Flashlights are a common every-day-carry item, but honestly, they’re left at home in a lot of cases to make way for other items. Having a light in certain situations can be critical to one’s safety and convenience. With the introduction of SureFire’s Sidekick LED flashlight, there is no excuse to be without a light anymore.
Virtually everyone leaves home with a set of keys, and the Sidekick is meant to be included on a key ring. Of course, pocket carry of the Sidekick is always an option too. It weighs in at a mere 1.2 ounces and is only 2.5 inches in length with a bezel diameter of only .58 inches. It comes with a 6-inch micro USB cable, key ring, and mini carabiner clip. It is available is black, pink, or white for $79.99 MSRP. An optional belt clip key reel and a compatible headband are available from the manufacturer as well.
The Sidekick allows you to set brightness sequence depending on your preferred use-cases. By default, output sequence is low (5 lumens) – medium (60 lumens) – high 300 (lumens) by pressing the activation button. I chose to set my sequence to high – medium – low because as a semi-defensive EDC item I want maximum lumens right away to blast a threat. This sequence change can be done by following some very simple directions provided with the product by SureFire. Whatever your preference is, the process to change only takes seconds.
Runtime for the low setting (5 lumens) is approximately 45 hours, 4 hours for the medium (60 lumens) setting, and 1.25 for the high (300 lumens) setting. Performance wise this is excellent. Although, I do wish the Sidekick listed a water resistance rating as one of the features.
With the uncovered micro-USB port, this flashlight is not meant to get wet. It is listed as “weather resistant” but I wouldn’t trust it getting any more wet than a light sprinkle of rain. Be mindful of that although with most modern electronic vehicle keys, a keychain is something that most people prevent from getting wet in anyway.
Overall, for being so small the Sidekick is very comfortable, convenient, and durable. The beams provided by each setting are clean, crisp, and wide enough to make it perform like a much larger flashlight. The convenient USB charging combined with excellent runtime means that the Sidekick is a piece of gear that requires little thought to charge on occasion to make sure it is ready when you need it.
*All images provided by Nick Coffman