E2L AA Outdoorsman w/ MN01 E1e head

A while ago, some of you talked about this in another thread...

Anyone doing this or using something similar (such as with a TadCustoms bipin e-socket) to get Surefire incan with AA?

I'm considering it, if I can find an E2L AA, and if I can afford it. McGizmo makes one, and CPF member balrog once also had a 2xAA E-compatible body available, Malkov of course also, heard about Vital Gear FB3-HA body but can't find one... honestly, I don't see many options for E-2xAA tubes. Please post if you know of any.

If I recall, Valiant Concepts made a 2xAA E-threaded body with no switch- twisty only.

VitalGear stuff is long gone.

Fourleafflashlights still had an adapter at one point but I may have bought the last one.

Sparks Illumination has the Universal Battery Holder (UBH).

AndyF said:

Sparks Illumination has the Universal Battery Holder (UBH).

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I have every type of 2AA body mentioned in this thread. The Balrogs are really nice, but good luck finding that or a UBH kit or body of any kind. The Vital Gear FB3-HA is probably the most attainable option in the aftermarket side of things, but since they were made to fit protected 17500's, you might need to find a plastic sleeve adapter (I don't know if anyone makes one anymore) to prevent battery rattle and help keep a tight connection. I never felt that body worked very well with 2 x AA and it was just kind of a marketing thing. That body was really made to shine, with P17500's, even three CR123A's are a little loose in there for my taste, but they work fine. You might be able to just make a paper sleeve or something. I don't really like flammable things inside my flashlights though.

I purchased my UBH without any problems.

AndyF said:

I purchased my UBH without any problems.

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Recently? Maybe things have been cleaned up, I don't know what's going on around here lately.

AndyF said:

Sparks Illumination has the Universal Battery Holder (UBH).

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What is " Sparks Illumination " ?
Google does not come up with anything, is this just an old Internet shop not in existence anymore?

labrat said:

What is " Sparks Illumination " ?
Google does not come up with anything, is this just an old Internet shop not in existence anymore?

Click to expand...

Try "Spark Illuminations UBH" in your Google search.

Or save your google fu and just click here, instead.

ampdude said:

I have every type of 2AA body mentioned in this thread.

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This made me laugh hard when you first posted, and I can't explain why. But after using a bored E2E and Tad Customs E-socket for a about a week, and being very impressed with the runtime, I do have a question for you. Ignoring that a 2xAA setup is inherently safer, which in your experience gives better runtime of useful brightness, 2000mAh of 2xAA or 2000mAh of 18650? How about 3000mAh 18650? (I hope I'm not asking, "which is faster, a motorcycle going 80mph, or a station wagon going 80mph?")

Well 2xaa and 1x like ion would be running a different bulb so they're not comparable. And of course a 3000mah cell would give longer runtimes than a 2000 mah cell with the same bulb

vicv said:

Well 2xaa and 1x like ion would be running a different bulb so they're not comparable.

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I should have eliminated that variable. We can underdrive a lamp optimized for 4.2V with 3V, as long as it gets hot enough, shouldn't hurt the lamp, just won't give us the full brightness of a lamp optimized for 3V. And you've revealed to me in my own reply, with similar capacities, the lower voltage setup should last longer, unless underdriven lamps are massively less efficient.

vicv said:

And of course a 3000mah cell would give longer runtimes than a 2000 mah cell with the same bulb

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I wasn't sure this would be the case due to my expectation of higher current in the lower cap Li-ion cell. I realize not all lower capacity Li-ion necessarily give higher amps than higher capacity Li-ion cells, but in my experience, the same brand cells seem to follow this generalization. I was anticipating another "it's just the opposite of what you'd expect" sort of situation, that maybe higher amp cells, even with more capacity, might be depleted faster than lower amp cells with less capacity. To exaggerate in simile, like a gallon milk jug will empty faster with a golf ball sized hole than a juice box with a pin hole.

But I didn't mention amps, nor did I specify the same bulb for different voltages. I'm trying to compare these two set ups, 18650 vs 2xAA... but they can't be identical for comparison, so perhaps I should have asked, which is preferable, ignoring safety and tube size?

A high drain cell will drive the bulb a bit more but not enough to distinguish capacity wise. We're talking maybe 100ma. I would always prefer 18650. But if you take safety and size of of the equation what else is there? The whole advantage of lithium chemistry cells is smaller size. If size isn't a consideration I'd run multiple d cell NIMH

vicv said:

If size isn't a consideration I'd run multiple d cell NIMH

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I have been speculating about using NiMH 1/2AAA cells in my Solitaire w/ MiniMag lamp, rather than 10440 LiMn, for safety, economy, and runtime. But using D-cells with E-series never occurred to me. You give me another idea. FiveMega has had E-series 2x18650 bodies available in the past, though currently I only see P-series long tubes for sale. I wonder what it would take to coax him to release a 2x34600 tube for E-series, because D-cells have supurb capacity and are shorter... or even a MagLite 2D to E-series adapter (silly as that sounds)?

The head would be too small. It would look ridiculous!

chillinn said:

This made me laugh hard when you first posted, and I can't explain why. But after using a bored E2E and Tad Customs E-socket for a about a week, and being very impressed with the runtime, I do have a question for you. Ignoring that a 2xAA setup is inherently safer, which in your experience gives better runtime of useful brightness, 2000mAh of 2xAA or 2000mAh of 18650? How about 3000mAh 18650? (I hope I'm not asking, "which is faster, a motorcycle going 80mph, or a station wagon going 80mph?")

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I'm not sure what the question is because 2000mAh of 2xAA will only be around 2.4-3.4V depending on chemistry at nominal voltage of NIMH up to full charge of lithiums and NIZN's. While a 2000mAh 18650 assuming it's lithium ion will be 3.7V even at nominal voltage. A 3000mAh 18650 should also have 3.7V at nominal voltage assuming it's lithium ion. So the 3000mAh 18650 would have the most power of the three.

Thx, ampdude. It was a poorly constructed question, and each set up is very different and hard to compare, but thanks for explaining and trying.

Chillnn, if all what you want is 15-20lm on 2xAA, you could use a mag mini AA which is 19lm light. Get the NiteIze clicky tail cap, put on some Phaseburn diffusing film on the lens and you are all set for $20