From (budget) Nichia to (budget) Cree

[mleroux]

Since 2005 I've been carrying a 1 x AA Nichia light in a horizontal leather pouch with magnetic flap opening, together with a Leatherman Wave I. This setup has been discreet (no need to look like a Batman-wannabe), and I would like now to upgrade the light. I'll priority-list my criteria below:

1. Size: Max length 100mm, max diameter 20mm (give or take a mm here and there)
2. Mini lanyard strap: The two items are together in the pouch, so the strap acts as a barrier in between (although I like the idea of getting a removable, reversible clip as well, even as a third-party product)
3. Battery: 1 x AA or 1 x CR123A (although I'm leaning towards AA/14500)
4. High output, brightness and battery use digitally regulated, fairly water-resistant, all the usual...
5. I'm also not part of the bleeding-edge fraternity, hence why I'm now posting this in the Budget Lights sub-forum, but I do appreciate good quality and technology
6. Able to get it with free worldwide shipping: I am located in South Africa

So the following have caught my attention in my efforts to gather info. My brother-in-law bought a Tank007 from a place called SolarForceStore.com and had a good experience with them, so I'm mostly listing what I saw there.

• JetBeam JET-I PRO IBS
• Romisen RC-A3
• Romisen RC-C3
• Romisen RC-G2 II (can't seem to find this on Romisen website, though)
• Tank007 HC-316
• Tank007 M10
• Tank007 M10-5 (what's the diffs? Tank007 site doesn't list the "-5" variants)
• Tank007 M20
• Tank007 M20-5 (again, what's the diffs?)
• Tank007 TK360
• Tank007 TK360-5 (again...?)
• Tank007 TK-566
• Tank007 TK-566-5 (?)
• Tank007 TK-737 (twist focus head; how practical/gimmicky is this?)

Could you please help, O great ones?

 

[Gunner12]

What price range are you looking at?
How much output?
Modes?
Runtime?

Jetbeam is not a budget company. They make pretty high quality lights from my understanding.

:welcome:

 

[Hrvoje]

Jet-I PRO IBS is the best made of all of them. I just found this flashlight on sale (first model, but still good) for $36 (shipping is free). If you want, I can PM you details.

Hrvoje

 

[mleroux]

Hello, sorry for the late reply. Thanks for the welcome to CPF!

Price range is a max of $40 (shipping, etc, included). I don't really want to spend more than that.

Other than that, size is my main criterion. As I said, it has to fit into the said pouch. (Also see the other criteria in my list.) Output: as much as possible, but with a low mode as well. Runtime doesn't matter too much, since I'll use it only occasionally, and probably for fairly short bursts. But as I said, it's nice to have a long-running, low mode. Throw must be good, but a nice balance between throw/flood would be perfect.

I realised that JetBeam isn't a 'budget' light... Hrvoje, please do send me those details if you don't mind? I would like to see as many top options as possible, though. Guys, thanks for helping me in this regard!

**EDIT** PS. Turns out the Romisen in my list is slightly too big... I've heard much good about them, however.

 

[Ian2381]

For your budget get the Jetbeam, However it's a big AA light.
For smaller AA lights get the ITP A2 or Quark MiNi AA.:thumbsup:

 

[LEDninja]

Some Romisen RC-G2 II info here.
RC-G2 is stock model. Probably still P4 bin.
RC-G2 Q5 has upgraded LED to Q5 bin.
RC-G2 II has upgraded driver.
RC-G2 II Q5 has upgraded driver and upgraded LED to Q5 bin.

 

[mleroux]

Thanks for giving me more input! I think I'm getting more clarity here. The Quark MiNi AA seems good, maybe the winner, but let me list my newest insights. Please tell me your top choice matching these criteria, O enlightened ones:

• Max price of $40, shipping included
• Max length of 100mm, max diameter 20mm (give or take a mm)
• AA, optimised for 14500 batteries - I believe not all AA flashlights are able to take such high voltage...

Hopefully this is the final stab at this! Thanks in advance.