Looking for the best AA/AAA flashlight under 20$

[XRAYBoY]

IMHO the best (KD/DX use with AA) under 20$ are:

Ultrafire C3 SS
Akoray
Ultrafire A-10 (one mode only)

In this order and in relation to the lumens gained from AA only.
If you plan to use with AA batteries, no problem with heat dissipation.

The Romisen Rc-29...not bad, but plays in the zooming league (I have all).

 

[balou]

The Akoray K-106 is supposed to be quite dim unless you use 14500's.

Um... "dim"? Yeah, it's not 140 lumen, but by no means is it dim. You have a runtime of about an hour with Eneloop, so current draw is about 2A (don't have a reliable ampmeter handy, else I'd take a reading)

 

[carrot]

The new multimode Maglite LED AA is a good choice, and about $25.

 

[Kubbie]

I just picked up a multi-mode 2xAA Mag led (Lowes for $11), and I have the DX 29095 (Torch Light C78 Flood-to-Throw Zooming Cree Q3-WC 130-Lumen 1xAA

Here is a pic comparing the size the Mag to the Cree, .dx/sku.12623" (as well as the TE SSC P7 C-Bin 900-Lumen 2-Mode LED Flashlight (1*18650) sku 12623)

I have never taken beam shots, so I need to work on it. Need a tripod...My ceiling about 5' away. Here goes...

But here is a comparison for the two -


Both on spot. Cree on left, Mag on right.

Pic doesn't show it well, but the hotspot is definitely brighter on the Cree. And as for throw, with the Aspheric lens, it blows away the mag. You can see the die clearly when focused.


Both on flood. Cree on left, Mag on right.

For $10 and two weeks wait, I'll call it a cheap winner for now. Time will show how it holds up.

 

[Kubbie]

I hope I'm cluttering up this thread. (maybe just an excuse to play with taking pics.) Don't know what settings to use. Said NR 1" F5.0 -2.0EV

My shed is 76' from where I took these pics off my patio.


Mag multimode 2xAA led focused to spot:

DX 29095 1xAA (Torch Light C78 Flood-to-Throw Zooming Cree Q3-WC 130-Lumen LED)

Focused to spot, you can see the led die shape.

 

[mfm]

Um... "dim"? Yeah, it's not 140 lumen, but by no means is it dim. You have a runtime of about an hour with Eneloop, so current draw is about 2A (don't have a reliable ampmeter handy, else I'd take a reading)

From looking at BessieBenny's review kitchen shots it is dimmer than the Tank007 E07 OSRAM light, which have been criticized in this forum for beeing "not that bright" (and still having 90 minutes of runtime off an eneloop).

So either K-106 Q5 with NiMH is less efficient than some cheap OSRAM light, or the individual K-106 lights vary a lot. In either case it's hard to recommend it for NiMH.

Also, the conclusion of several other reviews was that if you don't use 14500's then get something else.