Recommend me a light!

[lumengeek]

I've not had much luck in finding good quality, small incandescent lights except the 2AA mag. I guess what I'm ideally looking for is an incandescent version of the Fenix L2D, but obviously without the modes and the >100 lumens output... if such a thing exists!

So to summarise - an output around 30-60 lumens, which (going by a rough figure of 15lm/watt) should allow a runtime of between 2 and 4 hours on 2xAA NiMhs (probably being a bit optimistic there). I would prefer the longer runtime over extra lumens though, around 3hrs minimum. Wouldn't really want to go for anything except 2xAAs to power it, due to them being easy to obtain. Budget wise...lets see what's available, but something along the lines of the L2D again.

 

[VegasF6]

That seems a somewhat tall order. Would you consider 4xAA?

 

[kyhunter1]

I have a small Underwater Kinetics 4AA xenon incan light that I like very much. You get 4 hours of runtime and it is rated at 38 lumens, which I think is accurate. It is also a good thrower, since it has a smooth alluminum reflector. You can order it from www.brightguy.com for less than $30.00 shipping and all.

 

[mdocod]

Most 2AA flashlights that use a PR bulb are going to have a 2.4V 0.5A bulb installed from the factory, which will give about 10-20 lumens give or take (depending on how it's measured and how fresh the batteries are). If you are using NIMH AA cells then you can get away with bulbs normally found in "C" and "D" size flashlights, like the Mag 2 cell xenon, which should boost output to the 15-20+ lumen range on the NIMH cells and stay fairly consistent through the discharge.... The trick then is just to find a well built 2AA host to do this with... I'm thinking an Energizer Hard-Case 2AA (if they are still around).. There are probably other examples. It doesn't necessarily have to be all that expensive for this.

 

[Gunner12]

Would you consider warm tinted LEDs? They can be incan like in tint.

How hard is it to come by 2.4-3v bulbs drawing 1-2 amps? I'm guessing that's what you'll need for the output you seem to want.

I don't have any real recommendations because I haven't seen a 2AA 60 lumen incan light(or even 30 lumen) before.

 

[RyanA]

An aurora light kit might make that many lumens, but it uses li-ion 14500 and has a very short runtime. If you go li-ion maybe an A2 aviator might be nicer. There are kits to convert it to a streamlight strion bulb, plus regulated output is a big plus.

 

[Chrontius]

You look into the 8xAA Princeton Tec Torrent - probably about as long as a Mini-Mag, but waterproof to 300 feet deep, and about as wide as a C or D light. It's still takes AA batteries like you want, and it probably puts out around 60-100 lumens (don't own one). Depends on if you're willing to sacrifice bulk to get output; I see a lot of people here talking about how much you can get out of a 2AA host, so I figured I'd mention the opposite alternative.

Regarding the AuroraLight, good luck. I've seen ... three sell used. Two I couldn't afford, and one I was mad I missed. They've gone off the market, much to all our frustration, and the people who own one are content to sit on it and... you know, use it.

 

[Jake.t]

I've not had much luck in finding good quality, small incandescent lights except the 2AA mag. I guess what I'm ideally looking for is an incandescent version of the Fenix L2D, but obviously without the modes and the >100 lumens output... if such a thing exists!

So to summarise - an output around 30-60 lumens, which (going by a rough figure of 15lm/watt) should allow a runtime of between 2 and 4 hours on 2xAA NiMhs (probably being a bit optimistic there). I would prefer the longer runtime over extra lumens though, around 3hrs minimum. Wouldn't really want to go for anything except 2xAAs to power it, due to them being easy to obtain. Budget wise...lets see what's available, but something along the lines of the L2D again.

I love the incan mini maglite 2xAA:twothumbs

 

[RyanA]

You look into the 8xAA Princeton Tec Torrent - probably about as long as a Mini-Mag, but waterproof to 300 feet deep, and about as wide as a C or D light. It's still takes AA batteries like you want, and it probably puts out around 60-100 lumens (don't own one). Depends on if you're willing to sacrifice bulk to get output; I see a lot of people here talking about how much you can get out of a 2AA host, so I figured I'd mention the opposite alternative.

Regarding the AuroraLight, good luck. I've seen ... three sell used. Two I couldn't afford, and one I was mad I missed. They've gone off the market, much to all our frustration, and the people who own one are content to sit on it and... you know, use it.

Tell me about it, maybe one day I'll spot a sub 200 dollar aleph2 :mecry:
I dunno there still out there though, I just mailed one to a fellow cpfer for Christmas. If I ever come across another I'll keep you in mind Chron

 

[lumengeek]

Thanks for the replies everyone, yeah I can see now that my 30-60 incandescent lumens on 2.4v was probably a bit over the top. Regarding warm white LEDs, I have considered changing the LED in my Fenix L1D to a warm white version, that would be almost perfect but I have not been able to source a warm white cree already mounted to the right heatsink...

Would really like to stick to 2AAs if possible. I will look through some of the suggestions given here, but will probably finish up with a 2AA maglite oo:

 

[fivemega]

[size=+2]GH88[/size] [size=+1]in 2AA flashlight which takes PR base bulb, with NiMH cells will be closest to what you need.[/size]