I keep my EDC on my keychain. I have keys and garage remotes with it. The whole bundle is big. So need the smallest light I can get that still has a WOW factor.
Anyone prefer AA over 123
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I keep my EDC on my keychain. I have keys and garage remotes with it. The whole bundle is big. So need the smallest light I can get that still has a WOW factor.
Lightcrazycanuck
Banned
So why did you say that the P1D is too big for the pocket in your post.:shrug::shrug::shrug:
For keychain carry,yes they are too big if you have alot of stuff on your keychain.Thats why I prefer to carry my P1D in my change pocket.😀😀😀
Your experience is abnormal. My statement is absolutely true, in all but some exceptional cases. CR123's are expensive. You want "cheap", buy AA's at Walgreens or Costco. There are compromises there, but in a pinch cheap is EASY with AA format, just about anywhere you go.
CR123's have never been "cheap". The best deal you can find for an "off" brand is a buck. I don't accept $1 each to be "cheap". Even web dealers with aggressive pricing get more than that for name brands. And if you have to get one tonight at Walmart, the price is more like $3-4 each.
Surefire gets $21 plus shipping for a box of 12 of their branded CR123, plus shipping. Surefire "broke" the pricing on these cells when they first made that offer. Back when I bought my 9P, they were way more.
You say comparing AA rechargeables to CR123 primaries is not reasonable? Hogwash! That's exactly what I DO recommend, and why I prefer AA format (as originally posed).
I prefer AA over CR123, and specifically, NiMH low self discharge AA's, and my assertion is that they are the better, less expensive choice, especially for anyone who plans to make regular use of a light with a high current drain.
The Sanyo Eneloop battery has made small high current portable power a new game, and one that CR123 format doesn't play nearly as well.
uk_caver
Flashlight Enthusiast
Personally, I'd stick with AAs over 123, but that's largely down to the things I want to power.
All my lights are LED, my major lighting use is headlamps, and the ones I have are either AA or use larger NiMH/alkaline packs.
I have one cheap single-cell 123 flashlight, but I only got that since I had inherited some rechargeable 3V 123 cells that had been bought for one of my sister's SLRs, but didn't have adequate life in that, and wanted to find a use for them.
As it turned out, the flashlight didn't like the rechargeable cells anyway, so it's now basically an emergency light using primaries.
Maybe it's a UK thing (the price of primary 123s?) or a caver thing, or maybe it's just that I don't interact with any flashaholics IRL, but I'm not sure of anyone I know well who has a 123-powered light - they all use AAs, larger NiMH/alkaline packs, and maybe AAAs, though I guess that like me, they are mainly biased towards headtorches, with flashlights as very much secondary devices.
All my lights are LED, my major lighting use is headlamps, and the ones I have are either AA or use larger NiMH/alkaline packs.
I have one cheap single-cell 123 flashlight, but I only got that since I had inherited some rechargeable 3V 123 cells that had been bought for one of my sister's SLRs, but didn't have adequate life in that, and wanted to find a use for them.
As it turned out, the flashlight didn't like the rechargeable cells anyway, so it's now basically an emergency light using primaries.
Maybe it's a UK thing (the price of primary 123s?) or a caver thing, or maybe it's just that I don't interact with any flashaholics IRL, but I'm not sure of anyone I know well who has a 123-powered light - they all use AAs, larger NiMH/alkaline packs, and maybe AAAs, though I guess that like me, they are mainly biased towards headtorches, with flashlights as very much secondary devices.
Yah, not enough information ... "Because there are other things in the pocket".
Apples to apples. You need to compare AA rechargeables against RCR123 rechargeables.
Primary AA against primary CR123.
uk_caver
Flashlight Enthusiast
Why?
Rechargeable (NiMH) AA are superior to primary (Alkaline) at anything other than light/occasional loads, so for most lights that run at more than low power, they're the obvious choice.
Just because rechargeable 123s don't have the same kinds of advantages over primary 123s isn't of any relevance to someone choosing which kind of AA to put in their AA light.
I already mentioned, apples to apples, rechargeables to rechargeables, primaries to primaries. My eyes are rolling up my skull.
You just love AA. Yes. I get it.
uk_caver
Flashlight Enthusiast
For anyone with an AA light, they'd choose the most sensible AA for their application, which these days is generally going to be NiMH, whether quality high capacity or LSD, unless the application is light or very intermittent use, or they just don't want to deal with rechargeables.
For anyone with a 123 light, they'd choose the most sensible 123 for their application, which could easily be either rechargeable or primary.
For anyone comparing AA and 123 lights for a given application, they'd look at the most sensible power sources for each light depending on that application.
In practice, that means for all but low power/low use applications, rechargeable AA is likely to end up being compared to both primary and rechargeable 123, at least for people for whom practical use is more important than some kind of language-based idea of 'fairness'.
Try a thought experiment where alkaline technology didn't exist.
Would you still insist that primary 123 should only be compared against zinc-carbon AA cells even if everyone had stopped using zinc-carbon years ago for any serious application?
It's nothing to do with what I love, merely what I use, and, as it happens, what pretty much everyone I know uses.
+1 for AAs because of cost and convenience.
I prefer AAs because they are less expensive and much easier to get a hold of in a pinch. Additionally, I can use rechargeable AAs and/or cells from a AA pack for other common items around the house, which is very convenient and economical.
If I needed the extra brightness, or functionality from a particular CR123 light, then I would invest more in CR123 cells.
I prefer AAs because they are less expensive and much easier to get a hold of in a pinch. Additionally, I can use rechargeable AAs and/or cells from a AA pack for other common items around the house, which is very convenient and economical.
If I needed the extra brightness, or functionality from a particular CR123 light, then I would invest more in CR123 cells.
Bullzeyebill
Flashaholic
It is still a personal thing. There is no universal understanding here on CPF that the majority of the members prefer AA lights. In follering CPF for years it seems to me that died in the wool CPF'ers are very flexable and do not necessarly limit themselves to one type of battery, or preference to one type of battery.
Bill
Bill
45/70
Flashlight Enthusiast
"So say we all"..... Well, almost. 😀
Just thinking, I have 8 different sizes in two chemistries of Li-Ion cells for lights, and then I use AAA, AA, and to a very small extent, D NiMH's.
For most EDC (I'm a pocket light collector, no, there isn't such a thing as an 18650 pocket light), it's pretty much divided equally between AAA/10440, AA/14500, and RCR123/16340. Oh, and I have a CR123A light that sees little use in my car. 🙂
Dave
Dude, if you want to compare primary alkaline AA's with primary Lithium CR123, be my guest. If you want to compare secondary NiMH AA to Primary CR123 Lithium, be my guest. I do not feel you're being realistic. Further, if you expect your one trick pony is what the rest of the world needs, well, good luck! Your brand of truth may work for you, but don't assume it applies to anyone else. As I've said before, there are appropriate uses for pretty much all types and chemistries of cells. I guess you can pretty much cross carbon zinc off the list, but hey...
Cheers!
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KiwiMark
Flashlight Enthusiast
Why couldn't someone compare every option available for powering a flashlight with each other? Are NiMH AA cells and Lithium CR123a cells not both valid options for powering a light?
NiMH AA:
Need to own a charger to recharge them.
Need to recharge them periodically.
Need a light designed to take AA cells.
.
.
.
Lithium CR123a:
No need to worry about charging.
Need to buy new cells, could get expensive.
Need a light designed to take 123 cells.
.
.
.
Why can't anyone look at those options, compare them and decide what way they want to go? What about the lights that are designed to use primary 123 cells only and advise not to use the Li-ion cells because the voltage is too high? If they also can't use protected Li-ion because the cells are too big then someone could decide that rather than buy a light that runs on primary 123 cells they will opt for an AA light, some Eneloops and a charger.
Some lights run brighter (just for a while) and longer with Energizer primary Lithium AA (L91). For those lights, I prefer using AA L91 ... vs. using AA Eneloops/NiMH.
The Fenix L2D/LD20 is a good example of such a light:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=155819
When in a cave, I prefer using primary Lithium AA (and primary CR123) as these are lighter and have more energy to weight ratio - don't have to carry heavy loads of batteries in a cave is always a big plus. They last longer (than non-lithium alkaline primaries and NiMH rechargeables) means, I don't have to change batteries as often. Hate doing that in a cave full of water 😉
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KiwiMark
Flashlight Enthusiast
So you consider the important factors (size/weight/run time/etc) and make a decision on what to use based on your particular requirements? This seems like a sensible approach.
What a concept! :naughty::twothumbs
Yes. Good.
KiwiMark
Flashlight Enthusiast
But is it as good as just saying "I think 123 sized batteries are stupid and wrong so I only ever use AA Eneloops" or vice versa? I mean it involves thinking and using some common sense - how crazy is that?
Very.
