Best EDC torch/flashlight

Having read the many interesting replies on my Three Essential Flashlights thread, along with reading the many other interesting threads in this forum, a couple of interesting questions have emerged. Now I feel sure that these have been covered previously here but I have not actually found anything particularly up to date. (I'm sure someone will point me in the right direction if I've missed something obvious!) The questions are: -

1) What (size/type of) light constitutes an EDC for you?

Contributors evidently feel that a huge variety of flashlights can be carried on a regular basis. These range from tiny little things with a watch battery in them that can just about illuminate a keyhole to 18650 powered lights capable of putting out 1,000 lumens or more. (I bet there are some people here who are reluctant to leave the house without lugging something capable of putting a beam a mile downrange!) For me an EDC light has, above all, to be SMALL. Capable of attaching to a keyring or dropping into a pocket without noticeably adding to the bulk or weight being carried. This (for me) means a single AAA light - although I can perfectly understand the argument for a single AA or even a R123 powered one. Many of you have listed larger (what I would call medium size lights) as your EDC. I will always pick up a bigger light if I think there is any chance I might need it but I find these much too large to carry with me all the time. I guess some of you must have lifestyles that lead you to need a lot of light on a regular (and unpredictable) basis. It would be interesting to hear from those of you who do need this.

My own personal favourite at the moment is the Thrunite Ti3. A really good all round design. Reasonably rugged and well made with three well spaced output levels. Plenty of light and throw for the vast majority of scenarios on high. My only complaints (and they are very small ones) are that I would like the firefly mode to be a tiny bit brighter and that the unnecessary strobe should be eliminated from the UI. (nb. My favourite WOULD be the Olight i3S CU EOS Brass if only the UI sequence was firefly/low/high rather than the other way around. So annoying!)

Clearly my hands on experience of all the many torches on the market is somewhat limited. So this leads me to the second question: -

2) What do you consider to be the best single AAA (or AA) torch/flashlight on the market TODAY and why?

I'm really looking forward to reading what you guys have to say.

Zebralight SC62w (waiting for the new SC63c MKII/SC64c) jeans or shorts. Foursevens Preon 2 for work slacks.

An EDC light has to fit comfortably in the pocket. For slacks that means a AAA, length isn't so much of an issue so I carry a 2xAAA for more juice/output. Outside of work my main standard is 1" or less, and I try to over prepare so that means an 18650 without a "turbo" head. Throw isn't much of a need for an EDC light, I normally put magic tape on them anyways to smooth out the beam.

Also prefer aaa lights. dont know how many i got over the years, so have no idea how many aaa lights i own. Lets just say alot Of the ones that are on the marked today, i enjoy the lumintop tool ti, and jetbeam jet µ. The tool is titanium, looks just as good as some of my 200$ + custom aaa lights, and cant complain over the stock nichia 219b led with hi cri. Have modded mine with a xq-e hi led. I wanted more throw in atleast one of my aaa lights, and the tool was it. (Dont want to mod a crappy light i wont use )

Bought some jetbeam jet µ's because I wanted a new driver with better regulation on hi mode for the tool ti. (and it got memory). Hard to find good drivers for aaa lights. And since the jet µ dont cost that mutch more than a driver, i bought some so i could slaughter them and use the driver in other lights. Ended up using the lights, it's also a great light.

HDS flashlights, specifically the rotary models, can't be beaten as an EDC in my opinion.

For an AAA the TOOL is hard to beat bang for buck imo. Cheap as chips , anodised,ti, brass and cu flavours. They are not perfect,but from $15 they offer good value.

As for the 1st Q, I don't have any strict guide lines. My preferences tend to be 16340/18350 sizes, but compact 18650's also get carried.

I have an AAA Ti3 on my keychain, but I much prefer the AA TN Archer 1Av3 I edc clipped to my pocket. Reason- longer runtimes, brighter high, better handling characteristics when I need to use it. And it still carries easy in the pocket. I like the idea of a small AAA as my primary edc, but the potential reality of actually needing to use my EDC (at least in some scenarios) causes me to favor the AA.

Best is most performance per size, in the largest light that the person feels ok with edcing. I like to edc something that a big light flashoholic would like to edc.

I am down to 50 mm head diameter light for daytime edc: the Nitecore TM06Svn 4 x HXP50.2 9,500 lumens.



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Normal people walk around with big dogs. They look normal. I walk around with big flashlights. My flashlights have bitten less people then Teds' dog.

richbuff said:

Best is most performance per size, in the largest light that the person feels ok with edcing. I like to edc something that a big light flashoholic would like to edc.

I am down to 50 mm head diameter light for daytime edc: the Nitecore TM06Svn 4 x HXP50.2 9,500 lumens.



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Normal people walk around with big dogs. They look normal. I walk around with big flashlights. My flashlights have bitten less people then Teds' dog.

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Just 9,500 lumens for your edc Richbuff?! That's heroic! I hardly dare ask what you pick up when you REALLY want some light. 😉

Hi Ven. I just noticed you live in Manchester. I hope you and yours didn't get caught up in the dreadful events on Monday. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you up there.

Barrington said:

Just 9,500 lumens for your edc Richbuff?! That's heroic! I hardly dare ask what you pick up when you REALLY want some light. 😉

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Yes, down from 13400 lumens Thrunite TN36UTvn that I edced for a few months. I edced other 63mm head diameter lights for a few months each, too, such as the Meteor.

I walk six brisk hilly miles nightly with the Acebeam X65vn in one hand, and another large light in the the other hand.

The thrill of walking around with both killer flood and killer throw at the same time is the bright spot in my life.

The Thrunite Ti3 is the best I've found so far for the combination of useful modes and mode order, compactness, tint, and low cost.
I agree that the firefly can be on the low end of utility, though it's good in the middle of the night after hours of dark adaptation - and it's low enough to not noticeably nightblind me when I turn it back off, so I'm fine with the extra twist needed to get to medium for general use.
One trick, if you ever decide to gift multiple Ti3 to friends or family, you can go through them before gifting them away and cherry pick the one with the best firefly and preferred tint... I ended up with a slightly brighter firefly mode and a more yellowish warm version this way, which is close to optimum for my use.
I'd love to find a more premium take on the Ti3, nicer contacts in the head, assurance of high quality components, and especially a head design that is water shedding rather than relying upon the o ring to keep rain or sweat from running into the head with the light hanging down. - The single AAA L3 Illumination L08 model has a head design which sheds water, but it is considerably heavier, nearly the weight of their AA version without the battery, due to the brass pill in the head.
So many nice AAA lights are disqualified by not having a firefly mode, and/or not having lowest mode first.
I agree that the strobe is worse than useless, fortunately it hardly ever comes up, likewise the 10 second "mode memory" - which must be a quirk of the circuitry that is marketed as a "feature", I can't see any use to it at all, except maybe for painfully slow signaling perhaps.

Barrington said:

Hi Ven. I just noticed you live in Manchester. I hope you and yours didn't get caught up in the dreadful events on Monday. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you up there.

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Thank you, yes words can not say how i feel about it.......................

The i3, TiS etc are another great little AAA light, i actually wore the threads on my stainless steel version. Well not actually worn out, but worn to a point the head came loose pretty easy. After changing the O ring(helped a little), the only solution was some ptfe tape. But thats many years of use, also the low start(many like) was of not much use for me, so every use would consist of 3 twists(not the best UI for me but liked the light).

I find twisties still better for key chain lights, simply because of reducing accidental activation issues(aai) . The TOOL ti had several aai's over a few weeks, so now on my work keys a simple AAA convoy twisty single mode. I also prefer ti/ss for the metal over ano that just chips too easy and looks scruffy in no time(little ocd).

HDS systems

First, Thank You for your friendliness. You are a credit to our community.

The option of not having to remove batteries in order to recharge is appealing to many. While others want to be able to replace a depleted battery, some will just carry another light-weight light source instead of having to change cells. On the keychain is a Yuji emitter Photon pinch light; rarely used but handy. Clipped to a belt loop is a Nitecore Tip CRI that is present virtually everyday: Quick access to low as well as high with a useful (two clicks away) medium, decent runtime, very pleasing tint, so-far reliable, maybe not for everyone but works for quite a few of us. Accidental activations are the dirty little secret many of us wish to avoid, and the TIP handles it for me.

If in a situation without a belt loop or belt but with pockets, the blf-348 is there.

As night time approaches, it is a different (18650) story...

I notice that no-one has mentioned the Surefire Titan Plus. Is that because it is not worth the considerable extra dosh over the ones that HAVE been mentioned?

Barrington said:

I notice that no-one has mentioned the Surefire Titan Plus. Is that because it is not worth the considerable extra dosh over the ones that HAVE been mentioned?

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The SF Titan Plus would be a fine choice for many, but personally I find that so much two-handed twisting for mode selection is not ideal for edc. I'm more comfortable with instant push button access to high mode. As far as the expense, I don't think anything on this thread costs more coin than the HDS, at least on our side of the pond.

I have carried the Titan plus constantly since purchasing
it a short while ago. Although I do prefer single
mode myself. The Olight i3e cu is a great edc. If the Titan didnt have the blaster mode which I actually use I think the Olight would be my constant edc. In addition to an arc aaa of course.

For what you are calling EDC (meaning small but capable and always there) I have a maratac AAA (1st gen) and a maratac AA (1st gen) on my two keyrings. But I really don't consider that my primary source of illumination. I also EDC a Streamlight Protac 2L-X (single 18650). Why do I carry a light this large. Actually it's very pocketable for me, and I need the capacity for long runtime that the lithium cell provides. If I were going out to a formal function I'd swap it for my small olight S1 Baton which is even more pocket friendly but has a less friendly UI.

I guess im a freak because I also basically always carry a separate tactical light set to high/strobe only. Funny thing is, we went to eat the other night and got to the restaurant. There was a noise in the bushes by our car. I pulled out my light and started looking, but at first we could not see it. Then I handed that light to my friend, and pulled my other tactical light out. 2 things happen when you put 1000 lumens into a giant shrub bush at Outback Steakhouse...

You our find a baby kitten left by its mother... And people come out of the restaurant to see the UFO that's about to land 😂

At at the end of the day I was glad I had both lights, so we could both search and a nice waitress/cat person took the kitten home...