Hi. I’m Jane. And I’m a flashlight junkie. I fully admit my addiction to all things flashlight, from big chunky flashlights for the back of the car to wee itty bitty things to fit onto my keychain.
Why Are Flashlights Important?
Light. Truly, simply, light. Not only for the convenience of being able to see something in the dark, but as a source of security, a source of safety, and a source of rescue. It’s important to have a personal, everyday carry (EDC) kind of flashlight that you can rely on that has great light, doesn’t lose charge at the drop of a hat, and is easy enough to carry that you will do it every day.
Whether you just need extra light walking from the store to your car at night, looking for the tiny object you dropped in the car that you swore was just below your feet but really bounced 3 times into the crevice between seats, or needing something small to hold in your mouth while working on some electronics and no one is around to hold the light for you (haven’t we ALL done that?), this pocket-sized flashlight is amazing.
Cree Mini LED Flashlight: 2022 Review
Cree Mini LED Flashlight Features (from the manufacturer)
- Lumens: 300LM
- Reflector: Convex Lens
- Material: Aluminum alloy
- Model of LED: CREE Q5 LED
- Switch: Tail-cap press ON/OFF
- Battery: 1 * AA / 1 * 14500 3.6v Battery (not included)
- Size: 9.4*2.6*2.6cm
- Weight: 65g
- Skid-proof design & waterproof design.
- The adjustable focus range for different usage, stretching to adjust its focus.
- Clip for convenience carry.
What I Love About the Cree Mini LED Flashlight
- It’s small but powerful.
- It’s waterproof. I’ve tested it. I ran it through the washing machine on a full cycle, and it came out as bright as it went in.
- It doesn’t eat up battery power quickly.
- It can use the regular AA batteries or the super
- It has a great clip that really holds to your clothing, so you can clip it onto your pocket and not worry about it flicking off easily.
- It has an adjustable focal length so that you can get a big broad beam, or focus in more intently on an area.
- It’s SOOOOOOOOOO bright compared to other small flashlights
- It is solid, not plastic, not super-heavy, and not weak.
What I Don’t Love About This Flashlight
Nothing. Well, it does tend to get really warm with long-term use. But not so much as to be uncomfortable. But because the light is so bright, it can get warm. Oh..and if you shine it in your eyes, it isn’t comfortable – you’ll be seeing a big black spot in your eyes for quite a while. I have absolutely no personal experience with that at all (and I’m sticking to that story!)
Okay – the one thing I don’t like about it is that I often misplace where I’ve set it down. It’s smaller than the average flashlight people are used to keep, and because it’s black, I tend to lose it visually. My son ended up creating some braided paracord lanyards to keep his attached to the outside of his EDC bag to keep track of his extra one.
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Cree Mini LED Flashlight Batteries
We use the 14500 batteries with our Crees because they are more powerful, rechargeable, and last longer. You can get the flashlight plus recharger combo, too, which is what we did for our first ones. Or you can buy the recharger plus batteries alone. We do recommend the 14500 batteries because they are more powerful for longer than regular AA batteries. If you opt to go for the AAA battery + adapter, know that your AAAs will wear out very quickly because they just aren’t built for this.
Cree Mini LED Flashlight Sourcing
This flashlight is made in China. (face it..so much of what we buy that is electronic is). But when purchasing, make sure you understand who and where it’s coming from. Make sure that you’re ordering from an American supplier so that it doesn’t take weeks to get it. We order ours from this supplier in bulk for gift giving now.
There are some of the Cree mini flashlights that are being advertised as 3-mode. And while extra modes may be fun (flashing or other colors), a single-mode flashlight is usually much more reliable, and that’s what you really want. In all the ones we have ordered and used and given away, we’ve never had one fail. Ever.
What’s Your Favorite Flashlight?
There are other flashlights out there that are wonderful. We’ve tried a ton. This just happens to be MY favorite of the bunch that we’ve tried, as well as everyone else in the family. We’re not flashlight snobs by any means, but after all that we’ve tried and used and carried, this is our choice now.
UPDATE: My husband bought me this version yesterday. It’s a little larger (doesn’t fit in the pants pocket quite so easily). It has 3 modes – bright, not so bright, and blinding strobe. It’s really amazing. It’s the one that stays on my nightstand, and I just bought another for my car!
Last update on 2024-12-13 at 16:14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API