Nitecore TINI 2 SS Stainless Steel Version (TINI2 SS) 500 Lumen Rechargeable EDC Keychain Flashlight Tag

EDIT: I used this for a while and largely liked it as the review below shows. However, I left it charging too long after about two years of modest use and it just up and died on me unexpectedly. The one thing I will say I grew to dislike after regular use is the interface. Anything with exposed buttons going into your pocket is sort of an accident waiting to happen. Yes, you can lock out the buttons but in practice this is less convenient than just a twist function that you know will always be off when you want it to, and always turn on easily when you want it to. I think I am going back to a more simple EDC that may not have anywhere near the performance of this light but is going to be a bit easier to live with. Not to mention this thing was expensive to die so quickly and for 90% of the EDC tasks I was using it for, the higher power wasn't needed anyway. It did need to be charged a bit more frequently than I liked. It seemed to not hold a charge forever even when it wasn't used much. So I would say this is still a good idea for some people, but think very hard about whether you really need this much performance out of a keychain light and whether you really want to hassle with the button interface or not.ORIGINAL REVIEW:This is the kind of cutting edge product that couldn't exist even five years ago. In person, it is noticeably smaller than the key fob for your car, but on the higher settings, it throws out enough light that you could probably duct tape it to the hood of your car and safely drive a dark country road using nothing but the light it throws.I bought it in titanium, figuring that it would wear better on a key ring in titanium than aluminum, while weighing less than stainless steel. The stainless version is also painted, which struck me as weird for something you know is going to get beat up in people's pockets, riding around with keys. First impressions of build quality out of the box are very positive, but we'll see how well it holds up.Now that I've had a chance to play with it in person, I can tell that there has been some serious engineering time/thought put into the design of this. The little screen that tells you how much run time you have left in each setting is brilliant, as is the "controls locked but you can still get momentary turbo" mode. The buttons sit in a little slightly recessed tray that make them less likely to be hit accidentally in your pocket, but they are still proud enough to fall easily to hand in the dark. You don't have to turn the light off to charge it, so you could connect it to a small powerbank in an extended power outage for virtually unlimited runtime, at least on the lower lumen settings. In other words, you are getting the kind of little luxury touches and apparently high build quality that you'd expect to see given the premium cost of the product.But what ultimately impressed me the most here was the beam pattern. It manages to have both reasonable levels of throw AND an extremely wide, flood pattern with very a diffuse hot spot. Yes, it is definitely more flood than spot, which is what should be prioritized in a light like this, but I was stunned at how far it reached. I am not sure whether this is because they are using two emitters instead of one, but the end result is a really useful, general purpose light.Modes:1 lumen - the moonlight mode is basically the same as you expect from every other modern flashlight. Just enough light for walking around the house without disturbing anyone, light for inside a tent, etc.15 lumens - They might as well have a picture of a dog on a leash for this mode. This is enough light to comfortably walk around your neighborhood, walk the dog even in the dark parts of the park, etc. You have enough light to see comfortably in your immediate area when walking and you will not be annoying anyone. It is basically what you wish the flashlight mode on your cell phone could manage, because it has much better throw and coverage than your cell phone flashlight. For most people, this will be the mode they default to and use the most.60 lumens - Everything is brighter but not a lot more area is lit. A better, brighter version of the dog walking mode but now you are lighting up a good sized area fairly brightly. You still aren't making a spectacle of yourself, but you aren't going to want to point the light at other people at close ranges either. You still have reasonable run time in this mode before you have to charge up again.200 lumens - Seriously? I am lighting up the better part of a softball diamond with this, reaching up to fully illuminate huge, mature trees 50 yards away. It is like I am getting the best of both worlds between spot and flood and the quality of the beam design is starting to really impress me here. I have lots of flashlights that don't use 200 lumens of output nearly as effectively as this light can. You will certainly annoy people if you turn up the light this high in a crowded area.500 lumens - "turbo" mode is an instant on/instant off only mode because it eats the battery so fast. You get a bit more reach, but it feels more like the jump between 15 and 60, where you aren't seeing that much further, but everything you are lighting up is now significantly more brightly lit.So is it perfect, the light to replace every other light I own? No, definitely not. The form factor prioritizes size over ergonomics in use, so this is not really the light you want to hold for hours, it is really more for short-term, immediate convenience use. The run times on the lower levels are impressive, but the higher lumen modes are for occasional use only unless you want to charge the flashlight constantly.The little rubber gasket that covers the charge port seats securely and seems of reasonable quality, but I suspect that it will still eventually fail after being pulled in and out a lot. So I would expect the water resistance rating of this light to last for a while, but eventually that port will be fully exposed.I am worried about how well the screen will hold up over time. Unlike the buttons it is flush with the body of the device. The rechargeable battery is also not user-replaceable, meaning that once the battery wears out, the light is going into the landfill, which is a dreadful waste of something this nice and expensive.There is a not unreasonable argument here that for the kind of simple stuff most people will be using this for 90% of the time, it is overkill.Only you can decide if your particular use case justifies the premium price/premium capabilities of this product. It has obvious value as a backup light, for travel, hiking, etc. where space/weight is at a premium, and you still want the capabilities of a much larger flashlight.Final thoughts: This little device is an engineering marvel, and Nitecore has just thoroughly impressed me, to the point that I may see what other lights they sell. Maybe it is a bit expensive and a bit of overkill for what it is. But I take the view that if I am going to bother to carry an additional light beyond the one in my cell phone, I expect that additional light to materially outperform the light on my cell phone. This little guy certainly checks that box. It isn't perfect, but it is pretty darn good.

I was looking for something to replace a beat up Maglight Solitaire LED light and this is to me is almost the perfect keychain light. For it's size it is extremely bright on the highest and the lowest is great reading something up close. My only gripes are both about the lockout function. First it unlocks when you charge. I have to remember to turn it on and then off/hold to reengage the lockout. Second the lockout is too easy to unlock. I've had it unlock and turn on in my pocket and it can get very warm. I was also hoping the titanium finish would be a bit more durable, but after only a few months it is a bit scratched up from my keys. This is not a big deal and my old Maglight was basically bare metal where it started off black.

Great little EDC light. Insanely bright for the size on max, runs for than 2 hours on second brightest setting, which is as bright as I ever need for practical use. Digital display is super convenient. I leave it on demo mode so it doesn't drain from accidental pocket activation, and the automatic disabling of demo mode when you need a constant light is very easy and practical. Best little pocket sized light I've owned.

What a great tiny, bright and durable light for my keychain. The OLED display cures a gripe I had with other keychain flashlights I owned in the past: The only feedback I ever received from the older lights is when the flashlight went on but the two button setup is more complicated to use than I first realized. The display makes the button unlock feature much easier and full-proof to use. The lumen output display confirms the power setting. Its a little annoying that the flashlight always shuts itself off after like 30 seconds of use but I can just press the power button again to get it going again. I assume that is due to heat management? And that is for the lower lumen modes. For the brightest mode they advertise the heck out of it will only stay at that super bright setting for even less time. Though not perfect, I marvel at the world we live in that allows such a bright, tiny awesome flashlight to be real!

Great functional light. Small enough to carry every day without noticing you have a tiny powerful piece of equipment in your pocket. The titanium finish is very nice. Perfect size and weight. Also, the oled display is awesome, knowing your battery life is half the battle of an edc light. I always know I have a working light and when I need to recharge with this unit. I have way too many high end tactical flashlights but done like to carry even the smallest ones. Problem solved… this is the one I will always carry. Don’t drive yourself crazy, if you think you will like this light, you are wrong, you will probably love it.

Had one of these for about 6 months now, it is my edc light. No issues, and it has held up very well. I am not gentle with it either. Battery holds charge well, and light is very bright.

You can't carry this in a pants pocket or even a keychain. It will activate, all the time, just from walking, bending, crouching, kneeling, etc. It's very bright on the highest setting. I could easily see this being used as a primary flashlight or signaling a helicopter in an emergency, but it's design isn't reliable because of the accidental activation. The buttons are a nice and responsive clicky type like old DVD player buttons but they are fragile. I had one that just permanently jammed the button being on my keychain on my belt loop. probably mashed it against something while i was working. This is something you want to keep in a hard case, but that defeats the purpose of the convenience of a thing on a keychain. The power usage and time-remaining function is revolutionary and should be a feature on any modern flashlight, and this would be perfect were it not for the fragile buttons. Not rugged at all. don't get this if you do rugged physical work unless you plan to keep it in a hard case.