Looking for the cheapest single AA or AAA that is still high quality

[JacobJones]

Well, yeah, I have started to check out DX even though I didn't think I ever would.
You say you found a light that seems to fit the bill. What did you find? Did you forget to post it or are you just wetting my appitite? :naughty:

Wetting the appitite, this is the one that caught my eye

DX SKU 39062

unfortunately it has mode memory and strobe mode but its actually hard to find lights on DX that don't have those features

 

[TyJo]

Removed.

 

[leon2245]

In sum:

>AA or AAA light that is good quality yet not expensive
>they will be glad to get a single mode light
>having a low would be preferable as it will increase the run time
>don't need one that will wow them with the technology
>want to get one that will work for them for a number of years
>(concerned about going) "poof" the first time it gets wet
>am wanting to stay around $15 - $20

>IPX-8 waterproof e01 ($13) & e05 ($20)
>Scout provides e01 torture test w/pics
>OP updates criteria:
--two mode minimum
--okay if a little cleanup is required in order to get light to work
--$20 shipped too expensive
--AA preferred
>TrustFire with strobe, memory, & GITD from DX whets OP's appetite
>TyJo facepalms

This will be my last post in this thread. Fenix E01. You might not appreciate all the suggestions for the E01 now, but you definitely will when all the other lights fail in 2 years.

Lay off TyJo! He already said he's going with an e01... for himself! As far as the gifts go, I'm sure they'll appreciate whatever you decide. It's the thought that counts.

:thumbsup:

 

[marinemaster]

I say the following will give reliability: 1xAA, twisty, one level

Probably Inova latest has 25 lumens about $20

There are others but the above criteria should be met

 

[Deal4]

This will be my last post in this thread. Fenix E01. You might not appreciate all the suggestions for the E01 now, but you definitely will when all the other lights fail in 2 years.

I appreciate your passion for this light. Must be a good one so I maybe be getting one for myself sometime in the future.
But, I will not be getting this one for for the guys there for a number of reasons.
The culture there is very different from here in the States. (I see you are from the US)
Here in the US if we have something that is very important to us we guard it carefully and don't loan things out very often. If we do loan something we threaten them within an inch of their life!
There the focus is much more on family and community. (they may have a better focus on what's important than we do ) While this is great for relationships there, if someone came by and asked to borrow the light and my friends didn't loan the light, it would be a big slap in the other persons face.
Bottom line, I doubt that the lights I buy will remain in the original owner's hand more than maybe half a year.
I do have a couple friends who I know will be very careful with the lights.
For them I am thinking that the iTP A3 EOS as it has good run time as well as brighter mode if they need it.
For the others that I don't know as well, yet they will still expect somekind of gift I am thinking a light from DX as it should still be good enough. This way no one should be offended and I won't be out as much money as I have a family and all sorts of bills to pay for visas, travel, government paperwork, etc, etc.
Thanks for your desire for me to get them one of the most dependable lights on the market.

 

[Deal4]

DX SKU 39062

This does look like a pretty decent light!
I see though that it uses both AA and 14500 batteries. I have heard that lights from DX that use both are really dim on AA as it is actually designed for the higher voltage 14500.
Any clue if this is true with this light?
Thanks for taking the time to give me a hand!

 

[Deal4]

I'm realizing that this thread might be better if it was moved to the Budget Lights section, so if any of the Moderators would like to move it that would be fine with me.
Thanks!

 

[JacobJones]

This does look like a pretty decent light!
I see though that it uses both AA and 14500 batteries. I have heard that lights from DX that use both are really dim on AA as it is actually designed for the higher voltage 14500.
Any clue if this is true with this light?
Thanks for taking the time to give me a hand!

One of the reviewers said that it's actually quite bright on NiMH, so it should work fine on alkaline. At a guess I'd say it'll probably be around 100 lumens on high, I have no idea what the low is like. From reading the reviews it sounds like it's better quality than a lot of deal extremes lights

Ofcourse you have to take some pinches of salt with the reviews though, I've heard about cheap Chinese sellers writing their own reviews. Don't know if this happens on DX but it's possible.

Something else worth mentioning is that deal extreme has rather slow shipping, it'll probably take a couple of weeks for anything you order from them to arrive. Just thought you should know so you don't end up going back to Indonesia without any lights

 

[lightnin'hopkins]

The fenix E01 is pretty cheap & very high quality & robust.
It's pretty weak lightwise but has good runtime to make up for that.
And runtime over output might be a good choice because batteries do cost.

 

[TyJo]

Lay off TyJo! He already said he's going with an e01... for himself! As far as the gifts go, I'm sure they'll appreciate whatever you decide. It's the thought that counts.

:thumbsup:

My apologies. Apparently I had missed my bedtime. The ITP comes up a lot and it seems like a great light.

 

[Deal4]

My apologies. Apparently I had missed my bedtime. The ITP comes up a lot and it seems like a great light.

Hey, no worries! If that is the worst you can be, you must be a heck of a nice guy!

 

[vmaldia]

There are many cheap chinese brands on dealextreme and similar websites. Some are even "generic", as in they have no brand name and just all themselves Cree lights based on the brand of the emitter. For lights below $14 or so, dont expect them to be high quality or waterproof. Most often its the switch, the positive contact or the electrical connection across screw threads that fails

For lights that you expect to last for a long time, minimum budget for 1xAA shoud be maybe $20

 

[Deal4]

I'm back in Indonesia, and I did go ahead and get a number of iTP A2 EOS lights for my closer friends and so far they have been a hit!
I also got a few lights from DX that have high and low modes as well as strobe. These lights too have been a big success as they are way brighter than anything they can get around this part of Indonesia.
Just to make sure I am not offending anyone, there are good number of places where good quality lights can be purchased here in Indonesia. There are a number of members here on CPF from Indonesia. But where I live is a long way from any place where a good light can be purchased other than on line. Most, if not all the guys I got the lights for do not have access to the web.
Again, thanks to everyone for their time and helpful information!
To all the teeming masses that told me the Fenix EO1 is the light I should get, don't worry! I'm still planning on getting the Fenix EO1 for myself someday! Maybe when I go back home for a few months in a few years!

 

[Harry999]

Deal4,

Good to see the lights were a hit. They will make a difference to the people you have gifted them to. Just out of personal interest do you primarily use AA based lights yourself?

PS: By then people may be recommending other lights than the Fenix E01. A strong contender looks like the Thrunite Neutron AAA - the T1.

 

[Oldrich]

The 1aa Cree Energizer available at Target for around 16 bucks a pop is a nice durable basic torch.