Which AAA does all this . . .

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islw2863

Newly Enlightened
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Jan 3, 2005
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Great Soggy Northwest
1 Uses one AAA battery
2 At least two modes, lowest being less than 5 lumens, highest over 40 lumens, the higher the better
3 Always starts in lowest mode
4 Bare metal finish, Steel, copper, titanium etc., no paint or anodizing
5 Will hang securely and comfortably from necklace
6 Will tailstand securely
7 Price: Any
8 L o n g runtime on low setting

The main role for the light described above is to wear at night and allow me to navigate safely from bed to bathroom with enough light to see safely but not enough to light disturb bed partner(s) and navigate around house at night safely. It would also be a (backup) EDC, and capable of replacing, briefly, my main EDC light.

The light I am using now for this role is the iTP A3 S2 EOS. It comes close but it does not meet all the requirements above, (6), and the beam is funky. It has a distinct donut hole at all brightness levels. The threads also feel distinctly gritty when cycling on/off.

I tried using a Microstream for this role but found it unsuitable because it lacks a lanyard attachment hole and the included clip pops off so easily that I knew I would eventually lose the light because the clip popped off. And it is slightly too bright and of course won't tailstand.

So. . .Is there any flashlight that meets the requirements listed ? I have searched thoroughly but didn't find it.
 
Yes that Lumintop is almost perfect, but the lowest setting of 10 lumens is high enough to be A)more likely to disturb sleeping people and B)high enough to greatly reduce longer runtime allowed by a 3 lumen setting as in my iTP A3.

So my iTP A3 distinctly fails one desired spec (6), and the lumintop fails one also (2).

So there is no light that meets all 8 desired specs ?
 
Some other options are:

1) DQG II
2) Preon 1 (Satin Titanium) - may fail #5 if hanging from the clip would be uncomfortable.
3) Maratac AAA (stainless steel or copper) - original started on Medium, new version may start on Low (check before buying).
 
I recently bought a maratac AAA copper from countycomm, it starts in low (L-M-H). Looks pretty. Mom loves it, it's her purse EDC.

Edit - it's discontinued!

But the AAA Rev 2 sounds like it fits the bill, 1.5 and 115 lumens, XPE-R3. Oh, you don't want anodizing.... not even natural?
 
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islw2863 said:
1 Uses one AAA battery
2 At least two modes, lowest being less than 5 lumens, highest over 40 lumens, the higher the better
3 Always starts in lowest mode
4 Bare metal finish, Steel, copper, titanium etc., no paint or anodizing
5 Will hang securely and comfortably from necklace
6 Will tailstand securely
7 Price: Any
8 L o n g runtime on low setting

....

So. . .Is there any flashlight that meets the requirements listed ? I have searched thoroughly but didn't find it.
Click to expand...

Well, Peak Eiger QTC will technically meet all of the above criteria (though I would personally consider it rather large and heavy for a "necklace light") ....

1 - will run AAA (or 10440)
2 - infinitely variable (easily goes from < 1 lumen to > 200 lumen OTF, on 10440 power)
3 - with QTC, more twist = more output (off, to low, through high, and infinitely variable)
4 - available in stainless steel or brass
5 - keyring body has split ring attachment
6 - keyring attachment is removable (unscrews for flat tail-standing ability)
7 - price fits within your stated budget
8 - QTC has extremely low "overhead" energy drain (haven't seen a runtime for a AAA, but the same emitter in a similar Peak QTC ran for over 376 hours at "moonlight" output level on a single CR123 primary)

If you are willing to consider less-common battery sizes, the Eiger will also fit on a tiny 10180 (or 10280) battery tube, which might make it more practical to "wear" (the 10180 lug body loses the tailstanding ability, however) ....

:)
 
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GaAslamp said:
Some other options are:

1) DQG II
2) Preon 1 (Satin Titanium) - may fail #5 if hanging from the clip would be uncomfortable.
3) Maratac AAA (stainless steel or copper) - original started on Medium, new version may start on Low (check before buying).
Click to expand...

Checked images for DQG II. Looks like head wall thickness is thinner than paper. Price comparable to better known higher quality brand names. Intuition says pass.

2) Preon 1 (Satin Titanium). I think the clip would would dig into my skin when worn on necklace. Looks high quality high feature though.

3) Maratac AAA (stainless steel or copper). Checked countycomm.com. The SS version is M>L>H failing spec (3),
but the copper version is L>M>H and meets all desired specs. Thanks GaAslamp ! I will be purchasing it shortly !
 
I'm a little surprised that you didn't mention tint in your specification... the Maratacs are a little on the blue side (cool white).

It's also surprising how hard it is to find a pocketable light that has all the right stuff.
 
archimedes said:
Well, Peak Eiger QTC will technically meet all of the above criteria (though I would personally consider it rather large and heavy for a "necklace light") ....

1 - will run AAA (or 10440)
2 - infinitely variable (easily goes from < 1 lumen to > 200 lumen OTF, on 10440 power)
3 - with QTC, more twist = more output (off, to low, through high, and infinitely variable)
4 - available in stainless steel or brass
5 - keyring body has split ring attachment
6 - keyring attachment is removable (unscrews for flat tail-standing ability)
7 - price fits within your stated budget
8 - QTC has extremely low "overhead" energy drain (haven't seen a runtime for a AAA, but the same emitter in a similar Peak QTC ran for over 376 hours at "moonlight" output level on a single CR123 primary)

If you are willing to consider less-common battery sizes, the Eiger will also fit on a tiny 10180 (or 10280) battery tube, which might make it more practical to "wear" (the 10180 lug body loses the tailstanding ability, however) ....

:)
Click to expand...

Peak LED has earned a reputation for unsurpassed quality and durability. The Eiger has many variations and does indeed meet all the desired specifications in my OP.

There is just one nagging thing though. The QTC technology is so new! Even a company with an unsurpassed reputation for quality can't turn a beta version into a stable production technology can it? Only time can. In Information Technology parlance, I am not an 'Early Adopter'.
 
islw2863 said:
Peak LED has earned a reputation for unsurpassed quality and durability. The Eiger has many variations and does indeed meet all the desired specifications in my OP.

There is just one nagging thing though. The QTC technology is so new! Even a company with an unsurpassed reputation for quality can't turn a beta version into a stable production technology can it? Only time can. In Information Technology parlance, I am not an 'Early Adopter'.
Click to expand...

Well, according to Wikipedia, QTC was discovered in 1996 ... ?

Although the physics behind it is a bit "esoteric" (involving "electrons teleporting through quantum tunnels of a probabilistic uncertainty field", or some such), the actual function seems fairly low-tech. It seems to simply be granules of conductive metal embedded in a spongy insulator - squeeze them closer together and more current will flow :)
 
islw2863 said:
Peak LED has earned a reputation for unsurpassed quality and durability. The Eiger has many variations and does indeed meet all the desired specifications in my OP.

There is just one nagging thing though. The QTC technology is so new! Even a company with an unsurpassed reputation for quality can't turn a beta version into a stable production technology can it? Only time can. In Information Technology parlance, I am not an 'Early Adopter'.
Click to expand...

As much as I'd like to support them, I have to tell you that the QTC technology is a bit "touchy" and might require some fussing around with in some situations, as seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKY5A03q-Vs#t=01m17s
 
I have an Eiger SS lug with a #2 head (non QTC) on my key ring, an Eiger X QTC SS head on a HA pocket body that I use in various places, and a Logan 123 SS QTC pocket body in my pocket. All have done well for me but I have to say the #2 (non QTC) head on my key ring has proven to be the easiest to use. The #2 head is not too bright for dark room use (though bright enough to disturb fellow sleepers) and not so bright it will hurt the un trained who ALWAYS point a light at their face when powering on. The Eiger X is great for times when more light is needed but a bit hard to turn on at low settings FIRST, I always seem to have to ramp it back down from bright when I need dim, and too bright sometimes on high. My Logan has pretty much stopped being QTC adjustable! There is almost no movement between low and high now, so it is considered a "high" only light in my armory.

The Eiger X is second gen QTC (I think) and really does work smoother and more reliably than my Logan. however the 10440 only requirement is a bit of a turn off.

I want an Eiger 10180 body with a non QTC head for neck carry, but that will not met your tail stand requirement.
 
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