The Battle of The $20 Budget Flashlights! The Full Article.
Well it took a couple months of carrying each of these items but i finally got to doing a video review for you. I’m also going to give you a run down here today so you, as a buyer, can make an educated decision when it comes to the purchase of a quality EDC item that is also, budget friendly. Below is the video. So lets jump into this. “Man Shit”
Click the Image above to see the video.
We tested the following lights.
Job Smart 5” single mode “AAA”
Bushnell 5” length` 0721 single mode “AAA”
COAST G22 Dual Mode “AAA”
COAST PX22 Dual Mode “AAA”
FrogLeggs FL888 Key Light “4 button batteries”
O light i1R2 Key Fob Light Rechargeable USB “C”
O light i3T EOS “AAA”
First up we have the Job Smart 4’ Single mode.
The Job Smart is a brand that I often find at my local Texas Tractor Supply. Prices have varied on these units over the past couple years due to sales, but that being said, I have never paid over $20 for this flash light. I personally own 6 of these and have them stashed in multiple areas including vehicles. It has a full aluminum body and is supposed to water resistant. I’ve never had this unit completely submerged. However it has been fulling functional in the rain and mud. The pocket clip is quite sturdy and to date, it has never failed or bent on me. The battery life on these is actually quite good. It uses 2 AAA batteries so it is easy to have extras on hand.
As far as the brightness, I’m not going to say this is the brightest of the bunch but it does get the job done. It did out perform the Bushnell which is a very well known brand in the hunting arenas. That is up next. #TractorSypply #JobSmart
Ah, the Bushnell Pro 125 Single mode, aluminum body. It says on the packaging that its 125 lumens and the beam distance is 35m. That’s questionable, at best. If you are looking for American made then this is not the light for you. It is manufactured in China. When you first pick up this light all the grooves and knurling patterns all over this unit, kind of feel a bit awkward in the hand. Can cause hot spots in your grip. The tail and the crown have raised edges so in a pinch this could be used in self defense. It is also water resistant and rated for 2M shock impact. It uses 2 AAA batteries and has a continuous run time of around 3 1/2 hours. When I compared this to the Job Smart, it was lacking quite a bit in the brightness and beam concentration. The weight was comparable to the Job Smart and the pocket clip worked flawless. However it is quite bulky and not very comfortable as a pocket carry. #bushnell
Next Up! The COAST line of flashlights.
The COAST G22. You know there are a ton of mixed views on the line of COAST products within the EDC community. Some absolutely hate them, some love them. Personally I was very satisfied with the units construction and performance. The G22 is said to have 100 lumens with a bulls eye beam. According to the website the G22 is single mode but that makes the one I have a bit weird because it appears to have 2 modes as you can clearly see in the review video above. So was this a manufacturing mistake? I don’t but I guess that make me lucky. It has the classic COAST red ring in at the back and a rear button control. It small enough to to be carried in the pocket comfortably and I’ve seen that it fits almost every EDC organizer I’ve come across. It uses a single AAA battery. It has a water resistant aluminum body construction. My personal unit has been completely submerged and never failed.
Ok. So I stumbled on the Coast PX22 a few weeks ago at Walmart for $9.95. So that easily falls in our $20 budget. The PX22 features a pocket clip and is rated at 100 lumens. However when put next to the G22 you can clearly see that this is a brighter unit. It also has the dual modes. A high and low beam.The beam reaches around 52 feet with a hot spot in the middle with a softer halo than the G22. This unit has an IP54 Storm Proof and Dust Proof rating, so you can feel comfortable carrying this out into the wild.It is also made from aluminum and has that classic red ring on the tail. To me this is afar better version if compared side by side to the G22.. Would this be a recommended purchase in my book. Well yeah. I have one and if I find them on sale again, I will definitely grab a few more to go in the vehicles and go bags.
The FrogLeggs FL888 mini key fob light. Well I found these at Lowes and they cam in a 4 pack for $8.99. Very affordable and fairly decent little lights. They aren’t something you’d carry if you were lost in the woods but they work great as a small light on you key chain. Think of it more as a light to use to help you locate something fairly quick. Like something in your EDC bag, the bottom of the purse or the key holes when you need to use your keys in the dark. They come in at 4.8 lumens, anodized aluminum construction and it uses 4 LR44 button batteries. It has around 3 hours continuous battery life and a 1 year warranty. This unit IS NOT waterproof. Keep that in mind. Oh, and only one mode, ON.
Next up we are looking at the winner in my opinion of the $20 budget light battle. The brand that has given me the most bang for my buck and provided me with what I like to see in a flashlight. Olight!
The upgrade version of Olight's most popular rechargeable keychain flashlight.
● Higher-performance: The CSP LED paired with a TIR optic lens, generates a max output of 180 lumens, 48m, 20% higher than i1R 2.
● New charging type: Adopts the new USB-C port instead of the old Micro-USB port, which makes charging easier. Built-in 130mAh Lithium-ion battery, makes the light runs up to 12 hours.
Easy to use: With a simple twist of the head, users can turn the light on/off and switch outputs.
So this little unit impressed the hell out of me for being a keychain light. It comes in three colors. Black, Orange, and Blue, so you have a bit of variety in your choices. It runs $21.95 and for me that falls in the budget. Olight is a made in the US company so you will be supporting business here. It is also IPX8 waterproof rated. The fact that it was rechargeable was a great added bonus for me. No more having to hunt down weird button batteries. Just plug it in and let it do its thing.
Bruh!!! First of all lets just admire the look of this small flashlight. Those machined spirals, that pocket clip that doubles as a hat clip. Overall, not only does this flashlight look good, it performs exactly as I think a dual mode flashlight should and it falls in the $20 budget. $19.95 on their website and the same on Amazon with free shipping. So here are some specs.
AAA Battery: 180 lumens output achieved with just a single widely available AAA battery
● Portable: Easy to carry in a pocket or clipped to a hat brim with its lightweight and palm-sized Aluminum body
● Simple Operation: Tail switch operation for momentary/constant on and quick mode changing (5/180 lumens)
● Anti-Slip: No worries about slipping out of hand easily with double helix body knurling for unique style and solid grip
Now, I put this light up against all the others in this article and it came out on top. Winner, winner, chicken dinner! The thing that stood out the most to me was the over all brightness and the dual modes. There is absolutely no doubt of which mode you are in. The low mode is a dim 5 lumens and the high is room brightening 180 lumens. Olight also has a great customer service and warranty on their products. I have personally interacted with their staff on the FB group. Great folks.
In the future I would like to test out some of their other lights, maybe the warrior series and bring you the results (I’ll need to purchase some or borrow some to test). I have several high powered, high lumen lights here that were not part of this review that would be interesting to see against the Olight line of products.
Go check out their website at www.olightstore.com. I’ve been told they have many special offers that they offer like a free light and you just pay shipping. You just have to see what they are offering. I unfortunately have not caught any of those offers yet but several people in my discord have.
Speaking of the discord. Come on over and join us there. We have a great bunch of people engaging and sharing their EDC. There are also a few vendors that are part of our community that have great deals.
Thanks for taking the time to read and here at the Anything Goes Project we thank you for being a part of our community. If yo haven’t subscribed to our YouTube channel, please do. We are going to be doing give aways soon and you have to be a subscriber to participate.
Thanks
M. Symonds