My 4 Favorite EDC Flashlights Are Insanely Bright and Pocketable

Before leaving the house I check my pockets for keys, wallet, cellphone, pocket knife, and flashlight. It’s my standard preparedness checklist. If you clicked on this article, you probably have a similar checklist and know the importance of a flashlight. But there’s a wide gap between an ultra-bright LEP and something that’s actually practical for daily life.

I’ve tested a ton of of the best EDC flashlights and these are the four that get the most pocket time.

I become nerdy about all gear categories I get into and EDC flashlights are no exception. I went from carrying a streamlight microstream down the super slippery slope of learning about emitters, UIs, and most recently LEP and building my own flashlight. But I’m also pretty practical in my gear choices and I like things that are simple to use, but have top-end performance. The EDC 29 is nearly perfect in regard to being simple for daily use with premium technology.

The beam is fantastic and perfect for EDC applications. It has a bright center spot but plenty of spill for seeing your surroundings. I use the 400, 1,200, and 6,500 lumen modes most often. The 400 lumen setting is great for indoors and completely lights up a large room. It’s also great for extended use because the light doesn’t heat up at 400 lumens. The 1,200 lumen mode is great for outdoor use, but only in short spurts. If you run the light for more than 15 minutes at 1,200 lumens it will start to get hot to the touch. The 6,500 lumen mode is absolutely amazing. It turned my pitch dark backyard into daylight, as if someone turned on stadium lights.

The flat shape makes the EDC 29 carry very nicely in the pocket, but I wish it had a deep carry clip. You’ll see about a half inch of flashlight sticking out of our pocket when carrying it. The EDC 29 has a new locking mechanism that prevents the light from being activated accidentally. The best part is that it’s an incredibly simple lock. It’s an independent switch on the side of the flashlight that you simply flick on or off.

If you want a flashlight that is easy to use and has incredible lighting capabilities, the EDC 29 is the best EDC flashlight for you.

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 $34.

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.

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. 

Streamlight Wedge

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