most efficient single aa light?

[raggie33]

if i do go zebra light where is the best place to but it from? im in georgia usa

 

[JimIslander]

if i do go zebra light where is the best place to but it from? im in georgia usa

Zebralight.com

 

[StagMoose]

They are often backordered and can also be found on auction sites. Sometimes there is quite a bit of a wait.

I'd suggest using their website and the compare models link that gives a spreadsheet of all their models available as well as discontinued ones. Their naming scheme takes some getting used to and it is a good place to find all the info in one place. Especially if you wanted a used one.

 

[raggie33]

ps how does zebralight get that kind of runtime?

 

[jon_slider]

I would submit that the 59 lumens of light from the Zebralight which lasts nearly 4 hours is less useful light than the 8 lumens produced by the Malkoff AA and lasts about 18 hours.

Based solely on my experience and opinion.

I think that is true because the size of the hotspot is smaller on the Malkoff

to explain
the brightness in the middle of a small hotspot, requires less lumens, than the same brightness within a larger hotspot

the malkoff uses a McGizmo reflector that produces an excellent tight hotspot, so it is very lumen efficient, withing that small target area.. and reaches out well

the zebra spreads the light wider, which has more benefit within closer range, flooding a wider area (which reqires more total lumens)

illustration (simplified)
10 lumens of illumination on a 10 inch square, is 1 lumen per square
100 lumens on a 100 inch square, is still 1 lumen per square

imo zebra gets great runtime because they focus on high efficiency LEDs with low CRI.. they prioritize output, over spectrum.

the zebra offers more total number of lighting levels, requiring multi clicking, the malkoff is more Kiss, less clicking around..

malkoff includes access to drop ins with High CRI Nichias.. that you have not expressed interest in yet, but that I keep dropping hints about

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

Be aware that the SC5 is a throwier light than most Zebralights. Still not a thrower, but probably about the most throw you want in an EDC. So, the beam is pretty good at lighting stuff up at moderate distance.

Sure you can go for a thrower, but then it's not very useful indoors or at close distances. IMO, I'd much rather have 50 lumens and a good sized hotspot, than 8 lumens and a useless hotspot. At least for EDC. For a dedicated thrower, like I might use as an additional light if I'm wearing a headlamp, I'd like a thrower. But then I want long reach, and 8 lumens just ain't gonna do it. 1000+ lumens, like you get from a C8, makes a great compact hand-held thrower.

Indoors, I prefer the floodier Zebralights, like the SC53, SC64, or even a frosted-lens version.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

As a former fan of AA/AAA battery LED lights I got into 18650 lights and power banks a few years ago and haven't looked back. My first desire was to replace my old Rayovac 1AA 30 lumen headlamp that ran for about 90 minutes off a nimh battery with an 18650 headlamp that does 110 lumens for about 15 hours. With 18650 you have about 4 times the power in a battery which allows for insanely bright levels of output 1000 lumens and above for short times. My headlamp has a 400 lumen high mode that runs for several hours. The only drawbacks of 18650 is the size of the lights themselves they aren't as pocketable.

 

[CarpentryHero]

When the precision manufacturers design there lights, they have to make a choice of where their peak efficiency is, with Zebralight it's their low modes, roughly 100 lumens or less the run times are as good as they can get for that emitter.
HDS peak efficiency is in their high modes, they are no slouch in low mode efficiency but the run times on the high modes took priority.
I would think Malkoff does the same thing, but they run regulated until the voltage drop goes below spec than run lower and lower until the light goes out.

my best advice is find out what brightness you want to run your light at and buy accordingly, you won't be disappointed with any of these lights, but if you owned them all you'd see each one excels a little differently

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

To be fair, an HDS high-mode is about as bright as a medium mode in most other brands. So, yeah, it's efficient, but it's not really driving anything very hard or producing much waste heat.

Also, I'm not sure I'd say Zebralight is efficient in their low modes, at least if you're talking about the moonlight levels they offer. Sure, they might last for months, but the amount of light is extremely low. Probably better than most other brands, but the electronics of the light are probably using way more power than the actual LED in moonlight levels.

I agree that medium levels is where Zebralight is most efficient, as is the case with almost all other brands. I find the lithium-ion Zebralights are quite good with efficiency even at 1000+ lumens, but their AA lights just have to suck on the battery too hard on the high levels, so the battery drains very fast and efficiency goes way down due to the high current.

 

[raggie33]

i should of stated my budget is like 25 bucks. i may be out of luck id love to it be good at 40 lumens

 

[AstroTurf]

i should of stated my budget is like 25 bucks. i may be out of luck id love to it be good at 40 lumens

Tool 2.0

 

[jon_slider]

Tool 2.0

X2

25 bucks

I sent you a private message

btw, changind the LED in a light does not change the runtime, only the lumens and CRI change

For example, an AA Tool whose lowest output on cool white is 16 Lumens, if the LED was swapped to a Nichia, the output would drop 25%, and the CRI would go up 25%.

The runtime would not change.. and 16 lumens is not noticeably different from 12 lumens, in practice.

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

i should of stated my budget is like 25 bucks. i may be out of luck id love to it be good at 40 lumens

Your choices are much more limited at that price point. But, something like a Convoy S2+ or a BLF A6 are very nice EDC lights. At output below about 150 lumens, they use a linear driver. It's not super-efficient, but it's not bad either. Efficiency takes more of a killing at higher outputs, since it switches to a FET driver. It's not regulated output either, but most budget lights are like that.


OOOPS, sorry, I forgot this was for AA only.

 

[CarpentryHero]

Nite ize X1, Olight i5t, Lumintop tool 2.0, ant Thrunite T10 II are all great 1aa flashlights within your price range but not all of them have a 40 lumen mode. I want to say that the Lumintop and Thrunite will but I don't own the current models to know for sure.
the Olight i5t has a 15 and 300 lumen mode, I really enjoy this lights as it's built sturdy.

 

[raggie33]

im weird about tint i have a fenix and i read people loves its tint! i hate its tint i like more blue and less yellow

 

[CarpentryHero]

im weird about tint i have a fenix and i read people loves its tint! i hate its tint i like more blue and less yellow

that's alright, I don't think there is any Fenix 1aa lights for your price range. If you don't like yellowy beams don't chance a nw light. Stick with Coolwhite 6000k to 6500K colour temp