Best bang for the buck AA light

Ive been looking at acouple of fenix lights for some time and I need something that I can hold on to while working and I would prefer rechargeables and a decent output and regulated brightness and needs to be a 2AA configuration. Price range is under 40-50 dollars shipped. maybe something at DX ?

There are many on Dealextreme and Kaidomain. Look for the current gen LED ones getting good reviews.

Something like the MTE Seoul, the SAIK RC-A3 or the Romisen RC-N3.

More info would help narrow down the selection. (1 or 2 AA? Multimode? Runtime?)

If you want to play the DX lottery (IMO the quality is really hit-or-miss), yeah, that's the best bang-for-the-buck.

If you want something more consistent, Lumapower's LM31 is a fantastic choice.

Next step up would be the Fenixes or the Olight T15 (non-Q5), but I think at that point I'd start arguing they're not bang-for-the-buck but rather showoff luxury lights

jdong said:

If you want to play the DX lottery (IMO the quality is really hit-or-miss), yeah, that's the best bang-for-the-buck.

If you want something more consistent, Lumapower's LM31 is a fantastic choice.

Next step up would be the Fenixes or the Olight T15 (non-Q5),

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I agree about DX; it is a kind of "lottery" customer service experience.
I placed my first order in November and a few items did arrive in time for the holidays, then another item shipped in mid Jan, and there remaining items have not arrived yet. They do have a unique selection of some items and their prices are superb.

I would probably go with the LumaPower or the Fenix.
That would mean visiting 4Sevens, Lighthound or BatteryJunction to do the deal.:thumbsup:

More agreement from me.

I ordered $50 worth of lights in January ... only half have arrived so far but the last of them have shipped. one light was the wrong color. Last of the order was shipped 10 days ago ... should be here any day.

It is a bit of a lottery and you need to be able to wait a few weeks ... even 2 months.

In the end DX is still a good choice for me.

Go to Wally World and pick up a Rayovac 3W AA light. Really quite nice. HTH.

Or the Rayovac 1w version. It's not as bright as the 3w but it has longer runtime and costs less.

Ultrafire WF-606A is great. Excellent build, good size and brightness.

Ultrafire C3 P4 with Extender is also highly recommended. Nice runtime.
It has great regulation and lasts around 4 hours of 100% brightness.

For single AA light, try this new stainless steel version of C3.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11133
Even with single AA, it lasts longer than the brighter 2AA lights.
People are already saying this light is built as if it's a $40+ light.

If you want a higher quality. You can't go better than Rexlight at KD.
They are selling 2 x Rexlight 2.1 B002 for a measly $60. Amazing deal.

Check out my lights review in my sig for some other budget ideas.
I'm still adding more lights every week or two to it so check often.
Also, check out some selfbuilt's reviews for other AA light reviews.

There are some gems to be found in the budget lights that's for sure. =)

bessiebenny said:

If you want a higher quality. You can't go better than Rexlight at KD.
They are selling 2 x Rexlight 2.1 B002 for a measly $60. Amazing deal.

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Is there a coupon for this? I can't find mention of it on the KD site.

Lighthound is still offering the Fenix L2P v2.0 for $37.00. You can also get an L1P body for, I think 3 or 4 bucks. With shipping you'll come in under $50. (You can get free shipping on orders over $75.)

This light uses an older Luxeon led, but is adequately bright, and very well built. The color tint on mine excellent, no shades of green, blue or purple; just a nice bright white. The light has a high and low setting, and good regulated runtime. You can put the head on the L1P body and have 1 x AA light if you want that configuration sometime instead of the 2 x AA light. The high and low works on either 1 x AA or the 2 x AA setup.

I think you should go with one of the Fenix lights. I just hate dealing with the DX "mystery" when ordering. Plus, you will also get yourself a nicer light purchasing the Fenix. I would suggest you look into the L1D/L2D lights....

Anarchocap said:

Is there a coupon for this? I can't find mention of it on the KD site.

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Here's the double Rexlight deal.

http://www.kaidomain.com/WEBUI/ProductDetail.aspx?TranID=4125

Rexlight has a great High/SuperLow only mode which I really like.
SuperLow is only like 3 lumens and lasts over 45 hours with AA!

See this Selfbuilt's review comparing it to much more expensivel lights.

It has to be a 2AA, simular sized to a mini mag mid range spot to throw, under 200 lum and over 100 lum sscp4 or Q5 emitter with a medium amount of no nonsense UI and modes. This light is for my step father who is reluctantly trying to get away from his out dated mini mag and has very little need for a light producing over 200 lumens. He wants a low low with a good long runtime but he wants a bright high when he needs it too. He wants a good deal, he's got the bug from me when I got my P3D Q5, he loves this light but its too small for his hands in gloves. He's against cr123 primaries but I may be able to get him into rechargeable RCR123's. Hope some of this info is helpful.

Since he likes the P3D, why don't you get him a L2D?

Well. That info helps a lot. Here's some suggestions.

Romisen RC-F4 has to be mentioned. Read the reviews at DX also.
It may be a 2 x RCR light but batteries/charger is cheap anyways. =)
The size is just perfect. Not too big, not too small. Bright and nice.
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/187199

Or just get the Ultrafire WF-606A as I mentioned before above.
It is a perfect 2AA Maglite replacement imo. Better in every way.
You'll be surprised at the quality and the nice feel of the light.

Both lights above are close to best that DX/KD has to offer imo.

They are single mode lights however. No low.
I still rather that than multi-mode Fenix lights. =P

bessiebenny said:

They are single mode lights however. No low.
I still rather that than multi-mode Fenix lights. =P

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I tend to agree with this. IMHO, I haven't seen a multi-mode light that really does what I want it to do well.

I've resorted to a Photon Freedom on my keychain for every day carry and the Ultrafire WF-606A for when I need some bright general illumination. The Romisen RC-F4 is my "Tactical" light. The Nichia DS in the Photon Freedom is great for when you need to see something close in dim lighting, and its very unobtrusive. But of course, it takes coin cells.

The Fenix L2T V2.0 would run you $44.11 each from the 'store', inc s/h & cpf discount. You'd get 140L and 2.4hr from a pair of NiMH AAs. The L2D Black Premium would get you 180L for that 2.4hr from NiMH - at $57.50 each. Of course, the 'power levels' might bother you - leaving it on Turbo would be easy. I am a neophyte to hi-tech lites - and have been a Fenix L1D/P2D Q5 owner for ~ 30 hr now - but they are pretty nice. Of course, until last week, I was happy with a MagLight 3AA LED!

John

It's a 1AA but I've been impressed by the value of this light. It's got good battery efficiency nearly matching Fenix and provides basic bright (170% of original Fenix L1P) single level light. Glass lens, aluminum reflector, mine has been reliable, etc. for $13.50 shipped.

nerdgineer said:

It's a 1AA but I've been impressed by the value of this light. It's got good battery efficiency nearly matching Fenix and provides basic bright (170% of original Fenix L1P) single level light. Glass lens, aluminum reflector, mine has been reliable, etc. for $13.50 shipped.

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My brother has the B6 -2 stage version ,,is this one brighter ??

Isthereanybodyoutthere said:

...is this one brighter ??

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Don't know, don't have a B-6. I would like to know too..

I measured the output on my B8 to be the same (within 5%) as the output of my early Ultrafire C3 using the same battery. The B8 has a wider, softer hotspot (and brighter spill) than the C3 so some may think the C3 is brighter, but my light box says no.