While happy with my Preon 2 penlight, there are times when I want something a little more compact and keychain-friendly. I have compiled a number of suitable candidates, with the Klarus 1x AAA Mi X6 flashlight at the top of my wishlist.
The Klarus Mi X6 comes in a couple of versions, with the only difference being the flashlight body. There’s a stainless steel Mi X6 (shown here), a gold-plated collector’s version, and one with a titanium body.
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Features & Specs
- Waterproof to IPX-8 standards up to 2 meters (IP Code?)
- 85 lumens on high, 26 lumens at medium, 3 lumens at low, plus strobe mode
- Powered by a single alkaline or NiMH AAA battery
- Runtime of 70-minutes at high, 5.7 hrs at medium, 66 hours at low
- Built-in lanyard or keyring mounting point
- Digitally regulated output
- Cree XP-G R5 LED emitter
- Twist switch and mode adjustment via rotating head module
- Glass lens with orange peel reflector
The Mi X6 is touted as one of the smallest and brightest AAA flashlights in the world, but it’s the compact size that mainly interests me.
It’s great that such a small light can deliver an 85-lumen output, but it seems that 26 lumens would be more practical on a day-to-day basis. Hopefully the first stop of the twist switch is the medium light output setting.
Have you ever heard of Klarus? Me neither until now, but a quick search of popular EDC and flashlight forums doesn’t turn up any negative reviews or complaints.
James C
IMO, Klarus is well respected among flashlight enthusiasts.
I’ve EDC’d an ITP A3 for a year now. These little AAA lights are great on a keychain. The most useful flashlight is the one you have with you, and it’s no problem to keep lights like these in your pocket.
Stuart
The ITP A3 has been on my wishlist for a while as well. The Preon 1 also, but I could never settle on which to spring for.
James C
I don’t think you could go wrong with either, although I’ve never seen a Preon 1 in person. If I were to get a new AAA keychain light, I’d probably look for one with a two-mode interface where you twist it partway to activate low, then twist it tighter to activate high. I’ve grown annoyed with cycling through modes with on-off twisting action.
gatherer
I’ve carried a Klarus Mi X6 Ti for a couple of years now on my keyring. Top quality, amazing light and looks like new. Still has the original battery. Thoroughly recommended.
Maikeru
Any word on whether the strobe setting is a sort of slow blink or a rapid flash?
Mike
These look nice,I bought my wife a E01 for xmas and really wish I would have dropped the cash on one of these after your reviews. I’m still partial to my Streamlight stylus mainly because they are so cheap at under 20 bucks hard to pass up.
Mike
found a link for these on amazon can be found here:
http://www.amazon.com/MiX6-Stainless-Steel-Body-AAA/dp/B007QUW0U0/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&qid=1356726001&sr=8-17&keywords=klarus