What's the deal with the Arc AAA P?

This light seems to be a favorite for so many people. I am inclined from the popularity alone to get one, but I prevent myself because i can't answer the simple question.... what makes this light better than my P1?

From the review at http://flashlightreviews.com/reviews/arc_aaa-p.htm, it is not that bright, and has a blue tint.

Why should this light replace my fenix P1? Is it the runtime? Sturdiness? I guess it depends on what you are most concerned with, but i'm inclined to think that if you are breaking a flashlight on your keychain... then you are breaking your keys too.... and i am guessing that at this point you're full of it

The Arc is not better - just different. Different battery, thinner, longer running (5 pretty flat hours on a lithium), and way less output. Its one of those apples and oranges thing. Keep your P1 and add an Arc to your keychain as a backup.

peace

It's not the brightest, it's not the longest-running, it's not a lot of things. But what it is... a great, small, durable light.

I can't speak for others, but I don't see a blue tint in my version.

Don't try to justify it, give in to your inner flashaholic!

tenfour said:

This light seems to be a favorite for so many people. I am inclined from the popularity alone to get one, but I prevent myself because i can't answer the simple question.... what makes this light better than my P1?

From the review at http://flashlightreviews.com/reviews/arc_aaa-p.htm, it is not that bright, and has a blue tint.

Why should this light replace my fenix P1? Is it the runtime? Sturdiness? I guess it depends on what you are most concerned with, but i'm inclined to think that if you are breaking a flashlight on your keychain... then you are breaking your keys too.... and i am guessing that at this point you're full of it

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Not true at all.

A P1 doesn't have the run time and has a nice bright beam, which is great for a lot of situations, but not all. Sometimes, an Arc beam is more useful. The P1 is a little more chunky than the Arc and doesn't EDC as well with my keys in my opinion.

Can't wait to get mine =)
thanks for your comments

If you did get the Arc AAA-P, I doubt you'd be disappointed with it. Both lights have their own niche to fill. Of course if you want to keep it in the Fenix family and save a few dollars then you should consider a matching Fenix E0 to go with your P1. That way you'll have runtime AND brightness when you need it. Sometimes a little bit of light is just right.

Honestly, you will most likely be VERY disapointed with it if you are expecting something anywhere near as bright as your P1.


I'll tell you why it is so popular around here. Mostly because it was one of the first (maybe the first) pocket LED keychain light around. ARC was making LED lights and Luxeon lights long before any of the companies who rule the market today, and because of that they have a very strong following who will always be true to them.
They are also from the U.S. Alot of members on this site don't want to support lights that were made overseas (Fenix,Huntlight,Jetbeam,others) even though they offer much more bang for your buck than anything made in the U.S.

I personally have owned two ARC AAAP's. My first one (X-Mas present last year) was my only light ever to malfunction. It would flicker and then completely stop working. To ARC's credit they replaced it very quickly questions asked. I sold my second one as soon as it arrived.

I suggest buying the Fenix EO. It is what the AAAP should be, with its 9 hours of flat regulation off a single alkaline. It is also less than half the price of the AAAP ($20 shipped compared to $44 shipped).

If you don't care about regulation buy some cheapie keylights from fifthunit.com. They are $5 for 10 of them shipping included!!! You can then buy some Nichia CS U bin LED's (that exact same LED that is in the AAAP) and put them in the keylights. If will give the same output as the AAAP and cost around $1.75 each.

Brighter does not always equal better. In an emergency situation, runtime is probably paramount--at least to me it is. If I want a blindingly bright light, I'd go for a bigger form factor. There are several lights of similar size (maybe a bit bigger) that have considerably more output, and also cheaper. I do not own ANY of them. The Arc will get you by in many emergencies with time to spare. The really bright ones? You may get an hour or so. I want more reserve capacity than that. To each his own.

I own one of each, and to me the biggest difference is in the hardness of the finish (other than the size, of course). I carried a P1 on my keychain for a couple of weeks, and it shows very obvious signs of wear (scratches and bare spots on the anodizing). I replaced it with an AAA-P, and after several months, the ARC looks exactly like it did the first day I put it on the keychain.

Don't get me wrong, I love my P1 and I still carry it with me - just not on my keychain.

I feel the ARC-AAA is perfectly suited to life on a keychain. It is no more obtrusive than any other keyfob I have ever owned, and I have it with me whenever I am outside of the home. Its HAIII finish is legendary - I have yet to see one obviously scratched up from long-term keychain usage. Although there may be exceptions, I have found my keychain ARC AAA to be a flawless and utterly trustworthy performer.

The light emitted by it (it's the pre-reorg non-premium version) is perfect for closeup work (reading menus and playbills, assembling something in one's lap, etc), yet still very effective for general illumination (finding one's way around a dark room, searching for a lost item in the grass at night, etc).

What you cannot expect it to do is to light up a tree from fifty feet away, or read the license plate of a car parked well into a dark alley. For that sort of duty, the Fenix P1 fits my needs (although there are numerous other choices). But these needs are far less frequent, and can usually be planned for in advance (e.g., grab the P1 before heading out for a midnight stroll, or for the camping trip).

For those cases when I need a light, but otherwise wouldn't have one, the ARC AAA fits the bill 99.6% of the time.

Another thing to note: the AAA-P revison 4 has been using a different bin LED for some time now. I believe the picture on flashlightreviews is the original bin LED--which has a bit more blue than the new one. Peter G was nice enough to post beam shots comparing the two when I asked about it, over in the ARC forums.

Before you consider the Fenix, read some of the comments--lots of folks were unhappy with the tint on it also. I don't have one, so cannot comment on it. (Referring to the new AAA-based 5mm led fenix, not the P1).

Personally I will agree with most of the answers given--except one. ARC was gone when I became interested in flashlights. When they came back, I spent a lot of time learning about the then-available AAA based keyring lights. My preference for ARC is based on quality, not memories.

ARC is an awesome light--not perfect in every regard, but a great all-round light. The output is good--easily enough to walk by (actually sometimes too much--I have to shield it when I check on the kids at night). The runtime is great. The finish is unreal--hardest and best I've ever seen on a light this size and price. If you want pure output with short runtime, look elsewhere. However, the arc is the best keyring light I've tried yet.

Oh, there's an interesting post in the arc forum where someone ran over an arc with a car. The arc still works, no issues. Maybe we should try that with some of the competition, see what happens.

Actually I'm glad to see the other options--having choices makes this fun! Otherwise we'd all be carrying minimags and solitaires. However, I still carry ARC--meets my needs and I trust it.

Good luck shopping!

Really not that great

The Arc AAA is really not that great. The Fenix E0 is a better light. The biggest thing here is, that Arc has a forum and has been a paying sponsor for a while.
I'd like to quote another forumite who so eloquently put it in another post:

Originally Posted by amanichen
Actually, based on CPF posts most ARC owners zealously defend their purchases, and often refuse to admit that there are any design flaws in the light. The $40 price doesn't buy you disappointment, rather it buys you a license to be pretentious about your purchase (again based on posts on CPF.)

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Well stated. A great signature, even.

Everyone's situation is different. Having an Arc AAA P on my keychain would just make the arrangement too bulky for me even though it's a small light. I have a Photon III on my keychain and EDC a Gerber IU in my opposite pocket.

Its just the light that wont die. Thats all.


Mine has survived a flood sumberged in dirty sewer water while on my keys in my pocket for several days. It will never come off my keychain... ever.

I wear mine every day around my neck on my old dog tag chain. There is more light for less money out there, but I wonder if others could withstand the torture of years of EDC.

Re: Really not that great

Jedi Knife said:

The Arc AAA is really not that great. The Fenix E0 is a better light. The biggest thing here is, that Arc has a forum and has been a paying sponsor for a while.
I'd like to quote another forumite who so eloquently put it in another post:




Well stated. A great signature, even.

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Do you own an Arc?

My conclusion/opinion is:

Fenix has better electronics & price. Arc has better construction & company.

The best key chain light available now is the Cr2 Ion, next to that it would be a tie between the Fenix E1 and Arc P (user preference).

Re: Really not that great

xdanx said:

Do you own an Arc?

My conclusion/opinion is:

Fenix has better electronics & price. Arc has better construction & company.

The best key chain light available now is the Cr2 Ion, next to that it would be a tie between the Fenix E1 and Arc P (user preference).

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Is the E1 really in the same ballpark, size-wise?

The E1 is only slightly larger than the Arc P. The E1 is a fantastic light that I think is better than the Arc for pocket carry. But for key chain carry I think the Arc is better for its tough anodizing. Some people also would rather pay the extra money to avoid overseas products. That is not my case I just buy what ever works the best regardless of price.

Just my opinion

xdanx said:

The E1 is only slightly larger than the Arc P. ...

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My bad!...I was thinking the E1 was an AA light. I have a L0PSE (which I assume is similar in size to the E1) and, yes, I agree that it is not much bigger than the ARC AAA. The E1 does seem to be a very nice light, indeed!