Looking for a 1aa light with throw...

[ultralight]

Hi everyone, im looking for suggestions, from your personal experience, for a 1aa light,it needs to fit in my pocket. it only needs good throw and spot. battery runtime is no concern, i get them free from work. i will only use it for a few min. at a time so heat buildup is no concern either.

im open to a 2aa light, if it throws that much farther. again, im not concerned with runtime. its main use will be to make sure theres no kids running around on the golf course in the middle of the night. I work at a big hotel, has its own large golf course.

just a basic on-off , twist or clicky, is all it needs.

preferably under 40 bucks....and an led

thanks to anybody who take the time....

ultralight...

 

[Gunner12]

Almost all AA lights under $40 have the same amount of throw(not far at all). The best throwing single AA light would be the Maxlight Seoul. Built like a tank, custom board, can use surefire tailcaps, and also very expensive(IIRC $200+). The best AA throwing light under $40 is probably the Kaidomain 5 mode(about 1000 lux at one meter, click for on and click for off, soft tap to change modes). But it will NOT be enough to see across a golf-course(I'm guessing 30 meters max), you'll probably need a HID for that and the cheapest is the Sam's Club HID(thread, 250 meter should not be much of a problem but it has a start up time and can only be turned on after a few minutes of rest) available form $40-$80.

The best single battery thrower under $40 will probably be the 3W Cree Projection(even better if you want to modify it with a Cree Q5, you'll need a 18650 battery and charger). It should only project 100 meters max on a moonless night in total darkness.

Most LEDs(including aspherical Mods and multi-LED mods, AA lights are usually even worst at throwing) don't throw very far compared to incandescent/HID lights.

How do you patrol the golf course(Do you roam around, stationary, or what)? That will help with selecting a light.

Welcome to CPF!

 

[carrot]

The Maxlight was definitely the first light to come to mind for this application. Not under $40, however.

 

[Secur1]

From what i understand you need a light that
1) Will fit in your pocket without being noticed too much
2) Is cheap
3) Is built for throw

Now unfortunately the 1st requirement cancels out the 3rd one, since throw is mostly defined by the reflector used, the deeper the reflector (and wider) the better the light collimation into a laser like beam.
Also normal AA alcaline cells will not give you the power you need to scan across a golf cource no matter how good the beam pattern is....

If i were you, i would get the Lumapower D-mini along with a charger and a couple of RCR123 cells. It comes with a small holster that you can easily keep on your belt without turning any heads.
I don't believe there is a further throwing light than this one for it's size and price.

 

[meuge]

Hi everyone, im looking for suggestions, from your personal experience, for a 1aa light,it needs to fit in my pocket. it only needs good throw and spot. battery runtime is no concern, i get them free from work. i will only use it for a few min. at a time so heat buildup is no concern either.

im open to a 2aa light, if it throws that much farther. again, im not concerned with runtime. its main use will be to make sure theres no kids running around on the golf course in the middle of the night. I work at a big hotel, has its own large golf course.

just a basic on-off , twist or clicky, is all it needs.

preferably under 40 bucks....and an led

thanks to anybody who take the time....

ultralight...

As far as AA lights are concerned, I would agree with everyone else who posted - they are simply not made for throw, given the size of their reflectors.

1xAA lights can't supply enough power to push the modern LEDs, so if you're determined to go with AA, you need at least 2xAA. My Fenix 2xAA Rebel100 light has decent throw for such a small light... but still peters out at 30-35m (100ft).

If you need throw, you really want to go for a much larger light. My 3D Maglite with the TerraLux SSC P4 dropin has very impressive throw... reaching 100m fairly authoritatively. I suppose if you wanted to minimize the size of your light, you could get a 3xC Maglite and the TerraLux drop-in (it'll just barely make the $40 if you get a good deal on the Mag)... or spend more and purchase one of the thrower LED lights (like the Tiablo).

 

[Coop]

Well, not 1AA, but still AA

The good old Streamlight Propoly 4AA Luxeon. Decent throw for a LED, cheap, and runs on 4AAs.

Otherwise, you could also check out the Lumapower D-Mini and get a bunch of RCR123s

 

[matthewdanger]

What about the Lumapower M3 Transformer with the Turbo Head upgrade?

 

[selfbuilt]

The good old Streamlight Propoly 4AA Luxeon. Decent throw for a LED, cheap, and runs on 4AAs.
Otherwise, you could also check out the Lumapower D-Mini and get a bunch of RCR123s

I'm with MayCooper on both fronts: ProPoly Lux is the best inexpensive thrower on AAs (but it take 4 of 'em), and the Luma D-mini is superb for its size and throws even further (but uses one CR123A).

True, the Luma M3 has a turbo head for AA form factor, but overall size and cost is increasing beyond your limits here (and still won't be as much of a thrower as the smaller D-mini).

If you want to see your options in the single AA lights, here are my recent comparison reviews of the inexpensive single-stage AA and multiple stage AA lights.

As you'll see the Fenix L1DCE is the best thrower of the group, but my SL ProPoly Lux throws almost twice as far. Likely your best choice if you want to stick with the free AAs.

D-mini is probably your best choice if you don't mind stocking up on CR123A (you can get quality name brands for ~$2 online, or cheaper ones for ~$1).

 

[MarNav1]

That will be about the same as a D-mini as the heads are almost identical. I have both, great lights IMO. You can get a 18650 body for the D-mini as well, nice upgrade.

 

[n4zov]

I've been very impressed with the Jet Beam CL-E 1.2 I purchased from Emilions Workbench. It has outstanding throw for a one AA light.

 

[MacTech]

the Maxlite II is a definite thrower, still impressive by today's standards, but it's definitely *NOT* cheap

 

[boosterboy]

hands down Lumapower M3 with Turbohead.

it's gonna cost you 90$ though.

 

[ultralight]

thanx to all for the suggestions... i went with the 4aa sl propoly, best deal i could find was 29 bucks http://batteryjunction.com/stpr4aaluled.html

got the yellow one,, i figure its less likely to get stolen if i set it down since to most people it jus looks like a cheapy...

eventually i think i will mod it with a Cree Q5 someday.. i read the tutorial on it here somewhere... and it should at least triple the lumen output..i hope...


anyway.... thanx to all..


ultralight....

 

[selfbuilt]

i went with the 4aa sl propoly, ... got the yellow one,, i figure its less likely to get stolen if i set it down since to most people it jus looks like a cheapy...

Good choice, and good observation. My daughter borrows my yellow one for any and all camping/cottage/fieldwork trips she takes, for much the same reason - figures it's a lot less likely to get stolen because it looks "like a dollar store light" (her words, not mine ).

Enjoy the light!

 

[fishx65]

Ultralight, At that price, I would consider adding one or two more propoly's to your order. I just put a $7.00 DX P4 U-bin Seoul in one of mine and the results are fantastic! Not an easy mod but not that bad either. This was my first mod and it turned out perfect. Dealtime Extreme has free shipping but it takes awhile so you may want to place an order soon.

 

[NA8]

Well, 1AA doesn't have a lot of oomph, but my fenix L1Tv2RB80 does have quite the hot spot from a fairly steep reflector. I would have liked a little more spill actually, but for it's size I can live with it. I took it out and tested how far it would throw and I could see it lighting up a building pretty far away and high up. However, lighting it up doesn't mean it's bright way over there. The L1T2.0 is small and was a preorder special at fenixstore.com for $42 including tax and shipping plus a $5 future credit for filling out a questionaire on the new tactical tailswitch. I think the L2D100 might be even better for you though. Oops, that one's a lot more bucks. The L2Tv2 is more in your price range.

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=167963

 

[f22shift]

not sure what form you want but my rayovac 1aa headlamp(45lumens) outthrows my dx xv(80 lumen). i'm pretty sure the overall output is less but the lens focus it for throw and i'm 100% sure that it outthrows my dx xv (1aa).

it also has a diffusor for close work.