Name a good little light from Target....

...for my aunt.

I've been thinking about getting her a light, because at her apartment she has some closets that are pretty deep and have no fixed lighting. A little while back, she told how she had been using a table lamp placed in the closet for light. She accidentally burned her forearm pretty bad on the bare bulb.

Sooo, tonight we had a family get together (parents, brother, aunt, dogs) and she said that one of the dog's eyes looked a little red. I got one of our cheapie 8-led lights to check on the dog and the light caught her interest. She'd apparently heard of led lights but hadn't really seen one before.

I showed her the little silver River Rock 2AAA that I got for my mom several years ago. I told her how Target has basically the same design for about 10 bucks. So tomorrow I was planning to go to Target anyway, so I thought I'd pick one up for her.

I was thinking about the selection at Target and wondering what other lights might fit the bill.

She seemed to prefer the smaller size, so I think C-D Maglites are out! Also, she has fairly small hands without much strength, so the light's switch needs to be easy to operate.

There's a River Rock 1AA with an easy to use side button, but it's got an aspheric lens and isn't good for close up. I've recently seen the Energizer 1AA at Target, but I think the run time may be too short.

Anyway, comments welcome. My mom likes the 2AAA River Rock and uses it all the time when she gets up at night, so I guess that's a pretty good endorsement!

I'm not sure of the Inove X1 is cheap enough at $19 but I think it's a decent little light that should last well. I also like the simplicity of the single AA cell. I've purchased them for family members and friends in the past and they all still have them and like them.

I thought about the Inovas, but wasn't sure how easy the switch was to operate.

Any idea of the run time of the Inova 1AA?

The switching works two ways....twist or push. The push is fairly light and shouldn't be difficult for anyone to use. The twist may be more intuitive for traditional folks.

I'm really not sure of the run time, to be honest. I know it's a 2W, so it would probably be good for 2-4 hours depending on the battery. That's a lot of momentary use though.

there is an Energizer 2XAA that comes in both a 3 watt and a 1 watt version. The quality of both the light and the beam seem pretty good for a 20 dollar light, big soft clickie on the back, durable.....you might want to take a look at it.

You might also want to look at the self-stick LED area lights intended for closets. I don't have any experience with them at all, but noticed them on a visit recently. (One of the home improvement aisles.) What I really don't understand is their switch. They're little domes that looked useful in a night light way.

Taking this off-topic a little, and definitely away from Target, old hands may have trouble with switches most of us find easy. I've very impressed (surprised) at how easily my Fenix E01 twists on and off. (It's small and available in interesting colors....)

Another thought is a small cheapie with a slide switch and then upgraded it with a LED module. (Nite-Ize C/D PR2 base, the SMJLED, or...?)

Happy hunting.

I considered getting the (Energizer?) D cell lights that are basically LED versions of the old style cheapie plastic lights. Good run time and simple to use, but I figured she'd want something small.

The dome lights are a good idea too; I think they may be called "taplights"? You push the dome, basically to click it on and off.

She does need an actual flashlight though to carry around

Light pucks are handy for closets. In handhelds from Target I would personally go with the INova X1 or RR 2AAA. They both are small, easy to picket in a housecoat, the siwtches are easy to operate with both momentary one press or twist operation.

They should still have the 1xAA energizer. It seems to have an older luxeon emitter but it's a very handy size, super-easy to operate forward clicky switch. A few users have modded them with an SSC P4 emitter for almost double the output and similar runtime. The regulation is ruler flat, there's no perceptible dimming from fresh batteries to 100% drained. The only downside is that it will cut out once the batteries die, there's no tail end light/moon mode.

The MagLED's are much better than people would lead you to believe, and they are worth checking at as well as the Inovas. I'd always liked most of the River Rock lights but last time I was at Target they didn't have as many as they used to.

Stress_Test said:

I considered getting the (Energizer?) D cell lights that are basically LED versions of the old style cheapie plastic lights. Good run time and simple to use, but I figured she'd want something small.

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Get the 2-pack of them they sell even after getting her something small and take one for yourself. Really useful for the price. I have one here currently running for 10 hours now and going strong on the cheap zinc batteries they supply it with.

carrot said:

The MagLED's are much better than people would lead you to believe, and they are worth checking at as well as the Inovas.

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Yes indeed!

I considered the LED MM; I've got both the 2AA and 3AA. However, the "sudden death" end of regulation of the 2AA means I wouldn't choose it for someone else (but I like mine for a safe NiMH battery drainer).

The 3AA has a slow drop off, but is too big for my aunt to carry around.

Anyway, I got her the 2AAA River Rock light. I didn't see the little Inova AA this time.

I was impressed by the River Rock light! It's got really good output for its size and price (10 bucks!).

The crazy thing is, I took it in a dark bathroom with my 2AA MiniMag LED, and in ceiling bounce tests I couldn't really tell any real difference! What the heck!??

From the Flashlight reviews site, the MM has at least twice or more the output of the RR, yet to my eyes there wasn't a drastic difference!

Can somebody explain? Is it possible that my eyes are just less sensitive or something? I wasn't dark adapted at the time, if that matters.

Stress_Test said:

Yes indeed!

I considered the LED MM; I've got both the 2AA and 3AA. However, the "sudden death" end of regulation of the 2AA means I wouldn't choose it for someone else (but I like mine for a safe NiMH battery drainer).

The 3AA has a slow drop off, but is too big for my aunt to carry around.

Anyway, I got her the 2AAA River Rock light. I didn't see the little Inova AA this time.

I was impressed by the River Rock light! It's got really good output for its size and price (10 bucks!).

The crazy thing is, I took it in a dark bathroom with my 2AA MiniMag LED, and in ceiling bounce tests I couldn't really tell any real difference! What the heck!??

From the Flashlight reviews site, the MM has at least twice or more the output of the RR, yet to my eyes there wasn't a drastic difference!

Can somebody explain? Is it possible that my eyes are just less sensitive or something? I wasn't dark adapted at the time, if that matters.

Click to expand...

I've heard it said on CPF that lumens are not perceived by the eye on a linear scale. Its said that for a light to be seen to the eye as twice as bright, it must be three times as bright in actuality. So no, nothing wrong with your eyes. Ceiling bounce test should be a good test of difference.

Oh wait. My post is null and void. Your eyes suck:nana:

Well, if you hadn't already got the light, I'd have suggested the Brinkmann 1-watt LED flashlight. Big soft forward clicky, small, and very good beam quality, if a bit throwy.

I'd not recommend the Inova X1; there's not much to grab on it, and the push button is stiffer than you all give them credit for. They're fine for twisty, but not all that bright for their battery life. Lessee, Cree is at 100 lumens/watt, these guys are running at two watts (advertized) and about 30 green-tinted lumens. For full price I'll pass, thanks.

Chrontius said:

Well, if you hadn't already got the light, I'd have suggested the Brinkmann 1-watt LED flashlight. Big soft forward clicky, small, and very good beam quality, if a bit throwy.

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Hmm, haven't seen that light before, I don't think.

Actually, the selection at Target has been a little thin as of late. I was lucky enough to score one of the new River Rock NightFire lights (2AA adjustable focus columnated), but it was the last one left. That was weeks ago and they haven't restocked 'em yet.

Pretty much the only alternatives on the shelf would have been the Energizer 1AA, RR 1AA aspheric, and maybe one of the Inova lights.

I'll check back with my aunt after a few days and see how it's been working out for her.

(on a side note, the NightFire I mentioned has become my new EDC to finally replace the LED Mag 2AA)