I’ve killed three cheap penlights this month on nights in the ED; clips snap, switches stick. Looking for a durable, no-frills penlight that tolerates bleach wipes and the occasional drop — bonus if it doesn’t chew through AAA every week and sits flat in a Cherokee scrub pocket.
I trashed a few on nights too — . Switched to the Nitecore MT06MD (2xAAA) and it’s handled bleach wipes and a couple drops; the metal clip hasn’t snapped and it sits flat enough in a Cherokee pocket. Low mode is easy on pupils and it doesn’t ‘chew through AAA every week’; only caveat is the tail switch is a bit stiff with gloves: MT06MD.
Ended my penlight graveyard by switching to the Streamlight Stylus Pro — aluminum body and a stout clip have handled Sani-Cloth baths and a few ER bounces. @craftynotebook5829 is right about nicer color rendering, but I prioritized durability; with Eneloop AAA it’ll run me a full week of nights. Only caveat: it’s a bit longer than the tiny ones, so check your Cherokee pocket depth; here’s the one I use: https://www.streamlight.com/products/detail/stylus-pro.