As part of your Every Day Carry (EDC) kit, you need a good light to keep the dark at bay, confuse an assailant, or find your way through over uneven terrain or dark alleys. I have been using the ASP Dual Fuel Guardian for a month now, it is small enough to keep in my front pocket and pushes out over 430 Lumens; that is a ridiculous amount of light for a small pocket-sized light. I used this light on and off for a full month and only one time did I have to switch out the primary battery for the ASP AA replacements, for only a short period of time. The ASP Guardian AA’s came in a Link case that I carried in my EDC bag in the event I couldn’t charge the main rechargeable battery with a USB connection. These AA batteries have a ten (10) year shelf-life and were effective immediately upon installation up to one hundred and fifteen lumens and can give you another two and quarter hours of full beam.
The ASP Guardian’s original battery at full charge can handle over fifty (50) minutes of full intensity light. If you don’t need all that light, simply double tap the tail activation switch and it will drop down to fifteen (15) lumens and will give you even more run time; about eighty (80) hours. The one thing to note if you try and run it like I did for the full fifty minutes, you will not be able to hold it without a pair of thick gloves. Reading the warning label, I didn’t test this theory while out in the woods. However, this flashlight can be used to create fire in the event of an emergency. Simply, turn it on, place the lens face-down on some dry tinder and you can generate fire. Here is your safety brief; do not leave it face down while turned on for any period of time, cover the lens with any material while turned on, and please give it a few minutes to cool off before sticking it back in your pocket. There, the safety brief is down for now.
In a pitch-black room, this light shines above no other. Additionally, the ASP Guardian is weather resistant, not waterproof and with its knurled grips you can maintain a solid grasp on this light during a nasty downpour. The 6061 high strength aluminum case doesn’t get as cold as you would think when it drops below thirty degrees Fahrenheit and just by running it for a few minutes it warms up pretty quickly. There are no sharp edges on this light; which is great for front pocket wear. The tail switch is easy to operate and has enough tension that it will not turn on by accident. For all you light gods, ASP Guardian built their Guardian series with a high output Cree XPG LED and a parabolic reflecting chamber that helps produce the massive number of lumens for a light of this size. Charging with the USB is extremely fast and a solid green indicator light informs you that it is fully charged.
I recommend this light for any EDC kit, prepper SHTF bag, Military loadout, or LEO duty belt as a great back up light. If you are Military or LEO I would recommend getting ASP’s tactical light case (TLC) that will securely retain the light while on the job.
Specifications:
- Length 4.3” (109mm)
- Diameter .78” (20mm)
- Weight 2oz (57g)
- 14500 Rechargeable battery
- System 3.7 volts
- High Out 430 Lumens
- Low Out 115 Lumens
- High Run 50 minutes
- Low Run 80 hours
- AA non-rechargeable batteries
- System 1.5 volts
- High Out 115 Lumens
- Low Out 15 Lumens
- High Run 2.45 hours
- Low Run 72 HOURS
