I have heard before numerous times that sometimes the most important piece of gear you own is the one that you carry. For the most part that is true. What is the point of buying the gear? What use is the lights that you purchase and then keep in your closet or in a bin full of other gear you do not use?
What I have learned in the last couple of years is function and form are probably the most important factors in EDC gear. If it is something that you can easily carry, then it is ultimately going to prove useful.
Flashlights are no different.
With lights, we have gotten to a point where the efficiency is incredibly high. In the years past there was/is a flooded market of overpriced EDC oriented lights. I have never gotten into that game.
Reason for this is that I am notoriously rough on my gear and I also tend to lose smaller items. I would kick myself in the ass if I somehow lost a grossly overpriced EDC light. It simply isn't worth it to me. Because in essence a $2 light can arguably do the exact same thing as a very expensive one. Maybe not as good, but it can definitely do the bare basics.
Nitecore is a name that a lot of people know as far as lights go. They have a lot of smaller and compact EDC models that are rather affordable. The TIKI for example is about $20. Not too bad in the world of EDC lights. To me its still overpriced.
However, somehow or another I stumbled on a TIKI copy online. So I bought it. At the time it was $7 shipped. At the worst I would have a junk rechargeable Nitecore copy that would go in a bag or in my car for whatever general use. Little did I know this would turn out to be one of the most important pieces of gear I probably would buy in a very long time.
At the time of writing this I have bought, used, gifted probably a dozen or more of these lights to friends and coworkers. I keep them in all my bags and they are staged all over the house because they are so useful.
Disclaimer: I am not sponsored by any company and I also have not owned a Nitecore TIKI. It is pretty clear these lights are a direct copy of them though so it should be noted. They actually have MORE features than its Nitecore counterpart.
The model I purchased is called the M300. For the specifications I will share some of the minor details but like a lot of these items I tend to not believe some of the information they provide for them. I can tell you my experiences though with them.
Brightness: 400LM
Color temperature: 6500K
Product material: PC+304 stainless steel
Battery model: polymer lithium battery
Battery capacity: 500mah
Charging port specification: USB-C
Charging time: 35 minutes
Battery life ~2H or 130 minutes up to 32H
Brightness 400LM - 290LM - 87LM - 25LM - 2LM
Side lights
white light, white light flashing, purple light, red light, red light flashing, red and blue flashing police light.
IPX6 rated waterproofing.
The lights I purchased were all glow in the dark clearish shelled plastic cases. They are about the size of a Chapstick and have a clip that can be used to attach to a hat bill. Sort of to use as a headlamp. It also features a magnet to temporarily attach it to metal items to use hands free. Both of these features have come in handy for me numerous times when I needed both of my hands free.
The magnet I sometimes forget about then I remember and it works awesome for whatever task I am needing it for.
One thing I noticed was that this clone light actually has more optional features than the Nitecore ones do. The side lights have a lot more colors and options than the TIKI counterparts have. Another reason to just get the cheaper clone if you think you would ever need a UV light, or flashing police lights to signal.
I have also found that the translucent glow in the dark feature of the body has come in handy when I least expected it. When camping I would need to use the light and then I would be getting in my tent and the glowing was just enough to illuminate what I needed to see.
In my recent years with buying and testing gear and lights I have been keen on mainly two features. The first is that I want it rechargeable with Type C. The other is having a white and red light option. Since this has both of those main key features I have tested multiple of these lights over a year rigorously. They go into every bag and every loadout I have put together.
Like I stated when I started this entry, the most important EDC items you have are the ones you carry. What is the point of having gear if it isn't able to be carried? Having a small multi purpose light is incredibly useful. The fact its rechargeable is even better. So don't take my word for it. Get a handful of these lights and test them out. You will not be disappointed. Its the perfect size, and it is bright enough for the majority of tasks you could ever ask of it. If you need a brighter and bigger light then you probably were not prepared for the task at hand in the first place.
Oh, and I cant really post links but many site like Amazon or other Chinese eCommerce sites will have similar ones like this available for pretty cheap. They are easy to find with a couple of minutes of searching.
I am not sponsored or endorsed by any company mentioned in this post.
