Just wondering

Years ago (early 80's?) I had a little Tekna light that used N cells. It was incan of course, but it was pretty bright and small for the time. The downside was the batteries weren't particularly easy to find or cheap. Now I see them anywhere batteries are sold and they're about $3 for a pair. So I'm wondering why I don't see any LED lights using the N cell. They're about half the size of the CR123, 3 volt lithium, so they would make a heck of a keychain light. In size, the light would probably be between a photon keyfob light and the FFIII. It just seems something like this would be a natural for the keychain market. What do you think?

1)Pelican MityLite

2)Streamlight PP LED

3)Flicklite

4)FlashLED

and the list goes on at flashlightreviews.com

Kinda missed the point. I've seen the bigger lights using the N cells. I'm talking about a single cell keychain light. If it was a simple direct drive, you could probably have a light about 1/2" in diameter and a bit over an inch long. 3 volts would give you a pretty bright usefull light and the N cells size would give you great runtime compared to the button cells in a slightly larger size. Of course, I would prefer regulated and 2 brightness levels, but that's probably pushing the limits of the electronics size too far.

Just noticed your location of Trinidad Tobago. Makes me hungry for a fish burger just thinking about it. Those things should be exported.

Yeah, I totally missed your point. LOL. I'm still misunderstanding you though. I get the impression that you think N cells are 3V. They are 1.5V alkaline cells and direct driving any LED with one or even two cells wouldn't make sense since unlike the Li cells, they do not maintain their voltage well.

I'd actually prefer semi-regulated for single cell lights since fully regualted reduces runtime too much.

Fish burger or Shark and Bake? LOL. I could do with one now

Well I did a quick google on N cells and they are 1.5 alky. The other night while looking for a particular button cell for my kids toy I looked at some that said "size N cell......3 v lithium......medical", and I think they were Duracell. So now I'm confused.

Oh well, seemed like a good idea. I guess I'll just stick to the 123 lights. Didn't mean to turn this to a battery discussion.

You do make a point though. I checked out Duracell's website but couldn't find any information about their capacity. If they are close to that of an AAA cell, maybe there's a market for them but, I have my doubts since AAA cells are more widely used/sold. What are N cells used for anyhow?

A flashlight with the output and regulation of a Fenix Eo but uses N cells may be a nice and different option if the cost of N cells are close to that of AAA. Chubby compared to skinny, hmmmmm.

I had forgotten all about that light. I have a Techna micro-lite also and I just checked it after digging out of a drawer where it has been for 15 years. The light still lit although not much. At the time I got it it was a nice light compared to what was available, but the batteries were expensive so I didn't use it much. Thanks for reminding me of it.