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Okay guys and gals,

I find myself looking for suggestions from you all about a good pocket carry EDC flashlight. Something that can clip on the pocket, has lots of lumens, doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

Ok, GO.......

Joe

LUMINTOP Tool AA 2.0 EDC Flashlight

Not as tactical as some EDC lights, but affordable and so small you forget it's in your pocket.

SureFire E2T-MV Tactician is larger and more expensive, but more tactical.

I'm glad to have the SureFire Tactician by my bedside, but the Lumintop tends to go with me a lot more often.

I use the Sure Fire above. My opinion only, I don’t think you can beat Sure Fire. They do cost some dollars, but they are going to work forever and if there is a problem they have fantastic customer service.

Paladin wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2024 3:49 pm LUMINTOP Tool AA 2.0 EDC Flashlight

Not as tactical as some EDC lights, but affordable and so small you forget it's in your pocket.

SureFire E2T-MV Tactician is larger and more expensive, but more tactical.

I'm glad to have the SureFire Tactician by my bedside, but the Lumintop tends to go with me a lot more often.

I carry the lumintop using a 14650 battery instead of a AA battery. I set the memory for the brightest mode. Lots of light from a little package.

I have several Streamlight Pro-Tac flashlights. Recommend them highly. You can find them over on Amazon.
I carry one in my pocket and have another zip-tied to an old Harrington Richardson Breech-Loading Single shot shotgun in
case I run into a rattlesnake crawling out in the yard at night.

dlh wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2024 9:34 pm I have several Streamlight Pro-Tac flashlights. Recommend them highly. You can find them over on Amazon.
I carry one in my pocket and have another zip-tied to an old Harrington Richardson Breech-Loading Single shot shotgun in
case I run into a rattlesnake crawling out in the yard at night.

Steamlight has always made fine products at reasonable prices since their first flashlights came out way back when. My brother's camera company sold them and I still have quite a few various sizes. I seem to recall their competition was Kel Lite that went through a series of legal issues.

I have the Surefire Tactician and it's a great tactical light that can be used in a pinch as an EDC as it has a useful dual output level. It's not cheap and I think the UI is a little quirky with having to twist the head to change the output level. But it's got a great beam pattern especially within a typically room distance. Great flashlight to keep on the nightstand but it gets little use with me now.

In most situations, I'll actually carry two flashlights at night. A tactical flashlight, such as the Surefire EDCL1-T because it has strong beam but is still fairly compact. Also has a dual mode beam and a "gas pedal" tailcap switch that's very intuitive. And a smaller/cheaper flashlight for administrative purposes such as a 1AA/AAA Streamlight that can be used in public and not draw to much attention to oneself. During the day, I'll pocket the admin light for emergencies like if the lights go out inside a big box store during the day (you ever see how dark it can get in there?) and beats chewing up the battery on your cell phone.

One other recommendation. The Surefire Stiletto. I had the Pro version and sadly have misplaced it or lost it on my last out of state trip. Such a great light. Very slim, has 4 different light modes; low, medium, high, and strobe and fully programmable. Also it has a conventional button on the body for switching through the various modes but a tailcap switch for instant high. Not cheap but I never skimp on things that my life might depend on.

I've been carrying the Streamlight Poly-Tac for years. 600 lumens (high) and runs around $45 last I checked. I'm on my second one. Lost the first working somewhere. It is my EDC and I use it almost daily at work (facilities maintenance) or around the house. Taken a couple of training classes with it. Comes with a pocket clip but I took it off and use the belt holster (also from Steamlight).

puma guy wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2024 10:09 am

dlh wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2024 9:34 pm I have several Streamlight Pro-Tac flashlights. Recommend them highly. You can find them over on Amazon.
I carry one in my pocket and have another zip-tied to an old Harrington Richardson Breech-Loading Single shot shotgun in
case I run into a rattlesnake crawling out in the yard at night.

Steamlight has always made fine products at reasonable prices since their first flashlights came out way back when. My brother's camera company sold them and I still have quite a few various sizes. I seem to recall their competition was Kel Lite that went through a series of legal issues.

I think they were replacing Kel-Light because Kel was always dry battery usage, not rechargeable. I had a few Kel-lights back in the 70's, especially the seven cell lights. Mag light was the other rechargeable light in competition for the police market. For me, the lifetime guarantee on Streamlight was the tie breaker.

Funny thing is I did find out last year that their definition of life-time guarantee was not the same as mine. I had one of the 35X models I bought back in the early 90's (replacing one I lost that I had bought in 87). The switch design was bad and would short out after a couple years. I lost track of how many times I had GT Distributors put in a new switch. Well, when not using it for work, but just as a household light, it lasted for more years than I thought. When I got back into a patrol car, the switch was bad again. GT could not replace it because Streamlight had changed the designs and gone all LED. When they could not fix it, Streamlight offered me one of the brand new ones for half price and I took it after griping about the short life-time warranty. It is actually a better light, brighter than the old 35X, still in a steel case, but about 2 inches shorter.

JRG wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2024 2:23 pmOkay guys and gals,

I find myself looking for suggestions from you all about a good pocket carry EDC flashlight. Something that can clip on the pocket, has lots of lumens, doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

Ok, GO.......

Joe

So, when I am on patrol now, I have three streamlights either on me or in the car. My belt one still uses a halogen bulb, but the other two are LED. I doubt you could go wrong with a Streamlight.

srothstein wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2024 8:19 pm

puma guy wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2024 10:09 am

dlh wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2024 9:34 pm I have several Streamlight Pro-Tac flashlights. Recommend them highly. You can find them over on Amazon.
I carry one in my pocket and have another zip-tied to an old Harrington Richardson Breech-Loading Single shot shotgun in
case I run into a rattlesnake crawling out in the yard at night.

Steamlight has always made fine products at reasonable prices since their first flashlights came out way back when. My brother's camera company sold them and I still have quite a few various sizes. I seem to recall their competition was Kel Lite that went through a series of legal issues.

I think they were replacing Kel-Light because Kel was always dry battery usage, not rechargeable. I had a few Kel-lights back in the 70's, especially the seven cell lights. Mag light was the other rechargeable light in competition for the police market. For me, the lifetime guarantee on Streamlight was the tie breaker.

Funny thing is I did find out last year that their definition of life-time guarantee was not the same as mine. I had one of the 35X models I bought back in the early 90's (replacing one I lost that I had bought in 87). The switch design was bad and would short out after a couple years. I lost track of how many times I had GT Distributors put in a new switch. Well, when not using it for work, but just as a household light, it lasted for more years than I thought. When I got back into a patrol car, the switch was bad again. GT could not replace it because Streamlight had changed the designs and gone all LED. When they could not fix it, Streamlight offered me one of the brand new ones for half price and I took it after griping about the short life-time warranty. It is actually a better light, brighter than the old 35X, still in a steel case, but about 2 inches shorter.

JRG wrote: ↑Thu Aug 08, 2024 2:23 pmOkay guys and gals,

I find myself looking for suggestions from you all about a good pocket carry EDC flashlight. Something that can clip on the pocket, has lots of lumens, doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

Ok, GO.......

Joe

So, when I am on patrol now, I have three streamlights either on me or in the car. My belt one still uses a halogen bulb, but the other two are LED. I doubt you could go wrong with a Streamlight.

Okay, I ordered this...... Streamlight ProTac 1L-1AA Flashlight Coyote...... from Midway USA two days ago. It should be here Wednesday. And then I go to the new Bass Pro shop in Grand Prairie and found I could have had it today for only $3 more. Bummer! Oh well, here's hoping it turns out to be a good one.

Joe

A first report on the Streamlight ProTac 1L-1AA, It came yesterday and it arrived in perfect condition. Midway boxed it very well. It has 3 modes, high, strobe, and low. One click for high, two for strobe, and three for low. I didn't like that so did the 10 tap reprogram and now it is a high only. I do not have to cycle through any other modes. I absolutely love it. It takes 1 CR-123 battery and gets 350 lumens. In a pinch, it can also take 1 AA battery, but only gets 150 lumens with that. I got a pack of 12 CR-123 batteries from Amazon for not much $$. I should be good with this flashlight for quite a while. It came with a belt sheath, not sure why though. I may try it and see if I like carrying it that way instead of clipped to my pocket. The clip is a 2 way job so I can clip it to my cap as a headlamp if needed. All in all, thus far it is an excellent purchase. $41 at Midway. $44 at Bass Pro. I used it tonight while walking the dog, it is all I need.

Joe

JRG wrote: ↑Tue Aug 13, 2024 10:45 pm A first report on the Streamlight ProTac 1L-1AA, It came yesterday and it arrived in perfect condition. Midway boxed it very well. It has 3 modes, high, strobe, and low. One click for high, two for strobe, and three for low. I didn't like that so did the 10 tap reprogram and now it is a high only. I do not have to cycle through any other modes. I absolutely love it. It takes 1 CR-123 battery and gets 350 lumens. In a pinch, it can also take 1 AA battery, but only gets 150 lumens with that. I got a pack of 12 CR-123 batteries from Amazon for not much $$. I should be good with this flashlight for quite a while. It came with a belt sheath, not sure why though. I may try it and see if I like carrying it that way instead of clipped to my pocket. The clip is a 2 way job so I can clip it to my cap as a headlamp if needed. All in all, thus far it is an excellent purchase. $41 at Midway. $44 at Bass Pro. I used it tonight while walking the dog, it is all I need.

Joe

Get a second one as a backup! You won't regret it. I keep mine on the high setting all the time and it goes through batteries fairly quickly but it is well worth it.