looking for a realy bright 1aa light

[steinstern]

g`day!

this is my first post. nice forum, some serious flashlight freaks in here i'm a bit more pragmatic.
anyway:
i have a fenix p2d / l2d and a zebralight 501w and love all.

my edc is the p2d. but cr123s are pretty expensive here (greetings from bavaria and sorry for the spelling, by the way) i have a couple of eneloops and thats the reason why i´m looking for a new single aa light. and the fact that you can get aa all over the world is important for me, aswell.

my quesstion: is there a light or will there be one in the close future which uses a single aa battery and is as bright (or even brighter) than my p2d?

i don´t have to get one very soon and i wouldn´t mind waiting a couple of months (2-3). because i have heard that there are coming some new leds soon e.g. the xp-g (?!)

things i would like:
- 3 or more different levels of brightness
- the smaller the better
- klicky
- i don´t care about the weight or if it is aluminium or ss
- BRIGHT
- a low low
- as much runtime as possible

thanks and have a nice day!!
greetings, steinstern

 

[Moonshadow]

NDI or D10 are probably about as bright as you are going to get on a single AA.

Gotta agree - I'm just waiting for the XP-G lights: it's about time they got one into the D10.

 

[jankj]

It will be next to impossible for an AA battery configuration to beat a CR123 battery configuration, brightness wise. It would require the CR123 light to use a very outdated LED technology...



It's probably entirely doable to make a circuit that does a better job than say, fenix or quark for the particular task of converting 0.9-1.5v into something the diode can feast upon - but why? It will only suck the poor nimh battery dry faster than you can say "p2D" and the CR123 light with the same diode will STILL be brighter.


A modern LED requires about 3.7v. With CR123, you have to increase the voltage from 2.5-3v to 3.7, or an increase of 25-50%. With AA, you increase from 0.9-1.5v to 3.7, or 150-300%. The job of the driver is to run a specific amount of current through the diode, say 350 milliampere (mA), which typically occur around 3.7v. In a perfect world, this would require that you draw something like 430 mA from a 3V battery. (3.7v*350mA = 1.3W, 3v*430mA = 1.3W) and 1000 mA from a 1.2V battery. This is entirely possible, at least with high quality nimh. But take losses in the conversion circuits into consideration and the current draw from the battery increases considerably. The 3v CR123 battery is still happy within its specs, but the poor nimh at 1.2v is asked to deliver a lot more than 1 ampere, which it simply is not capable of.


That being said, there are several VERY nice AA lights out there. I just ordered a neutral white quark AA after losing my beloved fenix L1D (well, I'll get it back, but don't know when - just as good an exuse as any :devil. But I am very well aware that I will not get the maximum brightness of this light using a single AA battery.

EDIT: The above is assuming AA equates alikalines or nimh. AA form factor could also very well be li-ion 14500 battery.... which is a totally different story...

 

[recDNA]

g`day!

this is my first post. nice forum, some serious flashlight freaks in here i'm a bit more pragmatic.
anyway:
i have a fenix p2d / l2d and a zebralight 501w and love all.

my edc is the p2d. but cr123s are pretty expensive here (greetings from bavaria and sorry for the spelling, by the way) i have a couple of eneloops and thats the reason why i´m looking for a new single aa light. and the fact that you can get aa all over the world is important for me, aswell.

my quesstion: is there a light or will there be one in the close future which uses a single aa battery and is as bright (or even brighter) than my p2d?

i don´t have to get one very soon and i wouldn´t mind waiting a couple of months (2-3). because i have heard that there are coming some new leds soon e.g. the xp-g (?!)

things i would like:
- 3 or more different levels of brightness
- the smaller the better
- klicky
- i don´t care about the weight or if it is aluminium or ss
- BRIGHT
- a low low
- as much runtime as possible

thanks and have a nice day!!
greetings, steinstern

How old is your P2D? Newer versions are a little brighter but not spectacularly so. I think the P2D is a great EDC. Hard to beat.

 

[steinstern]

my p2d is the q5 version...

 

[slate]

I have tried a bunch of 1xAA and have yet to find a light as small,bright,and adjustable as the Nitecore D10. It's always in my pocket.

 

[StarHalo]

The long-discontinued 1xAA Jetbeam Jet I Mk IBS could do 2-225 lumens on a 14500, with an infinitely variable brightness ramp and three prorgammable presets. It's brighter than many current 1x123 lights, but was only produced for a year or so. I've EDCed one for many months now, and I don't feel there's anything in the <$200 class that's comparable.

The second/available choice would be the aforementioned Nitecore D10, with an R2 emitter.

 

[Yucca Patrol]

Get the nitecore D10 and put a 14500 rechargeable lithium battery in it. It should be plenty bright for your daily use.

 

[tsask]

The long-discontinued 1xAA Jetbeam Jet I Mk IBS could do 2-225 lumens on a 14500, with an infinitely variable brightness ramp and three prorgammable presets. It's brighter than many current 1x123 lights, but was only produced for a year or so. I've EDCed one for many months now, and I don't feel there's anything in the <$200 class that's comparable.

The second/available choice would be the aforementioned Nitecore D10, with an R2 emitter.

Looks like I'll have to 'settle' for a D10 w/ R2.

I wish Jetbeam would make something like that Jet I Mk IBS

 

[Skyeye]

Try the new Brinkmann "armormax" 1AA. Fancy, no. Full of features, no. Snooty price,no. Bright? YOU BET!

 

[pjandyho]

I own almost the whole range of Nitecore lights and I can say they rock! I said almost the whole range because I don't own the R2 version and SR-3 yet. What I have are the Q5 and Golden Dragon Plus versions of the Extreme (CR123), Ultra Infinity (AA), D10 (AA) and EX10 (CR123).

Do note that in all cases, the lights run best with 3.7v rechargeable Li-Ion batteries with constant power until the last drop and brighter brightness, be it a CR123 version or AA version. I run all my lights with AW's rechargeable Li-Ion batteries. Very reliable batteries is what I will say and very nice service too.

You can still get the batteries from http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=197375

You can still run your eneloop in the AA versions but you might encounter some problems. Some claim the lights to be emiting a buzzing sound at full power and gets very hot after a while. I guess it is due to the fact that the batteries are not 3.7v to start off in the first place and the draw is higher than what the batteries could give.

 

[damn_hammer]

Try the new Brinkmann "armormax" 1AA. Fancy, no. Full of features, no. Snooty price,no. Bright? YOU BET!

Have you tried the Brinkman on 14500, or know if it's supported? So far I think they've only been spotted at stores that aren't around here. Where did you get yours?

 

[lrp]

Welcome!! I would think the Nitecore D10 with 14500 would be very good!!

 

[slate]

Looks like I'll have to 'settle' for a D10 w/ R2.

I wish Jetbeam would make something like that Jet I Mk IBS

I have one of the Jet-1 MK IBS and it might be a tad brighter than my D10 R2 but only slightly. The Jetbeam feels like a wet bar of soap and I think the UI is confusing. Also the Jetbeam seems to get warm quickly on a 14500.The D10 has great anodizing to keep a firm hold and I find the UI very easy to use on the D10. I carry the D10 daily with a L91 AA and the Jetbeam gets drawer duty. I am thinking of trading it towards a EX10 R2

 

[berry580]

........
A modern LED requires about 3.7v. With CR123, you have to increase the voltage from 2.5-3v to 3.7, or an increase of 25-50%. With AA, you increase from 0.9-1.5v to 3.7, or 150-300%. ............

Then how well would a CR123 powered light compare with a 14500 powered light?

wouldn't they be technically very similar? since they both have a nominal voltage of 3.7 and probably similar rate capacity as well....

 

[Cheapskate]

It will be next to impossible for an AA battery configuration to beat a CR123 battery configuration, brightness wise. It would require the CR123 light to use a very outdated LED technology...

P2D: 2550 lux spot, 85 lux spill cr123

Nitecore EX10: 2480 lux spot, 131 lux spill cr123

Jetbeam Jet I Pro (R2); 4520 lux spot, 112 lux spill 14500



(All figures courtesy light-reviews.com)

 

[Centropolis]

+1 on the Jetbeam I Pro IBS. I don't have the D10 but the Jet-I Pro IBS is the brightest AA/14500 light I have. It's brighter than my NDI.

 

[StarHalo]

P2D: 2550 lux spot, 85 lux spill cr123

Nitecore EX10: 2480 lux spot, 131 lux spill cr123

Jetbeam Jet I Pro (R2); 4520 lux spot, 112 lux spill 14500



(All figures courtesy light-reviews.com)

Keep in mind that those are lux ratings, not lumens; you're comparing how each light throws, not how much light it's emitting.

 

[Cheapskate]

Keep in mind that those are lux ratings, not lumens; you're comparing how each light throws, not how much light it's emitting.

I know.

The correct answer to the original question:

my quesstion: is there a light or will there be one in the close future which uses a single aa battery and is as bright (or even brighter) than my p2d?

Is actually yes, not:

It will be next to impossible for an AA battery configuration to beat a CR123 battery configuration

 

[euroken]

Isn't Jetbeam Jet-I PRO v3.0 insanely bright especially with 14500? I'm just curious why this hasn't been mentioned especially when looking for a 1-AA light comparable in brightness with P2D...:thinking: