6AA or 8AA LED flashlight with at least 800 lumens

Slamfire

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I'm looking for a 6AA or 8AA LED flashlight with at least 800 lumens. It would be nice to have momentary activation. I am looking at a budget between $100 and $200.

I am currently leaning towards the Eagletac SX25A6...

All hail the CPF hive mind! What other 6AA or 8AA flashlights does the hive recommend?


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CarpentryHero

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Not sure which ones have momentary, Olight S65 baton, Nitecore EA4 are also good choices.

theFenix TK41 probably throws the best of the bunch ;)
 

yliu

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I haven't used any Elagletacs, but Fenix has great quality and I would add another vote for the TK41.

The Eagletac would fit all your requirements, except its 6xAA, which makes me wonder if it can really output the advertised 900+ lumens.
 

yellow

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why bother with numerous cells?

1*18650 host almost beats 6 AA
2*18500 host (6P w. extension) beats 6 AA,
2*18650 host (9P w. extension) beats 8 AA.
and are way better to pocket and lighter,

and one never has to mess around with 12 (or 16) used and charged cells when 1st set has gotten empty,
can have the cells charged much qicker (because of the reduced number)
 

CarpentryHero

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why bother with numerous cells?

1*18650 host almost beats 6 AA
2*18500 host (6P w. extension) beats 6 AA,
2*18650 host (9P w. extension) beats 8 AA.
and are way better to pocket and lighter,

and one never has to mess around with 12 (or 16) used and charged cells when 1st set has gotten empty,
can have the cells charged much qicker (because of the reduced number)


Flashaholism has different stages within the addiction, don't question what the heart wants ;)
 

Vortus

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why bother with numerous cells?

1*18650 host almost beats 6 AA
2*18500 host (6P w. extension) beats 6 AA,
2*18650 host (9P w. extension) beats 8 AA.
and are way better to pocket and lighter,

and one never has to mess around with 12 (or 16) used and charged cells when 1st set has gotten empty,
can have the cells charged much qicker (because of the reduced number)

Other than size, I think the AA nimhs are better. Two of the Li-ions will have a small voltage advantage initially, though 9 AA is about the same as 2 18560 length wise. 3 AA is about the same as a C size as well, rather than 4 it takes to about be a D.

3100mah to 3400mah for top shelf 18650
2200mah for top nimh
1600mah for 18500
 

Samy

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Even though the TK41 is a king of throwers, it's an excellent blackout/power failure light due to it's tailstanding ability and extremely long runtimes. Use it on high (400 or so lumens) and it'll light up a living room brightly for almost 8 hours... can't beat that.

cheers
 

dusty99

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It depend on what you're looking for, beam-wise. The TK41 is a thrower, the EA4 is rated at about half as much throw, but it's pocketable.
 

jh333233

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why bother with numerous cells?
Because re-stocking cells may be an issue.
Some people might want to go with AA since they could stock up a bunch and having them ready, instead of buying pricey lithium primaries
Besides, recharging cells might be an issue too, for example, how would you be able to recharge during camping?

I second the Fenix TK41, i own one and it has moderate throw with a very usable hotspot, tho the battery carrier doesnt look sturdy
Tk41 is definitely the best economic choice

But one thing to remind the OP, with alkaline primaries, the turbo mode doesnt seem to work very well due to the discharge limit of alkalines(High internal resistance), refer to the runtime chart done by reviewers
 

itguy07

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why bother with numerous cells?

1*18650 host almost beats 6 AA
2*18500 host (6P w. extension) beats 6 AA,
2*18650 host (9P w. extension) beats 8 AA.
and are way better to pocket and lighter,

and one never has to mess around with 12 (or 16) used and charged cells when 1st set has gotten empty,
can have the cells charged much qicker (because of the reduced number)

Sure, Recharge time would be one. Using my TK45 as an example with it's 8AA cells.... I've got a few AA chargers, including the Maha C9000 and a 15 minute battery cooker. In a power failure or other situation I can be back up and running in as little as a half hour if I use the battery cooker to get the cells working. (2 runs with 4 AA). Keeping a spare set around I can charge in the 1 hour chargers.

In addition I can use a car battery for charging them. I can also walk anywhere and get AA cells. I can buy a brick of them at Costco or BJ's and keep them in the fridge just in case.

I just got the TM15 and 4x 18560's with the Intellicharger i4 v2. Love the light and the batteries but waiting 7 hours (in the TM15) or 10+ (Intellicharger) to recharge is not an option in an emergency. I could still use the car battery but it's still going to be 7+ hours for a fully depleted battery. I could use a hobby charger (and that may be my next purchase) and charge in parallel but I think we're still talking about an hour+ for a full charge. And if one of those batteries goes dead I'm mail ordering...

Both have their place but I like AA/C/D for their near universal availability and with NiMH ultra fast recharge times. LiIon takes the power crown but with longer recharge times in flashlight applications.
 

CarpentryHero

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I agree, I do love my 18650 and 26650 lights, but I'm beginning to like being able to run Nimh batteries for the lighting choices I don't use day to day. I ordered an EA4, not for everyday use but for the now and then use. I miss my old Fenix tk40, I may need to get a TK41 some day
 

Bumble

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a tk41 will run on 4aa batteries as well as 8 :) even the turbo still works ! not sure how long for though lol... tried and tested with my eneloop xx
 

jh333233

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a tk41 will run on 4aa batteries as well as 8 :) even the turbo still works ! not sure how long for though lol... tried and tested with my eneloop xx

You lose turbo with 4 cells, instead of turbo, it goes high on forth mode
 

Bumble

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You lose turbo with 4 cells, instead of turbo, it goes high on forth mode

i can see no light difference with a crude ceiling bounce with the light on maximum setting (Turbo) whether using 4 or 8 batteries ??

the difference between high/turbo via a ceiling bounce is massive here as i have very low ceilings in my flat ( im literally nearly unable to look at the hotspot with torch on turbo) but i can look at the hot spot "quite" comfortably on high... also look through HKJ review of tk41 and you will see other people reporting that turbo works on 4aa.
 
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LEDninja

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1*18650 host almost beats 6 AA
2*18500 host (6P w. extension) beats 6 AA,
2*18650 host (9P w. extension) beats 8 AA.
Lithium cells have their dangers if not handled properly. If you go rechargeable lithium follow the safety instructions here.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...-Using-Li-ion-cells-in-LED-flashlights-safely

The last 2 lithium battery fires occurred on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. All 787s are now grounded.
CPF has a subforum on the topic:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...d-Close-Calls-The-dangerous-side-of-batteries
 
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