My pockets have assorted equipment of various ages and I noticed some have lasted better than others.

My original signal mirror (about 2"x3", plastic) got completely scratched up after about 2-3 years and needed replacing (with a milsurplus one). The original mirror did not have a plastic protective covering over the surface. This is stored in my wallet.

My current small fresnel lense (in my wallet) also is kind of useless at this point. Its scratched on both sides despite being in a protective vinyl cover.

I am on my second photon light (first one lasted about 5 years). At the time, I think only red was available. First, the on/off switch failed but would still light when the button was pressed. Then the button failed and I had to replace. This was stored on my keychain. I had this replaced as a warranty return.

I had an off brand photon-type light that only lasted about a year before failure. Likely poor quality. It was also stored on my keychain.

I have been through a number of cellphones (non-smartphone) which have failed because of battery issues, antenna falling off, buttons becoming intermittent. This is stored in my hip pocket.

My latest failure is again electrical. I have a 4Sevens single AA LED light for the past two years. The light first became intermittent and now failed completely. I initially bought it because I figured reliability would be higher since there are no moving parts. I found unexpected weaknesses since the light turns on by screwing the cap tight. As such, the cap has to be left loose. The cap kept on falling off the case! I am in the middle of a warranty return on this.
It is stored in my hip pocket attached to a lanyard.

My pockets seem to be a rough place for EDC equipment. Is there a more reliable single AA LED flashlight out there?

The advantage of EDC in pockets is that I seem to notice failures quicker and have them replaced earlier but with the constant movement, changing environments, etc. failures seem to be much more frequent.

Conway Yee