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Best EDC Flashlights

Beam Picker tracks 106 EDC flashlights — the pocket lights people actually carry day to day — from 22 brands, priced $15 to $279. The brightest is the Nitecore EDC37 at 8,000 lumens. Compare them all below.

Everyday carry is a size class more than a beam type: a light small enough to clip in a pants pocket every day and capable enough to handle a power cut, a dropped screw under a car seat or a walk to the trailhead. Within it the lights listed here split into two schools. The first is the enthusiast tube light, a cylinder on a removable cell, often running Anduril 2 firmware, from Convoy, Sofirn, Wurkkos, Emisar and Noctigon. The second is the flat-bodied light from Olight, Nitecore and Rovyvon, with a sealed battery, an OLED display on some models, and often a UV emitter and green laser alongside the white beam.

Cell size sets the shape. AA and 14500 lights such as the Sofirn SP10 Pro at $20 and Emisar D3AA at $36 accept a plain AA in a pinch. An 18350 gives a stubby light, and Urban EDC's battery guide puts the largest current 18350 at about 1,200 mAh, while 18650 and 21700 lights trade pocket length for far longer runtime and higher sustained output. Anduril itself ships in a simple mode by default, and its manual documents a lockout that makes a light safe to carry where the button might be pressed by accident, plus thermal regulation that holds output near a user-set temperature limit. Spending more rarely buys more lumens: the Convoy S2+ at $15 is a 1,000-lumen light, and the SureFire Stiletto Pro at $279 lists the same figure. What it buys is finish, a sealed body, extra light sources and a simpler interface.

Owners describe the Convoy S2+ as a platform sold for over a decade in a huge range of emitters and tints, and the Wurkkos FC11, now replaced by the FC11C, as the light long recommended for a first proper flashlight. Acebeam Pokelit AA owners call it the one to buy for relatives, with a mechanical forward clicky and nothing to learn. Lumintop FW3A owners rate it one of the shortest 18650 lights made, though Lumintop no longer sells it. Owners of the Zebralight SC64c LE, also discontinued, treat its missing onboard charging and lack of an overdriven turbo as virtues that keep it small and reliable. Olight Arkfeld Pro owners single out its true 365nm UV, which works for currency checks and stain detection where 395nm emitters struggle.

A keychain light gives up runtime and a usable grip to stay on your keys; an EDC light takes a pocket slot to get them back. A tactical light goes the other way, trading the low-first, gentle interface most EDC lights start on for instant turbo and strobe. Sealing is worth checking too: IPX4 means splash-resistant from any direction, while IPX8 is built for continuous submersion.

Sources: github.com, urbanedc.com, pid.pelican.com

Fenix E35R

Fenix

$80

Fenix E35R

Balanced/~29°/253 m

Lumens
3100
Candela
16000
Cell
21700
Weight
3.5 oz

Luminus SST70

Check price
Acebeam E75

Acebeam

$100

Acebeam E75

Flood/~34°/210 m

Lumens
3000
Candela
11000
Cell
21700
Weight
7.7 oz

4x Nichia 519A 5000K

Check price
Olight ArkPro Ultra

Olight

$129.99

Olight ArkPro Ultra

Balanced/~26°/205 m

Lumens
1700
Candela
10640
Cell
Built-in
Weight
4.1 oz

EIP 1 Flood + Spot LED + UV + Green Laser

Check price
Olight ArkPro

Olight

$99.99

Olight ArkPro

Balanced/~24°/205 m

Lumens
1500
Candela
10640
Cell
Built-in
Weight
4.1 oz

SFT-40 Flood + SFT-25 Spot + UV + Green Laser

Check price
Wurkkos HD05

Wurkkos

$63

Wurkkos HD05

Balanced/~22°/335 m

Lumens
3100
Candela
28100
Cell
21700
Weight
8.3 oz

SFT-70 Gen2 + high-CRI flood + UV + red

Check price
Nitecore EDC29

Nitecore

$109.95

Nitecore EDC29

Balanced/~26°/400 m

Lumens
6500
Candela
40230
Cell
Built-in
Weight
5.6 oz

2x NiteLab UHi 20 MAX

Check price
Nitecore EDC31

Nitecore

$54.95

Nitecore EDC31

Balanced/~20°/380 m

Lumens
3500
Candela
35630
Cell
Built-in
Weight
3.5 oz

9-core NiteLab UHi 20 MAX

Check price
Nitecore EDC35

Nitecore

$89.95

Nitecore EDC35

Balanced/~17°/550 m

Lumens
5000
Candela
75700
Cell
Built-in
Weight
6.0 oz

9-core NiteLab UHi 40 MAX

Check price
Nitecore EDC37

Nitecore

$139.95

Nitecore EDC37

Balanced/~28°/420 m

Lumens
8000
Candela
44010
Cell
Built-in
Weight
7.0 oz

2x NiteLab UHi 20 MAX

Check price
Nitecore EX7

Nitecore

$99.95

Nitecore EX7

Balanced/~20°/500 m

Lumens
6000
Candela
63470
Cell
21700
Weight
4.9 oz

4x 5-core M515S

Check price
Wurkkos TS12

Wurkkos

$25.99

Wurkkos TS12

Thrower/~10°/473 m

Lumens
1350
Candela
55932
Cell
AA/14500
Weight
2.6 oz

Luminus SFT-25R

Check price
Wurkkos TS26

Wurkkos

$45.99

Wurkkos TS26

Flood/~39°/197 m

Lumens
3470
Candela
9702
Cell
21700
Weight
6.2 oz (with battery)

4x Nichia 519A 5000K (or 4x LatticePower TN3535 6000K)

Check price
Wuben X0

Wuben

$179

Wuben X0

Flood/~34°/125 m

Lumens
1100
Candela
3920
Cell
Built-in
Weight
2.9 oz

Osram P9 or Samsung LH351D

Buy at Wuben
Wuben X3 Owl

Wuben

$49.99

Wuben X3 Owl

Flood/~34°/102 m

Lumens
700
Candela
2590
Cell
Built-in
Weight
2.5 oz

Samsung LH351D + Luminus SST-10 (red)

Buy at Wuben
Imalent BL50

Imalent

$69.95

Imalent BL50

Balanced/~18°/428 m

Lumens
3600
Candela
45780
Cell
Built-in
Weight
5.6 oz

Cree XHP50.3 HI + 365nm UV

Check price
Imalent GR36

Imalent

$59.95

Imalent GR36

Lumens
2800
Candela
—
Cell
Built-in
Weight
—

Cool white + warm white flood + 365nm UV (not named by the maker)

Check price
Imalent LD70

Imalent

$59.95

Imalent LD70

Flood/~40°/203 m

Lumens
4000
Candela
10350
Cell
Built-in
Weight
3.1 oz (with battery)

Cree XHP70.2

Check price
Sofirn SC13

Sofirn

$18.99

Sofirn SC13

Balanced/~22°/217 m

Lumens
1300
Candela
11772
Cell
18350
Weight
1.4 oz

Luminus SST40 6500K or Nichia 519A 5000K

Check price
Sofirn SR12

Sofirn

$24.99

Sofirn SR12

Thrower/~12°/396 m

Lumens
1450
Candela
39250
Cell
18650
Weight
2.3 oz

Luminus SFT25 6000-6500K

Check price
Sofirn ST1

Sofirn

$24.99

Sofirn ST1

Lumens
1500
Candela
—
Cell
Built-in
Weight
3.5 oz

Luminus SFT25R 6000-6500K + 4x CSP1313 5000K

Buy at Sofirn
Acebeam K1

Acebeam

$54.90

Acebeam K1

Balanced/~18°/223 m

Lumens
1000
Candela
12432
Cell
AA/14500
Weight
2.7 oz (with battery)

Cree XP-LR 6500K + green + 365nm UV

Check price
Acebeam TAC 2AA

Acebeam

$49.90

Acebeam TAC 2AA

Balanced/~29°/181 m

Lumens
1600
Candela
8190
Cell
AA/14500
Weight
3.7 oz

Not named by the maker (6500K)

Check price
Acebeam UC25

Acebeam

$109.90

Acebeam UC25

Flood/~42°/174 m

Lumens
3100
Candela
7569
Cell
Built-in
Weight
4.9 oz

Not named by the maker (6500K) + green + 365nm UV + high-CRI aux

Find at Acebeam
Rovyvon E10 Max

Rovyvon

$129.95

Rovyvon E10 Max

Lumens
1600
Candela
—
Cell
AA/14500
Weight
—

Not named by the maker (7000K or 5700K high-CRI) + green laser + 365nm UV

Buy at Rovyvon
Wurkkos FC11Discontinued

Wurkkos

$22

Wurkkos FC11

Balanced/~23°/202 m

Lumens
1300
Candela
10200
Cell
18650
Weight
2.3 oz

LH351D 5000K

Sofirn SC21Discontinued

Sofirn

$20

Sofirn SC21

Balanced/~29°/143 m

Lumens
1000
Candela
5100
Cell
CR123A
Weight
1.6 oz

LH351D 5000K

Sofirn SP35Discontinued

Sofirn

$28

Sofirn SP35

Balanced/~21°/276 m

Lumens
2000
Candela
19000
Cell
21700
Weight
3.5 oz

SST-40 6500K

Wurkkos FC12Discontinued

Wurkkos

$37

Wurkkos FC12

Balanced/~19°/304 m

Lumens
2000
Candela
23000
Cell
18650
Weight
2.5 oz

SFT-40 6500K

Wurkkos TS21Discontinued

Wurkkos

$30

Wurkkos TS21

Flood/~39°/195 m

Lumens
3500
Candela
9500
Cell
21700
Weight
3.4 oz

Samsung LH351D 5000K

Sofirn IF25ADiscontinued

Sofirn

$32

Sofirn IF25A

Flood/~33°/189 m

Lumens
3800
Candela
15050
Cell
21700
Weight
3.7 oz

SST-20 4000K

Skilhunt M150 V3Discontinued

Skilhunt

$45

Skilhunt M150 V3

Flood/~32°/110 m

Lumens
750
Candela
3000
Cell
AA/14500
Weight
1.2 oz

V3 was offered in 519A 4500K

Wurkkos FC13Discontinued

Wurkkos

$28

Wurkkos FC13

Balanced/~26°/219 m

Lumens
2000
Candela
12000
Cell
18650
Weight
2.3 oz

LH351D 5000K

Sofirn SC32Discontinued

Sofirn

$30

Sofirn SC32

Balanced/~27°/214 m

Lumens
2000
Candela
11425
Cell
18650
Weight
2.2 oz

SST-40 6500K

Lumintop FW3ADiscontinued

Lumintop

$42

Lumintop FW3A

Flood/~37°/184 m

Lumens
2800
Candela
8500
Cell
18650
Weight
2.0 oz

SST-20 4000K

Wurkkos WK30Discontinued

Wurkkos

$35

Wurkkos WK30

Balanced/~24°/200 m

Lumens
1400
Candela
10000
Cell
18650
Weight
3.0 oz

LH351D + Red + UV

Zebralight SC64c LEDiscontinued

Zebralight

$99

Zebralight SC64c LE

Balanced/~27°/146 m

Lumens
950
Candela
5300
Cell
18650
Weight
1.8 oz

LH351D 4000K

Olight S2R Baton IIIDiscontinued

Olight

$76

Olight S2R Baton III

Balanced/~24°/188 m

Lumens
1200
Candela
8800
Cell
18650
Weight
2.5 oz

CREE XHP50.3 HI

Thrunite T2Discontinued

Thrunite

$80

Thrunite T2

Balanced/~28°/283 m

Lumens
3757
Candela
20000
Cell
21700
Weight
3.5 oz

CREE XHP70.2

Wurkkos TS25Discontinued

Wurkkos

$32

Wurkkos TS25

Flood/~31°/179 m

Lumens
1800
Candela
8000
Cell
21700
Weight
3.2 oz

Nichia 519A 4500K

Thrunite T3Discontinued

Thrunite

$60

Thrunite T3

Balanced/~27°/283 m

Lumens
3600
Candela
20000
Cell
21700
Weight
3.5 oz

CREE XHP70.2

Nitecore i4000RDiscontinued

Nitecore

$85

Nitecore i4000R

Flood/~37°/230 m

Lumens
4400
Candela
13300
Cell
21700
Weight
3.8 oz

CREE XP-L2 V6

Nitecore EDC27Discontinued

Nitecore

$80

Nitecore EDC27

Flood/~32°/220 m

Lumens
3000
Candela
12200
Cell
Built-in
Weight
4.3 oz

Dual Luminus SST-40

Best EDC Flashlights: common questions

What is Anduril and do I need it?▾

Anduril is open-source flashlight firmware with smooth or stepped ramping, a lockout and configurable thermal regulation. Its manual says lights ship in a simple mode by default, so it is usable out of the box, but buyers who want no learning curve may prefer a plain clicky such as the Acebeam Pokelit AA.

Which battery size is best for an everyday carry light?▾

AA and 14500 lights are slim and can run a store-bought AA. An 18350 makes the shortest lithium-ion light, with capacity topping out around 1,200 mAh according to Urban EDC's battery guide. 18650 and 21700 lights are longer but run far longer between charges.

Is a built-in battery a problem on an EDC light?▾

It trades replaceability for a slimmer, sealed body. Flat lights from Olight, Nitecore and Rovyvon use built-in cells and USB-C charging; once the cell wears out the light is retired, whereas a tube light on a removable cell only needs a new battery.