Brightest Cree single AA light for my brother in-law?

Yes, I want to give my brother in-law a pocket flashlight. He is not into our scene here so I need a single AA size Cree light. (I think he knows what a AA is) One that has two levels would be nice but not critical, it needs to be simple to operate and maintain, any ideas?

The Fenix L1D CE is sinple to use and can run off a variety of AA cells

Yea, probably the L1D...be sure to tell him about the low batt nonsense...so he doesn`t toss it in the garbage when the batt gets low.

Battery Junction just announced the arrival of the Lumapower F1. Its a single AA, one level, cree based Seoul P4 for $50. Ooops, I just noticed you're in the land of Oz. (edited)

DealExtreme now has a Cree AA for $20

Vermonter73 said:

DealExtreme now has a Cree AA for $20

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As it's still panto season here in UK.


Oh No It Hasn't........


Sold Out (for few days now)

But more on the way

Take him into our scene...buy a jetbeam MkIIx

letezac said:

Take him into our scene...buy a jetbeam MkIIx

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i think there was recently a thread about this and the consensus was jetbeam MkIIx - 150 lumens from a single AA :rock:

moon lander said:

i think there was recently a thread about this and the consensus was jetbeam MkIIx - 150 lumens from a single AA :rock:

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Say what? Where did you read that? I'm pretty sure that is on 14500, not AA. In fact, the L1D CE is brighter on AAs than the MkIIx according to beamshots.

Jetbeam C-LE. The best and brightest light you can get for the money.
About 1/2 the cost of the MKII. It's also the smallest AA cree out there.
You won't find a brighter AA light for the price.

jled said:

Jetbeam C-LE. The best and brightest light you can get for the money.
About 1/2 the cost of the MKII. It's also the smallest AA cree out there.
You won't find a brighter AA light for the price.

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Again, hardly the brightest (check out the beamshots in the review section). Best could also be discussed, seems to have some issues with the threading.
Probably the smallest, but it's also a twistie.
A better budgetlight would be the rexlight imho.
Otherwise, fenix L1D CE or maybe the upcoming Lumapower M3(no reviews yet so hard to tell how bright it is).

thanks to all above for your suggestions......couple of points to narrow the field down a bit. This light will run only on the regular AA cells, (one AA only) should be quite simple to operate and look after, should not be much more than US$50.00. (I did not mention this in original post, sorry) I guess that the L1D CE is kinda on top of my list so far......still open to suggestions though....

My C-LE is not quite as bright as my L1D using alkaline. I think the smooth reflector gives the edge to the L1D. Using 14500's the C-LE is definitely
brighter. I have read reviews that the C-LE is brighter than the mkII on both battery types. I won't comment on the M3 or Rexlight until they are actually being sold. Threads may be an issue on some of the C-LE's, mine seem ok after cleaning and lubing. C-LE is about $20 less than L1D, but both are great
lights. The C-LE is now my favorite EDC light in place of my P1D-CE. The L1D stays in my tool bag.

Cernobila, since you're of the Australian persuasion I'd heartily recommend a L1D-CE from torchworld.com.au . $69.95 (Aust), delivered in 1-2 days.

It's a great torch and should keep your brother-in-law pretty happy. I wish my brother-in-law would buy me something like that.

gadgetnerd said:

Cernobila, since you're of the Australian persuasion I'd heartily recommend a L1D-CE from torchworld.com.au . $69.95 (Aust), delivered in 1-2 days.

It's a great torch and should keep your brother-in-law pretty happy. I wish my brother-in-law would buy me something like that.

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Thanks for that, I did not know about this site, I will check it out for sure.

US$50, if you get L1D CE from torchworld, you might find that its going to be a little bit more than that. With delivery and GST it might be around $75 AUD.

Battery choice is going to be interesting. I notice that the alkaline batteries start to lose some brightness over time. Thats for the L1T but it might be different with the regulation on the L1D CE. I only have the L2D CE but I havent tried it with a dummy battery yet or any alkalines.

I dont think you'll go wrong with L1D CE if what I see with the L2D CE at high brightness on it is anything to go by. Turbo on the L1D is apparently a little bit higher in output as high mode is on the L2D and L1D. High on my L2D is really bright. Turbo mode is more something the aficionados will apreciate.

Mr Floppy said:

Turbo on the L1D is apparently a little bit higher in output as high mode is on the L2D and L1D. High on my L2D is really bright. Turbo mode is more something the aficionados will apreciate.

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If running the same battery types (eg NiMH), both the L1D-CE and L2D-CE have the same brightness on low, med and high. L2D-CE turbo is extremely bright, L1D-CE turbo is only slightly brighter than L1D-CE high (if at all).

On the other L1D-CE turbo on 1.7V lithium primary is noticeably brighter than high, and with a 3V lithium primary L1D-CE turbo is the same as L2D-CE turbo.

Phew!

I can tell you from personal experience that i couldn't possibly be happier with my Quark Mini AA. Only slightly larger than chapstick and youll almost never feel it in your pocket. I loaded it with a hot AW 14500 and OMG :huh: amazes every single person i have shown it to. "whipped it out" pun intended numerious times in random cases and people just sit there and say all that light from that little guy? IM a bit biased since i havent tried anyother brands but if you Go the 4Sevens way MiniAA and you will never regret that guy.

PS just a Standard Lithium AA or NiMh 1.2v also works wonders with excellent battery life. Warning will probably overheat the S2 Emitter with the 14500 on Hi gets really warm/hot really quick i have never run it on Hi for more than 30 seconds and only for short bursts. Med for long periods of time no issues. Best wishes!

Quark didn't exist in February 2007

cernobila said:

Yes, I want to give my brother in-law a pocket flashlight. He is not into our scene here so I need a single AA size Cree light. (I think he knows what a AA is) One that has two levels would be nice but not critical, it needs to be simple to operate and maintain, any ideas?

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Cree LED .. Zebra SC51 at 200 lumens from 1 x AA. Oh, and if you wait a few months you can look at the Zebra SC80 which allows 14500, AA and CR123 all in the same light.