1 lumen flashlight?

In my quest to find a super-long running, floody flashlight, I was playing chicken with buying a ZebraLight, but the $40 pricetag made me flinch. After some more reading, the Pak-Lite seems like the perfect light, but I'd like something more rugged and waterproof. Also, I'd prefer that it run on either ?xAA or ?xAAA, just because I want a battery that can be found easily in foreign countries (not that I'm James Bond or anything). As a side question, does anyone know if 9v batteries are available worldwide?

Last time I asked for suggestions for a dim, long-running light, but I realize people have very different ideas of what those two terms mean. Qualitatively, I want something that's just barely enough to read by. Quantitatively, I think that's about 1-2 lumens. Hopefully, this will translate into a looong battery life. I'm not expecting the Pak-Lite's 600 hours from AA, but there's got to be an AA light with a similar design approach. Any suggestions?

I"m going to suggest this Arc camo on sale for 17.95 : http://www.arcflashlight.com/accessories.shtml . It's the second light down. You should be able to pick up aaa batteries just about anywhere, plus you can carry several for back-up since they're so small. Its a little brighter than your request at 3.3 lumens, but at this price I don't think you'll find a more reliable light. IMHO If you want a AA light in a similar form, a original CMG Infinity will most fit your request and it should put out less light and run far longer than the Arc AAA. Ther's an CMG for sale here for $22: http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=173680

http://www.cfrlights.com/servlet/the-304/cree,-2,-watt,-red,/Detail

Note the free shipping.

Runs for 250 hours on 1 AA.

The Eternalights run forever, and use common batteries. Not sure if they are even still made though.

powernoodle said:

The Eternalights run forever, and use common batteries. Not sure if they are even still made though.

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Another good choice. They too are waterproof.

http://www.techass.com/el/el1.php

+1 for the Eternalight. I'd go for the derringer model, sounds perfect. http://www.techass.com/el/derngr/index.php

You might be able to find it cheaper used on eb@y or the forums BST

Edit: be sure to read the manual on the website. Sound pretty good, now I want one!

The VB-16 HA-III Q5 Cree 16-Mode Flashlight from DX takes about 10mA on low i.e. 240 h from a actual 2400mAh 18650 batterie. It cant run on AA but you can take a couple of batteries for you journey.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.9741

spaceconvoy said:

As a side question, does anyone know if 9v batteries are available worldwide?

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I think they're just as easily available as AA. People in rural areas and villages without electricity use them for radios.

240 h from a actual 2400mAh 18650 batterie. It cant run on AA but you can take a couple of batteries for you journey.

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Not if you're going for months and you want a dim light for reading and making coffee/tea.


Good thread. I think I must get something like this, for India. More important for me than a flashlight. I do have a zebralight, but something with a very long runtime on 1 AA would be good.

[edit:]
spaceconvoy, You don't say exactly what you want it for. General purpose when travelling?

The Eternalight ($30 out of stock) uses 3 AA, for 750 hours. I'd rather have 1 AA 250 hours and carry spare batteries.
The Photon Proton is too expensive ($55) and is a flashlight - it would have to be held in the hand for reading, and it has all those modes - SOS and so on, fiddly switching.
For reading, something clipped to a headband is better. The zebralight has the simple, reliable twist switch.
The Photon Freedom Micro ($10), can be clipped to a headband or cap. Maybe too bright for reading? The coin cells not as readily available as AA/AAA but you could carry about 12 or so in a pill container, about the same size as 2 AA.

For months take 4 batteries and a charger.

Maybe no electricity for charger. That's why long-running battery light for reading.

check out the peak Kilimanjaro and Matterhorn. if you call them, they can custom make the light to draw as little current as you want. i have the lowest power version of the matterhorn (that is available withotu it beign custom made) and it runs forever on a lithium aaa. they are very well made lights.

their website sucks, but if you call them on the phone they are very helpful.

4*240=960 h=40 day continous or 160 day 6 h a day. Every 6 months you'll find electricity. If not just take 8 batteries and you are redy for one year (1920h) reading (if you take enough books) !

I changed my mind. If you don't need a light with long distance throw I'd just bite the bullet and get the zebralight with a pack of energizer lithiums. On low (plenty for reading) you should get nearly 2 months of use for 2 hours a night (they rate it at 3.5 days/84 hours with alkaline.....should be much longer with energizer lithium). After reading more on the eternalight derringer it sounds overly complicated to get to the mode you want, somewhat fragile and probably not waterproof. Unless you need throw, the zebralight should work for ya. Good luck, hope you find what you're looking for!

I would say to take the batteries and a charger.
Who says you need an outlet to use that charger! Get a solar pannel that you can plug that charger into. There you go no more worries!

cat said:

spaceconvoy, You don't say exactly what you want it for. General purpose when travelling?

The Eternalight ($30 out of stock) uses 3 AA, for 750 hours. I'd rather have 1 AA 250 hours and carry spare batteries.
The Photon Proton is too expensive ($55) and is a flashlight - it would have to be held in the hand for reading, and it has all those modes - SOS and so on, fiddly switching.
For reading, something clipped to a headband is better. The zebralight has the simple, reliable twist switch.
The Photon Freedom Micro ($10), can be clipped to a headband or cap. Maybe too bright for reading? The coin cells not as readily available as AA/AAA but you could carry about 12 or so in a pill container, about the same size as 2 AA.

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Yes, just general purpose fiddling around in the night while camping. I might be going on a 2-3 month trip through Shikoku or Kyushu, so I wouldn't have access to electricity (not really willing to carry a solar panel). And there's a good chance I'd be hiking at night, so while flood is important, the beam should have at lease some throw and not be just a diffused bare bulb.

CGM Infinity (41 hours max) - meh. I like its build quality, but not enough run time.

ZebraLight (84 hours max) - too diffuse for hiking, too expensive, not really enough runtime.

Proton Pro (250 hours max) - beam too narrow, but I like the ability to have a really bright light.

Kilimanjaro (??? probably at least 250 hours) - might have to bite the bullet and get this.

EternaLight (750 hours max) - controls are too fiddly and doesn't seem very rugged.

Pak-Lite (1200 hours max) - still has the best functionality for me.

I'll probably try and make a homemade Pak-Lite, maybe I can work out a way to get decent waterproofing. If that fails, then I'll buy the Pak-Lite and try to mod it with a case of some sort. If THAT fails, then I go for the custom Kilimanjaro.

One more to consider would be the PAL Survival Light. Available here:http://www.pocketlights.com/pal.asp This light has an always on mode or you could call it a third super low level.

Maybe an older Proton with the LED cluster (floody)? TADGear had it on clearance for 30, but looks like it's sold out now.

I think the Zebralight is very versatile and except for the apparent vulnerability of the outer dome covering the emitter, it's a reliable (simple twisty) and highly water resistant light. Hands-free light can be a lifesaver.

If you need a low-mode light with some throw perhaps it'd be best to grab a bigger AA light like a Fenix. The infamous "MTE 20-mode" on DX has a .5 lumen low, but I would bring a light with higher QC/reliability for a long outdoor journey.

swxb12 said:

The infamous "MTE 20-mode" on DX has a .5 lumen low, but I would bring a light with higher QC/reliability for a long outdoor journey.

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Infamous?

spaceconvoy, ok, very similar, except that I don't need the night hiking capability. I agree on all of your summary except that I don't need a torch, like the Kilimanjaro. I'll take my zebralight for my next 2-3 week trip, but for months (which is why I picked up on this, on your asking for very long runtime), the Pak-Lite comes the closest.

Please let us know if you get to any home-made Pak-Lite thing. For me, that would be the best, but I doubt I'll get around to doing it - I already have too much to do.
The Pak-Lite looks expensive for what it is. It would have been easy to make it with a container for the battery, so that it doesn't rely on the 9V battery terminal snap fastener things and a bit of friction to hold it together. A home-made version, you could find some small plastic container that fits the battery nicely, and then mount LED and switch in the lid - with the usual 9V battery connector. The biggest problem would be finding a suitable container.

Hi! How about the Eternalight? I use one and if you dim it to one led on low setting I think you will get OVER 500 hours on it. I bought an Ergo on Ebay for around $30.00 and its been worth every dollar. It has many many settings and its great for its versatility. It seems to run forever on three AA batteries. Ken