Keychain Flashlight That Fits On Your Key Ring Like This One…
How many of you have a flashlight on your keychain?
I can’t tell you exactly how many times that I’ve used my own keychain flashlight (lots!).
Having a flashlight at home is one thing, however most don’t have one on their person when they’re away from home.
Sure, some of us keep an emergency kit in our vehicle which will include a flashlight. (You do have an E-kit in your vehicle, right?)
But unless you physically every-day-carry a small flashlight or penlight,
More: Best Pocket Carry Flashlight For Under 30 Dollars
…chances are that you won’t have one when you need it while out and about…
So, I thought that I would raise this issue and let you know what I do.
A Perfect Little Keychain Flashlight
Years ago I began carrying a small but very nice little flashlight on my key ring. I still have the same one and it still works great! It’s a small little Olight brand.
As you can see, this little flashlight is the perfect size in my estimation for a keychain.
Not only that, but it’s rugged. Although the barrel is now scratched a bit from years of service (photo above), there are no dents and it functions perfectly.
– 90 Lumens (plenty bright for it’s size)
– LED bulb
– Durable, rugged
– Waterproof
The pictures below are stock photos which indicate the LED bulb and it’s overall comparative size.
It takes a single AAA size battery.
To turn it on, simply twist the front portion of the barrel. There’s no beam focus, rather a fixed beam (on / off). That said, the beam’s cone of light is well suited for general purpose.
Note: I recommend that you use the Energizer MAX battery (they don’t leak!).
(get them here)
Note: It is a great convenience to attach a snap-on clip so that you can easily unclip your keychain flashlight from the key ring for separate use. You can see in my photo at the top how I do this. You can usually find these at your local hardware store.
Why You Need A Keychain Flashlight
Preparedness!
– Walking to your car at night.
– Lighting up the keyhole of any door at night.
– Looking through your purse at night.
– General security & deterrent
Do I have to list every use for a flashlight? ;)
Anyway, it’s today’s preparedness recommendation.
My wife says that I have a flashlight fetish, and I guess I probably do. It goes back to my early days as a big city cop walking dark alleys at night in hopes of catching a burglar in the act. In those days, the best flashlights available were puny when compared to even the pocket LED lights of today. They were exponentially more expensive and ate batteries like a starving dog. Now I have a flashlight on every lamp table, one in every bedroom on each night stand, one on the commode tank lid, one on the window sill in the utility/wash room, and a LED lantern on top of the tallest piece of furniture in each room. In addition, I have candles and oil lamps scattered around the house. I carry a Power Tool 3-AAA battery penlight resting in the side pocket of my overalls.
Overkill? Well, it’s a matter of perspective. Our power grid is less than reliable, so we always have a flashlight nearby no matter when the lights go out. Another consideration, my total investment for all these lights is less than what my first Kel-Lite 5-Cell incandescent bulb flashlight cost me in 1970.
Dennis:
Just read you’re post…. yes you have a flashlight fetish LOLOL
I have flashlights all over the house (at least one in every room). I use the cheapies from Harbor Freight for this ($2.99 for two, including AAA batteries). For my keychain, I use one from Lowe’s ($5.00). It is shorter than car key, and actually focusable. Replacement lithium button batteries cost as much as the flashlight. I consider these lights disposable.
My daughter is stuck on using the flashlight in her phone. I gave her a small flashlight so she can reserve the phone battery in case she needs the phone.
You are NOT alone. I guess, I too, have a flashlight fetish. I have them everywhere. I carry one on my person always, I have them in each vehicle, in every BOB in every room of the house. I check their batteries once a month, I have spare batteries in a central easy reach location. LOL
Some years back, had the Streamlight Nano, but the body unscrewed itself somewhere and I lost the body. Currently have a tiny little ‘Firefly’ clone, but batteries are a pita to find, plus run out
of juice before I get to use the 2nd set.
I keep a Police Security AAA LED flashlight on my microfleece bag carrying my cell phone. About the size of the palm of my hand and the toothed (?) bezel gives me a make-shift weapon. Only 23 lumens but definitely enough to keep me out of trouble. Runs about $10 at Amazon right now.
Similar to Dennis, I have been told I have too many flashlights-is this possible? (Ah, no.) I do need a keychain light since the pocket tactical lights are hard on the butt when you forget it’s in the back pocket (you’ll remember quickly). Added it to the shopping list.
I have two, older, previously state of the art Mag lights I need to convert to LED, but the conversion kits are not for all vintages, and mine are vintage. One D cell size, the other C cell size, good head knockers. Sorry for the digression, but at least it was about a flashlight….
From what I have seen( could have changed by now ) the conversion kits cost as much as a decent flashlight. I was looking at changing over a couple of my old 3 and 6 cell Maglight and the cost was over 50.00. I just bought new lights.
poorman, saw that too. Pricey conversion.
I have this exact same flashlight. Paint all scratched off but still works. What I like best about this flashlight is the design. I had tried 2 different flashlights that attach to your key chain but the design was not well thought out. They put the attachment on the cap, so the weight of the flashlight (as light as it was) would hang pulling on the cap. So in the end, the flashlight body would fall off never to be seen again. One was on for only 2 days before it failed. This little light has the attachment on the body not the cap.
On the keychain lights from Lowe’s, the lithium batteries last a long time, but cost as much as a new flashlight ($5), so I just superglue the cap.
You can never have too many flashlights. Working underground for a lot of years, we used to have a battery cap-lamp. Heavy, water/acid cell on our belts with a heavy SO type cord up to the lamp holder on our hardhats. these had bulbs that had two filaments, so if one went out, you could turn a knob and use the other. ( Old miner superstition: If your cap lamp went out, your Lady was cheating on you.) Charge would last maybe 10 hours. Used to put them on the charging racks each day after shift. Some carried a small flashlight in case the battery went during shift, although they usually have spares in the underground lunchroom just in case. ( I never carried an extra, but still managed to ‘walk out’ on my own in the dark several times.)
Now, all the underground miners are using LED headlamps. Much more dependable than the old acid/water cell lamps. Still, some carry mini flashlights, or button cell LEDs on a zipper as backup. Also there are new LED cap lamps are tied into underground radio communications with the surface, and will flash your light when there is a message. Funny how miners communicate with their lights. UP and DOWN motion means; go back or towards you. BACK and FORTH means: Stop. Around in a circle means: Come Here or This Way. It is considered poor form to shine your light in another miners eyes continuously. ( it would usually result in that miner reaching over with a wrench and breaking your light) A casual shake of your light at someone was used to get their attention. I can pick out the miners coming into a restaurant or a bar in town by watching them try to get the attention of their friends by waving their heads (lights) up and down in the other guy’s face, just a force of habit from working underground. Now around the farm I probably have 10 of those cheap 3AAA cell LED lights stuffed everywhere so I can find one when I need it to look at something in detail, also have a 10 watt LED spotlight to check for coyotes. Other than that I do choose to walk around a lot in the dark with only ambient light to keep my eyes accustom to doing that. Even on a moonless night, there is way than enough ambient light to see if you let your eyes get accustomed to the dark first.
We have several large Maglites around and about the house and near the door as well as a couple Streamlight rechargeable stinger’s. DW carries one similar to yours on her keychain. I’ve had several small mini-Maglites but for some reason I can never find them. I guess the flashlight gremlin’s need something to eat too. If I need to illuminate the door lock I use my cell phone or simply use the soft touch system. So far that works for me.
As for keeping one in the truck? I tried that and found that they are out of site/out of mind and the batteries always wind up dying or leaking all over inside the light and ruining it so I quit keeping one in the truck. I’m not very good at maintaining stuff like that although I do have a nice Maglite in my ready bag. Thanks for reminding me… I need to go down and check the batteries. :)
CrabbeNebulae, thanks for the mini-Maglite reminder, I have those up the wazoo. Nightstand has two and an retina burner LED light, the broomstick has a tactical on it. The other nightstand same thing. Mini-mags in the GHB (2) unloaded but wrapped batteries, hunting pack has two. Duck coat has three (failsafe on the water, had a couple go pa-loosh, nothing like watching thte beam of light sink). So a keychain light or two is a great thought, hang one on the hunting coat too. Mini-mags were the hot thing until LED tactical lights came out. Lights are like fire starters, never enough. Not to mention headlamps.
For flashlights in the cars, I store them with the batteries removed, but in the same baggie.
Like many, I occasionally use my cell phone flashlight. A word of caution: what the flashlight can see. the little camera in your phone can see, too. Just saying……..
Bogan,
That must be why all the flashlight apps need full permission sets for camera and memory access. People just click right through it.
@Bogan
Thanks, but not to worry. My phone is a cheap flip phone, it’s not a smart or I-phone. It’s not necessary to flip the phone open. The phone stays closed and I simply press the side button and the front screen lights up. There’s no camera involved. The camera doesn’t activate unless I intentionally activate it after the phone is flipped open because it doesn’t work when the camera is closed. Besides the camera portal is on the back… not the front.
Sorry, I meant, it doesn’t work when the phone is closed… not the camera.
I have a small stream light flashlight I carry in my pocket as well as another cheapo pen light because one is never enough. I also have several scattered throughout the house. I keep a hand crank flash light in the truck because the batteries will always be dead by the time I need the light again. Many of the flash lights I have are the little cheap ones because my grandkids will often get me one or two for Christmas. Gotta love those little boogers.
I like to use the “Energizer High Tech LED Keychain Light”. It’s a bit heavy, but survives a lot of abuse, has a pleasing form factor on the keychain, and always works.
I’ve had several, and man do they come in handy, But each and every one, each a different design, has not stood the test of time, they either break, or come off the keychain (usually because the keychain mount breaks). I’ve given up on them!
_ I carry a 2-AA cell Mini Maglight on my belt everyday. I use it everyday, too. Mine is the LED Pro model. I carry rechargeable AA Duracell batteries and swap them out of the charger once a week. I have an identical, empty one in my bag, plus one of the old incandescent models, should neither LED model work. There are also 2 packages of lithium 4 packs of batteries which are unopened. I also carry an Inova 2 button cell LED light, I think it delivers 20 lumens, either in my pocket or around the house, I have it around my neck. We won’t say what DW says about me.
– Papa S.
LED flashlights are awesome. But they are solid-state devices. I’ve often wondered how they would hold up to EMP effects. Looking around my hoard of flashlights, I don’t see any incandescent bulbs now.
I have a small flat key chain light that was given to me by our electric company at the yearly customer meeting. I also have a P38 can opener on my chain.
– Ditto on the P-38; the original U.S. Swiss army knife!
– Papa S.
Me three, I wish there was a P38 or P51 that had a 1/4″ bit driver hole stamped in body, make an even more useful tool.
ALL your info is out there even if you don’t do transactions online. Unless your bank, SS administration, DMV, .gov etc. doesn’t have it in “Their” online data base. My mother refuses to do any purchases online. So I have to do it for her and my father using my accounts. But twice she had someone pirate her identity. She only uses the internet for email. And my dad thinks her tablet is a Jumbo TV remote control that he doesn’t know how to work yet.📺
I too am have more flashlights than most sporting goods stores. Have them in all shapes and sizes. anything from small keychain lights up to 2000000 candlepower spotlights, some xenon bulb, some incandescent, some LED. Most all of them are now full of rechargeable batteries although I do still keep a large stash of energizer alkaline batteries. Here in the last few years I have started buying headlamps. I really like keeping both hands free. I just wish they’d quit coming out with better ones cause when they do, I usually end up with another light.
When I was a sales rep I tried to get all the mag lights in every single color..
At one point I had about 35, mini’s micro’s and the c and d cells lights.
Eventually I started giving them away as presents to unload.
I also put together a $45 repair kit with springs, bulbs, lenses, switch covers and o rings and I still have it.
I love my mags ans still have a few with the good led upgrades.
Since they went to those little LED flashlights, I now have them everywhere. The wife and I both have one on our key rings, and I carry a slightly larger one in my pocket all the time. They’re not very expensive, so why not. What if you were way in the back of one of those big box stores, and all the electricity went out. I mean, no emergency lights, no nothing. I always think about that. It would be scary, but not if you have one of those little lights. At least you would get out. And who knows where else you might be when the juice goes out. I also use it a lot when looking in drawers, corners or around in my shed when I’m trying to find something.
The cops in town carry USB rechargeables, do those eliminate the leaky battery problem?
I have both mini mag flashlights using AA batteries and micro massing AAA batteries.
My wife keeps losing her flashlights so between her losses and the occasional leaking battery issue, we have gone through all of our xenon bulb lights and are now almost exclusively using LED lights in the mini mags, micro mags and the inexpensive headlamps we have placed around my house and in my bags.
My headlamps are the simplest and cheapest I could find because: the more expensive ones have many features that I never use. I do not use a flashlight every single minute of every day (like working NOC shift within a darkened hospital.). so if I reach for a light, I need it to work right now with minimal fuss or bother. ( likewise turning the device off.).
For the price of an expensive headlamp, you can buy 3 of the simple ones and I tend to cry when the batteries leak on an expensive light or headlamp.
Headlamps! I LUV headlamps!
I luv the olite keychain flashlight too. :D
Beach’n
Thats what i use mostly, have some OD green LED head lights from Cabellas, are both red or white light and 2 different intensities for both, use the red heading to the stand when its dark or if im out checking stuff on our property at night
NB, re: headlamps, sometimes I feel like the dude from Stargate when I wear one.
Download a flashlight app for your phone. I use mine all the time and it is way brighter than most key chain lights. My go to light is the Streamlight Stinger. 800+ lumen is hard to beat and charges from D.C. or A.C. Unless I’m working the road, I use my cell way more. Used it tonight to add transmission fluid to my daughter’s car. Used it last week to change brakes on my Durango. Very handy.
Just order 3 from the big river store. My existing ones are starting to show their age and these make great gifts for my elderly in laws who need them to read THE ENTIRE menu for the same restaurant they have visited for the past 10 years.