Finally gave in and bought an ARC AAA

[Blikbok]

I got it in white, natural HA finish. Love it! Wish I hadn't waited so long, but I detest the AAA cell. However, my PT Aurora uses three AAA cells, and I detest triple-cell lights more than AAAs. So, now I have somewhere to hold that fourth AAA.

You know you're a flashaholic when you buy a light because you have extra batteries in that size. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[paulr]

Ya know, just a couple months ago I decided to avoid buying anything that used batteries other than AA if I could help it. Then I got the Arc and it's made me appreciate the AAA more. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

The three-cell thing is a peeve of mine too. I have a 3D Mag and can't understand why the next most popular size is 5D. I got the 3D on impulse at a sidewalk sale so I'm happy with it, but if I were buying another large Mag, I'd get a 4D just to not end up with odd cells.

 

[Blikbok]

Same here. I have 2D and 4D mags. My only 3-cell light (besides Surefires) is my PT Surge. But Surefire sells cells by the dozen, so threes aren't a problem. I also rotated the D's out of my 2Ds and into my 4D, since the higher voltage gave a brighter light.

The other thing that irks me about the AAA is the cost. Often, AAA is the same or more than AA. My NiMH AAAs were 50% more expensive per cell than my AAs and have 1/2 the capacity.

Had the Arc been an AA, I might have bought it a while ago. But I think the AAA and the LS are a good "spread". They can't use the same batteries, but they complement each other well. I may give in and get one of the LS4 or LS5s. I can't resist the multiple-levels of brightness on a LS.

 

[kakster]

My ARC AAA-P just arrived in the post this morning, and boy, is it impressive for its size. The colour of the LED just blew me away, its nearly pure white and makes my streamlight keymate look very blue indeed.
Its almost good enough to take my mind off the ARC grey i trashed last night, but not quite....

 

[onelight]

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif maybe we can get Peter to make a 1-D arc.

 

[paulr]

There was a thread a few weeks ago where people asked about a 1AA version of the AAA, and Peter basically said there's already a light like that, the CMG Ultra. I ended up buying both (AAA and CMG) and the description is apt. The CMG is a little bit nicer to operate because of its larger size, but conversely it's more weight and volume when you're not using it. So if I had to choose just one I'd take the AAA since I always have it with me. An Arc AAA with a spare AAA cell will still weigh less than a CMG with one AA, and give about the same total runtime. Anyway, if an AA-powered Arc AAA is what you want, you could try the CMG.

Usually, AA's and AAA's cost about the same, though AAA's of course have lower capacity. I think the AAA's get cheaper if you buy in bulk (100's of pieces). Given the way I use this type of light, though, battery cost just isn't an issue. In fact several people have modified their Arc AAA's to use the uncommon and more expensive, but smaller N cell.