Tag Archives: edc

CONTEST MAY: Nitecore EDC17 flashlight

Enter for a chance to win a Nitecore 1700 lumen EDC17 flashlight. Each qualified contest entry will be included in a random drawing during my TMI Livestream show in June.

Entries must be received no later than 12 pm noon EST on May 30, 2026.

This prize is supplied by Nitcore and is awarded at their sole discretion and direction.


CONTEST INSTRUCTIONS

There are 2 ways to enter. Prove you have the skills to fill out a form and upload screenshots.

OPTION A.
Subscribe to @MoondogGo

WATCH my Mission Carmel video https://youtu.be/vMOq_6TTw9Y

LIKE the video

COMMENT, “My favorite part of the video is [YOUR ANSWER].”

UPLOAD a screenshot with the part of the video where you can see a plaque showing that the original Mission cross was erected, and your COMMENT.


OPTION B.
SUBSCRIBE to @MoondogReviews

WATCH my EDC17 video https://youtu.be/mjRtTTZFKDE

LIKE the video

COMMENT, “[Your First Name] wants a #nitecore

UPLOAD a screenshot from the video that shows the EDC17 waterproof test and your COMMENT.

Example:



RULES

NO PURCHASE OR DONATION IS NECESSARY TO ENTER. YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING DO NOT INCREASE WITH A PURCHASE. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

1. Eligibility

Void where prohibited by law. Must be a legal resident in the USA. Moondog Industries employees, subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, advertising and promotion agencies, and employees’ immediate family members are ineligible to participate in the contest/giveaway.

Entrants must be willing and able to appear on YouTube to discuss the contest and post images of the prize on their social feed should they win the contest.

2. Sponsors and Platforms

Nitecore (known as the SPONSOR) and Moondog Industries (known as the CO-SPONSOR) is a video Edutainment producer and game promoter based in San Francisco, CA. YouTube, TikTok, Rumble, X and online video platforms (known as PLATFORMS) are not SPONSORS or in any way affiliated with the contest or content.

3. Entry Period

Contest email entries must be received between:
12:00pm EST 1 May 2026
and
12:00pm EST 30 May 2026

4. Agreement to Rules

By entering the contest, participants agree to abide by the SPONSOR’s Official Rules and decisions. The SPONSOR retains the right to refuse, withdraw, or disqualify entries at their sole discretion. By submitting an entry, the participant agrees to accept the decision of the SPONSOR as final and binding.

5. How to Enter

This contest requires your skill in navigating your phone or computer controls to screen capture an image of the following YouTube channels/Social Media accounts. Subscribe or Follow and make a screen capture of those pages showing a greyed out Subscribe button or indicator that your account is Following that page. If the page is not functioning, please contact contest@moondogindustries.com . One entry per person or per Social Media account. Fraudulent methods of entry, photo retouched, or other methods of circumvention of the rules may result in the SPONSOR invalidating a participant’s entries.

6. Prizes

The winner must be able to receive the prize by e-mail or by physical mail. Prize may be substituted at the sole discretion of the SPONSOR. Acceptance of the prize grants SPONSOR permission to use the winner’s entry, name, and likeness for advertising, promotion, and trade without further compensation or remuneration unless prohibited by law.

7. Odds

The odds of winning are dependent upon the number of eligible entries received.

8. Selection and Notification of the Winner

The winner will be chosen at random by the SPONSOR from among the entrants who demonstrated the skill to navigate the electronic entry and have met the minimum requirements. Winners will be contacted via the email used to enter the contest. Winner must have a legal address within the US to ship the prize.

SPONSOR is not liable for the winner’s failure to receive notification of winning if he or she provided the wrong email address or if their email security settings caused your prize notification to go into the spam or junk folder. If a winner does not respond within 24hrs of sending a notification, the SPONSOR will select an alternate winner. Receipt of the prize is upon the condition of compliance with federal, state, and local laws.

9. Rights Granted by the Entrant

The SPONSOR, upon submission of an entry into the giveaway or contest, has the right to use the participant’s submission, voice, likeness, image, statements about the contest, etc., for publicity, news, advertising, promotional purposes, trade, and so forth, without any further notice, review, consent, compensation, or remuneration.

Participants shall defend or settle against such claims at their sole expense, and shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the SPONSOR from any suit due to damage of or by the prize.

10. Terms & Conditions

The SPONSOR reserves the right to modify, suspend, cancel, or terminate if unauthorized human intervention, a bug or virus, fraud, or other causes beyond your control impact or corrupt the security, fairness, proper conduct, or administration of the contest/giveaway.

11. Limitation of Liability

Entry into this contest constitutes the participant’s agreement to release and hold harmless the SPONSOR and PLATFORMS, subsidiaries, affiliates, employees, etc., against all claims, liability, illness, injury, death, loss, etc., that occurs directly or indirectly from participation in the contest or use/misuse of the awarded prize.

12. Disputes

As a condition of participating in the promotion, the participant agrees to resolve all disputes with an arbitrator designated by the SPONSOR in the state of California, without resorting to any form of class action. Entrants waive all rights to punitive, incidental, or consequential damages, and waive all rights to have damages multiplied or increased.

13. Privacy Policy

Participants agree to abide by all privacy and NDA laws in the State of California and any federal laws of the United State of America.

14. Winners List

Participants may request a list of winners by submitting a request in writing to Moondog Industries for up to 30 days after the contest ends.

15. Social Media Platform Rules

Winners will agree to post a photo of the prize on their social media channels in such a way as does not violate any rules of that platform. The winners also agree to appear for an interview where they will discuss the prize and its performance. If there are functional problems with the prize, the winner agrees to make a good-faith effort to resolve all issues with the SPONSOR prior to posting reviews or opinions about the prize.

16. Affirmation of Acceptance of and Agreement to All of the Official Rules

By entering the contest, the entrant has affirmatively reviewed, accepted, and agreed to all of them. 

OLight imini 2

The Olight iMini 2, a keychain flashlight that only claims to pump out 50 lumens. But this pocket-sized powerhouse illuminates like it’s compensating for something. Probably its size. It’s not because its cold, this compact flashlight makes your Chapstick look like the flashlight she told you not to worry about.

The iMini 2’s design is delightfully simple: two magnetic halves that snap together. The front half houses the LED bult, while the back half terminates in a bare USB-A jack. To activate, simply pull the two halves apart. The light stays on until you reunite the halves, in a snap.

The most surprising feature was its run time. OLight claims a one-hour runtime, but I got considerably more. After an hour, it dimmed like your enthusiasm on Monday morning, then gradually faded over two hours. By the three-hour mark, it was so faint that in daylight, I thought it had given up the ghost. But I discovered it was still on with a faint glow; maybe just 1 lumen? I left it on my desk where it ran for another 12 hours before I gave up on testing it because I had to recharge it for filming more testing the next day.

At around $20, this diminutive dynamo costs less than a movie ticket and outlasts most celebrity marriages.

SHOP

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/OLIGHT-Rechargeable-Keychain-Flashlight-Emergencies/dp/B0C54ZH8WW/?maas=maas_adg_D8D0CBB4F9CF49F010E2D1F22F47E4F8_afap_abs&ref_=aa_maas&tag=maas

SPECS

Max Lumens: 50 

Throw: 68 ft (21 m)

Length: 2.17 in  (55 mm)

Diameter: 0.59 in (15.1 mm)

Weight: 0.69 oz (19.5 g)

Battery Capacity: 80mAh

Connection: USB-A

Waterproof: IPX6

Nitecore EDC17 flashlight

Modern, flat/rectangular flashlights with analog switch controls blew up in the EDC market with the introduction of the OLight Arklight flashlights. These flat flashlights fit far more comfortably in back pockets, like EDC knives and multi-tools. Nitecore leans hard into this aesthetic with the EDC17.

At SHOT Show 2026, I got a look at Nitecore’s newest flashlights and the ED17 was a standout. At first, I thought Nightcore was releasing a folding knife, but as it turned out, it was a flashlight.

Its analog control switch runs along the thin side, like a box cutter. Next to it is a mode button that switches the light between white beam, green laser pointer, and UV bulb. Both the white and UV beam have low-medium-high output settings. The EDC17 maxes out at 1500 lumens and in my testing exceeded 1600 lumens.

During my waterproof testing, my flashlight turned itself off after a minute. After drying and testing it, I was surprised to find it met its IPX7 rating and kept water out of the housing.

I recharged it and found it functioned normally. In my runtime test, it slightly exceeded its 105 minutes in high-mode, and stayed at high light output for 99% of its runtime. I still don’t know why it turned itself off during the IPX7 test?

SHOP

Amazon https://amzn.to/47Ggsho

SPECS

EDC17

LED: UHi 25 

Max Output: 1500 lumens

Peak Distance: 251 yards

Peak Intensity: 12400 cd

IP Rating: X7

Impact Resistance: 2 m

Length: 4.84″

Width:1.26″

Height: 0.63″

Weight: 3.74 oz

SHOT2026 Nite Ize

Nite Ize brought practical, high-utility new gear to SHOT Show 2026. Nite Ize has a reputation for clever everyday solutions, producing innovative gadgets to outdoor and climbing; they invented the S-shaped carabiner.

For outdoor enthusiasts, the RunOff Waterproof Phone Case Plus offers complete protection for larger smartphones in wet or rugged environments, while the G‑Series Mini Lanyard 2 Pack provides a simple tethering solution for small essentials using stainless steel dual‑chamber carabiners.

Nite Ize earned a SHOT Show new product awared for their new Orange Screw, a large plastic anchor designed for securing tents and pop‑ups in soft ground. My favorite product is their wire twist ties.

CONTEST FEB: OLight ArkPro

Win an OLight ArkPro

Entries must be received no later than noon 12pm EST on February 28, 2026.


CONTEST INSTRUCTIONS

Prove you have the skills to fill out a form and upload screenshots.

1. Follow me on X / Twitter:  @moondogreviews

2. Upload a screenshot showing you are FOLLOWING me on X.com

3. Subscribe to my YouTube channel @moondogreviews

4. Upload a screenshot showing you are subscribed to my YouTube channel.

SUBMIT ENTRY

SUBMIT ENTRY

This prize supplied by OLight and is awarded at their sole discretion and direction.


RULES

NO PURCHASE OR DONATION IS NECESSARY TO ENTER. YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING DO NOT INCREASE WITH A PURCHASE. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

1. Eligibility

Void where prohibited by law. Must be a legal resident in the USA. Moondog Industries employees, subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, advertising and promotion agencies, and employees’ immediate family members are ineligible to participate in the contest/giveaway.

Entrants must be willing and able to appear on YouTube to discuss the contest and post images of the prize on their social feed should they win the contest.

2. Sponsors and Platforms

Vector Optics (known as the SPONSOR)and Moondog Industries (known as the CO-SPONSOR) is a video Edutainment producer and game promoter based in San Francisco, CA. YouTube, TikTok, Rumble, X and online video platforms (known as PLATFORMS) are not SPONSORS or in any way affiliated with the contest or content.

3. Agreement to Rules

By entering the contest, participants agree to abide by the SPONSOR’s Official Rules and decisions. The SPONSOR retains the right to refuse, withdraw, or disqualify entries at their sole discretion. By submitting an entry, the participant agrees to accept the decision of the SPONSOR as final and binding.

4. Entry Period

Contest email entries must be received between:
12:00pm EST 31 Jan 2026
and
12:00pm EST 28 Feb 2026

5. How to Enter

This contest requires your skill in navigating your phone or computer controls to screen capture an image of the following YouTube channels/Social Media accounts. Subscribe or Follow and make a screen capture of those pages showing a greyed out Subscribe button or indicator that your account is Following that page. If the page is not functioning, please contact contest@moondogindustries.com . One entry per person or per Social Media account. Fraudulent methods of entry, photo retouched, or other methods of circumvention of the rules may result in the SPONSOR invalidating a participant’s entries.

6. Prizes

The winner must be able to receive the prize by e-mail or by physical mail. Prize may be substituted at the sole discretion of the SPONSOR. Acceptance of the prize grants SPONSOR permission to use the winner’s entry, name, and likeness for advertising, promotion, and trade without further compensation or remuneration unless prohibited by law.

7. Odds

The odds of winning are dependent upon the number of eligible entries received.

8. Selection and Notification of the Winner

The winner will be chosen at random by the SPONSOR from among the entrants who demonstrated the skill to navigate the electronic entry and have met the minimum requirements. Winners will be contacted via the email used to enter the contest. Winner must have a legal address within the US to ship the prize.

SPONSOR is not liable for the winner’s failure to receive notification of winning if he or she provided the wrong email address or if their email security settings caused your prize notification to go into the spam or junk folder. If a winner does not respond within 24hrs of sending a notification, the SPONSOR will select an alternate winner. Receipt of the prize is upon the condition of compliance with federal, state, and local laws.

9. Rights Granted by the Entrant

The SPONSOR, upon submission of an entry into the giveaway or contest, has the right to use the participant’s submission, voice, likeness, image, statements about the contest, etc., for publicity, news, advertising, promotional purposes, trade, and so forth, without any further notice, review, consent, compensation, or remuneration.

Participants shall defend or settle against such claims at their sole expense, and shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the SPONSOR from any suit due to damage of or by the prize.

10. Terms & Conditions

The SPONSOR reserves the right to modify, suspend, cancel, or terminate if unauthorized human intervention, a bug or virus, fraud, or other causes beyond your control impact or corrupt the security, fairness, proper conduct, or administration of the contest/giveaway.

11. Limitation of Liability

Entry into this contest constitutes the participant’s agreement to release and hold harmless the SPONSOR and PLATFORMS, subsidiaries, affiliates, employees, etc., against all claims, liability, illness, injury, death, loss, etc., that occur directly or indirectly from participation in the contest or use/misuse of the awarded prize.

12. Disputes

As a condition of participating in the promotion, the participant agrees to resolve all disputes with an arbitrator designated by the SPONSOR in the state of California, without resorting to any form of class action. Entrants waive all rights to punitive, incidental, or consequential damages, and waive all rights to have damages multiplied or increased.

13. Privacy Policy

Participants agree to abide by all privacy and NDA laws in the State of California and any federal laws of the United State of America.

14. Winners List

Participants may request a list of winners by submitting a request in writing to Moondog Industries for up to 30 days after the contest ends.

15. Social Media Platform Rules

Winners will agree to post a photo of the prize on their social media channels in such a way as does not violate any rules of that platform. The winners also agree to appear for an interview where they will discuss the prize and its performance. If there are functional problems with the prize, the winner agrees to make a good-faith effort to resolve all issues with the SPONSOR prior to posting reviews or opinions about the prize.

16. Affirmation of Acceptance of and Agreement to All of the Official Rules

By entering the contest, the entrant has affirmatively reviewed, accepted, and agreed to all of them. 

Wuben G5 flashlight

The G5 is an unusual, flat EDC flashlight that is about the size and form factor of a zippo lighter. But that isn’t what makes it unique. This flashlight has a pivoting emitter head that can rotate 180º and a pocket clip that can also rotate 180º. This allows a lot of flexibility in how this flashlight can be mounted, stored, and used as a work light or head lamp.

The controls are primarily analog. Sliding the lockout switch one click allows the primary button to function and sliding it all the way up, reveals a USB-C port. Under to the activation/mode button is a rotary dial which is a stepless brightness adjustment and when pressed into the RGB allows you to change the color of the light. A double-tap switches the flashlight into a colored emergency beacon.

I found the flashlight to be more than bright, exceeding 400 lumens in high mode. The G5 is IPX68 rated, which means it is supposed to survive underwater immersion, but when I tested it with a power washer, water got into the unit (probably through the analog switch or dial). After a few hours, the flashlight turned on by itself in blue light mode and wouldn’t turn off until the battery died. It would not recharge.

I contacted Wuben’s customer service. They have up to a 5-year warranty if you register your product with Wuben. My unit was a testing sample, so I did not have a receipt or order number so they couldn’t replace my unit. I had to contact my marketing contact at Wuben to get a replacement. So if you are buying a G5 be sure to keep your receipt or if giving it as a gift, include a gift receipt so that your recipient can register the product.

SHOP

Save 20%, $24.99 → $19.99
Wuben G5: https://www.wubenlight.com/products/wuben-g5-edc-light?ref=wjotytoc
Amazon:https://amzn.to/47qwjzR

Amazon (green) https://amzn.to/4piN5rr
Amazon (black) https://amzn.to/4aAdFcb
Amazon (white) https://amzn.to/3LnUTdH

SPECS

G5

Max Brightness: 400 lumens 

Max Throw: 82m

Modes: Low, Medium, High, Moonlight, 

               RGB, Beacon, & SOS

Battery: 3.7V LiPo (450mAh)

Charging: USB-C 

Runtime: Up to 65 hours (low)

Waterproof: IP68

Material: Aluminum

Dimensions: 3.7cm x 1.5cm x 6.2cm

Weight: 52g (1.84 oz)

Klarus XT11GT Pro

The Klarus XT11GT Pro is a traditional tactical flashlight that is 5″ long with a 1″ tube. It uses a standard 18650 (or 2x CR123) Lipo battery to drive an emitter with an output of 3300 lumens. It has a USB-C port to allow direct recharging of the battery inside the flashlight.

Its bell is impressively thick and reinforced with ceramic glass-breaking beads embedded in 3 of its crown teeth. The base of the bell is flared, similar to a sword pomel, to help prevent your hand from slipping when striking with the flashlight to break glass.

It’s operated via a primary clicky button, which activates its turbo mode of 3300 lumens. Along the rim of the tail cap is its Auxiliary control switch, which activates the flashlight in low, medium, high, SOS, and strobe. This dual button system makes for easier control but the angled Aux button prevents the flashlight from tail standing.

iThe XT11GT Pro is an incremental but significant upgrade. For those who are used to and comfortable with a traditional tactical light that will fit into many standard holsters, this is a great choice.

SHOP

Amazon: https://bit.ly/4uqeFqv
Code(5%OFF): MOONDOG2
Valid until April 13

Klarustore: https://bit.ly/4i1to5B
Code(5%OFF): MoondogXT11GTPRO
Valid until April 13

Amazon https://amzn.to/3Mqk3sl

SPECS

XT11GT PRO

Max Output: 3300 LM

Max Throw: 450 yrds (410m)

LED: Luminus SST-70

Max Runtime Turbo: 1.8 hrs

Max Runtime Low: 120 hrs

Battery: 18650/2xCR123A

Charging: USB-C

Waterproof: IPX8

Length: 5.5″ (140mm) 

Diameter: 1.38″ (35mm) 

Weight: Approx. 4.3 oz (121g)

OLight ArkPro

Olight has released the AkrPro, the newest model of their category-defining Arkfeld “blade style” EDC flashlight. This flashlight looks nearly identical to the Arkfeld Pro, but on closer inspection, the AkPro is slightly longer, and it has more upgrades in store.

On its left side, it now has a USB-C port hidden under a metal flap similar to the OClip. The ArkPro still retains the magnetic charging base, which also allows for a remote pressure switch accessory. When charging, a series of bars around the inside of the rotary control indicates the battery charge.

On its right side, it has a small button that activates the green laser pointer. Replacing the laser setting on the rotary wheel, the ArkPro now offers a FLOOD beam setting, which produces a broad flood pattern differing from the OLight’s “standard/spot” style beam. The UV light now offers a high and low output mode.

The ArkPro is everything you would want in an Arkfeld Pro and more, which makes me wonder why they would still offer the older model. The only thing the ArkPro is missing is an analogue Lock Out setting. Maybe that should be offered in an ArkUltra?

SHOP

Amazon https://amzn.to/4pwV6Kz

SPECS

Light: White LED, UV (365nm), Green Laser (510-530nm)
Max Brightness: Up to 1500 Lumens
Max Throw: 205 meters (672 ft)
Runtime: Up to 72 hours on low
Battery: Built-in (2000mAh)
Charging: USB-C & Magnetic
Water Resistance: IPX7
Material: 6061 Aluminum Alloy
Dimensions: 4.88″ x 1.06″ x 0.63″ (124x27x16mm)
Weight: Approx. 4.06 oz / 115g

Wuben X4 flashlight

When I received a Wuben X4 flashlight to test, I was struck by its futuristic industrial design. It looks like a device from a Cyberpunk fever dream or a component from a Gundam mech. It has a robust pocket/belt clip and has been described as a “flat” EDC, though I found it too chunky to be comfortably a pocket EDC.

The blockier form factor is required to accommodate a user-replaceable 18650 lithium battery. In addition to its cubist design, this flashlight is unusual for its use of analogue controls. The squared base is magnetic, incorporating a tail clicky plate with an additional rubber activation button on its side. Its modes are set by a sliding switch, and the settings are adjusted with a stepless dial. The layout is intuitive and responsive.

My only negative experience wasn’t with the X4 sample I tested but with Wuben’s customer service. I had a failure with a different flashlight, a Wuben G5 I was also testing. Despite multiple attempts to contact customer service through the Wuben website, they failed to respond to my request for help on the G5. While I can say that the X4 passed my performance, drop, and waterproof tests, I would not count on warranty support from the company in the future. If Wuben’s customer service was as good as its design, this would be an amazing flashlight.

SHOP

Save 20%, $49.99 → $39.99

Wuben X4:https://www.wubenlight.com/products/wuben-x4-compact-multi-function-flashlight?ref=wjotytoc

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4oFP0GO

Amazon https://amzn.to/3M7pRXq

SPECS

Max Output: 1500 lumens

Max Throw: 205 meters

Side light Output: 100 lumens

Modes: 6 

Color Temp: 4000K RGB

Battery: 18650, 3400mAh

Charging: USB-C 

Waterproof: IP68

Weight: 137g w/battery

Dimensions: 3.8 x 2.6 x 9.5 cm