Finger lights have been in service with aircrew for a number of years and offer a hands free source of short range illumination. I'm told that they are particular valuable in helicopters where crews use NVG compatible ones for a variety of tasks including monitoring instrumentation, reading emergency reference cards and, of course, map reading. One of the great benefits they possess is to significantly reduce the amount of time with hands off the controls. I also believe that they are increasingly popular with armoured vehicle crews and the manufacturers claim that they are on issue to UK SF.

The first thing that struck me when I received the finger light was how much of a great idea it was in concept. My experience though is that the this torch is much less use outside the specialist environments described above than I initially thought.


The torch is a finger mounted single LED light. It uses a Velcro strap to attach around the finger which is adjustable enough to fit around a squaddies gloved finger. The screw on battery compartment lid works as the on/off switch by simply fully screwing this down the light is turned on. Unlike some other finger lights, this requires you to use the other hand and this seems like a significant design omission.

The lid also has a small loop attached allowing for string to be attached which can accept Para cord at a push, but I personally did not use this as I found that when I trialled it with the string it got on the way as I simply left the torch on my hand. The torch is light enough at only 17 grams to be left on the hand and not be needed to be tightened enough to cut your finger off to prevent it jumping around.


I received a red light version to review (these torches are available in white, red, amber, blue, green, IR, Night Vision Green and ultraviolet), and I found the only time I came to use it was reading a map; to this purpose the light was actually less practical then using a head torch as it still required the use of that hand and actually did not save any effort, time wise, to turn on then simply pressing a head torch button. When wearing gloves the torch doesn’t sit very well, a point both myself and a report from uses on operations in Afghanistan found. When using a weapon the torch is clumsy and a pain unless stored in a pocket; in which case you might as well use a alternative style of torch.

If you are to buy a finger light I would recommend avoiding the red light, it may save your night vision but in terms of power the only uses you have for it are very close up, i used the light on a night navigation exercise on a training area, of course the red light removed the lines for the edges of the firing range and made the contour lines difficult to see, making it less than adequate for map reading. I have also noticed that medics have been expressing interest in the item in which case i would have thought a white light would be a lot more suitable although I am not a medic so i may be wrong!

I have tested the torch underwater and can confirm that in both water and hot steam the torch still works. It also survived the elements whilst being in my smock pocket.

To be purchased separately is the Cejay MK Keychain Battery Carrier. The carrier is a small rubber like unit which can hold 6 A675 batteries (enough to replace the batteries in the finger light twice). If you are to purchase a finger light I would thoroughly recommend the battery carrier; it is the simplest way to solve carrying such small batteries and at the size of 58mm x 33mm x 11mm it is small enough to be dropped inside a pocket and forgotten about until need. I tested the items waterproof ability by placing six bits of tissue in the battery holes then taking the carrier through my usual waterproofing test, submerging it in cold water and hot steam, and can confirm that after opening the container the tissue was still dry in all six components but of course this is no use if the carrier opens itself; I often found when taking the carrier out my pocket that it was open, the batteries had not fallen out but this did have a serious effect on the waterproof abilities of the carrier.


The carrier is supplied with a small keychain which can easily be replaced with cord a string and attached to the inside of a pocket.

To conclude if you are interested in buying a finger light I would look no further than a Cejay MK10 Finger Light, but still would personally choose a head torch or small pocket torch over one any time. With a manufacturer's recommended retail price of £8 it might be worth a trial though to see if you agree!


Cejay MK10 Finger Light & Keychain Battery Carrier kindly supplied by RVOps