MillCreek
Member
I have posted here before about the use of a small flashlight as a kubaton. Since I am often in government buildings on business, my conventional kubatons generally do not pass the security screen. Since I have not been happy with the many flashlights I have used as a kubaton, I am still using an old Monadnock Persuader Model 2. In order to have an emergency light source, I attached a Photon Freedom Light to my keychain.
My concerns with the flashlights have usually been the weight, the diameter, the light output or how badly it gets beat up in my pocket attached to the keys. I am in a business suit five days a week, and large or heavy flashlights do not carry well in suit pants. I must have tried out more than 10 small flashlights, from xenon to LED bulbs, from N cells to double AAs, from anodized aluminum to neon-colored polycarbonate. A partial list would be the AA MagLite (xenon and LED), various Inova models, Streamlight and Pelican N cell flashlights, Streamlight AAA xenon dive lights, Underwater Kinetics AAA dive lights, the Streamlight BatonLite, etc.
I am pleased to report that I have just found a new flashlight that bodes well for use as a kubaton. I was in a local variety store (Fred Meyer, for anyone else in the Pacific NW), and saw a new flashlight hanging on the rack. It is the Garrity LED penlight and cost $ 7. A picture can be seen here: http://www.geekbro.com/index.cfm/hu...200gst06a-Nichia-Led-Stainless-Steel-Penlight
It is a long, thin flashlight with a tail clicky switch, a single 5 mm Nichia LED, takes two AAA batteries and has a robust stainless steel body. It is about a quarter inch longer than my Persuader kubaton. The beam is a tight, white spot with very little flood. It is brighter than the beam from my Photon Freedom light. It is not as bright as my Luxeon or Cree flashlights, but then again, those LEDs do not come in as small or inexpensive a form factor.
It did not have an attachment point for my keyring, so I drilled a small hole where the clip attaches to the body and put a split ring through the hole.
I have done some testing, and the flashlight still works after drop testing, whacking it against a counter and I cannot bend the tube body of the light. The brushed stainless steel conceals scratches and the like very well. The switch requires a firm click to activate, and so far it has not come on while in my pocket. Using common (AAA) batteries is a plus, and since it is a LED, I should get some very good battery life from this model.
If you also like to use a flashlight as a kubaton, think about this model.
PS: edited to add that the LED is recessed and behind a lens.
My concerns with the flashlights have usually been the weight, the diameter, the light output or how badly it gets beat up in my pocket attached to the keys. I am in a business suit five days a week, and large or heavy flashlights do not carry well in suit pants. I must have tried out more than 10 small flashlights, from xenon to LED bulbs, from N cells to double AAs, from anodized aluminum to neon-colored polycarbonate. A partial list would be the AA MagLite (xenon and LED), various Inova models, Streamlight and Pelican N cell flashlights, Streamlight AAA xenon dive lights, Underwater Kinetics AAA dive lights, the Streamlight BatonLite, etc.
I am pleased to report that I have just found a new flashlight that bodes well for use as a kubaton. I was in a local variety store (Fred Meyer, for anyone else in the Pacific NW), and saw a new flashlight hanging on the rack. It is the Garrity LED penlight and cost $ 7. A picture can be seen here: http://www.geekbro.com/index.cfm/hu...200gst06a-Nichia-Led-Stainless-Steel-Penlight
It is a long, thin flashlight with a tail clicky switch, a single 5 mm Nichia LED, takes two AAA batteries and has a robust stainless steel body. It is about a quarter inch longer than my Persuader kubaton. The beam is a tight, white spot with very little flood. It is brighter than the beam from my Photon Freedom light. It is not as bright as my Luxeon or Cree flashlights, but then again, those LEDs do not come in as small or inexpensive a form factor.
It did not have an attachment point for my keyring, so I drilled a small hole where the clip attaches to the body and put a split ring through the hole.
I have done some testing, and the flashlight still works after drop testing, whacking it against a counter and I cannot bend the tube body of the light. The brushed stainless steel conceals scratches and the like very well. The switch requires a firm click to activate, and so far it has not come on while in my pocket. Using common (AAA) batteries is a plus, and since it is a LED, I should get some very good battery life from this model.
If you also like to use a flashlight as a kubaton, think about this model.
PS: edited to add that the LED is recessed and behind a lens.
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