Olight Baton 4
1,300 lumens in a body smaller than your thumb, with magnetic charging that removes every excuse for a dead light. The proprietary cell is the price of admission.
Everyday-carry flashlights, reviewed like tools
Find the light you’ll actually keep in your pocket.
Most flashlight reviews lead with a lumen number and an affiliate link. We start with the beam pattern: whether the output is sustained, whether the interface makes sense at 3 a.m., and whether the thing survives a year of keys and pocket lint.
Quick answers
- Best for most people: Olight Baton 4 — 1,300 lumens, thumb-sized, magnetic charging.
- Most dependable: Streamlight ProTac 2L-X — rechargeable 18650 or CR123A primaries that keep for a decade.
- Best tiny: ThruNite Archer Mini — 34 g, USB-C, IPX8, about fifteen dollars.
- Best keychain: Olight i3E EOS — 90 lumens on one AAA, weighs almost nothing.
Latest reviews
Browse all reviews →Streamlight ProTac 2L-X
Only 500 lumens — and it runs on a rechargeable 18650 or two CR123A primaries. The light least likely to be dead when it matters.
ThruNite Archer Mini
34 grams, USB-C, IPX8, and a useful 18-lumen low. The cheapest way to stop being someone who doesn’t carry a flashlight.
Start here
How to Choose an EDC Flashlight
Lumens, candela, CRI, battery formats, IP ratings, and user interfaces — what each spec means, which ones matter, and which are marketing noise.
The 7 Best EDC Flashlights
Ranked picks across every price point and pocket size, with the reasoning behind each placement — including who each light is wrong for.
Lumens vs. Throw
Why a 2,000-lumen light can be less useful than a 600-lumen one, what thermal step-down is really doing, and how to read an ANSI FL1 spec sheet.
Accessories That Actually Matter
Batteries, smart chargers, pocket clips, diffusers, and holsters. The cheap upgrades that change how a light performs, and the ones you can safely skip.
Why trust this site
We publish our reasoning, not just conclusions. Every recommendation explains what the light is bad at alongside what it’s good at, because a review that finds no faults isn’t a review — it’s an advertisement. When specifications come from a manufacturer rather than our own measurements, we say so on the page.