Brightest AAA flashlights

I would appreciate any opinions on what some of the brightest AAA flashlights are. I keep a Mag
Solitaire on my keychain, but the light is so feeble I wonder sometimes if it is even worth having with me. I know it is the nature of these small lights to provide only a modest amount of output, but surely there are some that do better than my anemic Mag.

Well Poalcat, you posted on the wrong forum for your question (Buy, Sell, Trade) but i see you're relatively new to CPF.

For many years, I carried a Mag Solitaire on my keychain, simply because it was one of the few lights available. Now, you have your choice of many. I have had an Undewater Kinetics 2AAA Pocket Pal on my keychain for about 5 or 6 years now, and although it is unbelievably beat up, it still puts out about 5 times the light of a Solitaire (or more) from it's prefocused xenon lamp module. I tried several LED keychain lights, and while I like their small size, they have no beam at all, and are only useful at relatively short distances; perfect for finding keyholes, but lacking in the power that a xenon lamp and 2 AAA cells, with a focused beam, can provide. (Plus, most won't stand up to years of abuse of all of my keys, pocket knife, etc.)

If you look down the Buy, Sell, Trade column, there are 2 for sale, although I see someone is interested in them

You can buy them at brightguy.com for about $10. Save your Solitaire 'lanyard'; it works great for the Undewater Kinetics 2AAA Pocket Pal.

I agree with Saaby, but I simply can't let an Arc-AAA get beat-up looking: they are relatively expensive, and far too nice to allow to become shabby looking. I wear my Arc-LE around my neck on a soft nylon string, and I use if far, far more than my keychain UK 2AAA light, now. But, I still use the UK from time to time, when I need the longer reach, and spot of light it provides. Plus, I consider the UK disposable, as I bought it at Wal-Mart for about $6

Originally posted by Gandalf:
I agree with Saaby, but I simply can't let an Arc-AAA get beat-up looking...

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Me either...I recieved it with intentions of placing it with my keys...couldn't bring myself to do that! As I said above, hangs off a belt loop with berkeleypoint clip. Has a few scratches (Pardon me, chips) in the HA where it got some, er, major abuse but those aern't even noticable unless you know they're there.

Everyone should have at least one Arc AAA. I like to carry an LE/EV combo in one of Silviron's double DB mods.

poalcat - you still out there?

Did anybody yet mention that you should be carrying an Arc AAA? Yeah, I thought so.

Do it. Live it. Love it. You'll wonder how you EVER thought of the Solitaire as a flashlight.

should be PT rage ! (as you didn't say how many AAA) ho ho

I also would say the Rage is the brightest, but it`s 4AAA and a little big for keychain size. The PT Blast is probably your best bet for an incandesant. Led wise I would say a turquoise Arc.
Eric

For another flavor, try looking at the Pelican Tracker. Its a lightweight, waterproof, submersible, plastic, 2AA, xenon-powered flashlight, about the size of a C cell (EDIT: Oops, more like a D cell and a half actually - sorry ). Bright, tight beam. Has a built-in pocket clip and lanyard loop (sorta). Its fluorescent body makes it hard to lose too.

However what you should put on is an Arc AAA. It is *much* brighter than a Mag solitare, has better battery life, is nearly indestructable and, oh yeah, it's smaller too!

Here's a photo I like to pull out for questions like these. The sick looking flashlight is a Mag Solitare, the smug looking light is an Arc AAA.



Now, if you want the brightest absolute keychain light you might want to go with a Photon...they're brighter than the Arc but only for the first couple moments of operation and only if the batteries are fresh. An e1 or Arc LS with 1x123 cell is also keychain sized and small but they are considerable more expensive.

True they don't have a focused beam but I think the Arc is the kind of light you're looking for. It will stand up to lots of abuse.

I always carry my Arc. Always. Most the time I carry a brighter light for those times you need to fry a squirrel, as do most people here. My secondary light happens to be a Brinkmann Legend LX, which, while not a Surefire, seems to fit the bill just fine. It's larger though and it isn't always on me.

Like they said... If you liked the Solitaire at all, then you'll LOVE the Arc AAA.

For incandescent, the PT Blast (2 AAA) packs a lot of punch for its size. The beam is rather tight, though, with very little spillover. Price is good, too. About $8 USA. Also has molded-in belt-clip.

The Underwater Kinetics UK-2AAA Mini Pocket Light is a nice little side by side 2-AAA light. Bright, small, dive rated with a handy clip, <$10. It has an optional red LED lamp assembly, which got mine stuck in the photo darkroom. Need to get another one. I carry the ARC-LE on my keychain like most folks here, but don't worry about the character marks it gets.