What's the new hot 1xAA cheapo?

[sparkysko]

I accidentally ran over my Nitecore D10 with the lawnmower when my lanyard broke, and just lost my first gen ultrafire c3, I was also laid off, so I can't afford another Nitecore, but I need something 1xAA sized to fill my cargo pant pocket.

Ultrafires aren't made the way they used to be, I had one for 2 years that worked perfectly, and bought 5 for relatives a year later, and all 5 of them died within a month (switch problems), so I'm stumped on what's a good 20$ or less light

EDIT:

I can also use 14500's, as I have some cells and a charger.

 

[Zeruel]

Akoray K-106?

 

[sol-leks]

I've also heard good things about the akoray.
Other choices might include a 1xaa romisen or a tank007 AA light.

 

[cheetokhan]

Akoray K-106?

+1.
By far the best cheapo AA size light I have. If it had a lower low level, it would give my Jetbeam a run for its money.

 

[elwood]

I love my Romisen RC-G2 II from shiningbeam.com. It impressed me more than my T100C2 MkII. It's really bright and to me it's light and I forget that I have it in my pocket sometimes.

 

[post tenebras]

I have no idea...

But, if you're willing to consider something about 2 years old and about $5.00 over your budget, the TerraLux LightStar 100 is a nice light (made by Nuwai).

 

[sparkysko]

Which one?

http://dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.28546
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.16607

 

[Zeruel]

Which one?

http://dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.28546
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.16607

Second. First one is a er... clone. Nkoray. But you could take a chance and let us know what you think.

 

[hyperloop]

Akoray K-106 is a good light for its price and it can run off 14500s too, i got mine (3 mode programmable) off KD not DX. Took a while but its here.

 

[sparkysko]

Sweet, thanks for the advice, ordered the Akoray.

 

[bansuri]

The Akoray has Low Voltage cutoff feature for your 14500s:
Click the light 3 quick times to toggle between low voltage cutoff being on or off.
Also, mine turned out to be 3 modes, not 6. Wasn't an issue for me though.
Lots of info in the discussion threads, I copied this from a page that someone had translated from Chinese:

On/Off battery discharge protection

Turn on the light.
Soft tap the switch 3 times to toggle between protection on or off. If the light blink once, it is off. If the light blink twice, it is on.

Programming mode

Turn on the light.

Soft tap the switch 5 times or more.

The light will blink once, indicating programming mode 1.

3 sec later, the light will go through the following cycle:

1. low to high. Once reaches the highest, the light will blink once.
2. strobe, from 1Hz to 15Hz.
3. SOS.
Then it will repeat the above cycle.

To set mode 1, turn off the light at the desired setting for more than 1 sec. To continue to set mode 2, turn on the light again within 4 sec. If the light is off for more than 5 sec, it will exit programming mode. Repeat for mode 2 and 3.

 

[Moonshadow]

I accidentally ran over my Nitecore D10 with the lawnmower

For some reason, I keep hearing Kevin Gershon singing "I'm Looking Over my dead dog rover"

 

[NonSenCe]

cheapo AA single mode: Romisen g2 from shiningbeam. under 20$
cheapo AA multimode: Akoray. about 25$

good value AA multimode: iTP c7 (tactical or regular) under 40$



and to offer something that i find interesting (and havent gotten one yet): lumapower connexion.

 

[Yucca Patrol]

It is almost embarrassing how nice the Akoray is for the price compared to my more expensive name brand 1xAA lights. . . .

 

[Centropolis]

It is almost embarrassing how nice the Akoray is for the price compared to my more expensive name brand 1xAA lights. . . .

Just wondering, what other name brand 1 x AA flashlight that you have you're comparing it to? I am interested in getting one too just based on your statement.

Is there a warm version of this?

 

[PhillyRube]

I just picked up this Regalight 1AA, used for $46.00 So far very nice!

http://flashlight-forums.com/index.php?topic=7004.0

 

[NonSenCe]

even you didnt ask it from me i answer it anyways:

as single AA lights i have: itp c7t, jetbeam pro1, quark aa t, nitecore d10, romisen g2, (and zebralight h501, wonder if i forgot any? hhmmmm)

i had akoray, modded it with warm led (my 1st mod and it was easy. dismantle, pull plastic cover out. de-solder wires. pull the led out. solder wires to new one, center the led, reassemble and then i just turned it on.)

then week later as my friend saw it. he wanted it. so i sold it to him with profit.

and now. couple months later. i just ordered new akoray. it just is VERY good deal. under 20 dollars and programmable. (jetbeam is the second cheapest programmable AA? at 60-70dollars!)

when i got it originally, i decided at once that it felt and looked and performed like it was worth double the price. (there are few weak points in it.. made cheap. but it is still running strong as my friends every day carry light.)

downsides.. on alkaline batteries its not as good. on nihms it does fine. but on li.ion it excels. the button is a bit stiff to use. the ramping is/was bit too quick in my sample to accurately lock into the "right output". the led tint was too bluish on mine.. (the reason why i modded it)

for 20 you wont go wrong if you get a working sample of akoray. (they are cheap after all.. so quality control may vary, and sometimes the shipping takes for ever)
for 40 get the smooth ramping itp c7 (R or T). (its much nicer ramping than in d10)

**as my AA edc i use quark now (the WARM tint version is the key feature why), d10 as backup or secondary (mellow neutral tint), the itp is my "around the house flashlight" (white tint), jetbeam is down to "need to carry something different today for fun" light.

 

[fixitman]

I also have the akoray K-106. Its my around the house light. I like it very much. Its a little big for EDC for me. A very good deal.


I also modded mine with a neutral tint, 3A tint in this case. Perfect indoor color rendition compared to all of my other lights. Outdoors, my 5A tint lights are a bit better.

 

[cheetokhan]

I just picked up this Regalight 1AA, used for $46.00 So far very nice!

$29.50 at DX. It's OK, but the user interface is horrible and it's not built nearly as heavy or machined as nice as the K-106.

Edit: by "heavy", I mean the k-106 is machined with a much thicker tube and the threads are large, square cut like a Jetbeam. It just looks and feels like a really high quality light.

 

[Jay611j]

The Akoray has Low Voltage cutoff feature for your 14500s:

Programming mode

Turn on the light.

Soft tap the switch 5 times or more.

The light will blink once, indicating programming mode 1.

3 sec later, the light will go through the following cycle:

1. low to high. Once reaches the highest, the light will blink once.
2. strobe, from 1Hz to 15Hz.
3. SOS.
Then it will repeat the above cycle.

To set mode 1, turn off the light at the desired setting for more than 1 sec. To continue to set mode 2, turn on the light again within 4 sec. If the light is off for more than 5 sec, it will exit programming mode. Repeat for mode 2 and 3.

What Akoray model has the programmable strobe feature? I am looking for one that I can set at slow flash and high flash (15Hz or so)