Any up-to-date warm white flashlights ?

Greetings, a friend asked me about a warm white flashlight like 'the one I have'.
It's an oldschool 4Sevens Quark Tactical 2AA Warm White running on 14500 in the AA body.



What a great flashlight ! Especially for hiking in the dark, I have nothing comparable.
It's programable, compact, very bright on 14500, the warm white LED illuminates natural things perfectly (and it was a wise decision to buy the extra switch, clip, body, so the light can be modified to all needs).With the other switch it can tailstand, with this deep pocket clip it can easily be attached to a hood/sleeve or baseball cap etc..You can even swap the switch and the head to get the clip in the other direction. The UI is also a winner for me, I can program it to moonlight/medium output for using inside the house. Or if I want to it's max output/strobe with momentary activation due to this switch.
A few years later I'm still speechless for it's versatility and it's still working flawless - BIG thumbs up for 4Sevens !
But if I remember right the warm white was a limited run and I can't find anything like this.

Could you recommend me a few lights matching most of the points below ?But it must be warm white since he already owns some cool white lights !I'm still very happy with the few lights I own, so I didn't follow the CPF regular - shame on me, so I hope you could help me pick one !



1) How would you prefer to purchase the light?

____This will be mail-order or Online (location doesn't matter).


2) Budget: An easy question, but you may change your mind after answering the rest!

____Up to $50.

If it's really THE flashlight, it can cost more.

3) Format:

____I want a flashlight (hand held/self contained).



4) Size:

____SMALL - Every day carry (4-7 inches).

Pocket/AA size

5) Emitter/Light source:

____LED (known for efficiency, longevity, and compactness)



6) Manufacturer:

____I want to buy a light from a large/traditional manufacturer that is ready to go out of the box.
____I would like a light from a specialty manufacturer (Possibly limited run/Custom).


7) What power source do you want to use?

____I intend to use Rechargeable cells (NiMH or NiCD) based on the usual AAA/AA/C/D sized cells common to most stores.

Will mainly use eneloops, but the option to use 14500 for higher output is also nice.



7a) If you have selected a rechargeable option

____I want a separate/stand-alone charger (this involves removing the batteries to charge)



8) How much genuine out the front (OTF) light do you want/need? Sometimes you can have too much light (trying to read up close up with a 100 lumen light is not a happy experience).

____I want to illuminate my entire backyard or a campsite (150-300 lumens).


__X_SPECIAL NOTE: Burst/Turbo mode Category - There are several lights that will run at a super bright maximum for a very limited period (usually 5-10 minutes) and then will "step-down" to a lower level for thermal control. Check here if this is acceptable.

If possible, I like that option.

9) Flood vs Throw: Flood covers an area, Throw reaches out to a distance.

____Wide Throw: I want a beam with a noticeable hot-center for distance throw and a significant amount of "side-spill". Good for rough trail hiking, search and rescue, and general distance work.
____Narrow Throw: I want a beam with a very tight "hot center" and minimal "side-spill". Good for distance viewing, fog, and looking through dense undergrowth.

It should have both, flood and throw.

9a) Distance: How far away will you typically need to see with this light (check all that apply)
____Less than 1 yard/meter (reading, other close work)
____Less than 5 yards/meters (looking for something inside a dark shed/garage/basement)
____5-20 yards/meters (check out a noise in the backyard)
____30-50 yards/meters (I have a big backyard)
____50-150 yards/meters (I live in a very rural area/farm with wide open spaces)


10) Runtime: Not over-inflated manufacturer runtime claims, but usable brightness measured from first activation to 50% with new batteries (Measured on maximum continuous output).


____30-60 minutes (I have plenty of batteries just ready to be changed)
____90-120 minutes (Runtime is moderately important, but still not critical)



11) Durability/Usage: Generally the old phrase "you get what you pay for" is very accurate for flashlights.

____Very Important (Camping, Backpacking, Car Glove-box).



12) Switch Size, Type, and location (choose all that apply):


____I want a forward clicky (Helpful for momentary activation and signaling).
____I want a momentary switch (Predominantly for use with signaling and short bursts of momentary light only).
____I want a tail mounted switch (found on the majority of today's high end lights).

Not really that important.

13) User Interface (UI) and mode selection. Select all that apply.


____I want multiple light levels. (Some lights have 5-16 light levels.)
____I want a programmable light.
____I want a selector ring.
____I want a strobe mode. (Oscillating pattern to confuse/blind aka "Police Mode")

Multiple output is important, the other options just would be nice.


14)Material/Finish/Coating

____Anodized Aluminum – either type II or III (Hard Anodized) (Aluminum, specifically HA, is the most common material/finish for today's higher end flashlights).
____Stainless steel (durable, but much heavier than aluminum)
____Titanium (durable and nearly as lightweight as aluminum, but can be moderately to significantly more expensive).


15) Water resistance

____IPX7 (Waterproof to 1 meter/30min)
____IPX8 (Submersible to greater than 1 meter for 4 hours)

It should be waterproof but it's not for diving.


16) Storage conditions

____In house (temperature/climate controlled environment)
____Emergency kit (long standby periods)
____Automobile glove-box (wide temperature swings, long standby periods, critical reliability)

Depends on situation.

17) Special Needs/extras: Is there anything else you want or need that hasn't been mentioned? Select any/all below.

I'm looking for a warm white light, to illuminate natural things.

The Nitecore EA4 comes in a warm version (EA4W). Their EA8 also has a 'neutral tint' version. Lumens Factory makes several D26 and D36 drop-ins that have a warm-white high CRI version. Malkoff Devices has a warm tint version of just about all of their drop-ins. They also have some nice bodies for hosts if you don't already have one. I'm sure there are lots of others around as well, these are just the ones I know of.

Thank you very much ! The EA4 seems to fit the profile. Didn't know that there was a WW version.
Now I want one, too... : /
My friend doesn't have any hosts for drop-ins, buying all together would be to expensive I guess.
But the EA4 should be a good recommendation, thanks !

Xeno also has a number of models with WW option, iirc.

An Eagletac D25A Nichia 219 is very close to the Quark Pro 1AAs although not as well regulated with different batteries. No momentary though.

Thank you ! I'll check them out.

By 'up to date', you mean either: xm-l2, xp-g2, xp-e2 ?
and by warm white, you mean <<4000K CCT

I thought high-cri and warm white is almost the same. From all my flashlights this warm white Quark is by far the best for illuminating natural things.
That's what I'm looking for.
Maybe there are recently released warm white lights, so I wrote up-to-date.
It would be nice to get a new LED, but it's not very important, the tint matters this time !
This flashlight will be for outdoor purposes.

Xeno E03 and Eagletac D25A also look good, but I guess for it's compact size he would prefer the EA4, that's a good output for its price too.

Not sure the EA4 fits the "pocket size" criteria or the close ranges you specify, but if that's OK, then take a look at the Sunwayman D40Aw (neutral white version)... it has much better lows incl, moonlight.

+1 for the Xeno E03. I've got one in WW. It's cheap and the build quality is possibly the best of any light that I own. It's got anodised square cut threads (lockable), a double O ring on the tail cap and a gold plated spring on both battery contacts - rather like Surefire, but without the extra shock-absober on the emitter. The anodising is exceptionally well finished, easily among the top 5 of my lights alongside Sunwayman, Inova and Surefire. I can't comment on how well it will hold up to abuse though, as mine is pretty new. In any case, this light has the best quality to cost ratio I've come across, by a large margin.

Other things:

• Reverse clicky
• Mineral crystal lens. Doesn't seem to be AR coated though.
• OP reflector.
• Glow in the dark O ring between reflector and lens.

The negatives for me are:

• It's not one of the smallest single-AAs. That said, it's not one of the largest either. AFAIK it's smaller than the Quark.
• I'd prefer if the modes went low-med-high instead of med-low-high
• On 14500 you lose the low mode and two of the modes are, as far as I can tell, identical (but you still have to cycle through them).

You may also dislike the lack of a clip, but personally I don't feel that it needs one. It has nothing to stop it rolling on its side either, unless you have the lanyard attached. However, it can tail stand and because of it's low length to diameter ratio and lack of protuberances or crenelation, it's very stable when standing on either end.

It's also available in a few colours and looks cool. The only minor design issue is that the green clicky cover does not go with any of the colours except maybe black, but this can be overlooked on account of the fact it glows in the dark. Oddly, when fully charged, the glowy shade of green actually does go quite well with the purple version I have (it's described as blue, but it's actually a deep purple, what some might call a royal blue, except that's not a particularly good guide as it can mean different things)

I have the Xeno E03 warm-white.
DC Fix film + crAA 14505 means it is a pretty good dog walking (and other dog cleanup activity) light.

Lots of people in the industry are really stretching the truth when it come to color temperature. They are saying that their 5000K is warm, warm relative to a 6500K.

Xeno E03 NW XM-L T5 here and while I've not fiddled with the WW version, I like the tint of the one I have.

They've added modes (blinkies) and upped the output a bit, but it's a nice little light if you don't need a pocket clip, which I think you can source/add down the road.

Two years back, it was a screamer on 14500 li-ions, in a smallish package.

Chris

Thank you very much for all recommendations !
The problem with the Xeno is, my friend will only use eneloops. With a 14500 it would definately rock !
But I agree that the quality is great for it's price. A few years ago I was able to take a look at it, when I purchased one to give it away for a birthday.

He already owns a Nitecore D10 so I'm sure he would like the high output on the EA4 or D40A.
I've just looked the Sunwayman up, it's alo available here at almost the same price.
Will have to ask if he likes the two switches, guess I would prefer only one.
But the output and the moonlight mode are good points...

From the pictures and youtube vids I can tell that he wouldn't mind the size from both EA4 and D40A due to their outputs.
We both use a Thrunite Ti2 on our keys for edc.

I would also like a Zebralight in my collection, but they are barely availabe here.
I'll keep my eye on that Eagletac D25A 2014 too, that beamshot looks really nice...

Not the brightest thing, but I really like the tint. The NW version looks very green to me - don't like green.
Are there flashlights with the nichia 219 but higher output ?

Hmpf this one is to expensive, but wow !

another possibility were the actual Quark AA mini ma --> high CRI XP-G


.. to replace/update my old Quark AA mini warm, I just ordered one of them + an Atom and a preon
((but - info for You! - none of them could replace my Quark AA mini. What a waste of money, should have still ignored them like the last years...))

It possibly is only me - I simply don't like the way too "warm" color of that high CRI and as a 2nd point that now the Quarks can not be fed with 14500s anymore ...
but for someone searching for a "high CRI" and AA only, it might be an alternative.

PS: neutral white rocks!
thats the color of the old Quark mini (in Luxeon times the 4.000-5.000 K would have been considered "warm")
If You are used to the old warm Quark, nothing will be able to replace it - at the moment

(personally I think that all this "high CRI" hype is some kind of joke.
Whatever led, whatever "high CRI" / "warm white" I own --> neutral white is superior all the time