Flashlight Recommendation (AA)

[crazy123]

1) How would you prefer to purchase the light?

__X__I will be mail-ordering or buying online, so this doesn't matter.


2) Budget: An easy question, but you may change your mind after answering the rest!

__X__Other, please specify ____<35____


3) Format:

__X__I want a flashlight.


4) Flashlight-specific format/size:

__X__Every day carry medium (4-7 inches). (

5) Emitter/Light source:

__X__LED


6) Manufacturer:

__X__I want to buy a light from a traditional mass producing manufacturer that is ready to go out of the box.


7) What battery type do you want to use?

__X__I intend to use rechargeable nickel chemistry (NiCad, NiMH, NiZn) (AA)

8) How much genuine out the front (OTF) light do you want/need? Sometimes you can have too much light (trying to read up close up with a 100 lumen light is impossible).

__X__I want to illuminate my entire backyard or a campsite (150-300 lumens).
__X__I want to illuminate an entire field, the neighbor's front yard several houses down, impress my friends and neighbors, etc. (300-700 lumens).

9) Throw vs. Flood: At what distance will you be most likely to use this light? Select all that apply.

__X__5-20 yards/meters (check out a noise in the backyard)
__X__30-50 yards/meters (I have a big backyard)
__X__50-150 yards/meters (I live in a very rural area/farm with wide open spaces)

10) Runtime: Not over-inflated manufacturer runtime claims, but usable brightness measured from first activation to 50% with new batteries (Measured on maximum output).

__X__30-60 minutes (I have plenty of batteries just ready to be changed)
__X__90-120 minutes (Runtime is moderately important, but still not critical)



11) Durability/Usage: Generally the old phrase "you get what you pay for" is very accurate for flashlights.

__X__Very Important (Camping, Backpacking, Car Glove-box).



12) Switch Type and location (choose all that apply):

__X__I don't know.



13) User Interface (UI) and mode selection. Select all that apply.

__X__A simple on-off is fine for me.
__X__I want 2 light levels. (Brighter/short runtime and Dimmer/long runtime.)


14)Material/Finish/Coating

__X__I don't know.


15) Special Needs/extras: Is there anything else you want or need that hasn't been mentioned? Select any below.


Thanks.

 

[Jash]

As far as I know, the light you're after does not exist.

If you spend more cash then yes, you have MANY lights to choose from, but under $35 you won't get much more than a single AA with a max output of about 100 lumens (and not for long).

For a little under double your budget you can get a Quark AA Tactical ($59 delivered) that is a great light for nearly any lighting requirement.

 

[entoptics]

I'd have to agree. $35 won't get you the light you've indicated. Chiefly because of your lumen desires (150-700).

There may be some DealExtreme or KaiDomain lights that will appear to qualify, but your "Very Important" durability check mark will eliminate most, if not all of those.

150-300 lumens is a REALLY bright flashlight, and only a few EDC AA lights are in that club. Even fewer single AA, and none for $35 that I know of.

At your budget, a really good, and very bright light is the iTP EOS A2. Only 80 lumens, but this is far brighter than a 3D Maglite, and will provide good illumination for dark adjusted eyes beyond 50 yds, and will adequately light a large room when bounced off a white ceiling.

For $40, you might look into the iTP S series. They offer a 2xAA and single AA light that is by all accounts excellent value, and will have outputs near the bottom end of your 150-300 lumen request.

At $50-$75 you can find several outstanding choices in the 200 lumen range.

 

[camelNotation]

Check out the Eagletac p100a2 from illuminationgear.com. Under $37 shipped with CPF discount.

 

[NightKids]

With that budget it's definately in the Akoray territory...

 

[was.lost.but.now.found]

Check out the Eagletac p100a2 from illuminationgear.com. Under $37 shipped with CPF discount.

Nice recommendation!!

 

[entoptics]

Check out the Eagletac p100a2 from illuminationgear.com. Under $37 shipped with CPF discount.

I stand corrected.

Not quite within budget since we don't know if the OP has access to the deals section yet (and only neutral white in stock right now), but almost assuredly the absolute closest you'll get to all your requirements.

My experience with EagleTac should be considered "glitchy", but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them considering their value/performance ratio. Very solid construction and good (if slooooow) customer service.

 

[red02]

PM lebox97/email illuminationgear for discount details. All you have to do is have an active account here and include your cpf name in the paypal notes/special notes.