Cant Under estimate the importance of a good AA Flashlight!

LEDBE
Ctrain

Ctrain

Enlightened
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Messages
290
Location
Australian end of London, UK
I've always had a fascination with single cell AA lights and they just keep getting better and better.

I mainly use primaries as quite often I don't know where I'll be from one moment to the next.. Or perhaps I'm too lazy to buy an international plug for a charger?

Anyway, after traveling across Europe and living in London I've learnt how scarce ... And expensive 123's are. Although you'd normally buy them in bulk, you never know when you'll need to pick one up at a corner store to get you by.

For this I'm grateful of my AA lights... And I'd suggest anyone traveling the globe to make sure you've at least got one as a back-up. For the sacrifice of a few lumens and a little runtime I cant tell you how much I love my AA's...
AA's are so easily anywhere you go! General alkalines are not the greatest to continually use.. But its a great cheap back-up alternative.

Sorry for my AA rant...

But I hope this helps someone who's travelling, thinking of travelling or just plain stubborn and hasn't picked up an AA light yet.
 
I agree.

The CR123 lights here are all very nice and excellent performers. That said, my collection has drifted to almost all AA lights due to the ease of emergency battery replacement (without spending $7+ for a CR123 in stores).

Yes, you can easily work around the availability issues, but I like the size and shape of AA lights better too.

:twothumbs
 
That's so true Gunga, as great as the lights like the EX10 and EZ123 are, and awesomely small... They just don't fit the hand as well as my D10 and EZAA.

As for single cell 123's like I said its awesome how small they are getting, but I think they're still too heavy for a keyring and too small for my hand.. Great for gear bags and the like but when I buy single cell 123's I'm looking at Surefire and Novatac simply because of quailty, build and importantly size :)
 
Ctrain said:
For the sacrifice of a few lumens and a little runtime I cant tell you how much I love my AA's...
AA's are so easily anywhere you go! General alkalines are not the greatest to continually use.. But its a great cheap back-up alternative.
Click to expand...

Sacrifice? There are plenty of 1 x AA lights that will run off 1 x 14500 protected Li-ion cell. (Jetbeam, Nitecore, Liteflux, Olight, etc)
I keep a Jetbeam Jet-I Pro in my pocket with a protected 14500 cell powering it. I do like the fact that I can swap the cell for a NiCd, NiMH, alkaline or lithium primary and it will still work well.

In my opinion the 1 x AA cell lights are very versatile because of the range of different battery options from Li-ion cells ordered from AW to VERY common cells available from any supermarket or corner store. They are also a convenient size for most pockets.

re: price of CR123a cells - Here in New Zealand the cheapest supermarkets charge as much for a couple of CR123a cells as 4 x NiMH AA cells :eek:. My light that uses those has 4 x AW 16340 cells available to it - if travelling I take the charger too.
 
Personally I like a good spread of both. I have the 123 based lights that I use most often, frequently with RCR's. Then I have a small selection of backup lights that use AA's either sitting around the house or stashed where they might be needed most (wife's purse). Beyond that, I have a tendency to gift my lesser used flashlights to people who are "almost" interested enough to pursue good lights. They tend to benefit from getting something with cells they normally use and don't mind purchasing. It makes my hobby far more understandable to them and they really appreciate the lights.
 
Ctrain said:
I've always had a fascination with single cell AA lights and they just keep getting better and better.

I mainly use primaries as quite often I don't know where I'll be from one moment to the next.. Or perhaps I'm too lazy to buy an international plug for a charger?

Anyway, after traveling across Europe and living in London I've learnt how scarce ... And expensive 123's are. Although you'd normally buy them in bulk, you never know when you'll need to pick one up at a corner store to get you by.

For this I'm grateful of my AA lights... And I'd suggest anyone traveling the globe to make sure you've at least got one as a back-up. For the sacrifice of a few lumens and a little runtime I cant tell you how much I love my AA's...
AA's are so easily anywhere you go! General alkalines are not the greatest to continually use.. But its a great cheap back-up alternative.

Sorry for my AA rant...

But I hope this helps someone who's travelling, thinking of travelling or just plain stubborn and hasn't picked up an AA light yet.
Click to expand...
I agree as well. Good to have both. :)
 
Totally agree... if any one cell platform is the best overall choice it is AA. And the best of today's lights will run on 14500, NiMH, Lithium primary, and the lowly alkaline if necessary.

I run all of my AA lights on 14500 li-ions, as I like to be able to start with freshly charged cells whenever I wish, re-use them over and over, and love the power output they provide. I only use other AA cell types if I have no other choice... but it's great to have the ability to do so! Primaries are my cell of last resort as they are only fresh the first time you use them and are always in some degree of a run-down state after that, followed by having to discard and replace. Not a great approach. But L91's in the fridge make for awesome emergency back up batteries!

Fave AA light? That would have to be the Quark AA warm tint with a regular UI head and a tactical tailcap. Running on a 14500, of course.

Other AA lights in my stable are D10 R2 (my second favorite), Jet I Pro v.3 (third fave), AKOray K-106 (4th), ConneXion X2 (5th). Also have a couple of Romisen AA lights.

The AA platform is the most versatile and smartest choice I think one can make in a single flashlight. Awesome power and amazing powering options!
 
Last edited:
100% agree

Most of my lights are AA. I bouht a few CR123 lights, but aside the more powerful tactical ones, the EDC types don't seem to have that much of an advantage over the regular AA lights aside the fact you can forget the cells in there for years...
 
Absolutely.

I love the power of CR123 lights, but AA lights have improved to the point that they are impressive and I find myself reaching for them most often. And in an emergency, there is nothing like knowing that virtually any place that sells batteries will have something to feed your AA light.
 
Since we're spoilt for choices, I like to get lights not based on their battery type. But if I were to travel and/or need a backup, I would definitely go for my favorite battery type, a good AA light.
 
You guys want a great single aa light? Petition Countycomm to make an aa version of the aaa Maratac light. Thanks.
 
With the AA size lights that can also run on li-ions, output is every bit as good as RCR123 lights! So a good AA size light gives up nothing to the 123 lights, though they are a tad longer. For that little extra length you also gain the ability to run on the most common batteries on the planet... the lowly AA alkaline. As far as load and forget for years, they can do that too with Energizer L91 lithium primaries, which have an expected shelf life of over 10 years. NICE! The modern AA light does it all.
 
Ctrain said:
I've always had a fascination with single cell AA lights and they just keep getting better and better.

I mainly use primaries as quite often I don't know where I'll be from one moment to the next.. Or perhaps I'm too lazy to buy an international plug for a charger?

Anyway, after traveling across Europe and living in London I've learnt how scarce ... And expensive 123's are. Although you'd normally buy them in bulk, you never know when you'll need to pick one up at a corner store to get you by.

For this I'm grateful of my AA lights... And I'd suggest anyone traveling the globe to make sure you've at least got one as a back-up. For the sacrifice of a few lumens and a little runtime I cant tell you how much I love my AA's...
AA's are so easily anywhere you go! General alkalines are not the greatest to continually use.. But its a great cheap back-up alternative.

Sorry for my AA rant...

But I hope this helps someone who's travelling, thinking of travelling or just plain stubborn and hasn't picked up an AA light yet.
Click to expand...
I have no AA or AAA lights in my inventory --or any other Alkaline-based light for that matter-- since 1994. And I don't miss them at all. CR123 and li-ion rule!
 
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