I used to be a diehard CR123 fan, but in this age of easily attainable protected li-ion batteries I'm gravitating to the AA formate once again. I agree with flatline in that if I'm going to purchase a special cell for daily use (li-ion) it might as well be the 14500, that way I've got 3 other chemistry options besides my main battery. Yes, the shorter light is somtimes nice but more often than not the diameter of a light is more restrictive than it's length. I'm looking forward to a wave of AA XP-G super lights to hit the market.
Anyone prefer AA over 123
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carrot
Flashaholic
I'm a big fan of CR123. There are still very few premium lights that use AA, in production or custom.
kaichu dento
Flashaholic
I would be all over a AA Ra Twisty!
kaichu dento
Flashaholic
Guy's Dropper
Enlightened
I have a bunch of 17670 batteries from an old laptop battery, so 2x123A size is my current favorite. Another reason I like CR123A is the 10 year shelf life. Sure, you can buy AA lithium batteries, but they are more expensive that CR123As. Of course, AA does have the advantage of being much more common, so if I had to pick a light for a long trip, I'd have to choose AA.
Guy,
Very good reasoning here, and I agree on all points. This was one of the things that drew me to the Quark interchangeable head/body concept. One head, two bodies so you can use either AA or CR123 cells with the "same" light.
Well i prefer AA over 123s any time, since nobody is selling any kind of 123s here anyways. I did order some because i want to modify a small RC car i have, but for serious use 18650 packs three times as much power at only twice the size.
For small flashlights AAs because they are dirt cheap (rechargable and alkalines), you can buy them litterally everywhere, heck even your local butcher is probably selling rechargable AAs... Also everyone has a charger and their size is nice so yeah...
Must admit that there are alot of sexy cr123 midget flashlights out there, so for the fancy factor i would go with 123 maybe :]
For small flashlights AAs because they are dirt cheap (rechargable and alkalines), you can buy them litterally everywhere, heck even your local butcher is probably selling rechargable AAs... Also everyone has a charger and their size is nice so yeah...
Must admit that there are alot of sexy cr123 midget flashlights out there, so for the fancy factor i would go with 123 maybe :]
NutSAK
Flashlight Enthusiast
I would agree with these points also. But, my reasoning becomes more complicated if I also consider rechargeable batteries, especially when considering the expense. If you use rechargeable batteries day to day, you're going to save A LOT of money in the long run, especially if you're using NiMH LSD AAs and charging them with a good charger. Plus, you have a usable shelf life of well over a year with LSD. You also have the option to use 14500 Li-Ions in many of the newer AA lights if you want higher lumens and equal runtime to RCR123.
If you are storing a flashlight for years on end without using it, does the price difference of lithium AA vs. CR123 really make that much difference? Consumption of batteries should be very low in this case.
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I love LSD AA's They have transformed my attitude toward rechargeables.
Regarding the Neverready L91/92's... I've had them fail on me so many times, i wouldn't touch them with your flashlight, let alone mine. 😉
They're junk in my book.
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NutSAK
Flashlight Enthusiast
I wouldn't consider using any Alkaline battery in your flashlight, let alone mine, unless it was an emergency. 😀
We totally agree about that!!:thumbsup:
If it weren't for the LSD NiMH cells, i wouldn't have any batteries to put in all my AA flashlights!
Marduke
Flashaholic
L91's are typically cheaper than equivalantly purchased CR123's, store more energy, and have twice the shelf life to the same % initial capacity (20 vs 10 years to 80%). Not to mention they work in most all of your electronics, not just you CR123 powered flashlights...
But why are they so failure prone as I have experienced?
What kind of failures have you experienced with the L91/L92?
NutSAK
Flashlight Enthusiast
You said you had failures with E91/92. Did you mean you had failures with L91/92?
What type of failures?
Sorry, yes, I meant L91/92.
There are more than a few of my AA lights that they just do not work reliably in for one, but the last failure that really cheesed me was in my mailbox.
I have an electronic locking mailbox. 4xAA batteries are used to power the keypad and combination uP and to run an electric motor and some LED's. The motor moves 4 crossbar locking bolts back and forth through a gear reduction system to secure the access door, much like a vault door.
4 alkalines are supposed to work for year. They did, but I had the bright idea that if I used lithiums, I could get even longer service life out of them.
They're a pain to change because they always seem to fail in the coldest weather. duh The mailbox is all the way down the driveway, around the corner, on the street.
So, I put in a 4 pak of fresh Eveready Energizer Lithiums. Six months later, not only had they failed, but they were stone dead so I had to use an emergency external portable battery pak that plugs in externally to open the door. At least when the alkies start to fail, I can still open the door with their failing power. I don't like using alkies in anything either because of their propensity to leak, but I'm stuck with them for this app. I would think that the L91s would be perfect for the mailbox, with a 10 year shelf life, better low temperature performance, etc. What's up with that? :thinking:
BTW, they have let me down prematurely in flashlights too.
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Outdoors Fanatic
Flashlight Enthusiast
Let's see about that:
2xAA Lithium L91's = $3.95
http://www.batteryjunction.com/aa2lienaahie.html
2xCR123 (from the same brand as L91's, there are many other brands which are cheaper, not just Energizers) = $2.86
http://www.batteryjunction.com/energizer-cr123a.html
CR123's are cheaper even if you go for the more expensive brands.
Energy is: Amps X Volts = Watts
Lithium AA = 3000mAh x 1.5 = 4500
CR123 = 1500mAh x 3.0 = 4500
It's a tie, but the CR123 is substantially more compact.
Not exactly true... Lithium AAs have a initial voltage of 1.72v (as opposed to Alkaline which cannot even maintain 1.2v under a small load), so there is a high risk of destroying an eletronic device designed only for common alkalines. Even many flashlight manuals state that the use of lithium cells is not recommended. I've lost a few headlamps trying that myself...
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NutSAK
Flashlight Enthusiast
hmmmm... I've never had an L91 fail me, but then I've not used many for other than storage.
kwkarth, could you use LSD NiMH in that mailbox? Eneloops should give you better cold weather performance than alky, and you wouldn't have to worry about leakage.
kwkarth, could you use LSD NiMH in that mailbox? Eneloops should give you better cold weather performance than alky, and you wouldn't have to worry about leakage.
