Green 1AA river rock at Target

[butters]

I think the light is .5W but I can't remember. It's the one with the switch on the body instead in the tail.

I'm looking to buy a flashlight for my mom to replace the old style cheap incandescent with 2C / 2D configuration. This light doesn't have to be the greatest thing ever, just do a better job than those old style flashlights plus be easy to use. Any feedback on brightness, beam shape, spill, etc would be appreciated.

 

[BIGIRON]

There's been a number of threads on this subject.

Assuming you're talking about older folks -- I went through this with my elderly parents. Wound up with the Streamlight 4aa 7led (not the luxeon) as the best all around. The yellow case made it easy to find, the shape of the case kept it from rolling around, the tail pushbutton is easy to work (as my mom began to have a'ritis problems, she would grasp the light and push the button on the table, chair or whatever) and the bright flood was much better for use around their homes than the throw of the lux. Twisty switches were not usable.

Good luck. Keep things as simple and familiar as possible. And spend all the time you can with them.

 

[butters]

There's been a number of threads on this subject.

Assuming you're talking about older folks -- I went through this with my elderly parents. Wound up with the Streamlight 4aa 7led (not the luxeon) as the best all around. The yellow case made it easy to find, the shape of the case kept it from rolling around, the tail pushbutton is easy to work (as my mom began to have a'ritis problems, she would grasp the light and push the button on the table, chair or whatever) and the bright flood was much better for use around their homes than the throw of the lux. Twisty switches were not usable.

Good luck. Keep things as simple and familiar as possible. And spend all the time you can with them.

I thought there might have been previous threads, but search didn't reveal much of anything. Title search seems to be flaky even when use AND in the searches.

Is the streamlight available in stores? I want something that can be purchase locally and returned easily if the flashlight isn't right.

 

[BIGIRON]

Probably not at WalMart or Target. Maybe a BassPro or outdoors or gun store. Gun stores and a police supply store are the only places here.

There are certainly other lights that will suffice, but I found this one far better for the purpose than anything else.

 

[Pistolero]

I like this light, but in case you didn't notice, there is a strobe feature on it.
On -> Strobe -> Off is the function. I have this light in my vehicle emergency kit. 30hr runtime (60hr strobe)

It's a Nichia led and puts out a nice blue-ringed orb of light.

At Target, RR also has a 2C light that's similar to the 1AA, just bigger. Same orb, but no strobe.

 

[kramer5150]

I have 2 of these, one stock one moded. Stock they send out a round spot, and no flood. Just a round stage light like spot of light. Its neat at first but gets kind of annoying, with no flood. You have to adopt a kind of tunnel vision while using it, and only keep your eyes focused on the spot of light.

The second light I modded by removing the aspheric and replacing it with a polycarbonate lens. So its just the Nichia emitter by itself. IMHO its much more useful this way.

Neat thing about these lights is they are highly waterproof. My kids use them in the pool as water toys. They've been tested to 8 feet throughout the summer with no problems.

Great run time though... .12mAh draw IIRC, and pretty good regulation too.

IMHO a better Target 1AA for cheap is the energizer, but it can't go anywhere near water.

 

[Lee1959]

I find that most older persons I recomend lights to are most familiar and comfortable with lights that at least look familiar to them. I usually end up getting or having them get C Cell magled or regular mag lights. They are ultra familiar for almost everyone, reliable, and plenty bright enough, plus the C Cell body size is normally more comfortable than larger D cell size. A lot find the larger C size easier to handle than smaller AA or AAA sized lights with stiff joints. The side clicky is not over stiff and is easier to use than twisties.

 

[swxb12]

I'm not a huge fan of this green 1xAA RR light. The beam is too specialized - no spill, just throw. For general household use I think the 2xAAA RR might work better. There's the hassle of having to deal with replacing two batteries at a time, however.

 

[butters]

I have the 2AAA and she didn't seem to like that-the twist on / off may be part of it. She also wants to move away from the bigger flashlight size so the 2C is out.

I have brinkman maxfire LX and she liked the size and didn't seem to have a problem with the tail switch, so the energizer 1W 1AA is something I'm going to look at as well.

 

[Stress_Test]

"The second light I modded by removing the aspheric and replacing it with a polycarbonate lens. So its just the Nichia emitter by itself. IMHO its much more useful this way."
----------------------

Was this just a case of "out with the old, in with the new", or did it require cutting/other modding? I'm guessing that you had to make the polycarb lens yourself?

 

[kramer5150]

"The second light I modded by removing the aspheric and replacing it with a polycarbonate lens. So its just the Nichia emitter by itself. IMHO its much more useful this way."
----------------------

Was this just a case of "out with the old, in with the new", or did it require cutting/other modding? I'm guessing that you had to make the polycarb lens yourself?

Yeah... 1 to 1 swap. Just went to Tap plastics and had them make a small nickel sized disk of polycarbonate. The only "intense" part of the mod was getting the bezel off. Clamped the body in my bench-vise and borrowed a strap-wrench from my brother. Hit it with a hairdryer and give the bezel a good torque. The glue seal breaks free and its a cake walk from there.

They should have used a different refracting optic, one with some side flood.

Its not really that great of a light. Its only about 8 Lumens (slightly less than a minimag), blue-ish color tint... yuk. BUT it will run for dozens of hours off a duracell alkaline, and if you dont need a lot of light, 8L can suffice. Build quality is top notch. Smooth threads, tight O-rings, thick walled construction... IMHO it like all my other Nuwai lights is ON PAR with my surefire, from a build quality standpoint. Still though... IMHO you're better off getting that little Nichia-based Fenix for $15 shipped.

 

[Pistolero]

Would you get the same effect from flipping the aspheric lens over?

 

[kramer5150]

Would you get the same effect from flipping the aspheric lens over?

No... the aspheric still gathers the light about the same. The one thing this light benefits from is removing the light absorbing cone from inside the head. For some reason, they have a matte black plastic cone inside the head of the light that absorbs any side-emitted lumens. I took that out immediately and it brightened the light a little and also introduced some rings around the aspheric hot spot. Its an ugly, ringy projection, but it helps to provide some illumination around the aspheric spot projection.

Without the focusing aspheric, the 1AA target RR is very similar to this 1AA streamlight. although I don't notice any parasitic current drain from the regulation circuit in the RR 1AA.

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/streamlight_task-lights.htm

 

[ZMZ67]

I find that most older persons I recomend lights to are most familiar and comfortable with lights that at least look familiar to them. I usually end up getting or having them get C Cell magled or regular mag lights. They are ultra familiar for almost everyone, reliable, and plenty bright enough, plus the C Cell body size is normally more comfortable than larger D cell size. A lot find the larger C size easier to handle than smaller AA or AAA sized lights with stiff joints. The side clicky is not over stiff and is easier to use than twisties.

I think LEE is right on the $ here.A 2C Mag w/Magled is a familiar and easy to use light.I think the Mag mid-body switch is one of the easiest to use and has proven very reliable.2C Mags are reasonably priced at Home Depot and Magleds are available at most of the big box stores.If weight is an issue, C to AA adapters can be used making the Mag noticably lighter.
Link to battery adapters:
http://batteryjunction.com/bt-5c-aa2c.html