An ARC AAA-P over a Fenix LOD-CREE?

[Blue72]

Hello Evereyone,

Newbie here and in the market for a new everday carry flashlight.

I need help in selecting a new Flashlight and I really Love Everything about the ARC AAA-P but I am worried it might not be bright enough for me. I need something that has half way decent throw and I am scared the ARC might not be strong enough so I am leaning towards the Fenix LOD.

But keep in mind I do not need tons of throw, just something that is about as strong as my mini maglite with fresh batteries, will the ARC do this? Thanks

 

[Gunner12]

I would recommend moving this to the LED Flashlights section.

The ARC AAA(review) will not be as bright as the Maglite AA(review) despite the slightly overdriven LED but the L0D-CE(review, has more overall light out put on high then the 3 D maglite) is definitely brighter then the Minimag AA but with less throw. The Arc is probably the toughest of the bunch.

Welcome to CPF!

 

[Blue72]

Thanks Gunner for the info,

So maybe I am expecting to much out of a keychain flashlight. But I still like the arc.

Can anyone tell me what type of throw to expect from a Arc AAA-P. I know it is rated at 55 from flashlight review. But what does that mean in the real world. How many feet of light can I expect from one of these.

Thanks

 

[Flying Turtle]

As much as I like my old Arc AAA, it has been demoted to the keychain. To me the multi-level lights are the way to go, but this is personal preference. If smaller size and simpler operation are most important then the Arc is it.

Geoff

 

[paulr]

dd, the Arc AAA is somewhat less bright than a 2aa mini maglite, and has a lot less throw because the beam is wider. It's very useful for navigating a dark room at night, changing a fuse, that type of thing. Basically it's good for most close-up and indoor uses, and doesn't attempt to fill outdoor distance requirements. The L0D CE is much brighter in the high setting but it's more of a "gizmo" light, and it also is maybe not enough if you need a thrower. I no longer have an intact minimag to compare but I'd say while the L0D CE puts out more total light, it may have less throw than the minimag, again because of its wider beam. Finally, the Arc is noticably smaller than the L0D CE and fits on a keychain a lot better. I have an L0D CE in my pocket right now but it's not on my keychain. When I carried an Arc all the time (later swapped it out for a Spyderco Jester keychain knife) it was on my keychain using a BP micro-clip.

Anyway, the CPF motto in this situation is "buy both!". Welcome to CPF.

 

[Haz]

Nichia is coming out with a new 5mm led that is brighter than CS, hopefully it would only be a matter of time before Peter is able to add these into the AAA-P, so it should be twice as bright.

 

[paulr]

Even with a 2x brighter 5mm led, an Arc AAA is never going to be a "thrower" (something that can, say, light up house numbers from the street). The L0D CE can't really do that either. It's really going to take a bigger light.

 

[fleegs]

Arc AAA is about the same brightness on low of the LOD-CE. I like both lights but prefer the LOD-CE because of the extra brightness. I like the design of the LOD. I wish Arc would make this same light but to their standards. I think Arc may make a Arc AAA with a rebel driven low to have same runtime as the current Arc AAA but with better color.


good luck,
rob

 

[Kill-O-Zap]

dd61999,

If you want to know how bright (or not bright) the ARC will be, go to any store that carries those lithium button cell squeeze lights. They are everywhere, and usually you can test them in the store. The ARC AAA-P will be approximately as bright as one of those; less bright than a squeeze light on fresh button cells, a bit brighter than the squeeze light after a few minutes of runtime on the button cells.

The newer lights with Crees and Seouls will be about comparable on low, incomparably brighter on high.

 

[Blue72]

Thanks for the feedback everyone,

So I guess it is asking to much from an ARC to brighten items that are 30 feet away outdoors

 

[paulr]

Thanks for the feedback everyone,

So I guess it is asking to much from an ARC to brighten items that are 30 feet away outdoors

The Arc can certainly cast a beam for 30 feet, so if there is a house or some trees or a person in front of you at that distance, you'll be able to see that they are there. But it won't light them up brightly. Again the usual test is you're driving down the street looking for some address, so you want enough light to be able to read the house number on the house. The Arc is nowhere near enough for that. With the L0D CE you sort of have a chance but it's really not enough either. If you want a small thrower, my favorite Fenix is the P1CE which is actually a little bit shorter than the L0D CE (but it is maybe 1.5x as thick and uses a 123 cell). Or if you don't mind the size of your Minimag, you could try an L2DCE or L2T v2.0, which use two AA's. The P1CE or L2DCE/L2Tv2 are about equal in beam and brightness (the L2DCE maybe a little brighter in "turbo mode"), and either should pretty much crush the minimag.

In short, be willing to carry multiple lights for multiple purposes.

 

[Daekar]

Thanks for the feedback everyone,

So I guess it is asking to much from an ARC to brighten items that are 30 feet away outdoors

In in the city with light pollution, no. In the country without it, absolutely. It always surprises me whenever I use that light at my girlfriend's house with dark-adapted eyes.

 

[Biggoggs]

The Arc-P is min 5.5 lumens, the L0D-CE is 50 lumens on high. The Arc-P isn't bright by design and the LED is uses is essentially outdated, if you want brightness I'd get a Cree or Rebel L0D.

 

[Blue72]

Well, I took a risk and bought the arc-p instead of the Fenix, I know it is not bright but durability, reliability, and being waterproof where more important to me. Hopefully it is bright enough for those night hiking trips.

 

[Daniel_sk]

It might be OK for night adapted eyes, definitely enough light to see under your feet . But why do you want a AAA light for night hiking, wouldn't be a headlamp better? (like a small 1AA modell, maybe the new Zebralight H50? - they are starting to take orders this week).

The LOD CE should be about the same waterproof as an Arc-AAA, maybe only little "less waterproff" but they will both withstand any sort of rain or some water (it's also a twisty, so water can come in only through the front glass or between the bezel and body - these parts have o-rings). It's also made of aluminum, same as Arc-AAA - the HAIII isn't maybe that tough but the aluminum should be the same. The Arc-AAA doesn't have a front glass or optic, that's quite good - not much you could brake... And the Arc-AAA has better knurling.

Don't get me wrong, I am also awaiting my Arc-AAA but it will serve as a keychain lights and also for hiking - but mainly just for checking things arround the camp with low light, to keep my eyes adapted to night. I have a Tikka XP for working arround the camp or walking, this will be soon replaced with a Zebralight H50. And I'll take my A2 if I need more throw...

 

[Blue72]

Daniel

I do not know if I made the right decision till I get the light. But I needed a light that was so small I would not notice it was there. The biggest problem I have is getting into situations where I do not have a flashlight because they are to big to carry. For example losing track of time and I have to hike back to the campsite in the dark or land up in a dark warehouse during an appointment at work. I always leave the flashlights behind because my pockets are normally filled with a cell phone, blackberry,keys,wallet,etc or I do not like to be bogged down with equipment when doing outdoor sports.

I know the fenix is a good light and is brighter. But the Arc has seem to have a proven durability which is important to me since I do a lot of outdoor activities.

I guess I will find out this week when I get the light

 

[paulr]

If you want a brighter backup for it and if you don't mind CR123A cells, I suggest the Fenix P1CE rather than the L0DCE. The P1CE is like a bigger and more powerful version of the Arc AAA, i.e. a well built one-level twisty with no compute. It's about 3x brighter than the L0DCE and a little bit shorter, though about 2x as thick.

 

[Daniel_sk]

So I got my Arc AAA-P two days ago, I haven't had a chance to really test it out in the outdoors yet, but I took it with me for a short night walk. First - the beam isn't that blue as I thought, the hotspot is more blue than the rest but it isn't something that would bother me that much. The spill is very useful, and enough throw for most use. It's bright enough for most tasks, I would even say "too bright" for outdoors (if you want just to look into your rucksack without loosing much of your natural night vision) - it really doesn't need to be brighter, so a longer runtime with the same britgtness would be OK (with help of a more effective LED).
The whole flashlight is very lightweight, almost weights nothing without a battery. The battery tube seems a little thin to me, it looks like it could be dented after applying enough pressure (like if you step on it) - but that's just my feeling. The knurling is nice, but definitely not that aggressive as on the SF A2 - but that could be also a good point, so it doesn't scratch other stuff in the pockets.
Overall, a good keychain flashlight - I will definitely EDC it. Feels good to be part of the Arc club .

 

[Blue72]

So I got my Arc AAA-P two days ago, I haven't had a chance to really test it out in the outdoors yet, but I took it with me for a short night walk. First - the beam isn't that blue as I thought, the hotspot is more blue than the rest but it isn't something that would bother me that much. The spill is very useful, and enough throw for most use. It's bright enough for most tasks, I would even say "too bright" for outdoors (if you want just to look into your rucksack without loosing much of your natural night vision) - it really doesn't need to be brighter, so a longer runtime with the same britgtness would be OK (with help of a more effective LED).
The whole flashlight is very lightweight, almost weights nothing without a battery. The battery tube seems a little thin to me, it looks like it could be dented after applying enough pressure (like if you step on it) - but that's just my feeling. The knurling is nice, but definitely not that aggressive as on the SF A2 - but that could be also a good point, so it doesn't scratch other stuff in the pockets.
Overall, a good keychain flashlight - I will definitely EDC it. Feels good to be part of the Arc club .

Thanks for the feedback, I am still waiting for mine.

Your description sounds like what I was looking for as far as brightness. Hopefully it fills my needs.

 

[WildChild]

So I got my Arc AAA-P two days ago, I haven't had a chance to really test it out in the outdoors yet, but I took it with me for a short night walk. First - the beam isn't that blue as I thought, the hotspot is more blue than the rest but it isn't something that would bother me that much. The spill is very useful, and enough throw for most use. It's bright enough for most tasks, I would even say "too bright" for outdoors (if you want just to look into your rucksack without loosing much of your natural night vision) - it really doesn't need to be brighter, so a longer runtime with the same britgtness would be OK (with help of a more effective LED).
The whole flashlight is very lightweight, almost weights nothing without a battery. The battery tube seems a little thin to me, it looks like it could be dented after applying enough pressure (like if you step on it) - but that's just my feeling. The knurling is nice, but definitely not that aggressive as on the SF A2 - but that could be also a good point, so it doesn't scratch other stuff in the pockets.
Overall, a good keychain flashlight - I will definitely EDC it. Feels good to be part of the Arc club .

I have the same feeling about this light and I love it. I tought the walls were too thin but you'll see it can take quite a beating without any denting! When I got it, I found the knurling to be much agressive, but after a few months on my keychain, the knurling became smooth and not anymore agressive. This is a great light! It's nice you are happy with it.