Mixed home use

I have bought several no-name SK68 lights which worked great for a while but generally broke after a few months. So I'm looking for something a little more durable and reliable.

1) How would you prefer to purchase the light?
Either B&M or online.

2) Price: Low cost (up to $25)

3) Format: I want a flashlight (hand held/self contained).

4) Size: Micro to small

5) Emitter/Light source: LED

6) Manufacturer: I want to buy a fully assembled light

7) What power source do you want to use? Rechargable AA size batteries

7a) If you have selected a rechargeable option: I'm fine with a standalone charger

8) How much genuine out the front (OTF) light do you want/need? Needs to work inside ("blackout") and for walking outside in rural/unlit area

9a) Distance: How far away will you typically need to see with this light? 5-50 yards

10) Runtime: at least 120 minutes, preferably longer

11) Durability/Usage: "very important" (Assume camping)

15) Water resistance: at least splash resistant -- it will be used in the Pacific NW USA where rain is a given

16) Storage conditions: assume glove box as the worst case

What do you recommend?

Hey there.

At that price point, my first thought is a 2AA Mini Maglite Pro. But they're not really water-proof - only rated "water-resistant." And in the Pacific Northwest, I'd go for something with a real waterproof rating.

The issue with AA lights at that price point is going to be your 50-yard requirement. It's going to be hard to get useful light out that far. Keep in mind that the ANSI specs for distance are highly misleading. If a light says it's rated for 100 meters, you're not going to get useful light at that distance.

If you can compromise there I'd look at the Fenix E12, $26, for a really nice little 1xAA light. I love mine.

If you can add $10 to your budget, I'd look at the Fenix E20, 2016 version. It's a 2xAA light, $35. I played around with one at REI the other day and really liked it.

The Coast HP1 is a fun little zoom light, 1xAA, only one brightness setting. You can get them on Amazon for $10 or so. They're exceptionally well made for the price. I've bought four over the last few months.

You could also look at the Streamlight Protac 1xAA and 2xAA lights, but they're more in the $35 range as well. Mine have held up well over the years, but they have pretty ugly beams - the E12 and E20 are better in that regard.

Hope that helps.

I think that you should look for an AA light that can take a LiIon 14500 battery.
Thrunite T10
EagleTac D25a series
ArmyTek Prime A1 or Pro A1

I think it is Chris who says... buy once cry once.

Poppy said:

I think that you should look for an AA light that can take a LiIon 14500 battery.
Thrunite T10
EagleTac D25a series
ArmyTek Prime A1 or Pro A1

I think it is Chris who says... buy once cry once.

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I agree - in my opinion, the more power options, the better. I like the Fenix E25UE, but it's double your budget. There's also the new LD09, which takes a single AA or 14500 and costs a little less.

I also like my Fenix E12 while accepting its limitations. Its small and pocketable. It has good runtime and level spread to me as I use the middle level (50 lumens). But main negative for me is its mostly an "indoor" use light for me with beam that's a bit too focused and not as much flood as I like. Its still a good basic light.

Illumn has the Thrunite T10 on sale below your budget price (not accounting shipping). From reviews it looks pretty decent too. From review videos, it looks like the beam is a bit more floody. It looks like there's a moonlight level, a low and high level.


But as others mentioned, the longer throw is a problem with most single AA lights. As long as you keep that limitation in mind, you'll be okay. Otherwise, I splurged for the Zebralight SC5w and the throw (and max lumens) on this single AA light exceeds my expectations, but the price is high.

I'll second the $10 Coast HP1 with the same thoughts as others have stated.
A 1 aa light is generally going to give you a good brightness for 50-100 feet. At say 150' it'll shine a bit of light on an object and say, ID that yes that's an animal. But not enough to let you know if it's the neighbors dog or say...a coyote in your rural surroundings.

I say the HP1 because it zooms. One output that can do a nice job at lighting objects at around 100', yet can be turned into a room/tent lighting flooder. If you find it too bright for close up work you can slide it to flood mode and diffuse all that extra light.

It runs on store bought batteries or rechargeable without issue.

Let us know what you end up going with please.

The 1AA 80 lumen Inova X1 is another one to consider. The X1 has a momentary only tail switch, tightening the tail cap will give you constant on. also has a 11 lumen low mode. Overall, a well built and reliable "budget" light in my experience.

The 14500 recommendation assumes the OP is interested in and comfortable with li-ion cells. If he/she is, great. But that's a big step for some folks.

And personally, I find 14500 somewhat problematic. I don't own any because I don't want to have to worry about someone in my household thinking "if it looks like an AA, it must be an AA" and frying a TV remote, alarm clock, or incompatible flashlight. (Or screwing that up myself, for that matter. ) I like to keep my different battery voltages consistent with different battery dimensions as best I can.

Kudzu said:

The 14500 recommendation assumes the OP is interested in and comfortable with li-ion cells. If he/she is, great. But that's a big step for some folks.

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Perhaps, for some folks, but he wants a micro, to small light that'll reach 50 yards. I think he is going to HAVE to go LiIon. I might be wrong.

If he wants to run the light on NiMH, he'll have that option, but he won't be able to do 50 yards very well. LiIons are all around us, in our cell phones, notebooks, tablets, power banks, power tools, and now flashlights. He was smart enough to come here for a recommendation, I think he is smart enough to learn a little about LiIon battery safety.

I liked my thrunite t10, ~200 lumens, also features longer lasting 17 lumens (perfect for general night use) and a .20 lumen moonlight mode that is great for very low light uses.