Something everyone should carry......

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

One of my hobbies is high-performance flashlights, SureFire, Novatac, HDS, Pelican, Streamlight, etc, lights that are both smaller than a 2 D-cell Maglite incandescent, and more powerful

many of these lights use “exotic” and “expensive” batteries, like the CR123a 3V Lithium camera battery, but thanks to the incredible advances in the high-power LED field, it’s possible to get 1 and 2 AA flashlights capable of 100+ lumens (the 2-D Mag puts out 15 lumens on fresh batteries, but output rapidly drops after the first 10 minutes or so)

one of the popular keyring lights is the Arc AAA-P, a single 5MM LED flashlight, that runs on a single AAA battery, and produces approx. 10 lumens (almost as much as the big Maglite), and it has a much better beam quality

for a while, the AAA-P was the gold standard of AAA flashlights (it still is), It’s made in the USA, it has mil-spec Hard Anodized coating, internal ChemKote coating to resist leaking batteries, and it runs for approx 5 hours in max. brightness mode, then another 5 hours or so of reduced light, total runtime is around 10 hours, give or take, on an alkaline battery

the price for this marvel of compact engineering is $45ish

Another manufacturer, Fenix, based in Shenzen, China, has released a similar light, the E01, it’s slightly larger than the Arc, about the length and diameter of a AA battery, puts out 10 lumens, but it has a much longer runtime on alkies, 20 hours total, 10 hours of ruler-flat regulation, and 10 hours of reduced light, it’s build quality isn’t as polished as the Arc, it’s not bad, but there is a noticeable difference in fit-and-finish

Last night, I decided to perform an impromptu runtime test, with the lowly Carbon-Zinc battery, I put a fully charged C-Z battery in each light, and turned them on;

the Arc went out 10.5 hours later
the Fenix is still emitting usable light, it’s very dim now, you can see the bond wires going into the LED die, but it’s still putting out enough light to read by when your eyes are dark-adapted, it’s been approx. 16+ hours, the battery’s putting out around .35V (starting voltage on both cells was 1.65V)

Carbon-Zinc batteries are very poor performers in high-drain applications like LED flashlights, and they generally have the shortest runtime of the three common primary battery chemistries (Carbon-Zinc, Alkaline, and Lithium), alkaline is a good midpoint, and Lithium AA/AAA cells have the longest runtime of the three (the Fenix’s factory estimate is about 35+ hours runtime on a Lithium)

So, the Fenix E01 is being put in my wallet, just in case, so I always have a light with me, both the Fenix and Arc are so small that they can go unnoticed on a keyring, in a wallet, or a purse, yet they’ll be there when you need them, and they have enough runtime to get you through any potential short-term disaster

I have an Arc on my keyring that’s used as my keyring light, but the Fenix will be my ultra-long-runtime “WTSHTF” light

So, what tiny, helpful tools do you carry, and reccomend everyone to carry at all times?

for me it’d be;
Light (I have the Fenix E01in my wallet, and the Arc AAA-P on my keyring)
Fire (I carry a Brass “Armor” Zippo lighter, even though I don’t smoke, just nice to have a source of fire handy)
cutting tool (Victorinox Midnite Minichamp Swiss Army Knife on the keyring)
Signaling device (the outer case of the Zippo works great as an impromptu signal mirror)

this way, even if I forget to pack my normal EDC stuff, I still have something on me, as long as I’m dressed, I have my wallet and keys with me, so I’ll have my flashlights and my SAK

and, of course, a…
Towel :wink:

2

I am never without some sort of multitool and a pocketknife. Right now that means a Leatherman Squirt P4 and a Gerber Truss. I really need to start carrying a light of some sort as well, although there are always several in my backpack.

3

I must say, I have never heard anybody ever say “One of my hobbies is high-performance flashlights.”

I keep a corkscrew (or multitool with corkscrew) handy at all times. Nothing sucks like having to try that “pound a table knife into the cork” thing.

4

Oh, i forgot something…
Arc AAA-P; $40ish
Fenix E01; $15

Fenix E01 runtime graph to 50% capacity

5

Well, Your on the hook now!

Hehe, I just ordered a couple, on your recommendation, to fill some outstanding “buy a non-expensive, non-sentimental, but I didn’t actually forget completely” gift needs. :slight_smile:

6

That’s truly amazing, I’ll have to get one of those.

I just replaced the Leatherman Micra with one of these, which has a light on it because these were two for $10 and the Leatherman had scissors instead of pliers, and I need the pliers more often.

Then I’ve got one of these of which I will never be without again. This is hands down the best pocket knife I’ve ever carried and there’s a near zero chance of accidental closing because of the unique locking mechanism.

But I’m going to get one of those little flashlights too…

7

Batman ain’t got nothin’ on me :wink:

Here’s my typical EDC loadout;

Right side belt holster; SureFire A2 Aviator
RF pocket; Spyderco Delica 4 Wave clipped to pocket, Novatac EDC-120P
LF pocket; car keys, Brass “Armor” Zippo, Spyderco (choice of the day, it varies,today it’s the Native) clipped to pocket
Left side belt holster; Leatherman Surge multitool, Fenix L1T 2.0
RR pocket; Rotring 600 Rollerball pen

thankfully, most of these items are small, the only obvious stuff I’m carrying are the A2 and the stuff in my left side holster

this is actually trimmed down a good deal from previous EDC loadouts, I’m a tech, and I like gadgets, so I bring a good amount of gadgets with me, the Leatherman and Spydercos have a fun “fidget factor” to them, the flashlights I use to illuminate the darkened inside of computer cases and to check for bad backlighting tubes in LCD displays

8

I refer to you as The Flashlight Guy On Line to my husband, who adores flashlights, but not nearly as much as you do. This hobby tickles me to no end.

That’s all I got.

9

I have a Leatherman Micra that I won at a door prize at a charity event. Mighty handy. Always with me.

10

As long as I have my purse on me I’ve got a knife, a multi-tool with pliers and four screwdrivers, Benadryl, and painkillers. I don’t bother with a flashlight because I’m quite good at walking around in the dark (seriously, every time I go camping I forget a flashlight. I manage without ever injuring myself)

11

Thanks for the tip MacTech. I just ordered 2 blue and 2 purple E01s!

12

and here I thought I was a solitary freak because I get a little excited about getting a new flashlight. I am so ordering a couple of those; thanks Mac!!

13

I always have a Victorinox Swiss Army knife on me. I lose them sometimes and go right back out and buy another one. I carefully study the models for features. I use one most days. They aren’t toys and can do real work. I have put furniture together with one ans changed a car battery in an emergency along with an infinite amount of cutting tasks. I have a Leatheman but I like the the Swiss Army knives better because they just drop in your pocket smoothly and you barely notice it.

14

In your wallet? Purse, ok, but not wallet, from the pics I saw.

15

Maybe he’s George Costanza?

16

Flashoholics have their own forum! http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/ It’s an addiction for some people.

I am a member, despite not being a true flashoholic. I don’t really have a regular EDC, apart from a tiny swiss army knife and coin-cell flashlight on my keyring. I have a Leatherman Juice CS 4 on me more often than not, which is a plier multitool small and light enough to fit a pocket AND it has a corkscrew. (With a leverage assist!) Most multitools don’t. And it has non-locking blades, which keeps it the right side of the UK knife laws…

Another toy I love is the Petzl zipka plus head lamp. The lamp unit itself isn’t particularly clever, but it has a very neat retracting headstrap which spools off an internal, sprung-loaded, constant-force reel. It’s very compact, won’t tangle, can be used just as a flashlight. It can be looped through itself and attached to almost anything. (I have hooked it to a shower head and showered and shaved under it, in a dark jungle hostel bathroom!)

17

O.K. MacTech, now be gentle with me here. I’m a novice, so don’t make me cry and take my toys and run away. I have three of those flashlights. One is a Brinkman, the only one I believe that is actually made by a flashlight company. Plastic case, rubber armor and momentary switch on the back of the case. It is my favorite as it light, waterproof, and easy to hang on to. I have another, almost identical, marketed under the Smith & Wesson logo but all aluminum, probably a cheap knockoff.
And the third is a Surefire, attached to my Mossberg 12ga. double pistol grip shotgun, it having a remote switch that is activated via a squeeze tube held to the forward grip of the gun.
Also worth bearing mention, is a six d-cell mag light which I added rubber tube grips to, to be able to hang on to it. With batteries it’s quite heavy, and as I live on one side of a cul de sac, I have caught kids parked in front of my house smoking weed a couple of times before. Both times they asked, are you a cop? I just chuckled and told them to take off.
Speaking of out door lights I have one that my wife bought me at Costco, it uses 2 12 volt, almost motor cycle batteries. They’re not though, a little smaller, they are the same kind used in my houses security system as a backup for when the power goes out. Man this thing is like a million candle power I think the package said and it’s very powerful. My niece and nephew love it, as it will shine on a bill board almost a quarter mile from my house.

And this will make you laugh for sure. I have one of those Rotring pens, too. My mom was telling me about some fountain pen she had gotten, a Mont Blanc I think it’s called and when I saw it, I said you paid how much for that thing? It was expensive as all get out so I started looking around for a decent pen and the Rotring was the one I felt kind of fit me to a tee. Remember now, go easy, I’m almost a virgin. :wink:

18

Ever try to use the corkscrew on that Juice? It’s a flimsy piece of junk.

19

Agree. The angles are all wrong for the assist to be of any use. For wine, carry a SAK, or just buy a bottle with a twist cap.

20

Use it all the time! The assist is flimsy, because it’s sort of an afterthought on the tin opener, and you have to hold it onto the bottle rim. But it helps get a stubborn cork moving, and there’s nothing wrong with the corkscrew itself.

How is a SAK with no assist at all any better?