AA AAA Suggestions please!

[lightningbug]

Hi Everyone,

I haven't been around this forum in quite some time, and wow, lights have really evolved!

I'm looking for some new lights. I want to get a few AAA variable brightness lights with great runtime and extreme brightness. However the extreme brightness will be used sparingly. I'm also in the market for a couple of AA lights fitting the same category. The lights need to be as small as possible.

On Christmas Eve, a friend and I climbed Pilot Rock here in Southern Oregon. My friend dropped by about 3:00 or so in the afternoon, and had a wild hair to go and climb the thing. There was snow on the ground and lots of snow and ice near the top and where we had to actually do some climbing. By the time we reached the summit, there was a fairly spectacular sunset which we were admiring until I realized, we were going to be in the dark! We started down, and got off the rock, but still had to negotiate ice and snow and an unfamiliar trail for approximately 3-4 miles to where we'd parked.

This little excursion was so "spur of the moment" neither of us had prepared anything for the hike. My friend had toted a quart of IPA in his jacket pocket, but neither of us had food, water, or anything except my keychain light. I always carry an ARC AAA clone from back in the day, but I'd left my keys with that light in my friend's truck. I did have my car key with an Optilight keychain light and it had a half used battery. The Optilight is a heavy duty well made AAA light with a 5mm LED very similar to an ARC, but slightly larger. The amount of light was ideal for us to hike with as it lit the trail but didn't destroy our night vision. This area is notorious for Mountain Lions. The Optilight also casts a nice flood beam with a slight hotspot. It was perfect, but, I would've preferred a light with a very bright mode to see a little farther when we were trying to find the right trail at several branches we came across.

I have some LOP's and LOD's, and I have a few Infinity and Gerber Ultras. But I'm looking for something with floodlight patterns or at least great spill and the brightness of a Cree in a small package. I also have a solar battery charger for AAA and AA. This is really important for those extended camping and hunting trips. These lights will be used for work, keep in the vehicles, backpacks and bugout bags, as well as for camping, fishing, hunting and hiking.


I might add as a final filter for purchase, money is an issue.
Again, I know how everyone will start adding many suggestions which I appreciate, but please help find:

• AAA
• AA
• Small
• Cree
• Variable
• Inexpensive ($10-25)

Thanks,
Lightningbug

 

[saypat]

Re: Suggestions please!

good luck in your search. I have a Tank 007 E09 on order from China. It has great reviews. Well built, 3 mode, 140 lumen. Just a thought. I know u said $ is an issue, isn't it always - have u seen the Torpedo thread here? Zebralight? Ok, I'm gone now....

 

[archimedes]

Re: Suggestions please!

Are you looking for "inexpensive" ... or "cheap" ? 😉

More seriously, listing an approximate price (or price range) that you prefer might be helpful here.

EDIT: Oh, and maybe a title that is a little bit more specific - 🙂

 

[reppans]

• Inexpensive ($10-25)

Think you might get better suggestions in the "Budget Light" sub-forum

 

[CarpentryHero]

Thrunite Ti is a AAA under $25

 

[ldz]

I'll say a Fenix E05 fits you.

 

[Gregozedobe]

I'll suggest firstly that whatever light you get you make sure it is actually on your person ALL the time, not left in a truck.

Under $25.00 and variable and small and cree limits your candidates considerably, and your usage suggests to me that tough and reliable should be there as well.

Any chance of increasing your budget to say $35.00 ? It will open up a lot more lights that may suit you better.

 

[Mag-man]

LightningBug,

3AAA: Check out a MagLite XL50. You might find it at local big box stores or hardware store... It's $25 and is simple with 2 brightness settings (double click for 25% light - that's what I use most of the time; single click for 100% light).

2AA: Check out Mini Maglite LED. About 20 bucks. It's a little longer but narrower. But doesn't have multi-light settings. It'll just dim until it goes dead.

Personally, I like the XL50's because of the very nice rear click button with the simple hi/low/strobe light settings.

The Mini's are fine and almost better for camping... for candle mode in the tent. So I carry an XL50 and an incandescent MiniMag (not LED) that you can get for less than $10... That may suit your needs also but light won't shine as far. But you could probably get by with just an XL50 for what you're explaining.

All these lights are pretty heavy duty enough to take drops and slamming into the ground and walls while climbing and hiking. Just put good batteries in them. My first Maglite, I put in cheap batteries. Leaky batteries kill Maglites more than anything else.

 

[JerryM]

I think the Trunite Ti is a great light. I used to do a lot of camping and hunting, and for a light that would work well for anything except long range the Ti is great. It is one that you can always have on your person and does not weigh anything. The other day I decided to run a AAA alkaline down, and after 15 hours it was just going into a mode about 2 lumens. I did not keep it on until it went blank.
Jerry

 

[afraidofdark]

Your Fenix LOP and LOD lights are still very usable as AAA lights, especially the LOD with the XR-E emitter. Those lights are small and tough. If you are on a budget I would suggest to keep on using those guys.

Variable output settings in a single AAA-sized light isn't a very common feature ... in fact I can't think of an example with this. So your Fenix lights aren't that outdated.

For a single AA light with variable settings, I agree with the other posters that you will have to increase your budget. A Nightcore D11.2 is a fine, new light to look at.

 

[Ualnosaj]

Check out the SWM R01A coming...


___________
Posted from my phone.

 

[lightningbug]

Wow, thanks for all the replys! I'm unfamiliar with the Thrunite brand as well as the SWM. I might reiterate that I'm limiting the choices here to a single AA or AAA due to size constraints and the smaller the better. The reason I want SMALL is so I'll actually carry it. I also want a Cree or equivalent for the increased brightness for the same energy used.

I already have:

Maglite-
2xD LED
3xC LED
2xAA LED
3xAAA LED

River Rock-
2xAAA (these are great but have a very purplish tint. I've had these for several years, and both still have the original batteries)
2xC (This is also a very very nice light, but too big for my purpose)
4xAA lanterns

HDS-
EDC Ultimate 60 with optional battery tube and custom stainless bezel with trit inserts (I use what I think are 17670 batteries...does that sound right? Battery life is very good)
EDC GT 42 with custom stainless bezel and trit inserts (battery eater on high)
EDC GT 42 (battery eater on high)

Fenix-
L1P (tailcap modded)
L2P (tailcap modded)
L1T (tailcap modded)
L2T (tailcap modded)
L0P (original)
L0P SE
L0D (Xmas edition-non Cree)
L0D Ti (special anniversary collector edition Titanium with #52 laser engraved)
L0D Ti (special anniversary collector edition Titanium with my name laser engraved)
Custom 123 body for L2T head (tailcap modded)

Dae-
6w Super Bright
lots of keychain squeeze lights
12 LED 2x123 lights
LED pen lights, book lights etc.

Dorcy-
Super 1 watt 1x123
AAA keychain(?) light (original without the optic lens, and a very handy and useful light, but the larger head to body size makes it less pocket friendly)

Gerber-
Ultra Infinity 1xAA or 1xAAA (this is an obvious winner for versatility and its useful flood beam, however, there is no throw for those few occasions)
Sonic 1xAAA (the Dog Peni$ light is a handy and useful light, but the body unscrews itself from the tailcap when attached to keys in my pocket)

Infinity-
Ultra Government Issue 1xAA
Ultra 1xAA

Innova-
X1 1xAA (original; not as bright as the Infinity Ultra and has a ringy beam. Battery life isn't as long as Ultra)

Coast-
Small Blue LED pocket lights 1xAAA (Nice for map and chart reading without causing night blindness)
Large head with an acceptable optic style lens and very white light 2xN (these are nice lights but they have a huge head with holes in the sides that emit light. That light can be distracting and somewhat blinding)
Tiny pocket blue light 3xLR44

Target-
The famous Peanut light 3xLR44 (these have a nice beam, nice level of brightness on par with Ultras, but use a poor choice of batteries and are a bit heavy)

Optilight-
Keychain light 1xAAA (this is the aforementioned Arc homage keychain light. This uses a 5mm LED, is quite bright on par with the Infinity Ultra, and has a nice flood beam. Quite a bit larger than the Arc and heavy and is approximately the same size as L0D)


Chinese-
Arc clone 1xAAA (these are cheaply made of some kind of plated metal, but are relatively light weight, have a nice beam and good battery life. I believe through our group buy, I paid a little over 2 bucks each)
Arc clone 1xAAA modded by MillerMods with a 3/4 watt led (Thanks again, Eric! The light is still going strong and is wonderful. I just used it the other morning from a neck lanyard, while mouth holding to put on my tire chains, and then later in the evening to take them off)
Various single and multiple LED lights using single and multiple cells including a couple of lights from Home Depot that have a large head, run on 2xAA, and a stainless crenulated bezel, and some others that are Fenix style 1xAA with a clicky and what I'd call moderate brightness.

Peak-
The Original Matterhorn 1xAAA (Nicely constructed light, but it's very weak and purplish. Any suggestions on a replacement LED for this one?)

Ultrafire-
Fenix style 1xAA (these lights are OK with a battery that is fully charged or a new Alkaline, but with something less, they won't power up)
Fenix style 1xAAA (killer little light with a Lithion-ion rechageable but heats up immediately. Works great with NimH and Alkaline)

And, as most flashaholics, I have many more than I remember.

My main issue here is I moved and most of my lights are in storage 6-7 hours away in the San Francisco Bay Area. I have a couple of the Fenix L0's here, and the L2T&P. One clone, and one Optilight on keys. I also have a few of the larger lights that are in my truck or a drawer, and I won't carry those. I'm looking for something with a very bright maximum that doesn't eat batteries like the HDS lights, uses common batteries and will fit in my pocket without tipping me over.

The Thrunite light looks promising, and I've looked at the E01, but don't want the purplish tint and require a bright mode as well. I guess I'll just continue to look and thanks again to all for their great suggestions.

 

[Gregozedobe]

Bryan at ShiningBeam.com still has some of the superceded ITP A3 EOS AAA lights left for $20.50 They are a 3 level compact twisty, excellent for keychain carry. These are very bright on a 10440 but get very hot very quickly on Hi. I'd suggest a max of 20-30 seconds only for Hi, and use an IMR 10440 battery as they are safer at those high current draws.

Rechargable eneloops or L92s (primary lithiums)are more suitable batteries.

 

[lightningbug]

Well, thanks to your suggestion, I picked up a couple of the iTP A3 E0S from Bryan. I must say they are impressive. My original Fenis L0P is a single mode 1W light, but is only as bright as somewhere between the iTP's low and mid range. I've also ordered a couple of the Tank007 E09 model with the optional diffuser. I've not yet received those from DD along with a SS Ultrafire C3. I've also ordered some Li-Ion rechargeable AA batteries for that one. I already have AAA Lithium, NimH, Li-Ion and Alkalines.

I also grabbed a Nebo CSI Edge from a local Army Navy store for $9. It's advertised as 50 Lumens (not even close), however it is pretty bright and has a very floody and useful beam. There are artifacts in the beam due to the defensive profile of the bezel. It also has a shadow in the middle of the beam profile. Still, it's a handy light.

I'm very anxious to get the tank lights as they should be even brighter than the iTP lights, but even if they're only equal, it'll be fine. They more than serve my purpose.