AAA light with long runtime and brightness

luisdent

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Aug 29, 2010
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I'm looking for a single AAA flashlight with the following requirements:

1) Very low low mode with long runtime (50+ hours)
2) A medium mode (say, 15-40 lumens)
3) Reasonably bright high mode (100+ lumens)
4) Tail standing capable
5) Pocket clip (don't care about rings or attachment points)
6) Small as possible (preon 0, maratac aaa, etc.)
7) Not "too" expensive (under $50-60)
8) Would prefer a cheap made-to-fit diffuser option

From all the research I've done (a lot) I've found the following lights to be the closest:

1) Maratac AAA
2) Titanium Innovations Illuminati
3) Olight i3 EOS

However, they all seem to have drawbacks, and I can't find one with a mix of all the good points. For instance, the Maratac would be the light without hesitation if it had a medium mode and slightly lower low mode. Although the low isn't too bad. The Illuminati would be better if it had longer low mode runtimes. The Olight would be better with longer low runtimes and a higher high output.

So, does a light exist that meets such requirements. Or do any lights meet these requirements more closely than those I've posted? It seems like they should have just put a medium mode in the maratac. I'd buy the previous edition, but it maxes at 70 lumens. That isn't bad, but I wouldn't be gaining anything incredible, rather I would be losing a bit over my quark aa light other than small size. With better output and a medium mode, that would be like shrinking my quark more closely, and I'd be happy. I love my quark, but I can't find a decent diffuser, and it's a tad bigger than I'd like for pocket carry. It works great, but a smaller light would be 'better'. The quark would then be for everything else. Oh, and I'm a flashlight addict, so I want something tiny and bright :)

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
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luisdent

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Klarus Mi10

That is a very promising light except a few things. I don't see a pocket clip, which is a requirement for the way I carry a light. And the low isn't as low as I would like. There is a pretty big difference between, say, 1 lumen and 3 lumens to my wife when we're in bed. :) Not to mention I'd prefer even longer runtimes if possible, which would have been achievable if they had made it a 1.5 lumen output or something... And the high is decent, but the maratac gets 115 lumens. I was hoping for at least 100....

Otherwise, that looks like a pretty sexy light, but I would rather not pay that much more basically to gain the medium mode, but sacrifice the low low and high high and pocket clip with included diffuser... WHY did they remove the medium mode?! lol
 

fishndad

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Apr 28, 2012
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there just isnt many options for you.
100 lumen is alot for a single AAA
However there are alot of lights to choose from under 90 lumen.
 

luisdent

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there just isnt many options for you.
100 lumen is alot for a single AAA
However there are alot of lights to choose from under 90 lumen.

I think you're right. It's just unfortunate that the maratac has 115 lumen high and 1.5 low. Both PERFECT settings in my opinion, but no mid... The fenix ld01 r4 is very close, but the low is a little bright for me, and the 27 hour runtime max isn't as much as most of the other low settings... but still very nice.

The illuminati doesn't have the best runtimes either... but not bad...
 

luisdent

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So I found this, and it looks promising. http://www.oveready.com/peak-flashlights/aaa-peak-eiger/prod_152.html
It doesn't have a stock clip, but i've seen people would made one fit on it. But even though it doesn't list low runtime, it gradually ramps up and down the brightness based on the head rotation, so you can get any setting you want.... Anyone use one of these and have any idea how long it runs at a very low setting?
 

archimedes

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So I found this, and it looks promising. http://www.oveready.com/peak-flashlights/aaa-peak-eiger/prod_152.html
It doesn't have a stock clip, but i've seen people would made one fit on it. But even though it doesn't list low runtime, it gradually ramps up and down the brightness based on the head rotation, so you can get any setting you want.... Anyone use one of these and have any idea how long it runs at a very low setting?

Depends on which battery you run (lithium primary, Li-Ion, NiMH, etc), and how low you are able to consistently achieve with the QTC, but ... a long time.

EDIT - The following thread applies to the (larger) Logan, but that lasted over 375 hours on "low" ... a bit over two weeks.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/317810
 
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Bwolcott

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Apr 19, 2012
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California
So I found this, and it looks promising. http://www.oveready.com/peak-flashlights/aaa-peak-eiger/prod_152.html
It doesn't have a stock clip, but i've seen people would made one fit on it. But even though it doesn't list low runtime, it gradually ramps up and down the brightness based on the head rotation, so you can get any setting you want.... Anyone use one of these and have any idea how long it runs at a very low setting?


yea that output stated is with a 10440 battery I believe on their website they same like 80 lumens with a primary AAA
 

Ezeriel

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Jan 15, 2010
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that looks like the olights from shiningbeam.. assuming it's just rebranded, it should be a quality light
 
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