The MecArmy CPL - one small light, served up two ways

When it comes to items that you’d be considering for your everyday carry (aka EDC), a flashlight often hits that list of must-carries. I’ve got a small one on my keychain, and of course our phones can work as one in a pinch. You’re likely already wearing a watch, and perhaps carrying a pocketknife or multitool. So, why not expand the capability of those with a light attachment? That’s what the MecArmy CPL is offering.

The existing version is the MecArmy CPLU ($74.90). Now, at first blush, you’re going to think that 75 bucks seems way too high of a price to pay for what looks like one of those squeezy button cell flashlights that many folks have on a keychain. The MecArmy CPLU is much more than that, though. First off, you’ve got a CREE XP-G2 LED that’s able to output up to 300 lumens, which is nothing to sneeze at. You’ve got four different lighting modes (plus a strobe; I’m always a fan of seeing a moonlight mode) that run off of the internal 55mAh battery that’ll charge in an hour.

All of this is house in a titanium casing, which means the light should not only be tough, it should be fairly light – a good thing when it’s on your wrist. Which is the primary mounting point for the MecArmy CPLU (though it could go onto Molle webbing). At first, this seems like you’re going to be running around like Iron Man with your hand extended out to light the path. And sure, you could. But this seems more like something that’s handy when you’re working on something in close quarters (say, under the sink) to see what your hands are doing, or just getting a pool of light in front of you while you’re in the great outdoors.

If wrist-mounted isn’t your game, then how about something that can replace the clip of your pocketknife or multi-tool? So long as it uses the 3-screw mounting pattern shown in the photos (or I suppose two of the three screws) then you’re in luck with the MecArmy CLP3 ( $89.90). Just like the CPLU the housing is titanium, and you’ve got the same emitter and LED built in. Here, of course, you’ve got the pocket clip also made of titanium, and the charging is via USB-C (rather than the Micro USB of CPLU). This will give you a more natural hand-feel for using a flashlight, while also allowing you to drop some light on the ground while it’s clipped on.

Now one thing you might be worried about with both of these lights is that large button on both accidentally getting triggered, running your battery down. We’ve not seen either in person, but the switch is supposed to have an activation mechanism that will prevent them from being turned on unless you actually trigger it on. These are some unique lights for sure, and they’ve got plenty of other more standard options out there if that’s your thing. In the meantime, we’ll see if we can get some of their EDC gear in for a hands-on review. shopmecarmy.com

Tech Specs from MecArmy

CPLU

Primary features:

Titanium USB rechargeable watchband LED Flashlight

Made of TC4 Titanium and Copper, lightweight, corrosion resistant with high hardness
Utilizes CREE XP-G2 S4 LED, max output 300 lumens
Max beam distance of 31 meters