The perfect AA light what do you want?

OK here is what I want.
First a simple easy to use driver. I don't mind if there is some sort of UI as long as I can easily set it up to turn on on high or low, I don't need strobe or SOS. I don't mind if those features are there as long as they don't get in the way. I want good efficiency, good runtime and good regulation. I want to be able to use any AA cell on the market (as is possible with the current crop of AA Lights)

I want a really nice beam. clearly it is important if using the R2 Cree to use a deep reflector, I don't want to see any rings. I want a nice smoothbeam with a nice hot-spot and good side spill. Like the LF5XT

I want a heavy duty light made from 7075 aluminum, I want it anodized and I want really aggressive knurling, really aggressive. Like the D10

I would like to see acme threads and very high quality O-rings. No need to cheap out here.

I want a window made from sapphire or a very high quality glass with AR coating on the interior.

I really don't care what kind of switching as long as I can easily lock the mechanism out so it will not accidentally engage.

The PD system in use on the D10 would work fine for me and I feel of the available "systems" this is very much the most robust.

I personally believe that there should be a focus on making a light which is not as complex as the space shuttle, simple is better, A simple design is less expensive to manufacture, put the money into quality components like good clean state of the art high efficiency drivers, A really good emitter.

OK so there it is. I have no doubt that this group of people many of whom have sampled the current crop of lights and have been following the development of AA based flashlights for several years Abe beginning to get the idea that the AA's day has arrived. I am also sure that the NEXT generation of lights the ones we are talking about in this thread will be among the best AA based flashlights ever made and have the potential to make their way into many end users EDC rotation.

Yaesumofo

I honest can't think of anything superior to the PD lights that I'd want more. I know it's hard to believe but I have truly found my perfect light, the NiteCore D10.

LED-holic said:

I honest can't think of anything superior to the PD lights that I'd want more. I know it's hard to believe but I have truly found my perfect light, the NiteCore D10.

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im so happy to continue hearing that. i just got one this weekend. i cannot WAIT to get it and see what all the hype is about. (i even went so far as to trade my novatac 120P for something else and replace it with the D10. i hope i didnt make a mistake)

climberkid said:

im so happy to continue hearing that. i just got one this weekend. i cannot WAIT to get it and see what all the hype is about. (i even went so far as to trade my novatac 120P for something else and replace it with the D10. i hope i didnt make a mistake)

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Awesome, let us know how you like it. I've never had a Novatac which I hear great praise about as well.

I want a cross between the D10 (which I received a few days ago) and a Novatac 120P (which I received today). The D10 is nice and IMO almost perfect in terms of build and operation but it would be nice to be able to set a couple of default levels like the novatac.

The D10 is a really nice looking and feeling light, is bright, and the PD system works like a charm (I had no need to relube or anything). The Novatac is just as nice looking (but much larger) but it's great advantage is that it is potentially a very complex and flexible light but also has the potential to have a very simple UI, so if you just want one or two settings you never even have to worry or think about all the other options that lurk just beneath the surface.

I personally would be hard pressed to trade any of my novatak or HDS lights for any of today's current crop of AA lights.


The evolution of AA flashlights is the real focus of this thread.

PLease, Lets try to keep the discussion to the perfect AA flashlight which excludes the discussion of cr123 flashlights. There are plenty of threads with that focus already.
Yaesumofo

A D10 with a mcr19xr would be the bees'knees.

I would also like a novatac/HDS UI(not meant to raise disscussion on cr123) or possibly a mix with D10 as pipspeak mentioned as well as with Led Lenser's optics focusability and the efficiency of Fenix or better in the package/design of a surefire E2L/E1B/L1(not meant to raise discussion on cr123) but slimmer as AA's are thinner than CR123s. Oh n less than 1 lumen min n over 100 lumen max with well over 1hr runtime on single nimh AA to 50% and regulated.

I think that would be my perfect AA light...

Although Led Lenser's P5/T5 might be be good enough(apart from only having 1 mode) but the efficiency/runtime is unknown so i guess i'll have to wait and see!

I like a multimode light, with at least 3 settings, with a good spread between the settings. I would prefer that I can program the levels.

No memory mode, I prefer that I know at what level the light starts.

Everyday UI has to be very simple, programming UI can be complex.

The light has to be robust enough for everyday use, i.e. be together with keys, be dropped on a hard floor/asphalt.

It must have both a very low low and a high high and one or two levels inbetween.

My favorite switch is the type used in NovaTac and LF5XT, I do not really like the PD system, it is way to complex and makes the switch harder to use.

The LF5XT is close, but I do not like the double click to change level.


Edit:
I forgot: I do not want a high standby current, it has to be low enough, that batteries will last years in the flashlight.

The perfect AA light is the Nitecore D10, it is the best and greatest light of all time. The only thing that ever possibly better would be owning more Nitecore D10s.

To me it sounds like you want a combination of the D10 and the LF5XT.

D10 has:
7070 aluminum
PD switch

LF5XT has:
Smooth Beam
A UI that gives you a great amount of flexibility

Toss in a sapphire lens and good o-rings and you're in business. Don't know off the top of my head if either has acme (squared) threads.

And I think I kind of agree with you. Mix these two lights together and we've got a winner for the AA platform. Personally I'm not sure if I like high transparency glass like UCL or sapphire better. Both have pros and cons, but I can see the want for higher durability and scratch resistance with AA sized light, especially one that's likely to be in a pocket and subject to hanging with the keys and such.

I also have a couple things to add to what I want to see in AA lights. First is the option for a bezel down pocket clip. (Photon Proton)
Second the ability to take 550 paracord lanyards; I don't like split rings or other such clips very much. (Inova X1)
And finally I want to be able to put on a 1AA extender to run the light with 2AAs. I dont' want to have to buy a whole new light, just an extender.

The prospect of a AA light is getting much closer to reality imho. Of course improvements in AA capacity and LED effeciency & surface brightness are welcome improvemets, but what we have right now is pretty amazing I think.

A looong time ago I had a 2AA side by side plastic incan as my pocket light. When the bulb died I discovered the cute Mag Solitaire.

I started out with the Xnova 8.
Did not like the high price of the Fenix L1P (vs the unobtainium L1), did not buy until the 2nd year when Fenix dropped the gift box and lowered the price a bit.
Got a Civictor V1, found the 1/4" shorter length makes a big difference in pocket-ability in tight jeans.
Found AAA lights even more pocketable, 1st L0P-SE then L0D-CE

With the LEDs becoming brighter a 2 level light is nice. Fenix L1T v2.0 RB80. Did not see why I should pay $10 more just so I can get those annoying strobe/SOS modes.

Wanted a light with 3 hours minimum ON HIGH. Ending up getting Elektrolumens to custom build me a Lucidus XR-1.

Bought an Ultrafire C3 Q5. Found the head fitted my Civictor body. This is my current goto EDC. My backups are L0D-CE and UK 2AAA eLED on my keychains.


Looked at but have not bought Zebralight H50 and Nitecore D10 for their pocket-ability shortness. The Civictor with Ultrafire head is doing the job and I got sidetracked by the SSC-P7 and the 5A warm white tint torches.

i want something like :-
the body & built of D10.
the LF5XT driver circuit or Novatac 120-P driver circuit or a Flupic driver circuit in that D10 body type.
and McR reflector :kiss:

The reliability of original PD system has been proven.
However, the reliability of smart PD system, especially the reliability of the switch mechanism in the head, is still to be proved.
Time will tell, maybe 6 months, one year later ...
Just wait and see.

juplin said:

The reliability of original PD system has been proven.

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That does not mean any other PD system will have the same reliabilty, other materials, other tolerances etc. may affect reliability of the design.

We have already seen a lot of problems with the D10/EX10 design, most could be fixed with a cleaning, some needed a bit more.

Personally, I would like to see these so called AA lights actually run well off of AA alkaline. Some of the latest batch are pretty miserable running on alkaline. I know there are limitations to the AA alkaline, so I guess this is just a wish. For me, the real advantage of AA is the wide availability of ALKALINE cells. You'd be hard pressed to run into a store and find charged NiMH or 14500 cells. And really, I don't think CR123s are that hard to find. Why build lights that require special AA sized batteries, when those lights won't run well off normal AA alkalines?

Anyway, my perfect AA light would be a Nitecore D10 version 2.0 with the following adjustments: regulated runtime on high from alkaline, sapphire lens, stainless bezel ring (watertight), much lower standby current draw, swapable head with EX10 and wishful D20 2xAA body, smoother beam, keep momentary/twisty the same but 4 mode clicky (max-medhi-med-min), and of course a P7 emitter (just kidding).

yaesumofo said:

I want a window made from sapphire or a very high quality glass with AR coating on the interior.
Yaesumofo

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I have seen something like this mentioned several times on CPF. Why only AR coat the interior surface? You lose ~4% due to reflection at BOTH the air-to-glass AND glass-to-air interfaces. For light traveling through a window, it will be about 7.6% (3.8% x 2) if memory serves. Just trying to understand the rationale here...

PhantomPhoton said:

To me it sounds like you want a combination of the D10 and the LF5XT.

D10 has:
7070 aluminum
PD switch

LF5XT has:
Smooth Beam
A UI that gives you a great amount of flexibility

Toss in a sapphire lens and good o-rings and you're in business. Don't know off the top of my head if either has acme (squared) threads.

And I think I kind of agree with you. Mix these two lights together and we've got a winner for the AA platform. Personally I'm not sure if I like high transparency glass like UCL or sapphire better. Both have pros and cons, but I can see the want for higher durability and scratch resistance with AA sized light, especially one that's likely to be in a pocket and subject to hanging with the keys and such.

I also have a couple things to add to what I want to see in AA lights. First is the option for a bezel down pocket clip. (Photon Proton)
Second the ability to take 550 paracord lanyards; I don't like split rings or other such clips very much. (Inova X1)
And finally I want to be able to put on a 1AA extender to run the light with 2AAs. I dont' want to have to buy a whole new light, just an extender.

The prospect of a AA light is getting much closer to reality imho. Of course improvements in AA capacity and LED effeciency & surface brightness are welcome improvemets, but what we have right now is pretty amazing I think.

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Thanks for saving me the typing, I think you read my mind. Comments like this came out as soon as both torches were out: the design/build of the D10 crossed with the beam and UI of the LF5XT (or Novatac), with the quirks of each ironed out = perfect AA torch!

One point no-one's mentioned (unless I misunderstand it) - no standby drain. It would be nice to have a light site for 12 months with an unused cell, and not find it's half or completely drained when you turn it on because it's been drained by circuitry. Am I correct in stating this happens with the D10, or does "lockout" prevent this?

bgiddins said:

One point no-one's mentioned (unless I misunderstand it) - no standby drain. It would be nice to have a light site for 12 months with an unused cell, and not find it's half or completely drained when you turn it on because it's been drained by circuitry. Am I correct in stating this happens with the D10, or does "lockout" prevent this?

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Current drain in lockout momentary mode is zero.

bgiddins said:

One point no-one's mentioned (unless I misunderstand it) - no standby drain. It would be nice to have a light site for 12 months with an unused cell, and not find it's half or completely drained when you turn it on because it's been drained by circuitry. Am I correct in stating this happens with the D10, or does "lockout" prevent this?

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The current draw from the electronics in these lights is something like microamps, lower than the self discharge rate of the batteries themselves. I'd loosen the tailcap / head (as appropriate) for any MCU light that I was putting into long term storage with a battery in it though.