i want $30-$70 light, AA batteries 2 hour run time min

[60ndown]

first post

ive tried researching here for an hour or so but way to much imfo for me to wade thru

i like AAs because i can get them anywhere anytime and i have many rechargeables.

general purpose, dog walking, house/car maintenance, etc.

prefer adjustable beam (wide or focused)

id prefer a light that has been around a year or 2 and has a solid reputation, over something new that may have flaws not yet realised.

no need for strobe or fancy features.

just on and off, with quality light.

ive had maglights and dorceys over the years, theyre ok,

id like to step things up a notch.

any links to a good light?


or pm me if you have 1 for sale

thanks

 

[Rossymeister]

The Fenix E20 LED Flashlight Meets Your Requirements

Battery 2 ea AA alkaline or NiMH (not included)
Dimensions 6" long
Lamp Type Cree 7090 XR-E Q2 LED
Light Output 109 lumens
Weight w/ Batteries 4.1 oz
Run Time 3.3 hrs (NiMH), 2 hours on Alkaline batteries
Focus Type adjustable focus
On/Off pushbutton tailcap for momentary on and constant on/off
Material aircraft grade aluminum with Type III hard anodized finish

 

[Mostly]

I immediately thought of Fenix E20 as well. While the E20 hasn't been out very long, Fenix has a very solid reputation, and especially 4sevens has a reputation of excellent customer service. I've twice ordered from 4sevens' site, totaling around $150 (which is penny ante around here), and been well satisfied with all the products.

I'm considering an E20 for a bike light... but there are so many fascinating 2 cell AA LED lights out now that it is hard for me to be satisfied with a single mode one like the E20. (Adjustable beam is not all that important to me--the price for the quality is the E20's appeal for me.)

 

[1dash1]

60ndown:

:welcome:

I do a lot of nightwalking and use my lights almost exclusively for general purposes. In trying to find the perfect light to suit my needs, I've found that there are good floods, there are good variable output flashlights, and there are good throwers. IMO, the flashlights that try to do it all, adjustable focus AND variable output, all miss the target.

The E20 is a good example. On one end, it sacrifices throw. On the other end, it sacrifices spill. So, you end up with a compromise of a not-so-throwy flashlight (even though it has a tight hotspot) with not-so-great spill.

Other lights, such as the Led Lenser P7, has a great variable focus. But the two output modes don't give the user much control over the brightness. (Your choices are very bright and very dim. Nothing in the middle range of what you would ordinarily use for a task like walking at night along a suburban street.)

So, my recommendation to you is to forget adjustable focus lights and get a multiple output light that has a smooth and floody beam.

In the AA form, with 2 hours of runtime, the Fenix L2T and L2D come to mind. They both have medium-sized hotspots with relatively bright spills, effectively making their beams quite floody. The L2D has more output levels, but you'll have to put up with its strobe and SOS modes. The L2T has only two modes, but both are very useful.

.

 

[speshow]

general purpose, dog walking, house/car maintenance, etc.

I go out running at night and i mainly use my D10. When you actually think about it a D10 is really enough both outside and inside. Of course when i feel the need i still pull out my thrower

 

[ruger357]

D10

 

[RobertM]

:welcome:

Probably the best advice I can give you is this...don't buy anything yet! Spend some more time around here and learn as much as you can. The recommendation of the Fenix E20 definitely seems to fit the bill based on your listed requirements. With that being said, after you spend some time around here I'd venture to guess that your "requirements" may actually change.

For example, you're want of a focusable beam may not be such a big deal once you see how well some manufactures pre-focused beams combine side-spill with a nice central hot spot (such as a SureFire 6PL of G2L [yes, I know they are not AA powered, this is just an example]).

I was in your position not quite a year ago and I know exactly what it's like coming here and feeling completely overwhelmed with all the information. A SureFire 6PL ending up being my first, but as you can see in my signature below, I've bought a few more since then

With any light that you think you may potentially want or is recommended to you, I'd suggest that you type in the name of it and add review in the CPF Google Search at the top of the page and read the great review that people write on here.

Of the two suggestions you have received so far in this thread, the D10 and E20, I'd personally go with the NiteCore D10 even though the E20 fits your list much better. I gave my fiancée an EX10 (the CR123A version of the D10, otherwise identical performance wise) and we both really like it. On max brightness, it only runs for around an hour if I recall, but it has infinitely variable brightness ramping, so you can select the exact amount of light you need for the given situation and your runtime with increase accordingly.

Just my 0.02; good luck in your search and if you have any questions about any of the lights that I personally have (see sig below) or other lights in general, I'd be more that happy to answer them.

Robert

 

[RobertM]

first post

ive tried researching here for an hour or so but way to much imfo for me to wade thru

i like AAs because i can get them anywhere anytime and i have many rechargeables.

general purpose, dog walking, house/car maintenance, etc.

prefer adjustable beam (wide or focused)

id prefer a light that has been around a year or 2 and has a solid reputation, over something new that may have flaws not yet realised.

no need for strobe or fancy features.

just on and off, with quality light.

ive had maglights and dorceys over the years, theyre ok,

id like to step things up a notch.

any links to a good light?


or pm me if you have 1 for sale

thanks

You know, after rereading your list of requirements, you might give the new Zebralight H50-Q5 a look.

While it's technically a headlamp, it looks to be VERY versatile.
You can wear it on your head, clip to your clothing, or rest it on it's side while you work on something. It runs on an AA for almost 2.5 hours on high, 19 hours on medium, and 3.5 days on low.

Here are a few reviews of it on CPF for you:
Zebralight H30-Q5 Review (Picture Heavy)
Zebralight H50 Q5 Headlamp Review!!!

It's just a though

 

[60ndown]

thanks all the suggestions help cutting thru the hundreds of choices,

one thing i notice is that all these suggested lights are TINY.

id almost prefer a bigger light as it will be less lightly to get lost, and it could hold 3-6 AA cells and run brighter and longer.

some of the suggested lights are not much bigger than a single AA battery!

if it were clipped on my pants pocket and i sat down too quickly and in the wrong way, the flashlight may never see the light of day again

 

[Marduke]

Then I would focus on the 2xAA lights such as:

NiteCore D20
Fenix L2D Q5
Fenix E20
Fenix LD20
Fenix TK20
Olight T25
Fenix L2T v2.0
EagleTac P10A2
Energizer ELMCL21L


Just to name a few

 

[Chrontius]

thanks all the suggestions help cutting thru the hundreds of choices,

one thing i notice is that all these suggested lights are TINY.

id almost prefer a bigger light as it will be less lightly to get lost, and it could hold 3-6 AA cells and run brighter and longer.

some of the suggested lights are not much bigger than a single AA battery!

if it were clipped on my pants pocket and i sat down too quickly and in the wrong way, the flashlight may never see the light of day again

you know, I was only grinning at that last line, until I saw the emoticion he picked when I clicked reply - : crackup :. Then I LOL'd.

Also worth thinking about is maybe getting a 2D Mag host and a 6D MagLED module, and adding some cheap AA-D adapters. That'd be in the vicinity of $35; (If you get the Kaidomain adapters) nothing stellar but you get cheap, reliable, and adjustable.

 

[Marduke]

Also worth thinking about is maybe getting a 2D Mag host and a 6D MagLED module, and adding some cheap AA-D adapters. That'd be in the vicinity of $35; (If you get the Kaidomain adapters) nothing stellar but you get cheap, reliable, and adjustable.

Mag doesn't make 6D LED modules. Their brightest is actually the 3D, which you can manage in a 2D modded to accept 3C's

 

[metlarules]

An Inova Bolt 2aa would meet your requirements except it doesn't have adjustable focus. Tough as naiks also.
http://www.batteryjunction.com/blt-2a.html

 

[60ndown]

funny you should mention using my mag lights,

i have already ordered,

http://www.batteryjunction.com/tle-6exb.html

and

http://www.batteryjunction.com/tle-5k2.html

for lights i already own,

im not military and i really dont need to melt aircraft with my flashlight power, the above 'upgrades' to my mags should give me most of what i want.

and all for $60.

i can see how it would be easy to buy a $350 light (they are damn sexy) but i dont want to accidentally burn the retinas out of all the people/dogs/cats/birds in my neibourhood.

ill be back no doubt, i can feel the flashlight bug germinating in my additive mind.

thanks for the help all,

if im not satisfied, ill look for something better.

honestly, just the links i have now to the good flashlight sellers was half the problem..

my local home depot just dont carry 'sexy' lights.
:thumbsup:

 

[Gunner12]

Another vote for the E20. but it seems like you want for a Maglite drop-in.

I find that for most lights you don't use focusing that much, a lower mode might be more helpful.

You might be back later to look for a EDC light.

:welcome:

 

[hyperloop]

My recommendation for a 2 x AA light?

Ultrafire C3 from DX.

I personally own the single mode one. It is 1 x AA with an extension tube to make it a 2 x AA.

So you can run it on 1 x 14500, 1 x AA or 2 x AA. NO WAY does it run on 2 x 14500, it will fry the light.

Why i recommend this light:-

1. AMAZINGLY bright on 14500;

2. Run time on freshly charged protected Trustfire 14500 is 1 hr 48 minutes before the light goes off (real time test, used the stopwatch on my cell phone, left it on while surfing the Net);

3. Light is slightly warm (live in a tropical country where ambient temperatures are usu above 30 deg C);

4. Reasonably hardy, brought this light when i go fishing, its been hit with salt spray, dropped on rocks and in sand, been rained on too, some dings and nicks but basically in great shape;

5. On 2 x AA, it has run for close to 4 hours (was sleeping) and the light output dropped noticeably but still ample.

6. With your budget, get 2, a single mode and one of the new Cree Q5, 5 modes (check to see if the new ones can run on AAs, think one of the models can only run on 14500s) and you have 2 decent lights and within your budget.

In 1 x 14500 or 1 x AA mode, its very EDC-able

EDIT: Oops, didnt notice that you had already ordered. Well, maybe next time you might want to consider this one. Affordable and well worth it.

 

[Crenshaw]

You know, after rereading your list of requirements, you might give the new Zebralight H50-Q5 a look.

While it's technically a headlamp, it looks to be VERY versatile.
You can wear it on your head, clip to your clothing, or rest it on it's side while you work on something. It runs on an AA for almost 2.5 hours on high, 19 hours on medium, and 3.5 days on low.

and with a good camera, and some white balance correction, it makes a great photo light..

Crenshaw

 

[HunkaBurninLove]

but i dont want to accidentally burn the retinas out of all the people/dogs/cats/birds in my neibourhood.

Newbie! :nana:

For future recommendations, any of the above mentioned Fenix, Eagletac, or Nitecore lights are good suggestions. Buy from a reputable dealer (see the CPF Marketplace) and you'll be set :thumbsup:

 

[ruger357]

I also like my D10

 

[RANisbet]

I just bought a TeraLux TLF-3C2AA-EX.
Provides 20 hours with 100+ at Lumens, or 240 Lumens for about 2 hours.
Bob
PEO Aviation
Redstone Arsenal