14500 - Thrower - No strobe/sos

[edroedro]

I want a new light that runs on 14500 cells (1 or 2).
I want the most lumens and the most throw I can get for the price.

Cares: most light, most throw, 14500, no strobe or sos (unless easy to bypass), < $50
Don't Care: runtime, LED brand

Thanks for suggestions!

 

[Gunner12]

Maybe a Zoomie light that runs on a 14500 battery? Check eBay, Dealextreme, or similar sites and get the ones getting decent reviews. Go for the Cree XR-E ones, they should give the most throw (or the XR-C for even more throw, but no one seems to use them).

 

[Tegan's Dad]

Sipik SK68? 14500 or AA.

 

[Chicken Drumstick]

The new Nitecore EA1. It has Disco modes, but they are hidden so you don't have to use them if you don't want too.

 

[Jhovorka]

JetBeam PA10 is pretty impressive on a single 14500.

 

[STR]

JetBeam PA10 is pretty impressive on a single 14500.

I second this. I liked the first one so much I bought two of these lights. The Ultrafire 14500 900ma li ion rechar. bats are the way to go. These batteries do kick off all the other options and strobes and SOS stuff available to you with regular ole AA batteries so you have one setting only with the 14500 bat. high and its plenty bright! What I did was ask my wife to make me a little belt pouch with a half velcro tab on it for carrying extra batteries. I loop the softer part of the velcro over my belt and connect that and simply stick the battery pouch on my belt and carry it around all the time with two extras. My batteries last about 20 plus or minus min. and when they die off they go fast dropping off in record time. Having a back up is a must if you plan to use it for tactical reasons. Personally the tactical look is great and so long as you have extra batteries you do fine. For true investigative or long term use though you are looking at the wrong light. Its not one for survival or anything like searching with the short run time but more for quick looks to verify or look for something you dropped and stuff like that. Thats what I've found anyway although you can sure light up a drive way with it about like a headlight or brighten up a small room about like a 30 watt bulb would. The regular AA is always available and you can really stretch those out for life if you like but word of warning. Once you stick a 14500 in this light and use it. You will never be able to see a fully charged brand new Energizer AA the same again. It will be dull looking and dim no matter after seeing what you are missing. For that matter if you are going from a Protac PT1A or even another cheaper JetBeam you'll be dang impressed with this one just the way it is with a single regular alkaline.

I put off the 14500 purchase for a while but finally had to try it. I used my PA10 for months and months using nothing but regular duracell and energizer AA batteries and it impressed me a lot but the wife got a bit miffed at me when we didn't have batteries left for a remote so that was the kick in the pants I needed. Luxury costs I guess because the light in my opinion at $60 to $70 is not cheap and it burns gas/energy fast so you'll be buying big packs of batteries. Its a lot of light for the small package and seriously who buys a single AA light thinking it will really last that long anyways. My Protac didn't last any longer most times and if it did it was not by a lot because it was always on high. The anodized coating wears well on this JetBeam compared to the BA10 or 20 which I also own. The PA 10 fits well on many pockets, even those thicker ones wrapped in leather and the lanyard was a great quality as well as the hard shell case and pouch. I like the light but it is a bit bulky compared to my old Protac Streamlight. The JB is bigger in diameter and thicker aluminum by far.

Seriously I doubt this is anywhere near 650 lumens but it is bright and it will astound anyone going from a pen light or Mag lite or some other old world lite out there. One thing I will also make mention of is the heat. This thing can get hot if you leave it on with one of these batteries in it. Fortunately the light is plenty beefy with thick sidewalls so it holds it for quite a while. You have to watch getting up close to the lens after the light has been on ten minutes or so. I have a hunch it could start fires on dry grass but I have not tried it. :)

 

[roadkill1109]

JetBeam PA10 is pretty impressive on a single 14500.

That's true, but its not really much of a thrower. :) Plus you lose the modes. :)

 

[roadkill1109]

If you want a dual 14500 light, here's what you could do: Get FourSevens AA2 tube, and a Turbo X head, or just get a Turbo 123^2 head.

Here's how it would look:

For a single 14500 thrower you have the following options (off the top of my head)
1. Lumintop P1A or L1A (P1A's the cheaper version of the L1A)
2. Nitecore EA1
3. Dereelight Javelin with C2H body and extender (for AA cells)
5. Others are the DEFT EDC (which i think is already a rare find)

There are others, just forgot them at the moment.