Fogey-friendly light?

[Vee3]

I want to gift a good LED light to an old guy at work. He carries an ancient AA Mag light in a belt holster, but has expressed interest in a smaller, brighter and simple to use LED light with a click switch.

I'd like to get him something with a quality look and feel to it ($75 or less) with these features:

One AA (alkaline) batt
Belt holster
Click switch
One level
Long run time with at least 50 lumens
Knurled black aluminum
Fixed-focus with balance of spot/flood

It's gotta be a 'no-brainer' light; he won't use anything fancy. Any suggestions would be appreciated...

 

[zven]

It's been a while since I've been on the market for a 1xAA market, so I don't know all the options as well as I should, but wouldn't a Quark AA Tactical work for this? When you get it, you could pick the two output modes that it's set to before giving it to your friend. Then when you give it to him, he could use it at just one level, and never even worry about un-tightening the head if he didn't want to. No amount of clicks would ever send him into another level, but he'd still have the freedom to set it to other levels if he wanted to learn how to do so.

Yep, I definitely think the Quark AA Tactical is the way to go.

 

[waddup]

Id keep it a simple one with no fancy user interface. (maybe just high and low) and not a tiny light as older hands have trouble sometimes, so maybe the

EagleTac P10A

$50 (@ flashlight connection.com)

well built, has a very bright high, and a sensible low, not to small for older hands to hold, very easy to use.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=210244

 

[sol-leks]

I dont know your coworker obviously, but if he is an older fellow I would make sure to consider how firm the clicky is on whichever light yo get him. I can definitely see some older people having trouble with some of the harder to press tailswitches out there.

 

[flatline]

Romisen RC G2 is a single mode forward clickie light that would be a huge improvement over the magmini AA. Available in cool or warm tints from Shiningbeam for $20. It does not come with a holster, but I'm sure you could find a holster that would fit it.

The Quark AA tactical could be treated as a 1-mode light (or 2-mode if he's comfortable twisting the head to change modes). You might need to work with him to get the mode(s) set where he likes them and then again any time he wants them changed (by the 3rd time he wants them changed, you should have no trouble convincing him to learn how to program it himself). The tactical is also available in warmer tint. Comes with holster. Costs about 3 times what the RC G2 costs (if that matters). My only real concern is that, at least with my QAA, the tight o-rings made it difficult to change the battery. If he doesn't have strong hands, this might be an issue.

--flatline

 

[LEDninja]

Why click switch? The old minimag is a twisty.
Why 1 mode? They are usually crap lights from DX. By simple operation I assume you want on-off-on will not accidentally throw you into a different mode.

Twisties:
LUMAPOWER F1 1 mode, includes belt holster.
NiteCore EZ AA 2 mode, twist on, keep twisting for high. No holster, small enough for pocket carry. (And I wear skinny jeans with tight pockets.)

Clickies:
Romisen RC-G2 II WW 1 mode, no holster.
Fenix L1T V2.0 2 mode, twist head for high low, click switch for on off. Includes belt holster.

2AA:
Fenix E20 1 mode, no holster.

The above lights may come with different emitters (brightness and tint) or coloured finishes. You will have to browse the websites for the different options. And check this thread for CPF member discount codes:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=181841

 

[pmoore]

+1 on the RC-G2 from Brian. The best bang for the buck. Simple and bright.

Paul

 

[Dan FO]

http://www.photonlight.com/Proton-P...ights-Headlamps-p/prpro-aa-led-flashlight.htm

 

[sol-leks]

I think the EZAA is a good choice. He already uses a twisty and it has a very simple UI. You could def get him the RC-G2 which is very nice, but the EZAA is nearer to the price you were looking for and will be higher quality, better beam pattern etc.

 

[zven]

It occurred to me that we should probably also point you in the direction of reviews of the lights you might consider, so here's a link to an excellent roundup review of most of the current 1xAA lights out there:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=224932

Upon reading other replies here, as well as re-looking at that review thread, it occurs to me that the EagleTac P10A and Fenix L1T would work about the same as the Quark AA Tactical. All allow two modes of output, but all could be treated as a single-level light. Of course, the Quark has more knurling, and the possibility for you to set the two levels of brightness before you give it to your friend (thus allowing you to set the exact brightness/runtime balance that would suit your friend best), but all three are top quality lights.