger is another top flight AAA light. It's $50 for the aluminum one and like $15 more for ss or brass. Made in the USA, rugged as heck, and available with tons of options. Twist ramp-up from sub-lumen to max brightness.

With the Eiger Ultra X and a cool white XP-G2 (10440 Li-ion only) its like .02-425 emitter lumens. Freaky bright for the size :)

[Steffen]

i think the microstream is great.
the stylus pro is twice as powerful, with twice the run time, but 1.8" longer.

i have the microstream for edc, i plan to get the stylus pro for camping and such.
because 28 lumens and 2.5h run time is plenty for my edc use, dont think that the extra length is worth it.

[chuck_roxas45]

Lots of good advice and higher end lights mentioned already. I'd like to go the other way and recommend a budget light that has big performance. I carry a budget light, the EDC 18650 from International Outdoor and it pretty much fits my needs to quickly illuminate a large area. Tests done by members on BLF rate it at around 700 lumens. It cost me all of $32. It's a bit larger than a 2XCR123 in diameter but not by much(25mm). Easily pocketable.




Distance to wall is around 20 meters. Note the size of the area illuminated. This light is really floody.




Distance to the building is around 70-80 meters on high. Again note the size of the illuminated area.

[Blerv]

Lots of good advice and higher end lights mentioned already. I'd like to go the other way and recommend a budget light that has big performance. I carry a budget light, the EDC 18650 from International Outdoor and it pretty much fits my needs to quickly illuminate a large area. Tests done by members on BLF rate it at around 700 lumens. It cost me all of $32. It's a bit larger than a 2XCR123 in diameter but not by much(25mm). Easily pocketable.

That looks awesome Chuck :D . Love some of these smaller 18650 lights coming out.

The problem with most high output "EDC" lights is the batteries don't have the capacity to let you have any fun. It's like getting a Corvette with a 3 gallon tank. One with high voltage and 2000+ mah tho... :) .

[chuck_roxas45]

That looks awesome Chuck :D . Love some of these smaller 18650 lights coming out.

The problem with most high output "EDC" lights is the batteries don't have the capacity to let you have any fun. It's like getting a Corvette with a 3 gallon tank. One with high voltage and 2000+ mah tho... :) .

I agree Blerv, I do use it on low most of the time but I can get 700 lumens for around 2 minutes before it gets hot. That enough time for me to look around. :)

[jackknifeh]

That looks awesome Chuck :D . Love some of these smaller 18650 lights coming out.

The problem with most high output "EDC" lights is the batteries don't have the capacity to let you have any fun. It's like getting a Corvette with a 3 gallon tank. One with high voltage and 2000+ mah tho... :) .

There you go again. Talking about having fun with a flashlight. Next thing you'll be talking about fun with knives. :) I worry about some of you guys sometimes. :D

I got a $7 single AA flashlight from China on eBay a couple of years ago. It is still working and it is about as bright as a couple of Fenix and one Olight AA battery lights I have. Of course it only has two brightnesses. On and off. :) The head does slide in and out to focus the beam big or small. This is cool and a REALLY GREAT light if that is all you want. I don't use lights enough to have to have the detailed light that can be gotten by understanding the different LED bulbs and stuff like that. But, the lights I have that also have SOS, strobe, etc. sometimes have been a pain if you have to stroll through all the selections to get to the one you want. I almost saw myself getting into lights, researching them and getting one because it's the new model, etc. I can see how this is as possible as it is with knives.

The $7 light is also more bulky than the "nice" AA lights I have and one of the main things I like about the Fenix LD01 is it's small size. It is in the picture under my Manbug in my signature. It clips to the Manbug FOB for carry. The Olight I have came as a AA light but I bought a different tube that allows me to use C123 batteries. I think the C is right but I know the 123 is right in the battery type. With these batteries the light is much better. It's brightest setting is no different than med. with AA batteries but the C123 batteries make the high setting much brighter. Like two different lights. It didn't cost $7 though, especially after getting the extra tube. You can get the light first with the C123 tube instead of the AA tube. Pretty cool selection of lights I think. I'm no expert on quality though.


Jack

[Blerv]

Lol Jack :) .

Yea lights are easier than knives. The parts are way cheaper and nearly everything comes from overseas. For that reason performance and even decent quality are available at very low prices. The main differences of course is higher levels of F&F and functionality. Less likely to get older tech or more green/blue tints from "cool white" LED's. Also, as you mentioned heat sinking. Etc.

AAA lights in general are difficult to pull off. Smaller components and the cells themselves can only push so much amperage. I'm carrying a DQG-II today which is small enough I forgot it was in my pocket until just now :p . There are some nicer ones out there though for reasonable budgets.

[.357 mag]

Another +1 on the LD01.

[.357 mag]

+1 for the Fenix LD01. Its as bright as you can get for a 1xAAA and it comes with pocket clip. The clip can be reversed so you can attach the light to the brim of your hat and in this configuration the end of the clip functions as a momentary button.
This light has seen hard use as my work EDC for the past year and a half, been dropped from 15ft+ multiple times and still works great.
I just got a Zebralight h502d to replace it but the LD01 is so small and awesome it wont leave my shirt pocket. Now I carry both.
Pics of my LD01 and other stuff here.

I didn't even think about flipping the clip around to put on your hat! Thanks for the idea! I've been looking a head lamps and hat lights for hunting and fishing. I guess I already had a light. :)

[jackknifeh]

I didn't even think about flipping the clip around to put on your hat! Thanks for the idea! I've been looking a head lamps and hat lights for hunting and fishing. I guess I already had a light. :)

DANG!!! Now I have to buy hats??? :D

[Kev83]

Well I ended up going with the streamlight Microstream.. Mainly due to its size and functionality in regards to my needs. It was very hard to resist the fenix models though.. When its time to up my game ill definitely be looking into them! Thanks for all the input and responses everyone!

[jackknifeh]

Well I ended up going with the streamlight Microstream.. Mainly due to its size and functionality in regards to my needs. It was very hard to resist the fenix models though.. When its time to up my game ill definitely be looking into them! Thanks for all the input and responses everyone!

Glad you found something to light up your life. :)

[rg02]

Well I ended up going with the streamlight Microstream.. Mainly due to its size and functionality in regards to my needs. It was very hard to resist the fenix models though.. When its time to up my game ill definitely be looking into them! Thanks for all the input and responses everyone!

For the process tag on the micro stream, you can't go wrong! Good torch to get started :D