Need help deciding on a AA torch

Hi im a newbie to torches and i wanted to buy a AA torch, but i didn't want to jump in and buy the "best" torch without weighing up the pros and cons.

Anyway i just wanted some advice about which AA torch would be a nice bright torch. Im leaning towards the fenix L1D CE at the moment, but i thought i'd ask on cpf and get some good advice.

Thanks in advance

i dont think you could go wrong with the new L2D I love mine crazy brite an a nice low beam to. and the run time is great

Welcome to CPF......It seems that you have your question answered...he..he..he

In my opinion, the L1D-CE is the best 1xAA light available at the moment, for the money.

I'm really diggin' my Jetbeam C-LE on a 14500, but several have reported failures on the LiIon cell.

Also, Liteflux should have a 1xAA version of the 1xAAA LF2 out in the next couple months and I'll definately be picking one of those up.

Thanks for the replies guys, its much appreciated.

Also would it be worth the size to go for a L2D over the L1D?

ah-see said:

Thanks for the replies guys, its much appreciated.

Also would it be worth the size to go for a L2D over the L1D?

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It kind of depends how you're gonna use it. The L2D is roughly twice as bright and has twice the runtime. I dont EDC the light, I use it for fishing, hunting, etc so the size is great. But if you're gonna EDC the thing in your pants pockets, it might be a bit too large.
If you already haven't (but I guess you have ), check out this review.
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/fenix_l1dce-l2dce.htm

How will you be using the light primarily? Indoors or out? Carried every day? Glove box? Emergencies only? etc...

Welcome Ah-see

My proposal is to get yourself a homemade Lumapower M3 Transformer i.e. I suggest you buy a Fenix L1D CE plus an extension L2 tube. In this way it is true you spend some 20 bucks more but you have the possibility of using two rather different flashlights. In fact L1D is an excellent fit in the pocket but not so powerful. L2D drills holes in the darkness but it is a bit to long for EDC.

I'll be using this flashlight as a EDC.

I have read some cases of the L2D-CE being somewhat sensitive to light impacts. If someone has any experience with this, could you please chime in and let me know?

Since you're EDCing it, I'd say go with the L1D-CE.

I'll copy my list of reasonablely priced AA lights(shipping might take a while and they only have one mode):

Dealextreme:
Cree:1.25W Cree 1AA Flashlight(out of stock, has a 14500 version), Ultrafire C3,MXDL-Style Cree P4(premodded Elly)
Seoul: MTE 1xAA SSCP4
Luxeon(not as bright): Ultrafire 1W, 1W Ultrafire 602A(out of stock), 1W Ultrafire 602C 1AAA(out of stock)

Kaidomain:
Cree: EVERLEY, ELITE, IVAN(14500)
Luxeon: Ultrafire 1W, Ultrafire 602A, Ultrafire AAA

qualitychinagoods:
Cree:Ultrafire C3, Super Bright LED

The L1D-CE (another Review) is pretty good but people have complained about tint problems (a little green or yellow) and reliability problems, the twisting to change modes can scratch up the board. It has many modes which might be useful for EDC. there is a ring of less light around the hotspot that could be annoying(many people say it is no noticible in use) and could be fixed by buying the Orange peel reflector from Fenix Store.

Jetbeam is also pretty good but there are complants about the quality control and the MkIIX's User-interface is quite confusing and the PWM could be annoying. No ring in the beam due to orange peel reflector.

I'd say go with the L1D-CE, If you don't like it you can always return it.

I'm hope this helps.

I'd say get the L2D, but since you plan on EDC'ing this light, I'll put another vote in on the L1D...

I will cast my vote for the L1D. It's available and it works great.

Thanks again for all the awesome replies, this is the most intelligent board i've come across.
I've also narrowed down my selection to the L1D-CE and the L2D-CE.
I'd prefer the L2D-CE, because the turbo output is 135 lumens compared to the L1D-CE which has a turbo output of 90 lumens.
Do you guys think that the extra 45 lumens would make much more of a brighter light?

Fenix rates bulb lumen, you have to subtract 20% to get lumen out the front. and according to FlashlightReviews, the L2D-CE is actually 60 lumen brighter then the L1D-CE (overall output multiplied by 1.39 to get lumen from LED). If you prefer brighter outbut and don't mind the larger size, go for the L2D-CE. You can always buy the L1D-CE body if you need a smaller flashlight.

Gunner12 said:

Fenix rates bulb lumen, you have to subtract 20% to get lumen out the front. and according to FlashlightReviews, the L2D-CE is actually 60 lumen brighter then the L1D-CE (overall output multiplied by 1.39 to get lumen from LED). If you prefer brighter outbut and don't mind the larger size, go for the L2D-CE. You can always buy the L1D-CE body if you need a smaller flashlight.

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Is the 60 lumen a very noticable difference in brightness?

Bump

60 lumen will be noticeable since the L1D-CE produces about 62 lumen, that makes the L2D-CE almost twice as bright and about 122 lumen.

ah-see said:

Anyway i just wanted some advice about which AA torch would be a nice bright torch.

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This question has been asked and answered many times here. I suggest you do a search.

Welcome to CPF!