Best EDC Flashlights, Tested and Reviewed

Before leaving the house I check my pockets for keys, wallet, cellphone, pocket knife, and flashlight. It’s my standard preparedness checklist. Whether you use it for work, outdoor pursuits, or daily life, that last item on the checklist is an important tool to light up the night and dark spaces during the day. But, choosing the EDC flashlight that graces your pocket comes down to personal preference. 

You can carry a super bright pocket torch or something with less output and a smaller size. Your flashlight can have a custom user interface or a simple on/off switch. Options abound and I’ve been testing 14 of the top lights to help you find the best EDC flashlight.  

Best EDC Flashlights at a Glance

How I Tested the Best EDC Flashlights

While I set out testing to find the best EDC flashlight, what I found are seven uniquely awesome lights that excel in different areas. I whittled the field by half, but I was surprised by how difficult it was to choose a definitive best among my large test group. Here’s the criteria each everyday carry light was graded on.

Beam 

I measured how far each light could effectively illuminate a person for identification. This is listed as “beam distance” in the test results. 

I took photos of each light’s beam at 10 yards with consistent camera settings for your reference. I also took videos of the beams at their various lumen settings for reference.  

EDC Score

I carried these lights for six months while evaluating how they carried, the user interface, ergonomics, and how well they integrated with my daily life. These attributes made up my EDC score, which was graded on a 1 to 5 scale. A 5 is excellent, a 3 is good, and any light with a score of 2 or lower didn’t make the final cut.  

Weight

Since no one wants to carry a boat anchor in their pocket, I weighed each flashlight for reference. 

Best EDC Flashlights: Reviews & Recommendations

Here are my picks for the best EDC flashlights that range from large to small and straightforward tools to feature-rich examples of the latest flashlight technology. 

Best Overall: Streamlight Wedge

Test Results

• Max Illumination Distance: 45
• Run Time: 3 hours at 300 lumens
• Weight: 3.1 ounces 
• Best Use: Daily carry, dog walking, and home

Key Features

• Price: $100
• Lumens: 300 and 1,000 (momentary on only)
• Rechargeable with USB-C
• IPX7 waterproof to 1 meter
• Deep carry clip 

The gear nerd in me loves things like custom user interfaces, LCD screens, and various lumen settings. But, I also like streamlined gear that’s not overly complicated to use. While evaluating EDC lights my pragmatic side won out and I chose the intuitive and simple Streamlight Wedge as the winner. 

When you pull the Wedge from your front pocket, your hand naturally falls in the right position to flick the switch on. If the 300 lumens isn’t bright enough for your task, you can push the switch forward for 1,000 lumens. The max brightness setting will jump back to 300 lumens if you let off the switch. The operation is that simple. 

In the pocket, the flat and thin Wedge goes unnoticed by the carrier. The deep carry clip keeps the light secure and unobtrusive. In my weeks carrying the Wedge I never had it accidentally turn on in my pocket or felt like it was a burden to carry. I occasionally carried it in my back pocket which was comfortable as well. 

The beam is wide, evenly bright, and has a neutral tone. To me, it’s the ideal beam for EDC use. It excels at lighting up a dark parking garage, finding things in a car, and taking a dog for a walk. When using the light at 300 lumens continuously for 30 minutes it was barely warm to the touch, and my laser thermometer read its temperature at 84.5 degrees. 

The main cons of the Wedge are that it doesn’t have any hands free capability like a magnet or two-way clip and it lacks features of more technically advanced lights. 

Also check out the shorter Wedge XT for EDC.

Read Next: Best EDC Knives

Best Value: Loop Gear SK03

Test Results

• Max Illumination Distance: 45 yards
• Run Time: 2.5 hours at 220 lumens
• Weight: 2.5 ounces 
• Best Use: Daily carry, dog walking, outdoors, and home

Key Features

• Price: $60
• Lumens: 7, 70, 220, and 1000 (plus lantern mode)
• Rechargeable with USB-C
• IP65 waterproof
• Pocket clip 

I tested this flashlight nearly a year after testing the others in this article, and it quickly became one of my favorite lights. It has a very easy user interface: quick double tap to change between low and high modes and a long hold to turn on the lantern. The beam is well balanced for EDC with enough throw to reach out and light up objects at 40 yards, but it’s plenty wide to evenly light up an area. It’s not the throwiest flashlight I’ve tested like the Nitecore EDC 25 or Acebeam LEP flashlights, but for daily use it works great. The reason I bought this flashlight was the looks. It has that cool skeletonized machined look I crave at a price that I can afford. The $300+ titanium machined flashlights are very cool, but I cant justify the price for the sake of coolness. The SK03 gives me great looks and performance for $60.

The cons of this flashlight is that it’s too easy to turn on. The tailcap button doesn’t have a “click” and only requires light pressure to activate. So if I dropped it loose in a pocket it would inevitably turn on. A recessed button or a click tailcap would make this an unbeatable light.

I’m still rocking it for EDC, and I like it a lot for camping or truck use due to the lantern (side light) feature. It’s also a heck of a good light for flashlight nerds who don’t want to shell out Dawson Machine cash.

Best Keychain: Nitecore Tini2 Ti

Test Results

• Max Illumination Distance: 40 yards
• Run Time: 45 minutes at 200 lumens
• Weight: 0.8 ounce
• Best Use: Clipped onto a keychain, backpack zipper pull, or dog leash. Excellent as a backup light. 

Key Features

• Price: $45
• Lumens: 1, 15, 65, 200, 500
• Candela: 2,000 max
• Titanium
• LCD Display 
• Rechargeable with USB-C

An EDC flashlight has to be one that’s easy to carry with you every day. With knives, pens, multi-tools, hanks, phones, and power banks all competing for pocket space, a keychain light like the Tini2 makes for a compelling option. It’s always with you and it doesn’t take up more space than a key fob. 

The Tini2’s user interface is simple with a power button that turns the light on and a mode button that cycles through the brightness settings. Hold down the mode button to unleash all 500 lumens. You can set the flashlight into a daily or demo mode. The difference is that the demo mode has an auto shutoff feature. 

I used the light on the daily setting, and found the 65 and 200 lumen settings to be the most useful. I like that the LCD screen provides the lumen setting, and the remaining battery life in minutes. The button lock is also handy to keep the light from turning on accidentally. 

The beam is surprisingly bright for such a tiny flashlight, and it will leave you wondering why you need a larger light for EDC. It’s all flood and no throw so don’t expect to reach out and illuminate objects beyond 40 yards. 

Read Next: Best Power Banks

Best Compact: Olight Baton 3

Test Results

• Max Illumination Distance: 60
• Run Time: 1.5 hours at 300 lumens
• Weight: 1.9 ounces
• Best Use: EDC, automotive work, home use

Key Features

• Price: $69
• Lumens: 0.5, 12, 60, 300, 1200
• Wireless, magnetic charger
• Magnet
• Two-way clip
• IPX8 waterproof  

The Baton 3 has the most throw for its lumens of any light I tested. This palm-sized flashlight reached out to 60 yards, and it takes up half the pocket size of similarly bright options. It uses a proprietary magnetic charger, which can be a con if you end up losing the cable. But it means you don’t have a charging port that gets filled with lint or exposed to water. 

The magnet and two-way clip allow for hands free use. Whether you’re clipping it to your hat on a hike or sticking it to the hood of your truck while you work. 

The on button has a tactical and audible click that’s very difficult to turn on accidentally. The user interface is pretty straightforward. Just press the button for light and hold it to change the brightness setting. A double click will turn on the turbo mode. 

Best Powerful: Nitecore EDC 25

Test Results

• Max Illumination Distance: 65 yards
• Run Time: 1 hour 45 minutes at 1,000 lumens 
• Weight: 3.8 ounces 

Key Features

• Price: $75
• Lumens: 15, 65, 200, 1000, 3000
• Rechargeable with USB-C
• Battery and lumen indicator 
• Button lock 
• Flat design 

I tested the Nitecore EDC 27, and while I liked it, it had flaws that held it back from being a top pick. Mainly the momentary button jumped from turbo to strobe far too easily. The light also got very hot at its brightest settings. 

The new EDC 25 solves many of those problems. It’s far more user friendly and it’s about an ounce lighter. The momentary button puts you at the light’s max output and it will light up a large area with a wide, 3,000 lumen beam. A click and a hold on the power button will turn on the EDC 25’s other settings. One quirk is that you have to press and hold the power button to turn the flashlight off. There are indicator lights on the flashlight that show the light output and battery level. 

The flat shape of the EDC 25 is excellent for carry, but about ½ inch of flashlight sticks out of your pocket since it doesn’t use a deep carry clip. The EDC 25 gets hot during continuous use of its high settings. At 1,000 lumens it reached 125 degrees after 12 minutes, and was uncomfortably hot to hold. Even with those cons, the EDC 25 is the best EDC flashlight I’ve tested if you want to carry a super bright flashlight. 

Best Budget Compact: Thrunite Archer Mini

Test Results

• Max Illumination Distance: 50 yards
• Run Time: 50 minutes at 157 lumens
• Weight: 1.3 ounces

Key Features

• Price: $20
• Lumens: 18, 157, 405
• Tail cap click 
• Two-way pocket clip 
• Rechargeable with USB-C
• IPX8

The Archer Mini is a classic AAA EDC flashlight. I tested it against several similar models but found its light, button, and user interface unbeatable. It takes up very little pocket space and the pocket clip has the right amount of tension to keep it securely in place. It also fits well in an organizer. I carried the Archer Mini in an Alpaka Zip Pouch Pro and it fit perfectly into the exterior pocket. 

The button has a nice tactile click and exclusively has a continuous-on mode. Click it on for the 18 lumens and double click for 405, which will step down to 157 lumens after about 2.5 minutes. There’s a USB-C port hidden in the head of the flashlight for recharging. That means no buying expensive batteries or keeping track of an external charger. 

Read Next: Best EDC Multi Tools 

Best with a Laser: Olight Arkfeld Pro

Test Results

• Max Illumination Distance: 45 yards
• Run Time: 2 hours and 6 minutes at 420 lumens
• Weight: 3.9 ounces

Key Features

• Price: $100
• Lumens: 1, 15, 100, 420, 1300
• Two way clip 
• Rechargeable with Olight magnetic charger
• Class 3R Laser 
• 900 megawatt UV light  
• Battery level indicator 

The Olight Arkfeld Pro is the most fun flashlight I tested, but the features that made it fun also made it one of the least practical. The green laser is powerful and bright. It stretches out well past 100 yards at night and is bright enough to be used indoors during the day. The UV light is great for recharging objects that glow in the dark and seeing things only visible when hit with the UV spectrum. It would have been cool if the Arkfeld Pro had a lower UV spectrum, it’s at 365nm, which is too high to be used for disinfecting objects. A portable UV disinfector would be really handy. 

The flashlight portion is excellent with a nice wide, even beam. The user interface is simple and easy to use. You toggle the switch between the different modes and then click the button to turn on. A long hold cycles through brightness levels. 

In the pocket the flat Arkfeld Pro is easy to carry and it has a nice deep carry clip. It’s right up there with the Wedge in terms of ease of carry and operation.

How to Choose an EDC Flashlight

Lumens vs Candela 

A lumen is a measurement of light emitted and a candela is a measurement of light intensity. That means a light with high lumens is very bright and a light with high candela will carry its brightness to far distances. 

For an EDC light, candela, also described as throw, can be helpful for illuminating shadows and helping your light source outcompete with things like street lights. But it’s not ideal for using your flashlight upclose. 

Wide vs Narrow Beam

Most people will prefer a wide beam that illuminates a large area for EDC. Flashlights with wide beams cast their brightness intensity evenly and are ideal for things like lighting up a path and finding objects. A narrower beam will cast its light farther with an intense center spot. 

Final Thoughts on the Best EDC Flashlights

EDC is all about carrying portable tools that make life easier. Whether it’s a knife to open a box or a flashlight that helps you navigate a dark alley, it’s great to be prepared. I’ve tried a lot of flashlights and the options in this review are the best EDC flashlights I’ve tested. From the $20 marvel, Thrunite Archer Mini, to the incredibly easy to use Streamlight Wedge, there are excellent options for everyone.  

 

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