Review: L10 flashlight

I love flashlights and always like having extras on hand, following the "two is one and one is none" philosophy. pocket and palm sized lights are even better, as they can fit into small packages, and be used in variety of settings. I especially like small lights that I can throw, drop behind a bookshelf or wedge into a crack to illuminate a workspace. I have a collection of these as part of my EDC, including the previously covered bullet-02-smallest-edc Lumintop Tool AAA Jenyx UV and an as-yet unreviewed Four Sevens Bolt action penlight

This particular addition is the L10 Twisty from L3-Illumination Lumintop. It is a lightweight(at just 20g (0.7oz) without battery flashlight, featuring a Cree XP-G2 9R5) LED with lifespan of 50,000 hours and it takes a single 1.5V AA battery (ni-mh, alkaline). It's reported that rechargable high-performance 14500 batteries are not recommended because they heat up quickly.

Constructed from durable aircraft-grade aluminum with a Type III hard-anodized anti-abrasive finish to house the toughened double ultra-clear glass lens it is waterproofed to IPX-8 Standard. It measures just 79mm(length)x17.1mm(dia) for a very convenient pocket addition. I have mine attached via the end-cap lanyard hole to a short cord and thus attached to a house-key. Ease of entry for those dark night returns.

The L10 is activated by a twist switch set into the body of the light around the 2/5 mark of the body. Twisting the head of the L10 engages the first of four modes of action. The four modes activated by turn and re-return the head of output are as follows: Firefly (0.09lumens brightness with 147 hours duration); Low (3 lumens, 30hrs ); Medium (30 lumens); High (120 lumens, 1.5hrs duration) (when tested with Ni-mh battery with actual capacity 2500mAh).

It features a stable current regulated circuit, providing stable brightness throughout use. Unlike many flashlights of this type, it has no mode memory, always starts on lowest mode. Just tighten and loosen the head to switch between modes. Its flat base, and lanyard cutaways allows the light to be placed on its end to move into its practical candle mode.

The head end comes right off by unscrewing to replace the battery which is something you need to bear in mind when switching modes and also using the light in wet situations. It has a rubber- o-ring to seal it but once over-unscrewed the head can just fall right off, exposing your internals, dropping your battery and shutting of the light all in one annoying "ker-plunk".

All in all the L10 makes a very useful little light, great for those "i dropped my "X"-in the foot-well of the car", "where's the damn key-hole" and "what's under the couch?" moments in which a larger more powerful light would be overkill. Solidly made, functional and convenient, the L10 is welcome addition to my janitor-grade bundle of keys.