AA light needed with details

[ledbetter]

can i buy a replacement battery at walmart? easy battery replacement is high on my list. I'm not opposed to rechargeable, i just want to be able to buy one if I'm out in the mountains and have nowhere to charge and need a new battery... it also looks a bit chonk. lol. the quark is pushing my limit for pocket carry. that looks pretty beefy... but awesome otherwise

The whole premise here is wrong. Any flashaholic has back up and the ability to charge batteries anywhere. O light universal single charger and a power bank and you're ready. Relying on a Walmart for battery replacement is just poor planning. You should have a stockpile.

 

[luisdent]

The whole premise here is wrong. Any flashaholic has back up and the ability to charge batteries anywhere. O light universal single charger and a power bank and you're ready. Relying on a Walmart for battery replacement is just poor planning. You should have a stockpile.

your premise is not mine. that is your opinion. it is a fact that aa and aaa batteries are the most common batteries available. and beside the point. requiring a power bank also requires charging which has its own problems. i have no desire to debate the benefits of each viewpoint.

respectfully, I welcome opinions if they are constructive, however i simply asked for a light that matches my needs. that is all. some people have pointed to the closest they know of and that is appreciated and all I'm looking for. if someone has alternative configurations that could work well i will consider them, but for now that is still my goal.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

can i buy a replacement battery at walmart? easy battery replacement is high on my list. I'm not opposed to rechargeable, i just want to be able to buy one if I'm out in the mountains and have nowhere to charge and need a new battery... it also looks a bit chonk. lol. the quark is pushing my limit for pocket carry. that looks pretty beefy... but awesome otherwise

Yes you can. The light also takes 123A batteries. You'll usually see these at Walmart made by Duracell, Energizer, and Surefire. These batteries can also be found in backcountry stores as some cameras use them, though it's best to bring spares since they can be around $15 each. You won't find the rechargeables in most stores, so get spares online in whatever quantity you'll need for frequent use when you buy the light.

The light is 2.61" long by 0.86" in diameter. For comparison, a Fenix LD12, a 1 AA light is 4.04" long and 0.85" at the widest part. The light made for 123A batteries is 0.01" wider than a AA light. That's too bulky for you?

 

[luisdent]

Yes you can. The light also takes 123A batteries. You'll usually see these at Walmart made by Duracell, Energizer, and Surefire. These batteries can also be found in backcountry stores as some cameras use them, though it's best to bring spares since they can be around $15 each. You won't find the rechargeables in most stores, so get spares online in whatever quantity you'll need for frequent use when you buy the light.

The light is 2.61" long by 0.86" in diameter. For comparison, a Fenix LD12, a 1 AA light is 4.04" long and 0.85" at the widest part. The light made for 123A batteries is 0.01" wider than a AA light. That's too bulky for you?

sorry, the short stubby form factor coupled with having 3 leds made me think it was bigger than it is. i didn't realize it's just really short. so no that would be fine. although I'd probably prefer a little bit longer for comfortable holding but I'd have to try it... I'm still leaning towards aa compatibility but that does seem like a great light for features

 

[luisdent]

i think i found a possible match.

SBFlashlights - authorized dealer of Solarforce, XTAR, iTP, Lumintop, Thrunite, Spark flashlights

SBFlashlights - authorized dealer of Solarforce, XTAR, iTP, Lumintop, Thrunite, Spark flashlights, SBFlashlights, -, authorized, dealer, of, Solarforce,, XTAR,, iTP,, Lumintop,, Thrunite,, Spark, flashlights

www.sbflashlights.com

meets every single criteria except strobe, which frankly i can do without.

this also looks decent but maybe not neutral white...

Manker E05 Ti Titanium Ultra-Throw LED Flashlight

Mankerlight manufactures innovative LED flashlight and EDC gear for outdoor enthusiasts etc. Manker are doing something different! Click for more details.

www.mankerlight.com

and this is nice but discontinued...

MT10A (Discontinued)

Uses 1xAA batteries as power supply, powerful, adaptable, and compact.

flashlight.nitecore.com

all seem like great options for aa.

 

[luisdent]

was about to pull the trigger on the l3, but noticed it was an xpg and not the nichia. and then noticed there is an L11C that wasn't obvious on the site. THEN noticed that there are a tremendous amount of negative reviews from here, amazon, etc. all stating it fails for no reason. So you get what you pay for I guess. What a shame. Otherwise, looks like the perfect freaking light. To get the nichia I would have to buy one of the few remaining older models and hope there are no durability issues. Also the pocket clips supposedly bends and is junk and that's partly why i need another light. I need something that won't fall out of my pocket.

Regarding the others, I actually compared my quark and thrunite Ti, and if the rated lumens are anywhere near what the lights are, I definitely don't want anything over .2 lumens max. the .04 lumens of the thrunite is pretty much perfect. The .2 is almost too bright.

 

[woodsmith]

That L3 Illumination could work out for you. If it's anything like the L10 Nichia that I have, it's cheap and pretty good for the price. Nice beam for close work but enough hot spot to look for stuff Moonlight is good and low.

However it IS NOT a reliable, bullet proof option, and the clip is probably garbage (L10 clip is garbage, probably could swap it but needs to be anchored to be more effective). I've had mine for five years or so? Probably have carried it for a year or two. It's been dropped a bunch, including to concrete. It's got me out of the woods after dark a few times. It's done a lot of "shop work" in the no-power storage unit my company uses for a shop. It usually still works but not often enough that it is ever the only light I have with me any more.

All that to say if the feature set appeals to you then for thirty bucks it might be worth a shot? How about you pick up that "random 10 flashlights" deal for fifty or sixty dollars?

 

[luisdent]

i think the pocket clip is a dealbreaker. i will lose it for sure.

I'm currently looking at this:

M150 V3 AA/14500 USB Magnetic Rechargeable flashlight – LED Headlamp │ Tactical Flashlight

www.skilhunt.com

looks promising. great modes, nice clip, good size, multiple battery type compatability.

 

[woodsmith]

I feel your pain...there are many hundreds if not thousands of different flashlights and yet it usually seems like every single one has one or two things you'd want to change.

 

[luisdent]

exactly. that's why i'm willing to sacrifice something, but so far all the ones i like (3+) are discontinued or not available. Thrunite cancelled my order and said their light wasn't available in the US warehouse.

I'm about to pull the trigger on the m150v2. it looks amazing minus not having the tail switch. And I want to make sure the magnet is removable as i definitely don't want that. seems possible though https://zakreviews.com/skilhunt-m150.html

next best thing that keeps showing up is a zebralight

SC53w AA Neutral White Flashlight

i almost want to buy both and see which is better. other than the tail switch they seem like the only lights in the size range, moonlight mode range, high quality, battery compatibility, tail standing, good clips, neutral led, etc.... so the main sacrifice would be the switch. i thought there was something else about the zebralight, but i'm blanking. it might have been accessing moonlight mode. but sadly, that seems to be every light out there. i.e. they don't start on moonlight. So i may have to get used to the ui and see how it goes. My quark preflash drives me crazy, otherwise it goes into moonlight first, but the pocket clip is garbage (bends easily and doesn't deep carry). I might get a deep carrry clip, but it's like 50% the price of a new light with tax and shipping. crazy.

So those two are the current winners.

UPDATE: apparently zebralights don't exist anywhere on the planet to buy. so the m150 may be it.

 

[Lips]

SC53w will rule! You can customize it to come on low with a click or a hold or a double click. 500+ lumen (with Lith Ion) and down to .013 and .07 and .31. Simple UI once you have it in hand. Nice floody beam with some kick. AA alkaline and eneloop pro or Lith Ion (although not advertise it works fine). Shows back-ordered but they ship right out. Olights and others would sit on the shelf looking pretty! Attachment is how I have the 3 programs available set. Use all three or use the G5 stock program...

 

[Repsol600rr]

You can 100% program the zebralight 53 series to start on moonlight. From moonlight you can make it where you double click it to a different moonlight thats higher or lower cuz you have several choices to dial it in. And perhaps a hold to a usable medium or high. I have mine programmed to 1 click medium and hold is to moonlight, among other shortcuts like double click to high. So if you only really use a couple modes 95% of the time not much remembering will be required. It'll be second nature. Does seem to be out of stock though.

 

[scalpel_ninja]

Might be too bulky, but the Jetbeam RRT-01 has the lowest moonlight I've seen. The emitter barely glows when the rotary dial is turned. I have the 2019 version swapped with a Nichia 219b sw35k and it turns on with the dial only. The current 2020 version has a tail switch for power, dial for brightness. Strobe and SOS are hidden in the dial UI, Always comes on in super low mode. Stock uses an 18350, one extension allows for 18500 (with a sleeve would theoretically allow for 14500, though I can't verify if 1.5V AA would work), and two extensions allow for 18650. Clip is screwed into the body and carries quite deeply, also tailstands.

 

[kerneldrop]

Not that I'm in disbelief, but it's hard for me to believe 13 thousandths of 1 lumen is a real output.
Of course none of these manufacturers' measurements are standardized....so my 1 lumen will most likely be different than your 1 lumen.
Sorry to derail, but I'd like to see if I can see .013 lumens.

 

[luisdent]

Not that I'm in disbelief, but it's hard for me to believe 13 thousandths of 1 lumen is a real output.
Of course none of these manufacturers' measurements are standardized....so my 1 lumen will most likely be different than your 1 lumen.
Sorry to derail, but I'd like to see if I can see .013 lumens.

yeah. i imagine measuring that low and manufacturing consistent outputs that low is not easy. i can only compare lights i have and look at reviews. so far my thrunite ti v3 is the lowest and perfect moonlight mode. quark aa is very good, but possibly too bright in some situations. i actually came into the bedroom late last night and used the quark and had to shield the light mostly with my hand as i was looking for something in my drawer as i think it would have bothered my wife otherwise.

 

[luisdent]

You can 100% program the zebralight 53 series to start on moonlight. From moonlight you can make it where you double click it to a different moonlight thats higher or lower cuz you have several choices to dial it in. And perhaps a hold to a usable medium or high. I have mine programmed to 1 click medium and hold is to moonlight, among other shortcuts like double click to high. So if you only really use a couple modes 95% of the time not much remembering will be required. It'll be second nature. Does seem to be out of stock though.

so could i have it set so click goes to moonlight, a secpnd click goes to medium, and a third click goes to high? simple, no preflash?

 

[ledbetter]

Long time user of L3 aa lights. The L11 Illumination clip on the reverse clicky model is pretty good and I've never had a problem. The L10 clip is an add on piece of junk. For me, the L11 model has never had a failure but the L10 has had multiple. But I expect that and buy multiple. The moonlight mode is one of the best. And I run the L11 on 14500's with no problem and surprisingly it retains its moonlight level but changes the other three considerably higher. I usually travel with an L11 as backup and as a battery container for a 14500/AA for a Malkoff. The nichia is nice but the xpg2 helps the tiny reflector throw a little better.

 

[kerneldrop]

So, L11 is the clear winner.
We can rest easy knowing that the solution has been provided.

 

[ledbetter]

So, L11 is the clear winner.
We can rest easy knowing that the solution has been provided.

Malkoff is the clear winner! L11's are battery cases for my Malkoffs!!

 

[luisdent]

i remember the issue with zebralight now. i read they use some weird form of pwm. i cannot. stand. pwm. is this true? are they not constant voltage? this seems to imply such. that would be a deal-breaker for me. always something big that is hard to overlook. I'm in the camp where someone else else may not notice it, but i do. :-/

PWM??

Hello all, Let me start by saying that this is not a complaint, I am just curious about a new light. So I somewhat recently purchased a used Zebralight SC63w. I quickly noticed what may be PWM..?? I have never looked into this subject, as I have never noticed it in any of the many lights...

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