Reader Reviews

Rating: 5 / 5

My Photon Micro-Light 1 is about two years old and is on my keychain all the time. Its an amazing little light...cheap, reliable, lightweight, bright for its small size and light weight.

Ive found that its greatest use in a backcountry context is to use in camp and not on the trail. Its fine for using when you want to scramble around camp at night in your tent or tarp to locate various items or read the directions on some food label.

However, claims Ive read that this one LED light could be used as a full blown trail light I vigorously disagree with. To put it bluntly, its not powerful enough to use as a trail light, except in an emergency. Dont believe these claims you will read that its good enough to guide you on a trail on a pitch black night.

If you are lucky and its a full moon and you are only a half mile from the trail head and your headlamp goes out on you, sure this little light (and other similar keychain lights like it) will be enough to get you that last half mile or mile and save your butt.

Serious night hikers will view this little light as a valuable backup light, weighing nothing, taking up no space. But for serious trail hiking, use some sense and use a real headlamp or other flashlight. Personally I use the 1 watt LED Tikka XP headlamp for trail backpacking. If your eyesight is poor or if you have poor nightvision or if you are navigating off trails at night, get a 3 watt LED headlamp.

My eyesight is good and my night vision is very good, better than most. And I wouldnt rely on this or any other keychain one LED light for trail navigation except in emergencies.

Despite these claims, I give this little light a rating of 5. Just use some sense and view it as a backup light, a supplemental light and purchase a 1 watt or better LED headlamp for night backpacking.

I am getting ready to update to the Photon Micro-light II or the Photon Freedom Micro light, which are both supposed to be "twice as bright" as the Photon micro-light I. Still, use common sense and take marketing claims with a grain of salt. The wilderness is an unforgiving place for unprepared backpackers.

Vlad

Rating: 5 / 5

The new model of this light which I recently began using is much as was described in the initial review. I never used the original so can't attest to this one being twice as bright in full mode. The option of using it at lower power is there.

This seems an ideal light for in and around the tent and is my primary for that purpose. With the tubing there is no light scatter and all the light shines only where needed. I keep it clipped close at hand. Outside of the tent area, and in normal situations, I'll continue to use my Petzl as the primary.

Rating: 1 / 5

These photons are cute little guys, but they are best left on your keychain at home, for occasional use.

I've tried to change the battery on two of these photons. On the first one, I just gave up and had to throw it away. The second one took me ~40 minutes to meticulously change; and the light does not function as reliably as before the change. (It will turn on at odd moments, thus draining the battery.)

In other words, this is a throw-away item...and I don't like throw-aways.

If you need a backup light in the wilderness, carry a spare battery for your regular headlamp/flashlight - rather than one of these photons.