EDC Gear of the Week: Flashlights, a Budget Wallet, and Two Button Lock Knives

Introduction

This week’s everyday carry roundup covers a lot of ground: two button lock knives from Kaiser, two clever Clip & Carry accessories, a genuinely useful medical pen light, and two flashlights with designs that get in their own way. Some of these are easy recommendations. Others are worth watching but not buying just yet. Let’s get straight to it.

Kaiser 154CM Button Lock Knife

The first knife is a Kaiser folder in 154CM steel with a button lock and an unusual dual flipper setup: there is both a front flipper and a back flipper. The Micarta handle scales look great, and the button lock itself is the standout here. Spring tension feels properly dialed in, and the mechanism is nicely executed overall.

Ergonomics are the sticking point. The finger cutout feels very extreme, and the transition from the cutout to the main grip area is a big step up that does not suit every hand. There is also a thumb stud sitting flush with the handle frame, and with two flippers already on board it feels redundant while eating into neutral handle real estate. Kaiser’s quality control is consistently solid and the pocket clip is reversible with a recessed cutout, but a small protruding piece of metal does dig into the hand a bit. This one is an interesting design that may get lost among Kaiser’s many options.

Kaiser Carbon Fiber Button Lock Knife

The second Kaiser knife takes a simpler approach, and it simply works. A neutral handle, a standard drop point or clip point blade shape, and well-executed components add up to a very good small knife. The handle scales appear to be a carbon fiber overlay on top of G10 rather than true carbon fiber, which is honestly fine since carbon fiber here is mostly about looks.

The button lock action is really good, though the flipper tab is a little light on jimping and the gimping overall is shallow. Kaiser is clearly capable of doing better on these small details. Where the knife shines is the grind: the plunge grind starts further back, letting the edge get thinner where it matters. The sharpening is genuinely good.

One serious criticism: the blade comes in at 3.03 inches. That sliver over the 3-inch mark gains nothing functionally while forfeiting the legality advantages of a sub-3-inch blade in many jurisdictions. It is a baffling design decision that undermines an otherwise beautiful knife.

Clip & Carry Victorinox Key Carrier

This small Clip & Carry accessory solves a real problem: it lets you take a two-layer 58mm Victorinox off your keychain, use it, and clip it back on. Anyone who has tried to use a nail file on a Swiss Army knife still attached to a heavy set of keys knows how cumbersome that gets.

It is a simple idea, it is not expensive, and it works. If you carry a Jetsetter or another two-layer 58mm model, this is an easy, low-cost upgrade worth checking out.

Clip & Carry Kydex Wallet

The Clip & Carry Kydex wallet is a basic, minimalist wallet made in the United States that runs about $17 on Amazon. It suits six to eight cards, though embossed cards will bring you closer to six.

The corner cutouts are the clever part: you push cards out, fan them to find the one you want, pull it, and slot it back in. It works fine, not great, and a silicone wrap lets you carry a folded bill or two. It comes with two different colored silicone wraps in the package. Honestly, it is not much worse than far more expensive hard wallets, and a well-made sub-$20 money-clip-style option is a genuinely welcome thing.

NEX Torch Dr K3 Pro

The Dr K3 Pro is an inexpensive pen light with a lot going for it: IPX7 waterproofing, USB Type-C charging tucked under a screw-off tail, and two different emitters. The warm emitter is designed for inspections and checking eye reflexes, so this is aimed primarily at medical professionals, but it is a pleasant light to use generally.

Output runs from a warm low mode through a cool white low up to a high mode maxing out at 80 lumens, with measurement markings on the side of the body. Mode memory is included, though always starting on the warm 2-lumen mode would have been even simpler. There are no real complaints here. It is a good pen light, and the waterproof rating and built-in Type-C port make it more convenient than many alternatives.

NEX Torch P86

The P86 is a strange one. On paper it looks strong: a thick, well-built 18650-powered tube, output reaching around 1,600 lumens, and a simple user interface where the main button cycles through three modes by half-presses.

The problem is a second, smaller button that triggers a high-decibel screeching siren, rated up to around 120 dB. That button sits far too close to the main output button and has no delay, meaning one accidental press blasts everyone nearby. Reaching for this light in the middle of the night and getting a 120 dB screech instead of a low mode is exactly the failure scenario you do not want. The feature needs to be relocated away from the light switch entirely and made much harder to activate. The construction is nice and the output is genuinely impressive, but unless you know about this issue and still want the light, it is hard to recommend.

S21 Flashlight

The S21 comes from a newer brand, and it is a good example of how solid hardware can still fall down on key details. It runs on a 14500 cell included in the tube or standard AA batteries, puts out a bright beam, has a reversible clip, a waterproof Type-C port sealed by a rotating collar, and a magnetic tail with a rotating lockout mechanism for the switch.

That is where the problems start. In practice the button tends to stick even in the unlocked position, which is a real usability issue. Worse is the user interface: strobe is inserted directly in the mode sequence, so you have to cycle past it to get back to the mode you want. That is an unforgivable design choice in modern flashlights, and a strobe on an AA-powered light is of limited use anyway. The hardware is genuinely promising. If the strobe were hidden and the switch issue fixed, this would be a serious competitor. As it stands, it is one to watch rather than buy.

Overall Buying Advice

The easy picks this week are the Clip & Carry Kydex wallet at around $17, the Victorinox key carrier if you carry a two-layer 58mm Swiss Army knife, and the Dr K3 Pro if you want a waterproof, Type-C pen light. The Kaiser carbon fiber knife is excellent except for the 3.03-inch blade length, which is worth checking against your local carry rules. The Kaiser 154CM button lock is well made but the ergonomics are polarizing. The P86 and the S21 both have strong hardware undermined by design decisions, so wait for updated versions before committing.

Conclusion

This roundup shows how much everyday carry value you can find at low price points, and how a single design misstep can sink an otherwise great product. The wallet and key carrier are home runs, the pen light is a solid performer, and the newer flashlight brand shows real potential if it fixes its interface quirks. Check back next week for more EDC gear worth a closer look.