Recommend first EDC light - LED, 2 AA, 2-3 modes, under $50?

Hey guys

I've just recently started getting interested in flashlights, and think a flashlight'd be an incredibly handy thing to have on you all the time. I am therefore looking to get a flashlight for EDC.

The idea got in my head when I heard somebody talking about/showing off some LED lenser lights. I thought they were extremely cool, and decided I would get one. Of course, my analytic personality wouldn't let me stop there, and before I knew it, I was signed up at CPF.

I have read up as much as possible, and am thinking now that there are far better options out there, and was hoping someone could recommend me a few other brands. I really do like the flood mode on the p4, how it's extremely even, and very white, and it "separates out the blues". I dunno if that's just a bunch of marketing mumbo-jumbo, it looked pretty good to me, but I don't think they offer enough versatility. I was looking at either the p4 or the p6.

My ideal light would be a 2 AA LED (I'd probably just do regular old alkaline batteries in it, but I have some Eneloops around somewhere that I could probably use. There is a good chance I will shift to a more high-performance battery down the road). 5-6 in. long, something like the mini Maglite or the aforementioned p6 form factor, preferably with a low mode (good for reading, or inspecting things up close, I'm guessing 5-10 lumens?), a high mode with a long throw distance (say, checking on the car from across the parking lot, or lighting the bejeezus out of a dark street, I dunno, a couple hundred lumens? I'm flexible on this one), and I think I'd like a strobe mode, maybe you guys could give me your input as to whether you ever need such a thing. I would like to have it in flood mode mostly, I'd prefer it to be an even, smooth wall of light.

I will be buying online, so that's not a factor.

I'd like to get pretty good battery life, I don't want this thing going dim after 20 mins. of usage.

Usage won't exactly be heavy, mostly just anytime I'm out at night and need to see my way around, especially when there's a lot of snow on the ground. I may use it for runs at night.

I would like a rear cap clicky switch (I don't know what that's called). And I don't really have any spare room in my pockets, so this will be carried in a belt holster.

And finally, I would like to keep it under $50.

I think that's about it. I hope that's not too much information, I wanted to be more thorough rather than not enough. And of course, I understand there's trade-offs, I may not be able to get everything in one light for that price. Let's see what we get!

Thanks guys!

I recommend looking at the ShiningBeam Caveman.

Well, all 2xAA lights will have about the same battery life. Its a simple matter of how much wattage the light uses at a particular light level, divided into your batteries total energy storage. So I wouldnt worry too much about that.

I agree that the caveman looks like a solid option. I dont like its mode spacing though. 7 lumens is a good low. But theres no medium. 115 lumens is quite a bit of light, and 230 will only appear maybe 50% brighter than the medium. So you have a Lowww.... a High. and a Higher.

However, check out the 2xAA offerings by 4Sevens, Jetbeam, Quark, Klarus, and itp. You might find certain features that you like better such as infinite adjustment on the light levels, nicer looks, better clip, holster that comes with it, mode spacing, etc.

Google each company and see what all theyve got. Or go to a store like goinggear and check their selection.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! I'm liking the 4sevens Quark AA^2 Tactical, Jetbeam PA20, and Shiningbeam Caveman. :thumbsup:

Take a look at olight t25, i think that fits perfect, it has served me very well,

2aa and 3 modes, very usefull low mode, and a nice combination of throw and spill at high (210 lumens)..
It also comes with a strobe mode that i find very usefull


One thing is that it gets very hot ofter 7-8 mins on high so its not for long use...

I have dropped mine very often leaving only small scratches and no damage to the glass or function

It comes with a sheath but i dont recomend it, i use maxpedition 5 inch tube holster

The Caveman looks like a good light for the price.

Other lights that are really good & under $50 are the Fenix LD25 or the Fenix E21.

Just to throw in some other options that are slightly above the $50 threshold are the Quark X AA2 (I like the Neutral tint version.) If you use the CPF discount code then you could get one for $63 delivered. This is one of my favorite 2xAA lights around.

Another pretty good one that's a little over $50 is the Fenix LD20 (but if you use alkaline batteries in any of the Fenix lights then the low level will not work properly...all other levels work fine.) If you use eneloops then you will not have this problem.

Good Luck.