LEDlenser K6R Rechargeable Keylight
Thirty grams, 62 mm long, and 400 lumens. Read those three numbers together and the LEDlenser K6R stops looking like a keyring novelty. This is a genuine flashlight that happens to be small enough to live on a keychain, and the gap between it and the little squeeze light most people carry is not a matter of degree. It is a different category of object.
Four hundred lumens on a keyring
Boost mode gives 400 lumens with an 80 metre beam. To put that in perspective, it is enough to light a driveway, identify somebody at the far end of a car park, check a roof space or walk an unlit path with confidence. Power mode runs 200 lumens at 50 metres for about an hour. Low power sits at 20 lumens over 15 metres and lasts around 10 hours, which is the setting for the jobs a keylight actually gets used for: finding a lock, reading a label, retrieving something from under a seat.
Why the K6R replaces your phone torch
Almost everybody uses a phone as a torch, and almost everybody has had the moment where that goes wrong. The battery you need for a call gets spent on lighting a stairwell. The phone is in the hand that should be holding something else. It gets dropped in exactly the situation where a drop is expensive. And the output is a flat, close range flood with no reach at all.
A dedicated keylight solves all four. It carries its own charge, it is small enough to hold in the same hand as a bunch of keys, it costs a fraction of a phone screen to replace, and it throws light far enough to be useful outdoors.
The red light
A red output preserves night vision, which takes roughly twenty minutes to develop and one flash of white light to destroy. It is the setting for reading in a tent, checking on somebody asleep, finding your way around a dark house without waking anyone, or any situation where you want to see without announcing yourself. It is also easier on the eyes when working close up for long periods.
Transportation lock
Essential on a keylight and often missing. Keys go in pockets and bags with other objects pressing against them, and a torch that switches itself on in a handbag arrives flat and warm. The transportation lock disables the switch until you deliberately release it.
Aluminium body, and an honest note on IP20
The housing is aluminium alloy, rated for a 2 metre drop and an operating range of -20 C to 40 C. It will survive being dropped on a driveway repeatedly, which is what happens to keys.
What it will not survive is submersion. The K6R is rated IP20, which offers protection against solid objects but not against water. That is the trade off for the size, and it is worth knowing before you buy. Rain on the way to the car is not a problem. A washing machine cycle, a puddle or a dam is. If you need a waterproof light, look at the sealed models in the range instead.
Size, and why aluminium matters here
At 62 mm long and 30 mm across the head, the K6R is shorter than most car keys and about the same diameter as a two rand coin. The aluminium alloy body is what allows that size without fragility, and it also spreads heat from an emitter producing 400 lumens in a very small housing. A plastic light of these dimensions at this output would run hot and dim quickly.
Charging
It is rechargeable, with a full charge taking 180 minutes. Given that the low setting runs for around 10 hours and most keylight use is measured in seconds at a time, charging becomes an occasional habit rather than a routine.
Living with it on a keyring
Two habits help. Put it on the ring so the switch faces away from the keys, which keeps the body from being pressed constantly, and get into the routine of charging it when you charge your phone at the end of a week. Beyond that there is nothing to maintain. The beam distance is quoted at 80 metres on boost and the colour temperature runs between 5000 and 8000 K, a bright cool white that reads clearly outdoors.
Who buys the K6R
People who have got tired of not having a torch. It suits commuters, drivers, dog walkers, students, anyone parking in a badly lit street, anyone with a dark garage or gate, and anybody who wants a serious light without carrying a serious light. At 30 grams it adds nothing to a pocket, which is the entire point: the best flashlight is the one that is with you.
Features
- 400 Max Lumens
- 80m Max Beam Distance
- Up to 10h Max Runtime
- IP20 Rating
- Red Light
- Transportation Lock
Specifications
| Brand |
LEDlenser |
| Beam distance (in m) |
80 |
| Max. Luminous flux (in lm) |
400 |
| CRI |
70 |
| Lightsource color temperature |
5000 - 8000 |
| Boost: |
| Luminous flux (in lm) |
400 |
| Beamdistance (in m) |
80 |
| Runtime (in h) |
- |
| Power: |
| Luminous flux (in lm) |
200 |
| Beamdistance (in m) |
50 |
| Runtime (in h) |
1 |
| Low Power: |
| Luminous flux (in lm) |
20 |
| Beamdistance (in m) |
15 |
| Runtime (in h) |
10 |
| Power Supply: |
| Runtime (in hours) |
10 |
| Rechargeable |
Yes |
| Charging time (in minutes) |
180 |
| Dimensions: |
| Length (in mm) |
62 |
| Head diameter (in mm) |
30 |
| Tube diameter (in mm) |
30 |
| Weight (in g) |
30 |
| Material: |
| Materials |
Aluminum alloy |
| Water and dust resistance |
IP20 |
| Drop test height (in m) |
2 |
| Working temperature (in C) |
-20 - 40 |
