1/2w 1AA AdvancedMart - New Twisty version SK-230A

JohnW of AdvancedMart.com very generously sent me these new AdvancedMart 1/2watt 1xAA Twisty head version (model # SK-230A) for review

Size

in comparison these new twisty heads are about the same size as the previous clicky versions.

The newer twisty feels heavier, more substantial than the previous clicky versions and the newer silver version looks very nice indeed - the sliver anodized finish is shiney - much better looking than the textured finish on the previous clicky version - kind of reminded me of the fabulous Arc-AA.

They seem a bit fatter/thicker than the previous version - especially if one compares the heads -

but the bodies at the knurled area seem about the same diameter - the newer versions are just a bit fatter - but it's very much in keeping with the length and in proportion they seem just right sized, and actually very good looking.....

It's a bit of an optical illusion that the black version seems slimmer than the silver one -

I deliberately swapped the heads of the two lights and switched them on for this comparison to show that they are interchangeable and the same size.

One of the major areas of concern was the reliability of the earlier clicky version - I had a problem with the first one I got and had to have it exchanged - quite a few CPF'ers also experienced problems with earlier versions.
(see this CPF review thread for more details and CPF input -
0.5w 1AA - AdvancedMart LED-005S)

However I have EDC'd at home the silver clicky version which I got as a replacement - and it basically has been working problem free for me since I got it. I liked the light a lot, and chose to EDC at home it over all the other lights I have. But I have been hesitant to recommend this light because of the reports of problems and failures. Please see this review thread for more details and lots of CPF input - 0.5w 1AA - AdvancedMart LED-005S.

So is this newer twisty head version going to be as troublesome - only time will really tell -
BUT I am very pleased and impressed with certain design aspects and from these it would seem that these newer versions should be a lot more reliable.

Threads -

These were to me a possible problematical area - the previous version had anodized threads that were scraped to reveal bare metal - since the electrical contacts were made via the threads - this was not such a good thing.

These new twisty versions have threads that are bare aluminum - no contact problems there.

The head also has a sprung piston '+'ve contact similar to the concept of the Inova X1 and X5 - but here the piston is actually a (pressure) switch - again a very good design for reliability. There is also a spring at the bottom of the body tube - again another good contact design. Both these design aspects contribute to making these new twisty versions rattle free even when the lights are shaken hard without any danger of accidental turn on.

The tail-end on the newer twisty version solid body is flat which will allow standing on end - but the keyring attachement seems to upset the flatness - however it can actually stand on end albeit a bit more wobbly........

Dare I say it - these newer versions seem like an over-engineered Arc-AA - (I know sacrilege) - but it seems that AdvancedMart took the unreliability problems of the previous clicky version to heart and came up with an over-engineered design that should by all counts be really reliable. In this way I am very impressed.

OK so much for the design aspects what's the light like?

vs. previous clicky 0.5w 1AA - AdvancedMart LED-005S

very similar in output and characteristics........
to all intents and purposes this is the same light - the slight difference in brightness or tint are easuly within sample variations.

vs. CMG Ultra-G

noticeably brighter - especially evidenced by the side-spill in the -2 stops underexposed comparison.

vs. ArcAAA (2003 - classic pre-resuscitated Arc version)

again quite noticeably brighter similar to comparison with the Ultra-G above - except the ArcAAA has a noticeably narrower beam than the AM 0.5w 1AA (new twisty) and even though the light is therefore more concentrated - the -2 stops underexposed shot show how much brighter the AM 1/2watt is........

Having said that the classic 5mm white LED (probably Nichias - pre-CS) are still very viable lights and still hold their own well against these newer 1/2watt lights - case in point I still EDC out of my house a humble Dorcy 1AAA gen1 - which has very similar levels to the Ultra-G and ArcAAA.

OK some will probably have noticed the tint of the newer twisty 1/2watt seems a bit cooler/bluer than the older clicky version

vs. Nuwai 0.5w 1AAA (TM-310H)

the Nuwai 1/2watts are notoriously blue tinted especially in comparison with other flashlights - this new twisty AdvancedMart 1/2watt is almost as blue (the Nuwai is my least blue one) - however in use the light just seems white - it's only in comparison that the light will seem blue.

OK trade-offs -

The newer AdvancedMart 1/2watt 1AA twisty has gained what appears to me to be a much more reliable design - addressing almost all the possible problematical areas of the previous clicky version - this is a really BIG advantage - I would almost suggest this is a light one should really be able to depend on - but only time and more reports will tell.

This newer twisty head version - loses the useful clicky switch and its beam seems just a shade bluer-
neither are desirable - but the reliable design seems to far outweigh any of these considerations.

The current draw was about 0.19A which puts it about the same as the previous clicky version - and the tested runtime for the previous clicky version was just over 6hours on a single alkaline AA

At their current Sale price of $11.99 - I would consider this really good value for money - for what seems like a very well designed (for reliability) 1AA light.

I think AdvancedMart have listened to CPF and have attempted to address the major issues with their 1/2watt 1x AA light -
I think this deserves our applauds.

I'm so glad you posted this. I've been looking at this light on their website all week and hemming and hawwing about pulling the trigger. I was going to get the AA clicky, then I saw the CR2 and 123 combo on sale. Then I read about all the problems associated with the AA clicky........

You've made it a much easier decision. I think I'll try one.

lightningbug wrote: "I've been looking at this light on their website all week and hemming and hawwing about pulling the trigger. I was going to get the AA clicky, then I saw the CR2 and 123 combo on sale. Then I read about all the problems associated with the AA clicky........"

Thank you so much for the kind words.

I have this thing for single battery lights - especially for 1AA lights - so I'm kind of biassed.

The clicky 1AA 1/2watt, I really, really like - like I said I actually EDC it at home - where I can just about pick any other light - this is the one that rides in my pocket and therefore gets the most use.

I was very hesitant about recommending the clicky 1AA because of all the reports of problems including my own first one. However my two samples have been reliable (even so, I did have a short-lived switch problem on the my EDC - but that went away without much grief) - so you can see why I've been reluctant about recommending it despite the fact I really like mine.

However as an at home EDC reliability is still important to me - but much less of an issue since if it fails I can just pick up some other light - it'd just be annoying......

As for the single Lithium (CR2 & CR123) battery versions - in my comparison review of them -

AdvancedMart 0.5watt - Lithium Lights (CR2 & CR123)

I really liked the CR2 version because of both brightness and tint -
but was somewhat disappointed with the CR123 version - for some inexplicable reason it was much dimmer than expected, without any claim of much longer runtime (its claimed runtime was the same as that for the CR2 version - CR2 have about 1/2 the capacity of the CR123!).

However it now sits in my car as an emergency back-up light since there is a Lithium CR123 - and even with a dimmer level it is still very adequate in practical use in and around one's car and the unremarkable runtime claim of 6+hours is still good enough for its intended purpose.

Since these lithium lights were constructed of chromed brass and made very good electrical contact - I speculated that they should be reliable.
Unfortunately as one can see further down the thread there was a report of failure of the very nice CR2 version - not just one but two ......
so much for my predictions and speculations......

Hi, just thought I'd drop a line in this thread as I just recieved one of these puppies. My initial thoughts? Very very nice for the price. To put the size in perspective for those Fenix owners, its a tiny fraction of an inch thinner and about a quarter inch shorter.

Overall, this unit seems MUCH higher quality than the clicky version due to machined aluminum construction as opposed to casting. Feels very solid and high quality. The tradeoff is a slightly bigger, heavier unit, but it is still quite small- smaller and lighter than the Fenix, so you get the idea. I agree with VT that the silver finish is quite attractive.

The tint on my unit *leans* toward the cool side of the spectrum, but is very clean- there is NO visible blue like the river rock .5 watt lights. I think most people would be very happy with the tint.

To my unscientific eyes, I'd say brightness is about 1.5 times the current version Arc AAA, with most of the extra light going toward a much more pronounced, wide and smooth hotspot. Seems like this would be an excellent choice for reading.

The thread action seems well done (especially after I lubed it a bit) though my only concern is that the O-ring is VERY thin- not sure how long it will last considering this light will see a lot of twisting. As VT showed above, it looks like a real gold contact for the positive end and a nice spring for the negative, which means rechargebles shouldn't get crushed in this thing.

Overall, initial impressions say that this light is an EXCELLENT value option. Its perhaps not quite as high quality as the new X1, but its reasonably close, the tint is much better, and its cheaper to boot. Provided I don't encounter any flickering or other problems in time, I could easily see getting more of these as "introductory flashoholic gifts" .

Solstice wrote: "thought I'd drop a line in this thread as I just recieved one of these puppies. My initial thoughts? Very very nice for the price.
Overall, this unit seems MUCH higher quality than the clicky version due to machined aluminum construction as opposed to casting. Feels very solid and high quality.
The thread action seems well done (especially after I lubed it a bit) though my only concern is that the O-ring is VERY thin- not sure how long it will last considering this light will see a lot of twisting.
Overall, initial impressions say that this light is an EXCELLENT value option."

Thanks so much for the input - I am particularly pleased to hear from you as we both had encountered probelms with the earlier clicky version -
so that should make us harder judges - more critical and skeptical of this new version.

I'm not an expert in flashlight engineering - but all the design touches and construction quality - would lead me to think this is a reliable version.

Of course I will repeat - only time and several more reports will tell - and a caveat - as pointed out on the chromed brass lithium versions I have been dead wrong too......

One thing I'd like to highlight -

The twisty head seems like a retrograde step from the clicky switch.

However I have found on well fitting lights like the Ultra-G and ArcAAA - and now my two samples of this 1/2watt 1AA AdvM new twist version - that I can easily operate the lights one handed with virtually no disadvantage to a clicky.

I hold the light normally with the index finger and thumb on the head and set the light to off about 1/4 turn (for me) and to switch on it is then only a moderate twist one-handed.

Normally I am very paranoid about light turning on accidentally - but with well fitting twisty heads - a 1/4 turn from just on is plenty of margin for error to keep the light off in one's pocket with virtually no danger of an accidental turn on.

This new AdvM 1/2w 1AA twist version is even better in that the sprung piston on the head is actually more than just a contact - but actually a switch that requires quite a bit of pressure/depression before it is switched on (as I found when trying to take a current draw measurement) -
so the likelihood of an unintended turn on from a margin of a 1/4 turn would seem to me pretty unlikely......

More comments/thoughts on this aspect of the twisty?

I personally don't mind a twisty at all as long as its smooth- and this one is . Activation is very easy with one hand and there is very little play (much less than some higher end lights). The action has just the right amount of resistance.

I'm not sure if it is because of the spring or what, but it is not easy to "fake" a momentary with this light by putting pressure on the edge of the bezel when the head is barely backed out. I consider this a good thing, as it means the light will only be on when you want it to be.

BTW- you can actually HEAR the switch/piston you describe: if you put the light up to your ear, you will hear an almost inaudible click when it engages. It sounds like a Rice Crispy popping .

So far, my entire experience with this light just makes me what to sing its praises. Great job Advancedmart ! If the output meets your requirements, I'd suggest anyone on this board should give this a whirl. For $12, it puts the Infinity to shame!

Does the head come apart?

Solstice wrote: "BTW- you can actually HEAR the switch/piston you describe: if you put the light up to your ear, you will hear an almost inaudible click when it engages. It sounds like a Rice Crispy popping .
So far, my entire experience with this light just makes me what to sing its praises. Great job Advancedmart ! If the output meets your requirements, I'd suggest anyone on this board should give this a whirl. For $12, it puts the Infinity to shame!"

Your enthusiasm is infectious....

But may I ask (very politely of course) -
what have you been smokin'? :huh:

Neither of my 2 samples make any significant noise when turned on -
and yes you made me put them close to my ear and strained to hear.....
it's way past April/1st.......

as....

greenlight wrote: "Does the head come apart?"

Looking at the photo in my opening post at the comments about the sprung piston in the head - one can see the retaining ring with the two holes for unscrewing.

That's a pretty substantial spring for the piston and one can see there is no other mechanism for the "switch" it is a solid brass rod/protrusion that makes contact with the center solder contact blob on the board in the head. So I can't see what could make any noise on contact - unless of course one screwed the head down so tight that the PCB board cracked to make a pop noise?

As can also be seen in this photo there is a further retaining ring in the head to disassemble the head further to access the circuit, LED, reflector assembly - I'm not brave enough to want to do this right now.....

maybe ask me later....
on a $50 note

I am not resposible for any spelling or grammatical errors - 2 glasses of Brandy will override my organic spell-checker ever time!

I was brave enough to further dissect the little beastie, and it was pretty straightforward, even for a klutz such as I. However, when you put it back together, the height of the "outside" retaining is critical. You want to screw it all the way in until it won't go any further, then back it out just enough to give you a little bit of piston action. If it's screwed in all the way and locked, the light turns on continuously. If you back it out just a bit too far - you have NO light. The parts in my photo are slightly out of order for purposes of reassembly. One locking ring holds the circuit board in place, and the second locking ring holds the spring/switch/plunger assembly in place.
My impression of this little guy is that it is worth the money, but I wouldn't pay much more than what it sells for now - for only one reason. The overall light output is very weak by today's standards. I'd say it's the equivalent of a modern ARC AAA-P in output with a slight edge in tint (but not much). It's overall size is a negative. Runtime would be a positive, but you would expect mucho runtime with weak output. Where this little guy is going to be invaluable is to those who like to MOD. It comes apart very easily and goes back together just as easily.
It has a glass lens, but no o-ring or sealing on the lens end, so it's obviously not waterproof.
The anodizing is not going to hold up. The black models scratch quite easily.
Overall construction is pretty good. I purchased 3 of them, and thread smoothness varies a bit.
I didn't see any meaningful difference in output whether there was a Lithium or an Alkaline inside.
Here's a few photos for comparison:

UnknownVT said:

Your enthusiasm is infectious....

But may I ask (very politely of course) -
what have you been smokin'? :huh:

Neither of my 2 samples make any significant noise when turned on -
and yes you made me put them close to my ear and strained to hear.....
it's way past April/1st.......

Click to expand...

Those days are long since over . Seriously now, I can hear a slight "pop" or "crackle" sound when I turn the unit on, but in retrospect I think it is because I put a fairly viscious lube on the threads and the sound I'm hearing is from it squishing around in there. My bad.

BTW it is pretty funny to imagine a bunch of confused flashaholics with a light up to their ears straining to hear something that isn't there . I appologize to anyone who's significant other witnessed them doing this .

BTW- I agree this isn't a scorcher and doesn't stand up to luxeon lights, but it IS brighter than my CS based Nichia lights (Arc AAA and the new X1) and is MUCH better for closup work due to the smooth wide hotspot and far more neutral tint. The tint isn't luxeon quality (its coolness doesn't offer the best color rendition) but it is far more consistant overall than a 5mm LED (with bluish blobs in the middle and a yellow/green corona). I can read with this light quite comfortably while I find a 5mm starts to be distracting and hurts my eyes.

randyo wrote: "I was brave enough to further dissect the little beastie, and it was pretty straightforward, even for a klutz such as I. However, when you put it back together, the height of the "outside" retaining is critical. You want to screw it all the way in until it won't go any further, then back it out just enough to give you a little bit of piston action. If it's screwed in all the way and locked, the light turns on continuously. If you back it out just a bit too far - you have NO light.
The overall light output is very weak by today's standards. I'd say it's the equivalent of a modern ARC AAA-P in output with a slight edge in tint (but not much).
The anodizing is not going to hold up. The black models scratch quite easily.
Overall construction is pretty good. I purchased 3 of them, and thread smoothness varies a bit.
I didn't see any meaningful difference in output whether there was a Lithium or an Alkaline inside. "

Thank you very much for the further disassembly and photos

The beauty of these forums is that sometimes there will be people who will very generously take up my slack and shortcomings (said in an appreciative way )

I didn't find such criticality when reassembling the head - I realized from the way the piston worked not to over screw down the retaining ring. All I did was to screw it down such that it was just past flush - I noted before disassembling flush was the way it came.

The light(s) are very typical of 1/2watts - very comparable with the other 1/2watts I have and as you probably noted about the same or maybe a shade brighter than the Nuwai TM-310H 1/2watt 1AAA in your picture - these AdvM 1/2watts have a noticably larger and more even hotspot.

From "playing" around I found 2 of the 0.5w 1AA - AdvancedMart LED-005S (earlier clicky version) were about the same brightness as a good 1watt like the Fenix L1 v2.5 - I think 3 would definitely be brighter - I did the same thing playing with the Nuwai 0.5w 1AAA (TM-310H) where it was closer to 3 - (comparison beamshots are in those links)

So although it obviously does not match a full 1watt Lux - afterall it is only a 1/2watt - it is significantly and noticably brighter than most single 5mm LED lights - to me a very worthwhile gain - but still with very respectable long runtimes - which I find much more useful as a typical EDC - but as always YMMV

More notes:
I thought the body was a single solid piece (ala CMG Ultra and ArcAAA) - but on closely examining the body I discovered that the tail actually unscrews. There was some aluminum shavings/debris around that area - so I used an old toothbrush to sweep the debris out, and out popped the bottom '-'ve contact spring.

I thought this might be relevant when considering the relative "bulletproof-ness" of these lights.

I thought the body was solid as well- just unscrewed the tailcap on mine just to see. I guess its good to be able to easily reach both contact points should a problem arise. It's clean inside, but one thing I don't like is that there is no O-ring on the tailcap- another place water could potentially spoil the fun.

Edit: I actually want to recant stating that this light is brighter than the new reflectored X1 with CS LED. I think it is actually a tiny bit dimmer. IMHO, the tint makes up for it, as I wouldn't be using either light for anything more than closeup work and general navigation. I'd love to see a runtime graph on this puppy to see how it compares to the CS LED based lights.

Solstice wrote: "one thing I don't like is that there is no O-ring on the tailcap- another place water could potentially spoil the fun."

Ah... I forgot to mention that.

However when screw threads are tight - like in this tail-end cap - they are easily waterproof.

I just blew hard into the body (until my face turned blue) and there was absolutely no sign of air leakage......

.....now I've done it all -
listening to a flashlight
and blowing it.... (er-hum )

Solstice wrote: "Edit: I actually want to recant stating that this light is brighter than the new reflectored X1 with CS LED. I think it is actually a tiny bit dimmer."

Interesting that a (suspected over-driven) Nichia CS is as bright or brighter than these 1/2watts - which I think are quite a bit UNDER-driven from the current draw measurements (1.5 x 0.19 = 0.285watts total power draw by the flashlight)

However as mentioned above 2 to 3 of these typical 1/2watts are equivalent to a good 1watt Lux - so this would seem about right for these 1/2watts - I think one has to be impressed by the exceptional level of the (over-driven) Nichia CS in the Inovas (I was VERY impressed with the newer version of the Inova X5 (white) (linked comparison review) - its brightness surprised me)

Just for completeness - here's my size comparison photo with the Fenix L1 -
and to show a little bit better how "handsome" looking these lights are -

My understanding of genetics is limited, but I believe if you mated a Fenix L1P with an ARC-AA, you would probably come up with this new Advancemart SK-230A. It has the L1P's size, the knurling and "feel" of an oversized ARC-AA, and a light output somewhere between the two, in both tint and overall output. Fortunately, since it's a Mongrel, the price is low.
Is this new offering from Advancemart the "Pound Puppy" of the flashlight world?

Great analogy randyo !

randyo wrote: "if you mated a Fenix L1P with an ARC-AA, you would probably come up with this new Advancemart SK-230A.
Fortunately, since it's a Mongrel, the price is low.
Is this new offering from Advancemart the "Pound Puppy" of the flashlight world?"

Using your geneology -
this "mongrel" has pretty good parentage -
I worship the Arc-AA design - and am dead jealous of your ownership -
I (and a ton of others) already know how good the Fenix L1(P) is......

Another thing you could do to help on the tailcap where there is no O ring is use teflon plumbers tape in the threads before screwing in in place, Remember to go with the threads not against it so it does not try to unwind as you thread it in place.

Lee1959 wrote: "Another thing you could do to help on the tailcap where there is no O ring is use teflon plumbers tape in the threads before screwing in in place, Remember to go with the threads not against it so it does not try to unwind as you thread it in place."

No!

Sorry, this is probably NOT a good idea -
it may make an already waterproof design - even more water-resistant.......

BUT you're very likely going to prevent this flashlight from working at all -
since the bare aluminum threads are the electrical contacts
and teflon tape is very much an insulator -
you've just gone from a very reliable design light - to ......

As long as the tape is on the threads only, and the base and body touch the contact should still be maintained should it not? The only thing you would be doing is the threads themselves.

Lee1959 wrote: "As long as the tape is on the threads only, and the base and body touch the contact should still be maintained should it not? The only thing you would be doing is the threads themselves."

Sorry, but NO.

The threads are bare metal - but the ends are anodized - please look closely at the tail disasssembled picture and one can just make out the tube end is black/anodized.

Like I said when screw threads are really tight - they are waterproof - as my blowing test shows. So the addition of teflon tape would be a questionable advantage - and a very probable detriment.
There are other areas that could do with more attention like the window/"lens" -
which is plastic/polycarbonate BTW - on one of mine I can see a molding flaw so it is not glass.