Yep, mine's on my keychain and always with me, too. It works fine, and will probably last forever. In hindsight, one of those other alternatives look like better value for the money, so if it ever goes bad or goes missing, I'll replace it with something else.

Heh. You almost got me. It's sort of trick question.

I can think of two non answers:

(1) There is no best flashlight. They're all compromises in one way or another.
(2) The best flashlight is the one you'll always have with you. A perfect flashlight left behind is useless.

Those of you reading this who cannot spend, or chose not to spend, $250 on a flashlight, rejoice. You can find your way out of a dark room just as well with a $1.00 CountyComm special.

If flashlights aren't a hobby for you, simply buy something you can afford, put it where you can find it when you'll need it, check the batteries once in a while, and move on. (If, on the other hand, flashlights fascinate you, take my advice.... just stay the heck away from Candlepower Forums. They'll take everything, including your lunch money. You've been warned.)

Funny you should mention that, I just got in (with the 550 cord) a half dozen of their clip lights. Wonderful little things, and cheap enough that you can keep them everywhere (they make good trade goodies too).

Troy

Wait for it to go bad??? No way. A true flashlight nut could never wait.
Anyway, thanks for the tip - after reading about the ARC AAA, I couldn't resist. Now I just have to figure out how I'm going to handle the 6-8 week wait. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I've also been reading great things about the Rock River .5W LED 2xAAA flashlight at Target

KenK,

I couldn't resist, and picked up the River Rock 2AAA. It's definitely brighter than my 2AAA Minimag with the drop in LED module, and it works out cheaper, too, at $9.99.

Randyo,

You can avoid the wait by doing what I did - buy a Peak Matterhorn to play with in the meantime while you wait for the Arc. It's the CPF motto - When in doubt, buy them both!

I did consider that option. However, I already have the modified Solitaire, a couple of River Rock 2AAA's, and too many Mag-lites. Eventually sanity must prevail. I just couldn't pull the trigger.
Don't know what to do with all the Maglites. I used to think they were the ultimate small flashlight. Technology has passed them by and they've made no apparent attempt to catch up .

My daughters love playing with flashlights, but they trashed the Rayovacs Grandpa got them. I just found a Dorcy LED AAA at Wal-Mart for $5.94. It's aluminum body, and with only one battery to recharge (when they fall asleep with it on) and the LED bulb (hopefully they don't find a way to break that!) I got two. The output seems like it's brighter than my Gerber Infinity Ultra, but I can't test them side by side, because the Infinity is in the repair shop <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

For the price, I thought it couldn't be beat, for what I wanted it for, and so far so good. I'm thinking about getting one of th $13 Dorcy LED's for the bedside.

Pretty sure it's not weather resistant, but hopefully that will never be an issue in the house!

If you want to EDC a flashlight with you, then I would recommend the Fenix L1P. It's THE flashlight to get. Cheap, runs on a single AA, very bright for its size. I'm very happy with it that I got 2 instead. Check out candlepowerforums.com and you will know what I mean.Yes, there are other flashlight that's better than Fenix, but they costs a LOT more and runs on more expensive CR123 batts. For a flashlight that runs on a single AA, the Fenix wins hands down! Hope this helps.

I will second (or third) the Fenix. I have been carrying it as my EDC for about a month now. It is very bright and has a run time of about 3-4 hours on a single AA. At close range (less than 15 feet) it is almost as bright as my Surefire E2, but much whiter. It will light up a house across the street. I am having a hard time justifying EDC'ing the E2 now. All in all a great light.

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