In the 1940’s, 20th Century Fox introduced the world to Mighty Mouse, a super hero who confounded the villains because his size belied his strength. DC Comics similarly has The Atom, while Marvel Comics marquees Ant Man and The Wasp. In that same vein, Fenix Lighting flexes its own mini muscle in the form of the UC02 keychain light.

Despite being smaller than a AA battery, the UC02 packs a shocking-for-its-size brightness of 130 lumens. To put this in perspective, it is still possible to find major brand flashlights that are 5” long and powered with two CR123 batteries that produce less lumens than this little torch. Furthermore, its dual output head is both easy to use as well as intuitive when alternating between modes– I have operated it one-handed on multiple occasions, performing small maintenance tasks around the house. Sometimes I free both of my hands to work by using the key ring as an ad hoc directional stand.

In this age of 1000 lumen handhelds, some folks may not be as impressed as I am with the UC02’s 130 lumens. However, I expect everyone to take note of this flashlight’s durable build. Whenever I hear “keychain light,” I immediately envision cheap plastic tubes that split apart or zing across the room in a flurry of flying springs… sometimes within minutes of initial use. Not so with the UC02. Made out of aircraft-grade aluminum and hard-anodized, my first thought upon taking it out of the package was: “Wow! This is a real flashlight!” The UC02’s on/off head twists with a positive force that indicates not only precision machining in the threads, but also an internal sealing job to keep it waterproof down to a reported 2 meters in depth.

Finally, the included 10180 rechargeable Lithium-ion battery is just cool. Not only is the charger built into the battery itself, it has light indicators showing the status of the charge. When the charge gets low, simply unscrew the head of the light and plug it into a Micro USB. Done.

Given the low cost of the UC02, combined with its huge power and small size, everybody should have one on their key ring, period.