Looking for a good quality penlight with simple UI

SunOfAtom

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My wife needs a LED penlight for work. Ideally it would have:

2xAAA batteries
Simple L-M-H (or H-M-L) interface
Clean professional look (no crenulated bezel, knurled grips, glass breaker, etc)
No strobe setting, or at least something that is not easy to accidentally activate.
Durable/reliable
Warm or neutral light, but this is the least priority

I thought the Preon would be perfect, but we have been through 3 of them and all are currently broken or unreliable. I have never experienced such a finicky switch on a light. Does anyone make a simple, quality, non-tactical penlight?

Thanks!
 

archimedes

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Hi, this thread will likely be moved to the "Recommend" subforum at some point, but listing a price range or budget is probably the most key bit of info to add ... ;)
 

Timothybil

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Two suggestions: One, the Nitecore MT06MD. Nice sleek design, L-M-H with a Nichia 219 emitter for great color rendition. Only appearance drawback is that it has a scale on one side of pupil sizes, which is merely an esthetic thing. Two, the Lumintop IYP365, again with the Nichia 219 emitter option. Interface is M-L-H, which I am actually starting to like more than the traditional L-M-H. Again, nice sleek design that will look good anywhere. Either one would have fit in well when I was in my suit wearing days.
 

terjee

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While waiting for budget information, let me just quickly mention Lumintool IYP365.
It seems to check all the points, and with the Nichia version, you get high CRI as well.
Not sure if it's durable in the "rugged mil-spec" sense, but has been performing well for the ones I know have it.
 

SunOfAtom

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Hi, this thread will likely be moved to the "Recommend" subforum at some point, but listing a price range or budget is probably the most key bit of info to add ... ;)

Woops, my apologies if I put this in the wrong forum. Mods, please move it if necessary.

As far as budget, I am not too concerned about price as long as the quality is there. Under $100? That's now two recommendations for the IYP365, I will check it out.

Thanks!
 

SunOfAtom

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Two suggestions: One, the Nitecore MT06MD. Nice sleek design, L-M-H with a Nichia 219 emitter for great color rendition. Only appearance drawback is that it has a scale on one side of pupil sizes, which is merely an esthetic thing. Two, the Lumintop IYP365, again with the Nichia 219 emitter option. Interface is M-L-H, which I am actually starting to like more than the traditional L-M-H. Again, nice sleek design that will look good anywhere. Either one would have fit in well when I was in my suit wearing days.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll check them out. She is a veterinarian, so I have no idea if the pupil gauge is handy or not. It looks like you can order it with or without.
 

archimedes

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Woops, my apologies if I put this in the wrong forum. Mods, please move it if necessary.

As far as budget, I am not too concerned about price as long as the quality is there. Under $100? That's now two recommendations for the IYP365, I will check it out.

Thanks!

Done, thanks :)
 

SunOfAtom

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She liked the idea of M-L-H, so I ordered the Lumintop. I'll report back on how it works out. Thanks again for the help!
 

Timothybil

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As far as budget, I am not too concerned about price as long as the quality is there. Under $100? That's now two recommendations for the IYP365, I will check it out.
Thanks!
I found out that the IYP365 is also available in titanium and brass. I think the Ti version would be great as an EDC for someone wearing a suit all day. It would look really sharp, although the black anodized version is pretty classy as well.
 

Timothybil

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Thanks for the suggestions, I'll check them out. She is a veterinarian, so I have no idea if the pupil gauge is handy or not. It looks like you can order it with or without.
I don't know about the pupil gauge, but the high CRI of the Nichia would definitely be better due to its better color rendition, which seems to be an issue with any medical personnel.
 

clayrev

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At the time I write this post this thread was the newest in the Recommended sub that mentioned "pen light". I have 3 pen lights; FourSevens Preon P2 G2, Nextorch K3, and Nitecore MT06. at the time of purchase, the K3 and MT06 were about $30, P2 was about $40. I tend to get a lot of my stuff on amazon since I have a prime membership. The K3 has the best clip, being a stainless steel wire, which holds up really well. I switch between pants pocket carry and shirt pocket carry and only used the K3 with pants because it is too long to fit in my Cintas shirt pocket. Sadly I left a cheap dead battery in it for too long and it got stuck, I ended up destroying the light getting the corroded battery out.The MT06 and P2 were really nice for the shirt pocket. I let a kid play with the MT06 and got it back with a broken pocket clip, so it doesn't see much use any more. The P2 also has a weak pocket clip. It tends to bend when in pants and when I put it back in my shirt it falls out when I bend over and lands on the switch. The switch would then fail. I got my dad a P2 the same time I got mine and after about a 2 years of use the switch was not functioning correctly on either light. Likely from repeated landing on the ground. I sent both back and they fixed them no questions asked so props there.For now, I will pick up a ThruNite Ti4 and a Lumintop IYP365 with the Cree emitter and give them a try. Can't have too many flash lights. I think I have a P1 tail cap laying around to stick on the P2 and see how that goes. (The P1 is activated by tightening the end with the lens so I think if I replace the tail switch on the P2 it should work like that.)Kind of a long first post, hope it helps people out.-Clay
 

HotWire

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All good suggestions! My favorite penlight is the Klarus P20. It has a 219 LED with memory. You can choose HML, turn it off, and after 3 seconds it will come back on at the last level. I generally keep it on high during daylight hours and on low at night around the house.... The P20 is easy to adjust the level and easy to turn on/off. It is also brighter than my other penlights (on high)....
 
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