LED lights with longest runtime with AA/AAA batteries.

[StarHalo]

Proton Pro has always had the D10 beat, at 230 hours for white, 570 hours for red.

Ah, you're right, I had to do some searching to find it though, that should be easier to find..

Post corrected

I do love the NiteCore D10 & D20 as well. I'm still undecided as to which to buy next, the Q5 or Golden Dragon...

The forthcoming R2 is the one everyone is lining up for..

 

[Beacon of Light]

BTW, what happened to the buy / sell section on the forum here?

 

[Marduke]

BTW, what happened to the buy / sell section on the forum here?

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/

 

[Hi-Tech Guru]

The forthcoming R2 is the one everyone is lining up for..

I just checked, 4Sevens starts shipping the D20 D2's in a week.

 

[Beacon of Light]

Thanks Marduke.

I guess I should have specified in my original post price per runtime hour would have been a requirement. All the listed torches are $50 + whereas the lights I have already pull off 50+ hours runtime and cost a modest $12-$20. I guess nothing has come alone since the lights I already own that have the long runtimes and bang for the buck?

 

[Marduke]

Thanks Marduke.

I guess I should have specified in my original post price per runtime hour would have been a requirement. All the listed torches are $50 + whereas the lights I have already pull off 50+ hours runtime and cost a modest $12-$20. I guess nothing has come alone since the lights I already own that have the long runtimes and bang for the buck?

Well, LED's are several times more efficient now. You can get the same brightness with longer runtime, or more brightness for the same runtime.

Since we have for the most part moved passed the old dim blue 5mm LED, high output lights with optional low modes is now the norm. It's like owning several lights in one package. Not many people these days want a dim light with a bazillion hour runtime if it's dimmer than their cellphone if that's the only mode it has.

All of the lights mentioned are generally considered to rank high and the "bang-o-buck meter", which is why they are so commonly recommended.

 

[Beacon of Light]

I guess I am old school and CHEAP. I can't justify spending upwards of $60-$70 for a light that doesn't offer a lot more than my old CMG Infinity Ultras Gerber Infinity Ultras can do for what they cost was less than half of the rate of these new recommendations.

Also I have a free app I use for my cell phone to use as a flashlight, only wish there was a mod to give it a 50% mode as I would prefer to save battery life and sacrifice brightness.

 

[StarHalo]

I guess I am old school and CHEAP. I can't justify spending upwards of $60-$70 for a light that doesn't offer a lot more than my old CMG Infinity Ultras Gerber Infinity Ultras can do for what they cost was less than half of the rate of these new recommendations.

The aforementioned Nitecore D20 is brighter than a 6D Maglite at max output, and uses an infinitely variable brightness interface so you can dial in the exact amount of light you need for your application. It's also fully regulated for the entirety of it's minimum output runtime. And it features a piston switch. And Mil-Spec HA coating. And a stainless steel bezel. Etc.

The Gerber is still a classic light for the small niche it works so well for, but you get a lot more flashlight for more money.

 

[HKJ]

If you really want long runtime with a common battery size, check the pak-lite, price is around $17 and it can run 1000+ hours on low.
It does not fit you battery requirement, because it uses a 9 volt battery.

Fro normal AA/AAA light, the runtime depends on the minimum brightness you can adjust it too and on the circuit efficiency, but it is difficult to get numbers for the runtime, because most testers does not want to do runtime test at minimum (it will take days).
It might be a good idea to check Liteflux LF5XT (AAA) light, it has a very low setting.

 

[Marduke]

I guess I am old school and CHEAP. I can't justify spending upwards of $60-$70 for a light that doesn't offer a lot more than my old CMG Infinity Ultras Gerber Infinity Ultras can do for what they cost was less than half of the rate of these new recommendations.

Also I have a free app I use for my cell phone to use as a flashlight, only wish there was a mod to give it a 50% mode as I would prefer to save battery life and sacrifice brightness.

All of the mentioned lights do more than just have a long runtime in low. They offer other features far above and beyond what the GIU can offer. You certainly get a lot more light for the money.

 

[pec50]

Speaking of old ... the PT Attitude, an often overlooked light, will run 150+ hours with diminishing brightness. As I recall someone ran it about a month and it still provided some light. I modded my old one with "snow leds" some time ago and still find it to be one of my favorites. I understand the new version is about 30 lumens; perhaps gs leds? And, well within your budget at about $18.

 

[Beacon of Light]

I own a PAK-Lite (actually 2 of them, the original with glow color, and the one with longer runtime with a Hi/LOW switch) I don't use them much as I don't have suitable rechargeable 9Volt batteries, and I have sworn off ever buying a non rechargeable battery since 1992.

If you really want long runtime with a common battery size, check the pak-lite, price is around $17 and it can run 1000+ hours on low.
It does not fit you battery requirement, because it uses a 9 volt battery.

Fro normal AA/AAA light, the runtime depends on the minimum brightness you can adjust it too and on the circuit efficiency, but it is difficult to get numbers for the runtime, because most testers does not want to do runtime test at minimum (it will take days).
It might be a good idea to check Liteflux LF5XT (AAA) light, it has a very low setting.

 

[Beacon of Light]

All of the mentioned lights do more than just have a long runtime in low. They offer other features far above and beyond what the GIU can offer. You certainly get a lot more light for the money.

I have read about all of them and I am still wondering what else they do for the money? HA anodizing? Too me that is like bling and I could care less. Piston drive? That too is like HID lighting for a car, unecessary bling I could care less and wouldn't want to have to replace expensive HID bulbs so I avoid that crap like the plague. Do any of these lights have a 10 year warranty? Not that any of the lights I own do, but for $60-$70 to over $100 lights, you'd expect it.

 

[Beacon of Light]

what is this light? I googled PT Attitude and nothing regarding flashlights...

Speaking of old ... the PT Attitude, an often overlooked light, will run 150+ hours with diminishing brightness. As I recall someone ran it about a month and it still provided some light. I modded my old one with "snow leds" some time ago and still find it to be one of my favorites. I understand the new version is about 30 lumens; perhaps gs leds? And, well within your budget at about $18.

 

[Beacon of Light]

nevermind I found it. Cheap plastic housing and 4 AAA's? I'd pass. Just for the reason if there is one bad cell the light will stop working, thereby requiring matched sets of capacity with batteries, and I tend to use my older worn cells for lights. One of the reason I never cared for the 3 Energizer Double Barrell lights I have.

Also 150 for 4 AAA's isn't that impressive, not ever 40 hours per cell.

Speaking of old ... the PT Attitude, an often overlooked light, will run 150+ hours with diminishing brightness. As I recall someone ran it about a month and it still provided some light. I modded my old one with "snow leds" some time ago and still find it to be one of my favorites. I understand the new version is about 30 lumens; perhaps gs leds? And, well within your budget at about $18.

 

[The 8th Man]

I still keep my old Inova X1 (reflector type) at work and the battery in that seems to go on forever, one AA lasts a long time even before it goes into moon mode.

 

[Beacon of Light]

I still keep my old Inova X1 (reflector type) at work and the battery in that seems to go on forever, one AA lasts a long time even before it goes into moon mode.

I have the Inova Iradium or whatever it was called. 2-AAA, and works ok. Bought at Target for $9.99 and way better than the X1 I returned that cost twice as much and had that stupid spotlight, where if you were using it to walk to the bathroom at night you couldn't see in front of you unless you were looking at every step you made. DUMB DUMB DUMB design. Glad the newer ones no longer have that lens.

 

[Marduke]

I have read about all of them and I am still wondering what else they do for the money? HA anodizing? Too me that is like bling and I could care less. Piston drive? That too is like HID lighting for a car, unecessary bling I could care less and wouldn't want to have to replace expensive HID bulbs so I avoid that crap like the plague. Do any of these lights have a 10 year warranty? Not that any of the lights I own do, but for $60-$70 to over $100 lights, you'd expect it.

It's not a matter of bling. HA allows the light to wear better, leading to a longer life. HA anodized threads also are wear resistant, operate smoother, and last longer.

Piston drive allows for a smaller light with a unique and innovative UI, and does not use a mechanical switch to fail.

Some of the above lights offer multiple modes, so you don’t have just have a dim light. You can also have one of the brightest lights around in 100+ lumen packages the size of a finger, while also giving you triple digit runtimes in low if you want that also.

Most of the above mentioned lights have a lifetime warranty, either through the manufacturer or dealer (i.e. Fenix-Store).

The Photon Proton Pro for example also gives you a red LED, which is useful for both long battery life and maintain night vision with dark adapted eyes. That sounds like something you may be interested in. Like the NiteCore lights, it also offers infinitely variable ramping in brightness for any value between min and max.

This is definitely a case of “you get what you pay for”. $40-80 is a sweet spot for quality LED lights, where you can get a huge “value” of a light vs what you pay for it.

 

[Beacon of Light]

Do the Variable Brightness settings on any of these lights have the setting where once you turn it off, it remembers that setting? Also how do I get the price $42.95 at CFS you posted for the Photon Pro in that other thread? I'd hate to have to go to Ebay where there is one for $44.95 and $4 shipping.

It's not a matter of bling. HA allows the light to wear better, leading to a longer life. HA anodized threads also are wear resistant, operate smoother, and last longer.

Piston drive allows for a smaller light with a unique and innovative UI, and does not use a mechanical switch to fail.

Some of the above lights offer multiple modes, so you don’t have just have a dim light. You can also have one of the brightest lights around in 100+ lumen packages the size of a finger, while also giving you triple digit runtimes in low if you want that also.

Most of the above mentioned lights have a lifetime warranty, either through the manufacturer or dealer (i.e. Fenix-Store).

The Photon Proton Pro for example also gives you a red LED, which is useful for both long battery life and maintain night vision with dark adapted eyes. That sounds like something you may be interested in. Like the NiteCore lights, it also offers infinitely variable ramping in brightness for any value between min and max.

This is definitely a case of “you get what you pay for”. $40-80 is a sweet spot for quality LED lights, where you can get a huge “value” of a light vs what you pay for it.

 

[Marduke]

Do the Variable Brightness settings on any of these lights have the setting where once you turn it off, it remembers that setting? Also how do I get the price $42.95 at CFS you posted for the Photon Pro in that other thread? I'd hate to have to go to Ebay where there is one for $44.95 and $4 shipping.

The NiteCore NDI, D10, and D20 all remember your user defined setting whatever level that may be. The Proton Pro always starts in low red or high white, and you ramp up or down from there (no memory).

The Photon Proton Pro is currently $49.95 at CFR. If I lost mine today, I would immediately buy another at that price. It is my absolute go-to light for around the house in the evenings and at night, as it has the lowest low, and red to not disturb myself or others in the dark.

The D10 would be the next cheapest, at $57.96 shipped after your 8% CPF discount.