I was walking through a dark area of the church doing lockup earlier tonight and pulled out my trusty keychain light. I have been using keychain LED lights for a year now and tried several.
The big problem I have with LED lights is that they typically use the expensive button batteries so even though the LED will last 10.8 billion years the batteries last 2 months. It isn’t worth replacing the batteries though, so I am building up a collection white LEDs for a project to be named later.
The AAA LED
I have one LED flashlight which uses a single AAA battery so it is easily replaceable, but not as bright as some other LED lights. The problem with it is that the end with the keychain hook is a button to turn it on. Sometimes while in the offices in the dark I would accidentally flash the light while it was aiming behind me and I would think that there was someone there or there was something wrong with someone’s computer.
A light with a switch
The Beamer Micro Light from SuperBrightLEDs.com is a good quality flashlight. My problem is that it has a switch to keep it on without squeezing. This would typically be great, but I end up burning through the batteries too quickly. If I kept it on a lanyard and not on a double keyring full of keys in my pocket that would do better. It comes in Red, Blue, Green, and White. I have recommended the red LED with a switch to the worship department for use at the soundboard. some of the other colors may be useful as well (info on color uses & lights at night).
The one I am using now: Cheap
While I may have some nice multi-LED lights in the future I am currently using the cheapest one I can get. I purchased this light from SurplusComputers.com (they added me to their weekly mailing list, but did remove me when I opted out). You can buy the 10 pack for $10.99 with free shipping or one for $0.99 plus shipping. They are very bright and light up full hallways when my eyes have adjusted to the dark, but their big benefit is they are cheap. I bought 2 packs and have them out for my security staff to add to their key-rings. Considering the Worship Center main lights use about 100,000 watts, a $0.99 flashlight is nothing if it keeps them from using house lights to push aside the darkness.
Edit: I almost forgot one reason why I posted this. I got this for my Dad for Fathers Day. An iBeam watch with magnifier and built in LED.
Check out this “shake-light.” It uses an LED and you shake it to charge it up. It doesn’t use batteries. I have not tried one of these, but an amateur astronomer friend mentioned it.
http://www.greatredspot.com/Shake%20Flashlight.htm