What I Read: February 2018

February really flew by compared to January. The stress of school hasn't set in too much yet, so I've still been reading a lot. I've finished most of these as eBooks that I read on my phone before classes and during on my ride on the bus. I'm able to read a ton that way, so we'll see if I can keep up the pace. Honestly, I might start chilling out in March and finish some of the TV shows and movies I've wanted to watch instead. I managed to read 16 books this month, putting my year total at 50. Let's get into some of my favorites and disappointments.

I feel like I've read mostly mediocre and disappointing books so far this year. I haven't fallen in love with many of them unfortunately. Most of my reads have been two stars, which is kind of weird. I have felt like they've been underwhelming, but I could be way too critical and cynical. Anyways, I got back into the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich after years of not keeping up with them. I finished Tricky Twenty-Two and Turbo Twenty-Three, which both got 2 out of 5 star ratings. I loved this series in high school, but coming back to them was not anything like I remembered. They're very cringey now, and the author has dragged them out for way too long. They're quick and easy reads though. I'm trying to read more essay collections this year, and one that I tried is Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay. I've read stuff from her before and enjoyed her writing, but this one was pretty bad. She mentioned some good points on feminism, race, and equality in general. She tended to go on these long winded explanations of plots of various TV shows, movies, and books. I got a synopsis of Fifty Shade of Grey, which is really not something I needed in my life. I thought her commentary on these things were worthless. I expected a lot from these various essays, but they just weren't good. I don't recommend it. Some other two star books were Nomadland by Jessica Bruder and What She Ate by Laura Shapiro. Both were repetitive and long-winded.

I had a couple one star books, and those were Into the Water by Paula Hawkins and What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami. Into the Water had annoying characters, and too many that weren't relevant. I hated Paula Hawkins' other book, The Girl On The Train, so I'm not really surprised me that this one didn't interest me either. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running was highly recommended by someone I watch on YouTube. I don't like to run at all, but I had heard this book talked about more than that. It basically combined Murakami's thoughts on writing and running. He seemed kind of like an asshole, and I didn't like hearing about his life. I ultimately didn't connect with it and found it to be very boring.

There's only one book that I rated highly (4 out of 5 stars), and that was When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. It's a memoir about a doctor who's diagnosed with cancer, and how the diagnosis turns his whole life upside down. He used to be the one giving out these horrible diagnoses, and now he's on the other end of it. It was such a tragic story. It was very well written and conveyed a lot of emotion. I highly recommend it.

On a lighter note, let's round this post up with some three star books. I finished Dark Matter by Blake Crouch and mostly enjoyed it. It was very predictable, but there were a few twists I didn't see coming. The ending sucked, and the main character was annoying at times. It was an interesting premise though. I also read Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance. I've always admired what Elon Musk has done with Tesla and learned more about his start in the business world and his other companies. I will say, I don't find his life to be very admirable. He works all the time, quite obsessively, which I would not want to do with my life personally. He's also kind of an asshole. I enjoyed reading about his life, but I wish the author had focused more on him. There was a lot of emphasis on SpaceX. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman had a really promising beginning. However, towards the middle it started to get convoluted. It was okay overall. I think this post is long enough, so thanks for looking!

Knife Talk: Lanyards/Beads

I've always wanted to do a post where I question the point of lanyards and beads on knives. I see people on Instagram constantly go nuts over some bead that goes for like $50. Personally, I think that's ridiculous. I've never understood the trend. There's obviously demand for them, so props to the bead producers out there. They're just taking advantage of the market. This will probably be a short post, since I think beads are dumb and serve no actual purpose (they don't even look cool most of the time). I hope my rant entertains you more than anything. Do not take this seriously at all.

Personally, I don't think beads look cool. They remind me of arts and crafts as a kid. I don't understand the people that pay at least $50 for these beads made from titanium or whatever material is all the rage now. I can get all sorts of beads from any craft store super cheaply. If I sold these beads as fancy carbon fiber composite, people would eat that crap up. I still don't get the obseession with titanium, carbon fiber, etc. What's even crazier is that people have decently sized collections of beads. I could see these types of people at a summer camp sitting in a circle and doing a show-and-tell with all their fancy beads. Anyways, beads look too bulky on knives most of the time. Maybe I'm different because I don't carry my knives in the pocket. I'd never want to have some 2" to 3" lanyard with a bead sticking off of my knife. It's not even like these beads are helping people get their knives out of their pocket. The knives I seee with beads most often are titanium framelocks or other overbuilt folders. You can't tell me you need a bead to pull your 5 pound knife out of your pocket. I personally like my knives to be kept on a low profile and adding beads/lanyards defeat that purpose. Again, beads are unnecessary, and the apparent "cool" factor isn't worth it. Plus they seem like they could get in the way of opening and closing the blade. You'll never see me with lanyards or beads on my knives. If I was forced to, I think lanyards are more useful than beads, because the different weaves can look cool/colorful and give you some extra cordage at the very least.

I also see people say that lanyards are a good way to get some extra grip on a knife. That makes sense in a way, but why wasn't the knife designed with good enough grip in the first place? Lanyards should never be the solution for bad ergos. When handles are too short, people often make a lanyard to "extend" the handle. I think this a cop out. Either the company should have made the handle better, or you're using a knife that is really not that well-suited for you. If I had huge hands, I probably wouldn't own my Ladybug anymore. It makes no sense to have a tiny knife if you simply don't have a similar hand size for them. I use small knives, because they fit my hands the best. I know that is not the case for anyone. If you're using a small knife, sometimes you have to do a two-finger grip or something that's not the most comfortable to you if you want that smaller profile or don't want to scare people.

Lanyards as a decoration piece on a keychain are fine, but they're so pointless otherwise. I mean honestly both beads and lanyards lack a lot of value or utility. Some people think they look cool and aesthetically pleasing, yet I am not one of them. I do think tritium fobs, which are similar to beads in a way, look cool, and at least they glow in the dark. The beads that are strictly an ugly-shaped hunk of titanium are boring. I hope the bead trend dies in 2018. Beads are almost as useless as the spinning tops that were popular a while ago, but at least the tops could spin for crazy amounts of time. That's all the crap I've got to say about beads/lanyards. Obviously, people can do whatever they want with their knives. I just question why people thought beads specifically were a cool enough trend in the first place. Sorry for the lackluster post. There will be a better one next week. Thanks for looking!

Nitecore Tube/TIP/TINI Comparsion

The Tube, TIP, and TINI make up Nitecore's keychain sized line. There's some key differences and similarities. I figured this post could help anyone that wants to try out a Nitecore but doesn't know which one. If you're trying to decide between the three, I hope this post helps you narrow it down. I will say, the Tube is definitely my favorite of the three. I also have individual posts with my in-depth thoughts on each, which I'll have linked here: Tube, TIP, TINI. I won't be getting into the specs all that much. Instead, I'll mostly focus on design, UI, price, etc.

Price wise, the Tube goes for $10, and both the TIP and TINI go for $30. If you're just looking for a good budget light, go with the Tube. They're all a good value for what you're getting, but you can't beat $10 for a reliable, lightweight flashlight in the Tube.

All three lights are kind of related, though they all look different. I like that a lot, because it adds fresh designs to the flashlight world. The TINI reminds me of a projector, and the Tube and TIP have more normal designs. The TIP's rectangular shape is not my favorite in the world, especially when you think about how much slimmer a AAA light is. The Tube is a nice balance between thinness and a small size. The TINI is very tiny and is probably the smallest of the three, at least length wise. I think the TINI looks the coolest, and it seems like the smallest. All are lightweight and would be easy to EDC. I'd only consider putting the Tube on my keychain, since the plastic body keeps it even lighter and is slimmer than the TIP/TINI. I do like the aluminum bodies on the TIP and TINI more than the plastic body on the Tube though. If you're picking between them purely based on design, I'd go with whatever one you think looks the best. I'd personally rate them as TINI, Tube, and then TIP when it comes down to design.

I love that they're all clicky lights. Both the TIP and TINI have the extra mode switch, which I'm honestly not a fan of. I always seem to hit the wrong button. The TIP/Tube have similar buttons that are raised, have a rubberized texture, and take a bit of effort to press. The TINI's are very easy to press and are metal opposed to rubber. I'd say the Tube is easiest to use, since it's simple with one button. Having two buttons is something I've never had before, and it was something I didn't want to get used to.

All three are USB rechargeable which is awesome! I love that Nitecore did that with these! It helps keep the cost down, since you don't have to buy batteries all the time. Plus it's so convenient, especially now when everyone usually has some sort of USB charger on them. The TIP is the only one that doesn't have a rubber cover to protect the micro USB port. I'm not sure why that is. It's not a deal breaker, but it is something to keep note of. All three have light indicators to show when they're charging.

The Tube is the only one of the three that is infinitely variable. It's not necessary for EDC, but it is neat to have. It's nice to have an entire range of light to pick from, even if the Tube isn't the brightest in the world. All three do have mode memory, which is very nice as well.

The TINI has the most annoying UI out of the three. You have to press and hold to get the light to turn on. Then you can individually click with the mode switch to go through the modes. I've never been a fan of press and hold. I want my flashlight to turn on immediately, even if a few second delay isn't that long in the grand scheme of things. The Tube's UI is click once for low, and then click again for high. The TIP is more of the same, where the only press and hold is to get to the turbo mode. If I had to rank the UI on each, it'd go Tube, TIP, and then the TINI.

Surprisingly, the TINI is the brightest. The max lumens on the TINI are 380, while the TIP's max is 360 lumens and the Tube's max is 45 lumens. If you're only concerned with having the highest number of lumens, go with the TINI. I will say that all have performed perfectly fine when I've needed a light. Sure it'd be nice if the Tube was at least a hundred lumens, but honestly I've never felt like I needed more light than that. The beam on the Tube has a slightly purple tint to it due to the LED, but the other two have more normal tints. As far as output goes, I'd pick the TIP for a solid max output with a better UI than the TINI.

Let's round this out with some of the odds and ends. The Tube has the exposed LED and plastic body, which makes me wonder about the long-term durability. All three lights are offered in all sorts of different colors, so that's very cool! The Tube and TIP both come in other beam varieties. The TIP is offered in CRI, and the Tube is offered in UV, red, and I believe green light. There are screws that allow you to take the TIP and TINI apart. I think I covered all the main points I wanted to get to. Again, check out my individual posts on each for a more in-depth look.

Overall, I think the best light of three is the Tube. After that, the TIP would have to be my second favorite, while the TINI is the worst. I love Nitecore as a company and appreciate what they do as far as new and different designs go. They make some solid lights that are a mix of good performance, great quality, and a good value. If you'd like to check any of them out, here are their links on Amazon: Tube, TIP, TINI. Thanks for looking!

Mecarmy SGN5 Thoughts

The Mecarmy SGN5 is a rival to Nitecore's popular TIP. I've tried both now, and the TIP wins in almost every category but output. The SGN5 does a very impressive 560 lumens max, which you don't usually see on light like this. It also has a couple unique features that I wouldn't expect on a small flashlight. I don't like it for a number of reasons, but if you want the brightest light possible in this form factor, then check it out. Otherwise, go with the TIP or any other AAA light. Here is a link to it on Amazon.

Design wise, the SGN5 has a similar form factor to the Nitecore TIP; however, it's longer and thicker than the TIP. It is very lightweight, but I personally think it'd be way too big for a keychain. I like the rectangular shape, as it helps prevent the light from rolling around at all. I don't like that the body is made out of plastic. It feels cheap in the hand, and I'm not sure how durable it would be over time. The plastic is somewhat translucent, so it's neat that you can look at the parts inside. I'm happy Mecarmy made the SGN5 in a few other colors (pinkish red or black). There are screws on the bottom of the light that allow you to take it apart if you'd like.

The output on this light is very impressive. There are four modes: low (3 lumens), medium (28 lumens), high (118 lumens), turbo (560 lumens), and strobe. I don't like the inclusion of the strobe, but that's just a personal preference. 560 lumens in a light this size is great! It's way brighter than the Nitecore TIP I keep mentioning which has 360 lumens max. For those that care about specific runtime measures, the max runtime is 42 hours on low and the minimum is 44 minutes on turbo. I've barely had to charge this light while I've had it, so runtime is good. For EDC purposes, you'll be fine. The beam has a nice tint to it. It's more of a hotspot than a flood. I prefer flood lights, so that's kind of a disappointment. It's not the end of the world by any means. I haven't noticed too many issues with the light getting too hot, so that's good. This is a super bright light and would work well for EDC.

While the beam and output don't leave me with many complaints, the UI definitely does. The UI for this light is overly complicated and sucks to use. There are lots of weird combos and ways to get to all of the modes. If you click once on the button, you get the low mode. That's fine. If you double click, you get turbo. You can also press and hold when the light is off to momentarily use the turbo. A triple click gets you strobe. While the strobe is on, you can hold the button to go into SOS mode. It's unnecessary, so I've never used it. I don't think you should ever have to click more than twice in a light like this. The button is not the most responsive, especially when you compare it to a AAA light. That means it's sometimes hard to click fast enough to get the double/triple click to register. I hate that there's no direct way to get to the medium/high modes. You have to first turn the light on, and then press and hold to cycle through the modes (low/medium/high/turbo). I would've gotten rid of the triple click, and then had each mode be accessed with individual clicks when the light is on. The SGN5 combines a UI I like, clicks, with one I don't like, press and hold. Mecarmy should have chosen clicks for the majority of the modes and had press and hold for turbo only. It would've made a much cleaner/simpler UI. The TIP has a much better UI, and I would've preferred to see something similar on this light. The turbo can only be on for 3 seconds and then it automatically ramps down. I personally didn't notice a ramp down, but maybe I missed it. I know that was a lot, but basically the UI could be a lot better. There's no mode memory either, which really blows. I've really grown to appreciate that in my lights. 

The clicky works as it should. As I mentioned earlier, it is not the most responsive. I couldn't see it turning on accidentally, since it does take a decent bit of pressure to push. I like that the button is raised and has a rubberized texture. It makes it easy to find when it is dark. It's extremely easy to use this light one-handed.

This switch on the side of the light turns on an alarm and the strobe. The intent is that it could be used in a self-defense situation. You could blind your attacker with the light and turn on the alarm to alert others/cause the attacker to run off. At first, I thought this was a really stupid feature and didn't get why it needed to be included. It does make sense for self-defense though. I don't believe I've ever seen any other light with an alarm before. Props to Mecarmy for doing something different here. It's very loud and works as it should. Mecarmy says its up to 115db if that means anything to you. I didn't realize what the switch did when I first got the light, so I turned it on and scared the crap out of myself. It's definitely effective for someone that's not expecting it. The switch doesn't take too much effort to turn on, so I'd be concerned that it'd accidentally turn on when you're taking it out of the pocket. The last point I'll make regarding the alarm is that even if the battery is close to dead, you can still use the alarm for up to two minutes. That's pretty cool.

The SGN5 is USB rechargeable. I love seeing this on more and more lights. It's convenient to charge, and much cheaper than buying batteries. I like that Mecarmy covered the micro USB port with a rubber cover to protect from dirt/dust/water/etc. Mecarmy even includes a USB cord to charge it in the box. There's a red light under the button that will sometimes flash once after pressing the button. It's kind of annoying, but I believe it is to indicate that the battery should be charged soon. While the light is charging, the light will flash red and green until it's done charging. The light will be solid green when it's fully charged. The lights look really cool and do a good job of showing the battery life. This light charges very quickly in just an hour. That's better than a two hour charge time with the TIP.

These go for about $30, which is an incredibly fair price considering all that you're getting. A 560 lumen light with an alarm is well-worth that. 

The SGN5 offers a lot of lumens and a self-defense alarm, but that's about it. I can get a different rechargeable light for the same price with a better design and UI, though I will give up about 200 lumens. If you've been looking at the Nitecore TIP and feel like you must have 200 more lumens, then check out this light. Otherwise, buy any other good flashlight out there like the TIP. This one is not worth it for the crappy UI, slightly bigger design, and plastic body. I don't recommend it. Here is a link to it on Amazon if you'd like to check it out. Thanks for looking!

Nitecore TINI Thoughts

The Nitecore TINI is the newest addition to Nitecore's keychain line that started with the Tube. There's also the TIP, which got upgraded at the beginning of 2017. I believe the TINI came out in the fall of 2017, so it's relatively new in the flashlight world. It's got an interesting design, but due to some bad UI, it falls flat. I wanted to love it, yet I hate lights where you have to press and hold to turn it on. Here's a link to it Amazon if you'd like to give it a look. I won't personally recommend it, but it is solid in everything except the UI.

The TINI is very tiny! I think that's the pun that Nitecore was going for. It looks really cute and stands out with its different design. It reminds me a lot of a projector, and I find it to be one of the cooler looking lights I've ever tried. I don't think there's many other lights that resemble this one on the market. Despite the small size, it is still easy to use one-handed. They come in all sorts of different colors, which is always something I like to see. It's is very lightweight and would be nice to put on a keychain. I think it's a little too wide to put on a keychain when compared to a AAA light. I would rather have it on my keychain over the TIP though. The body on the TINI is also aluminuum like the TIP. I really like that, as aluminum feels a lot nicer than plastic. You can easily take this light apart with torx screws on the top and bottom. The quality is great as well!

The beam is nice. The tint looks good, and the beam is mostly flood opposed to a hotspot. I like the beam on this light more than the TIP's for some reason.

The output on this little light is very impressive. The max output is 380 lumens, which is actually 20 lumens brighter than the TIP. That's a nice amount of lumens to have in an EDC or keychain light. There are 4 modes total: low (1 lumen), medium (38 lumens), high (145 lumens), and turbo (380 lumens). If you also read my thoughts on the TIP (linked here), I mentioned that runtime is not too much of a concern to me. I generally only use my lights quickly for no more than a minute at a time, so the battery seems to last forever with this type of usage. I've only had to charge this light once within a few weeks of having it. The max runtime is 60 hours on low, while the minimum runtime on turbo is 15 minutes. I love the 1 lumen low mode. Sometimes low modes are around 10 lumens, which I personally find too bright for a low mode. The low and medium modes are my most used modes with this light.

The UI is annoying. In order to turn the light on, you have to press and hold the power button for a few seconds. I've had this UI on other lights before, and I've never been a fan of it. If I need to use my light that means I need light now. A couple seconds doesn't seem that long, but it's always an annoyance I've had. It's not the end of the world obviously. If that's an issue to you as well, I don't think you'd like this light. I'm also not a fan of the two buttons: one for power and the other to switch modes. I didn't like them on the TIP, and nothing has changed with the TINI. These buttons are a lot easier to press than the TIP's, so maybe Nitecore did the press and hold UI so it wouldn't turn on easily. After turning on the light, you switch modes with the top button. I don't mind having to click for each mode, but I know some people don't like that. There is mode memory, so you are able to leave it on whatever mode you use the most. To access the turbo mode, you press and hold the mode switch. It only momentarily stays on like this, so you must hold the switch for however long you need turbo on. I find that kind of annoying, but then again, turbo is not a mode I need that often. You'll need to put the light in daily mode after first getting it (by pressing and holding both buttons down for a few seconds until there are two flashes), in order to prevent the light from turning off after 30 seconds.

I love that Nitecore made this light USB rechargeable. It's easy and convenient to charge. I'm happy they put a rubber cover over the micro USB port to protect from dirt, water, etc. It doesn't take too long to charge, only about 2 hours max. There are blue lights under the buttons that will flash to indicate the battery level (tap the mode button to see how full battery is)/when it's charging and will turn solid blue after done charging. They look really cool. It does not come with a USB cord in the box to charge it. Though if you order it from Amazon, most of the sellers will include one for free.

The TINI goes for about $30, which I think is a great deal. The TIP also goes for $30 but doesn't have as many lumens. If you're looking for a smaller light with almost 400 lumens, you can't go wrong for $30.

Unfortunately, this is not a light I personally recommend. I hate the UI, but I realize that I could be in the minority on that. The design, price, output, and size are all great things about it. It's a shame that such a cool light had to be ruined with a terrible UI. If you're trying to decide between Nitecore's lights, I say go with the Tube. If you're stuck between this and the TIP, I think the TIP is better. I really was hoping to like this, but it wasn't meant to be. It is still a solid light, so check it out if it interests you. Here's a link to it on Amazon. Thanks for looking!

Nitecore TIP Thoughts

Nitecore has been expanding their keychain light series that started with the Tube. This is the upgraded version that was released at the beginning of 2017. I expected a lot from it thanks to a lot of hype in the community and my love for the Tube. It's essentially a fancier and brighter version of the Tube. It's a solid light, but there's a few minor quirks that I personally don't like about it. It hasn't become a new favorite, and honestly I still prefer my Tube. If you'd like to check it out on Amazon, here is a link.

This is just my obligatory good quality remark. I've had no issues with it at all. Nitecore makes some solid lights.

Design wise, this light is a lot different than most flashlights. This rectangular form factor seems to have become more popular in the past year or so. I wanna say that it all started with Nitecore and the Tube, but I could be wrong. This form factor is better than I expected, yet it's not a AAA. I'd much rather EDC a AAA light, as they are a lot slimmer. This is a neat looking light, and I like that it won't roll around at all. It's still a surprisingly nice size for EDC. I thought it'd be a lot bigger, but luckily it is much more manageable in my carry. It'd be too bulky to put on a keychain in my opinion. It's a good size to just throw loose in your pocket. It does come with a plastic clip, but I took it off immediately. It kind of sucks and doesn't seem that durable. I love that Nitecore made the body aluminum opposed to plastic. It feels better in the hand and will probably last longer. It can also be taken apart easily with Philips screws on the top and bottom. Nitecore has done a really great job putting their lights in different colors recently, and the TIP is no exception. I dig the green!

As far as ease of use goes, this light is relatively easy to use. Nitecore went with a dual-switch system to "maximize the ease of use." I've never had a light with two buttons: one for the power and another to switch the modes. It's a interesting idea, but I don't like it all. I always seem to click the wrong button. I'm sure over time I could get to used to what button does what. I think they're too easy to mix up and make the light less user-friendly. I do like that this is a clicky light. The buttons are slightly raised and have a rubberized texture to them, which feels good. I haven't had any issues with this light turning on accidentally, as the buttons do take a decent bit of pressure to push. I thought this light was supposed to have a lock-out mode to prevent the light from turning on at all, yet I didn't see anything about it in the instruction manual. One annoyance I had to deal with was changing the mode to "constant-on" or daily (not sure which. Nitecore calls it different things in their manuals) instead of the demo mode. The light kept turning off after 30 seconds, and I couldn't figure out why. I then read the manual and saw that the demo mode is the default. To change the mode, you have to hold both buttons down for a few seconds until there are two flashes. It's not hard to do, so it's only a minor gripe in the grand scheme of things.

The beam has a nice tint. I don't know what specific tint you'd call it, but it's not that cheap purplish color. The beam has more of a hotspot than all flood. I would've preferred a beam with all flood, but that's just a personal preference. The beam is fine overall. I'm not that much of a flashlight expert to know all the ins and outs of the beam/emitter, so just know it works fine for the average person.

The output on this light is impressive for the size. There are four modes: low (1 lumen), medium (35 lumens), high (150 lumens), and turbo (360 lumens). I like that there are no strobe or SOS modes. Those are always such a waste to me. Runtime is not as important to me, because I always use my lights for a few seconds at a time that seem to make it last forever. The max run time is 46 hours on low, while turbo will kill the battery in 30 minutes. I believe you can only have turbo on for 30 seconds before it ramps back down to high. I tried leaving it on for a while and didn't notice it ramp down. I might have missed it, or maybe it was more of a gradual change. I haven't noticed the light getting too warm. Most of my usage comes in the low or medium mode, so that's to be expected.

The UI is mostly good. My preferred way to use this light is to turn it on with the power button and then cycle through the modes with the mode button. I've always liked the idea of pressing for each individual mode, so this works for me. If you don't like to individually click, there's a couple ways to do press and hold. If you press and hold on the power button, the low mode will come on. If you press and hold on the mode button, you get access to turbo. This is the main way to get to turbo. For the middle modes, you'll have to go through the power and mode buttons. This light does have mode memory, which works exactly as it should. There's supposedly a way to do momentary on, but it's not that easy. For most AAA lights, you can half-press the button, but that's not the case with the TIP. If you do pick this light up, I recommend you read the manual to figure it all out. The UI does work well for the most part. I like that you're not required to do any sort of press and hold unless you want turbo.

My favorite aspect to this light is that it is USB rechargeable. It's convenient to charge and less expensive than having to buy batteries all the time. I've only charged it once or twice since getting it, so the battery life is great. I'm happy more companies are starting to do rechargeable lights. The light doesn't take long to charge at all, maybe 2 hours max. There are red lights under the buttons that flash to indicate how full the battery is and turn from a solid red to green to show when it's done charging. That's pretty neat. My only complaint regarding the USB port is that it has no rubber cover to protect. I find that odd, since Nitecore's two other similar lights, the Tube and TINI, both have covers for the USB port. It's not the end of the world, but it did surprise me. It did not come with a charging cord in the package. If you order it on Amazon, most of the sellers throw in a cord.

This light goes for about $30, which I think is a fair price for what you're getting. Most lights that are multiple hundred lumens go for this much or more. The fact that it's rechargeable for the price is also great. Olight does quite a few rechargeable lights, but I believe all those go for at least $50 to $60. The aluminum body will last a lot longer than plastic too. It's definitely worth the $30.

I honestly don't like this light as much as I thought I would. The form factor is not as convenient as a AAA to me. It's a cool light, but not one I've fallen in love with. The mode switching button is not something I particularly like. It's got an impressive output for the size, yet it's not a light I would personally recommend. They do seem to be very popular though, so check them out if they interest you. If I were to put a light on my keychain, it'd be the Tube from Nitecore, not the TIP. Ultimately, I'm drawn more to AAA lights for EDC. There's nothing majorly wrong with this light by any means. It more so came down to personal preferences for me. If you'd like to check the TIP out on Amazon, here's a link. Thanks for looking!

How Often Do You Change Your EDC?

I wanted to do this post to talk about how much I change my EDC. I'm going to be talking about both my overall system and the individual pieces of gear in my carry. I'm not one that typically switches up my carry a lot, but I know some people are the exact opposite. I thought it'd be interesting to see how frequently you all change your EDC.

So let's talk about changes in my overall system first. My system is less likely to change than the actual gear in my carry. Naturally, the biggest changes for my system come seasonally (like going from summer to fall/winter) or when there's a big change in my life (like going to college). I can imagine that my carry will change a ton when I graduate from college and start working full-time. Seasonal changes are huge for me, because I get way more pocket space in the fall/winter/early spring months. No matter what season, the pockets on my jeans or shorts never have usable pockets. During those colder months, I finally get some usable pocket space on my person. I always have to wear some kind of jacket, so that opens up pocket space I normally wouldn't have. When it's hot during the summer, I wear lighter clothes and don't feel motivated to carry that much because of the heat. I'm sure seasonal EDC changes are pretty typical for everyone else in this community. Life changes also have a pretty drastic effect on my carry. When I was in high school, I obviously couldn't carry my knives every day. That led me to have a limited carry during the week. Once I got to college though, I suddenly could carry knives whenever I want. That change has made me appreciate my knives more, as well as making my EDC more well-rounded. Even just starting my second year of college has changed my system. Now I need to pack food every day, since I no longer have a meal plan. I'm on campus all day with no dorm to conveniently go back to, so my backpack has to hold a lot more in order to get me through the day. Occasionally I'll realize a certain thing that I didn't used to carry, like a pen or certain tool, would be useful for me to add to my EDC. That doesn't happen too often anymore though. I've been into EDC for years now, and I've been able to perfect my system over that time.

I don't change the actual gear in my carry much. I like consistency and like what I like. I have a greater piece of mind knowing that all the gear in my carry are favorites or serve exactly the purpose I need them to. I'll switch things up occasionally just for the heck of it or when I get new things, but that's about it. That's one of the reasons I don't like having a big collection anymore. I don't seem to rotate through things regularly, so I only need to keep the best of the best. That has also probably made my standards for new gear higher. If gear is not good enough to supplant my current carry, it's not something I'm interested in keeping around. One last point, sometimes I know I'll be doing a specific task in a day, so my carry may deviate from what it typically is. If I'm more going to be doing more yard work, I'd add a fixed blade. If I'm going to be putting a ton of furniture together, I'd add a full-sized multi-tool. For the average day though, my carry will always remain pretty similar.

I think I got to all the points I wanted to get to. Basically, now that I've been working on my EDC for years, I don't feel obliged to switch up my system or the gear in my carry that often. Every couple years I go through a refresh, but honestly I always end up back where I was. Like I said, I like consistency, and not having to think about what I need to carry every day is nice. Do you change up your EDC frequently? Thanks for looking!

6 Months Later: Amazon Prime

I was able to get a free 6 month trial of Amazon Prime thanks to the fact that I'm a college student. I figured I'd talk about it, and whether it's worth subscribing to. The short answer is I think it's stupid. I don't recommend getting Amazon Prime at all. For me, the main things I wanted Amazon Prime for was the two-day shipping and Prime's version of Netflix. Neither are necessary for me, so paying for a subscription is not worth it. Honestly, I think Prime overpromises and underdelivers on the benefits. It's not that it's cracked up to be.

I'll talk about the video service first. Prime's video service is honestly kind of lacking. The only show I wanted to watch that was a Prime exclusive was the Man in the High Castle, but after reading the book, I decided against it. Prime has some original content, but it's not nearly as good as Netflix's shows. They've got some movies too, but again, not anywhere close to the selection of Netflix or Hulu. Prime's actual video site is nowhere near as good as Netflix's either. Netflix wins in every category when it comes to video streaming. Prime is not worth it just for the video service. Though I doubt people get Prime just for the videos. If you've been on the edge about what video streaming service to get, Prime is not the one. Go with Netflix or Hulu.

The big thing people want Prime for is two-day shipping. Two-day shipping is honestly so wasteful. It helped me when I needed a few last minute things for my apartment before I moved in. Other than that, there's not many instances when I absolutely must have two-day shipping. I thought it'd help me with my textbooks, yet all of the cheaper textbooks aren't sold by Amazon of course. If anything, it spoiled me for all the other times I order things online. I had one issue with something not shipping with the two-day shipping, so it doesn't work 100% of the time anyways. If you're that impatient that you need two-day shipping, you really ought to go to a physical store. I notice that once people get Prime, they tend to buy a lot more things since they think it is more convenient. That was not the case for me. I didn't feel like I needed to buy a bunch of things knowing that I had faster shipping. It's not really free two-day shipping, since most people have to pay the subscription fee. I don't know the exact fees, but I do think they just raised the normal subscription price.

There's some other benefits, but I think these are the two most well-known. Being a Prime member gets you access to exclusive deals on Prime day and other times. Again though, it's just encouraging people to buy things they don't need. There was a controversy that sellers were setting prices higher right before the sales and then discounting them to the normal price to make it look like a better deal. This is not an Amazon exclusive business practice by any means. Just know that sometimes deals are not as good as they seem. They've got some sort of Kindle deals, but I could never figure out what they were. They weren't clear and made it seem like an additional service you had to pay for.

All in all, I would absolutely NOT recommend you subscribe to Amazon Prime. It's overhyped and not worth the price. I'd much rather wait a little longer for shipping and pay for Netflix or Hulu for better shows/movies. I'm happy I got to take advantage of some of the benefits for free. I can easily survive my life without it. If you thought it might be worthwhile to get, it's not. Save your money every month and buy yourself some nice new gear. Thanks for looking!