Looking for a special sized light

[Happyshooter]

I know this is a tall order, but I also know we have lots of knowledge here. So, please help with advice.

I am looking for a special size light. I have my old Goretex jacket I wear from when I was in the military (actually two, my field one and my garrison one.) I keep small knives in the left sholder pocket, along with a small flashlight. I used to keep old style bulb mini-mags there, until the bulb froze and popped on me at cold weather survival school.

Since then I have been using different flashlights, most lately the rayovac 2AA led. The problem is the light is just too long, the battery life is too short, and I have it 99% unscrewed to keep it from lighting in my pocket.

This is what I am looking in order, with #1 being most important and going down in priority:

1. LED
2. Small
3. Protected tail cap or indented side button or something that won't turn on from pocket pressure
4. Battery life in excess of 2 hours
5. Less than $50
6. More than 75 actual lumens
7. 1/4" shorter than a mini-mag 2AA
8. Less than $30
9. Same diameter as mini-mag 2AA

 

[Ron Gallant]

I have no idea, but I am interested in what the forum will come up with.

Does it have to be a clicky tail cap? You could look at a 4sevens quark mini

http://www.4sevens.com/product_info.php?cPath=297_355&products_id=2044

 

[Happyshooter]

Thanks, I expanded the switch request

 

[thebeans]

How about one of the versions of the 4 Sevens Quark AA2? They are only 1.3mm longer than the AA MiniMag. Diameter of the Quark is about 3.6mm larger than the Minimag body but is smaller than the Minimag head. Runtime is 1.3 hrs on high but 5 hrs on med (70 lm) so you could likely achieve more than your desired 2 hr runtime in actual use. May not meet all your requirements perfectly but may be worth considering.

Or the Quark 123 x 2 is the same maximum diameter but is a little shorter. And the 123 x 2 has a longer run time. Slightly over your max price but the R2 edition is only $58.65 and that includes shipping. Probably a little less with the CPF discount.

 

[John_Galt]

Maybe the Quark Preon (2 cell series)? IT would have shorter runtime than a 2 AA light, but would be very light and small. Or the LF2XT, if you wanted something that's programmable. You could probably pick one up on the marketplace for less than $50.

Fenix LD20. It's literally the same length as an old incan. minimag 2AA, and the body is only slightly larger in diameter.

 

[Yucca Patrol]

With lights being so efficient these days, You could really go with any of the quality 1xAA lights and toss a spare battery into the bottom of the pocket if you need it.

That is what I would do.

 

[march.brown]

Absolutely must have a look at the iTP A2 and the A3 in aluminium.

The iTP A2 is 75.5mm long and 17.5mm wide ... Single AA ... 1.5 lumens for 60 hours , 18 lumens for 7 hours , 80 lumens for 2 hours ... 22 grams empty ... Also available in Stainless steel.

The iTP A3 is even smaller at 66.5mm long and 14mm wide ... 1.5 lumens for 50 hours , 18 lumens for 4 hours , 80 lumens for 55 minutes ... Single AAA ... 9 grams empty ... Also available in stainless steel and titanium.

There is also the A1 which uses a 123 battery ... 59.8mm long and 20.4mm wide ... 1.8 lumens for 150 hours , 35 lumens for 8 hours , 190 lumens for 1.6 hours ... 22 grams empty.

My favourite is the A2 ... AAs are available everywhere.

Good luck in your search.
.

 

[sol-leks]

Actually fairly easy requirements except for the tailcap lockout, can't really think of any lights that have that, especially not cheap ones. Think you could live without that feature?

If you can, there are a lot of options open to you.

 

[joe1512]

I love my itp A1. It uses a TWISTY to activate which means it will not come on accidently in my pocket. I have it on my keychain!

I have a glow in the dark O-Ring over the part where it twisties to provide even more resistance to twisting. You can do this if you are more paranoid about accidental activation. It also makes it more waterproof.

An itp A1 uses a single CR123 (or RCR123) which provides 200 lumens out the front (more with a RCR123!). It has 3 modes, 2 lumen, 30 and 200 lumen, all activated by twisting multiple times.


This light is 24 bucks, and actually might be TOO small.

My recommendation is to also look at all 2xCR123 lights by itp and Romisen. (goinggear.com is a great place to browse... ive bought there twice now). These will all have lots of power, and will be shorter than a 2xAA light by a good margin.

Note: Battery life is totally dependent on the batteries divided by how much juice the light uses at its desired mode. Obviously a 80 lumen light will have more runtime than a 120 lumen light, since light efficiency is relatively static. (most use similar emitters and have similar driver efficiencies)

 

[Benson]

7. 1/4" shorter than a mini-mag 2AA

Which Mini-mag? The LED is significantly longer than the incan, but I think both LEDs (old Luxeon and new Rebel multimode) are the same.

The obvious choice to hit most of your recommendations is some sort of mini-mag mod running 14670s. As to fitting under $50, that probably depends on whether you need 1/4" shorter than incan (= body needs cut down) or shorter than LED (= combo of incan and LED parts will work), and how good you are at finding various mags on sale...

 

[Happyshooter]

Incan, sorry, I should have made that clearer