The longest-running EDC flashlights, on published figures

Runtime is the specification people care about second and check last, and it is the one most often quoted in a way that is true and useless at the same time. A light advertised at 42 hours does not run for 42 hours at the output you bought it for. It runs for 42 hours at its lowest setting, which on most of these lights is dim enough to read by and not much else.

This page ranks EDC lights on runtime the maker publishes, states which mode each figure describes, and names the five lights where no runtime figure exists at all. That last group is larger than it should be.

How we picked

1. Pocketable. Everything here is a light you would actually carry daily. The largest is 169 g; most are well under half that.
2. A published runtime, or an honest gap. Lights that publish a runtime are ranked on it. Lights that do not are included where they earn a place another way, and the gap is stated in the table rather than filled in.
3. Currently purchasable. Each light was checked against its live retail listing before we wrote about it.

We have not tested any of these lights, do not own them, and have no laboratory. Every figure is the maker's own with the source linked — see our methodology for what we do instead and where we think it is stronger than an untraceable impression.

Ranked on published runtime

Three of these eight lights publish a runtime for every mode. Two publish a single figure. Three publish nothing. All three of the per-mode tables belong to the same company, which is a pattern worth noticing when you are deciding whose numbers to trust.

The arithmetic, where the inputs exist

Runtime is not magic — it is stored energy divided by draw. When a maker publishes cell capacity you can check the claim yourself, and on this page exactly one maker does.

For the AA and AAA lights the arithmetic has to be looser, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise. A AA cell holds roughly two to three watt-hours and a AAA around one to one and a half, but the usable figure depends on the chemistry, the brand and how hard the light draws — an alkaline cell delivers considerably less under a heavy load than its rating suggests. That is why we rank these lights on published hours where they exist and leave the estimate out where they do not.

The picks, and who each one is wrong for

Fenix PD36R Pro — the longest published runtime here

42 hours, and the only light on the page whose maker publishes the cell capacity that makes the figure checkable: 5,000 mAh at 21700, or 18 Wh. It is also the brightest thing here at 2,800 lumens and reaches 380 m. The catch is size — at 169 g it is the largest light on this page, which for many people puts it at the edge of what EDC means. Skip it if you want a per-mode runtime table, a published ingress rating, or something that disappears in a pocket.

Streamlight PolyTac — the longest runtime you can actually check

34 hours on low, 5.5 medium, 2.75 high, on two CR123A primaries, at 119 g with IPX7 and 214 m of reach. It is second on the headline number and first on usefulness, because every mode is published and you can plan around it. CR123A cells store for roughly a decade, so this is also the light on the page most likely to work after two years in a drawer. Skip it if you want rechargeable — there is no USB port here, and replacement primaries cost more than topping up a battery.

Maglite Mini LED 2-Cell AA — 25 hours from cells you already own

127 lumens, 6,093 candela and 156 m of reach on two AA cells, with 25 hours published on Low. The output is the lowest here by a wide margin and the reach is longer than every light on this page except the Fenix — 48 candela per lumen, which is what an adjustable-focus reflector does. Skip it if you want brightness or USB-C. Buy it if you want a light that runs on cells from any shop in any town, which is a real advantage the lumen column will not show you.

Streamlight ProTac HL-X — the flexible one

25 hours on low, 3.75 medium, 1.5 high, and the only light here that runs on either a rechargeable pack or two CR123A primaries. Add IP68 — the strongest ingress rating on this page — 35,000 published candela, 374 m and 162 g. If you want one light that works on a charger at home and on primaries in a blackout, this is it. Skip it if 162 g is too much for daily pocket carry, or if you want the cell capacity published.

Streamlight MacroStream — the best documented small light

2 hours high and 8 low, 500 lumens, 2,000 candela, 90 m, 62.4 g and IPX4. Its runtime is the shortest of the five lights that publish one, and it is on this page because it publishes more about itself than anything else this size: output, intensity, distance, both runtimes, weight and an ingress rating. At 4 candela per lumen it is a pure flood, which at arm's length is the right shape. Skip it if you need more than 8 hours, or if IPX4 — splashes only — is not enough.

ThruNite Archer 2A V3 — two AA cells and IPX8

500 lumens on two AA cells with an IPX8 rating, which is the strongest waterproofing of any AA light we cover. ThruNite publishes no runtime figure that we could source, which on a page ranked by runtime has to count against it. It is here because the combination of AA power and IPX8 is genuinely rare. Skip it if you need a published runtime before you buy.

Acebeam Pokelit AA — the high-CRI option

550 lumens from a single AA, with CRI 90+ and IP68 — one of only two lights on this site whose maker publishes a color rendering figure. High CRI means colors look like themselves, which matters more than people expect when you are identifying a wire, a fluid or a stain. No runtime published. Skip it if runtime is the deciding factor; take it if color accuracy is, and see high-CRI EDC flashlights.

Olight i3T 2 EOS — the smallest thing here

200 lumens and 62 m of reach from a single AAA, with IPX8. This is the keychain end of the category, where a cell holds perhaps one and a half watt-hours and no driver cleverness changes that. Olight publishes no runtime. It is here because a AAA light you actually carry beats a 42-hour light sitting at home. Skip it if you want more than a task light — see keychain flashlights for the wider field.

How to buy on this page

• You want the biggest published number — Fenix PD36R Pro at 42 hours, with the cell capacity to back it up.
• You want a runtime you can plan a night around — Streamlight PolyTac. Every mode published, 34 hours at the bottom.
• You want it to work after two years in a drawer — PolyTac or the Maglite Mini. Primaries hold their charge; lithium-ion packs do not. See emergency flashlights.
• You want cells from any shop — Maglite Mini, ThruNite Archer 2A V3 or Acebeam Pokelit AA.
• You want the lightest thing that still publishes its specs — Streamlight MacroStream at 62.4 g.
• You want color accuracy over hours — Acebeam Pokelit AA at CRI 90+.

What we would not tell you

We would not tell you how long the ThruNite, the Acebeam or the Olight run, because none of their makers publishes it and an estimate copied from a forum is not evidence. Three of the eight best long-running EDC lights we could assemble publish no runtime at all, and naming that gap is more useful than papering over it.

We would also not tell you that the light at the top of this table is the one to buy. The Fenix wins on the headline and publishes the least about what happens in between. A 34-hour figure with two other modes published beside it is a better specification than a 42-hour figure standing alone.