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Thread: Recommendations for tiny lights

  1. #1
    Member That Guy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    overseas

    Recommendations for tiny lights

    I've been looking for a couple of small lights and I haven't found quite the perfect ones for me yet. You guys have any good ideas?

    Light the first: A tiny lantern to illuminate the inside of a backpack.

    My pack has a standard MOLLE width strap with a tri-glide to dangle a hydration bladder from. A teeny tiny little lantern that would give just enough light to illuminate the inside of the pack dangling from that strap would be a neat addition, allowing me to find things inside the pack with more ease. Requirements: must survive living inside the pack that goes pretty much everywhere I do, so must be somewhat weather resistant, must be small enough to be out of the way, has to give out a useful, not overbearing amount of light - no nucular level retina searing turbo modes, no tactical strobes, no strategic strobes, no bloody strobes of any bloody kind, no built-in garrotte, beer opener, and kettlebell... Just a wee little lantern to give out a wee little amount of light. Light that's directed downwards into the pack, not into my face. Would be neat if it took a somewhat common battery, so 2032 preferred over other button cells (if the light takes button cells). A key chain light might work here, but I keep breaking those and the beam patterns usually aren't quite perfect for this task.

    Light the second: A small MOLLE mounted utility light.

    I'd like to mount a light onto my tactical kit for hands-free illumination of administrative tasks. (So if we're being honest here, patching targets at the range when it's dark. And yes, I do own a headlamp, but for reasons I'd like to try a kit mounted light.) The light would probably be mounted onto the shoulder strap of my chest rig, as it has a few bits of MOLLE that are fairly well out of the way. This will only be used for administrative tasks, so once again no retina searing strategic strobes etc., just a bit of light so I can see what I am doing. Must survive inclement weather conditions. As small, light weight and unobtrusive as possible. Taking common batteries is again a plus. I've been thinking about a Princeton Tec Switch or Point, but I keep seeing unfavorable reviews of their durability and weather resistance so I'm not sure I want to spend $50 or so to find out whether one of those would survive in my use or not. Plus, you know, they take different batteries than all the other electronics I have, so I would have to buy spare batteries specifically for that light. Which is probably not that big of a hassle, but still a small complication in logistics.

    It's surprisingly difficult to find simple, light weight, small size, moderate amount of light, simple user interface lights that aren't utter Chinese garbage. And ones that are preferably relatively cheap ones, to boot.
    IDPA SSP classification: Sharpshooter
    F.A.S.T. classification: Intermediate

  2. #2
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Oct 2020
    Location
    South Central VA
    The Nite Ize Glow Stick might be what you're looking for:
    https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/nite...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

    I'm on the tech rescue team at work and we recently bought a bunch for marker lights, but haven't had them long enough to do an honest evaluation.

  3. #3
    There are a ton of them here. Maybe you'll find exactly what you're looking for.

    https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-...gbs/hi/3180301

  4. #4
    Supporting Business NH Shooter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    New Hampshire, U.S.A.
    Some interesting tiny-lights here;

    https://countycomm.com/collections/v...light-products

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by That Guy View Post
    I've been looking for a couple of small lights and I haven't found quite the perfect ones for me yet. You guys have any good ideas?

    Light that's directed downwards into the pack, not into my face. Would be neat if it took a somewhat common battery, so 2032 preferred over other button cells (if the light takes button cells). A key chain light might work here, but I keep breaking those and the beam patterns usually aren't quite perfect for this task.

    Light the second: A small MOLLE mounted utility light.

    I'd like to mount a light onto my tactical kit for hands-free illumination of administrative tasks. (So if we're being honest here, patching targets at the range when it's dark.

    It's surprisingly difficult to find simple, light weight, small size, moderate amount of light, simple user interface lights that aren't utter Chinese garbage. And ones that are preferably relatively cheap ones, to boot.
    The original tiny light - the Photon MicroLight - is fantastic and still made in USA. They take 2x2016 batteries, but you can swap out the 2016s for a single 2032 battery, which reduces brightness a bit but roughly doubles runtime.



    https://laughingrabbitinc.com/index.html

    The Photon Freedom and Photon Pro II are the best. They used to / still may come with a 'necklace clip' which can be modified to allow attaching to a watch band. Thats what I use as my primary hands free light, use it every single day for the last 5 years.



    You could also attach them to a Zipper Pull on your bag, to make it built into the bag for gear inspection. You could also attach one with a short section of elastic cord to your kit, allowing it to be pulled a good distance for inspecting stuff.

    Princeton Tec are also made in USA, and make a couple of different compact lights.

    https://princetontec.com/product-cat...elmet%20Lights

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