Need help choosing perfect flashlight, better than LedLenser P5R

Hello guys, I'm new here and I am hoping you guys can 'shine a light' on the right path ;-)

I am a sound engineer and I do FOH on several tours.
I am looking to buy a flashlight that has the following features:

- LED
- uses one AA battery
- has focus system (for long distance focused beam and short distance wide spill)
- dual output (full power and half power)
- the smaller the better
- the more lumens the better (at least 200)
- ideally rechargeable
- under $100

Any recommendations?

I have just purchased the LedLenser P5R and I like the look/size/feel of it and the features (intelligent switching between full/half power) but the things I didn't like are the focus is not very narrow when it's all the way in the distance, it uses a proprietary battery, the main and only button is a bit hard to push with my big thumb)

I am sure you guys will have plenty of recommendations for me so I am throwing this out there in the hopes you can give me some models to check out because I will have to return this P5R very shortly in order to get my money back if I decide to buy something else.

Thanks a lot for your help.

i could be wrong, but you basically described a Led Lenser, with some requirement that left me a bit perplexed...
1) AA powered lights (unless you mean AA-size including 14500) usually don't reach 200 lm. the zebralight SC51 and SC80 do, but they're floody lights with little throw
2) focusable lights are not so common (LL is the only brand that makes them in a wide range), but - unless you buy some torch with aspherical lenses (pure throwers, perfectly useless at less than 20-30 meters) you'll hardly find a tighter focus than on LL...

try the M1, is small and quite versatile, but i'm not sure wether it suits your needs better than the P5R or not.

The M1 and SC80 don't use AA's which is why I hadn't considered it... The SC51 doesn't seem to have much of a hot spot... Maybe you are right, maybe what I am looking for doesn't exist... I just liked the idea of using AA and being able to easily find one if the light dies and you don't have time to charge.
What would the ideal light be if I decided not to have the one AA but still the same size of a 1xAA light?

Hello and:welcome:

You are not going to find anything that fits your request...at least not that I know of. Also, sounds like you really love the LED Lensers. They are pretty good lights, but there are better ones out there. Most around here are not big fans of LED Lensers although there are some for some pretty good reasons. LED Lensers are getting better, but for the most part they are cheaply made, bulky, & too expensive for what you get. I admit that I like the focusability of the lights, and I own four of them. They just don't get any use since I have better lights. There are lights that are much smaller, more lightweight, better made, and have lots more output than the Lensers. Check out Zebralights, Quarks, and Fenix lights. These brands are roughly in the same price point, but far superior....just no focusability. The lights are pre-focused or fixed with both spot and flood around the spot. In the long run I have found fixed lights to be more useful.

To get what you are asking for except for the focusability look at the Zebralight SC51 which can achieve 200 lumens on a single AA. You will need to run this light on a NiMH rechargeable (like an eneloop) to get 200 lumens out of it. An alkaline battery will work fine, but you will lose the max output....not enough umph in an alkaline. Also, Zebralights have one of the very best UI's around....many will agree. Going this route though would require you invest in some quality NiMH rechargeable AA batteries (like eneloop) and a good charger. Eneloops are awesome btw; I have my whole house running on them (all electronices that use AA & AAA bats are running on these rechargeables.)

Another option would be to get a light that uses a 3.7v 14500 Li-ion rechargeable battery (which is a AA sized battery, but at a much higher voltage than an alkaline.) A light that runs very nicely on this battery is the Quark AA (over 200 lumens running on a 14500 with some impressive runtimes.) I love this light, and it is noticeably brighter than the Zebralight SC51. Going this route though requires that you invest in good Li-ion batteries (like "AW" brand or "Redilast" brand) and a good charger.

If you didn't want to mess with rechargeable batteries then I'd recommend getting a light that runs on two AA batteries like a Quark AA2 with the R5 LED for good balance of throw & floodiness.....or a Fenix LD20 with the R5 LED. I like the quark better though. These lights are IMO the best general use lights around, and I've given many of em away as gifts to my non-flashaholic friends & family. Every one of them were blown away by the performance of these lights, and no fooling around with educating them on rechargeable batteries etc. Simply pop two AA alkines in, and your done. Also, for what it's worth these lights are noticeably brighter than comparable LED Lensers that use 2, 3 & 4 alkaline batteries.

Hope that helps.

marcnyc said:

The M1 and SC80 don't use AA's which is why I hadn't considered it... The SC51 doesn't seem to have much of a hot spot...

Click to expand...

The SC80 does run on a AA battery. It also can run on a CR123 battery as well, not to mention the recharble RCR123 and 14500.

The SC80 will not have great throw capabilities which is similar to the SC51.

if you need pure flood AND pure throw (= focusable lens) i think there's not much choice besides Led Lensers... M1 is smaller but (on paper) slightly less performing than your P5R (but the almost-regulated output has its advantages over P5's direct drive). M5 runs on AA's but has half P5R's output and little throw (i'd stay away from AA lensers, they use obsolete LED and driver technology and thus are not very efficient)... if you need a tight and bright hotspot avoid the SC51 at all costs...
the Sunwayman V10R runs on a CR123, but it's very compact and has a very decent throw for its size, and you can adjust output in real time with an "analog" ring. of course focus is fixed, but with brightness adjustments it's easy to adapt the beam to your requirements

It sure sounds like you need two lights. Maybe a ZebraLight headlamp for up close, and a separate light for throw? 2xAA lights aren't exactly throwers, but it depends on the distance you need. 4xAA would get you there (SWM M40A, JetBeam PA40).

Tiggercat said:

It sure sounds like you need two lights. Maybe a ZebraLight headlamp for up close, and a separate light for throw? 2xAA lights aren't exactly throwers, but it depends on the distance you need. 4xAA would get you there (SWM M40A, JetBeam PA40).

Click to expand...

+1

a zebralightt sc51f for pure flood and a bigger torch for throw.

to stay in the Led lenser range the M14 has got range and great, wide and homogeneous flood, but it's much, much bulkier and runs on 4 AAs

Thanks for all your suggestions guys. I am really impressed with your kindess and support, considering I just signed up and it's the first question I asked...

It's looking I should probably stick to the LL... I thought it was possible to achieve a better/tighter throw and I thought it was possible to achieve 200+ lumens on a AA but I am new to flashlight shopping and I am learning I was wrong about those assumptions.

The focusability is pretty important to me so if you guys tell me there are no other makers of focusable lights out there that are worth considering I guess I'll stick to the LL

There's a bad @$$ focusable that isn't a led lenser! Trustfire Z5. Check that out.

bad how?

marcnyc said:

bad how?

Click to expand...

Google it or look at it at Dealextreme's website. They have photos, beamshots, and reviews. This light runs on two 18650 Li-ion batteries. Keep in mind that Dealextreme is not known to have really good quality lights, but for their prices you may not care.

The problem is that Led Lensor has a bunch of patents which make it very difficult for anyone else to make focusable lights, other than cheap knockoff companies.

Probably about the best you could do would be a Romisen 3xAAA/1x18650 light. Using 3xAAAs means normal batteries but 4.5 volts to play with, vs 1.5...so more brightness in theory. I'd take that over the 1xAA light to be honest.
I'd check out Shiningbeam.com as they have modified romisens that are pretty solid for 25 bucks or so.


If you want something bigger though, you are pretty much out of luck. There are XM-L (bigger emitter) versions of focusables but they won't throw well AT ALL, since the emitter size keeps getting bigger with each new emitter...which is a big problem for aspherics.

Unless you spend LOTS mo money for a bigger Led Lensor, or certain high end brands like Wolf Eyes Defender 3 or Night Hunter, or 1 other one that I had never heard of before...AND those will require more batteries for sure.

The problem is that Led Lensor has a bunch of patents which make it very difficult for anyone else to make focusable lights, other than cheap knockoff companies.

Probably about the best you could do would be a Romisen 3xAAA/1x18650 light. Using 3xAAAs means normal batteries but 4.5 volts to play with, vs 1.5...so more brightness in theory. I'd take that over the 1xAA light to be honest.
I'd check out Shiningbeam.com as they have modified romisens that are pretty solid for 25 bucks or so.


If you want something bigger though, you are pretty much out of luck. There are XM-L (bigger emitter) versions of focusables but they won't throw well AT ALL, since the emitter size keeps getting bigger with each new emitter...which is a big problem for aspherics.

Unless you spend LOTS mo money for a bigger Led Lensor, or certain high end brands like Wolf Eyes Defender 3 or Night Hunter, or 1 other one that I had never heard of before...AND those will require more batteries for sure.

The problem is that Led Lensor has a bunch of patents which make it very difficult for anyone else to make focusable lights, other than cheap knockoff companies.

Probably about the best you could do would be a Romisen 3xAAA/1x18650 light. Using 3xAAAs means normal batteries but 4.5 volts to play with, vs 1.5...so more brightness in theory. I'd take that over the 1xAA light to be honest.
I'd check out Shiningbeam.com as they have modified romisens that are pretty solid for 25 bucks or so.


If you want something bigger though, you are pretty much out of luck. There are XM-L (bigger emitter) versions of focusables but they won't throw well AT ALL, since the emitter size keeps getting bigger with each new emitter...which is a big problem for aspherics.

Unless you spend LOTS mo money for a bigger Led Lensor, or certain high end brands like Wolf Eyes Defender 3 or Night Hunter, or 1 other one that I had never heard of before...AND those will require more batteries for sure.

The problem is that Led Lensor has a bunch of patents which make it very difficult for anyone else to make focusable lights, other than cheap knockoff companies.

Probably about the best you could do would be a Romisen 3xAAA/1x18650 light. Using 3xAAAs means normal batteries but 4.5 volts to play with, vs 1.5...so more brightness in theory. I'd take that over the 1xAA light to be honest.
I'd check out Shiningbeam.com as they have modified romisens that are pretty solid for 25 bucks or so.


If you want something bigger though, you are pretty much out of luck. There are XM-L (bigger emitter) versions of focusables but they won't throw well AT ALL, since the emitter size keeps getting bigger with each new emitter...which is a big problem for aspherics.

Unless you spend LOTS mo money for a bigger Led Lensor, or certain high end brands like Wolf Eyes Defender 3 or Night Hunter, or 1 other one that I had never heard of before...AND those will require more batteries for sure.

Speaking as a former touring technician (video department), I'd recommend using two lights. A floody headlamp like a Zebralight, combined with a fixed-focus throwy handheld light. Flood-to-throw focusing lights are invariably a compromise. After I started carrying a headlamp, I quickly decided to carry several, because the guys I was working with would always want to borrow a light.

Something using the Cree XR-E will give you the best throw, and can be had for relatively little money if you shop around.

Best of luck!

wow that Romisen is cheap... I do have a light right now and it works pretty. it has the focus and the 3xAAA well but doesn't have the dual output and the silver reflector around the LED keeps coming off so I was looking for a new one... I don't think this Romisen does focus though.
I am definitely looking to stay compact