LED lights with longest runtime with AA/AAA batteries.

I own some good long run time lights and they are generally my favorite as they generally have good flood as I have never seen the need for a narrow spotlight type of flashlight, they are useless to me. That said I own 2 Streamlight Tasklights 1AA and 2AA, numerous old Infinities and the Gerber Ultras. What are some of the newer ones that I may have overlooked. I haven't been lurking here for a while so fill me in.

Again runtime is key as well as AA or AAA batteries, none of the crazy lithium or 123 type weirdo batteries for me thanks/.

Recap of what's most important to me:

• Long runtime
• Reasonably Priced
• Flood beam no stupid generation 1 Inova X1 bark at the moonbeam crap
• AA or AAA batteries ONLY, preferably 1 or 2, I hate 3-AAA lites and despise 4AA or AAA lites, so don't bother.

Check out the Fenix LD series. They've pretty much set the standard for runtime for AA lights. I love my L2D-Q5!

Photon Proton Pro
NiteCore Defender Infinity
NiteCore D10
NiteCore D20
Fenix E01
Fenix LD10/L1D and LD20/L2D

Zebra light has a nice low that runs for 3.5 days regulated on one AA. Beyond that E01 runs long on an AAA. L2D seems to have a great runtime but the low is a bit high for those looking for monster long runtimes.

What's the runtime of this light? Seems like the website showed the L2D in low mode at 55 hrs. which is pretty good but since it is a 2AA I was hoping for over 100 hours, heck a 1AA Gerber Infinity Ultra can do over 100 hrs. Price wise whats a good deal as their website has it for $50.15 which seems way to pricey for what it is.

Hi-Tech Guru said:

Check out the Fenix LD series. They've pretty much set the standard for runtime for AA lights. I love my L2D-Q5!

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Yeah I was hoping for monster long runtimes. I will check out the zebra light.

Woods Walker said:

Zebra light has a nice low that runs for 3.5 days regulated on one AA. Beyond that E01 runs long on an AAA. L2D seems to have a great runtime but the low is a bit high for those looking for monster long runtimes.

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Also the fenix E01 says 11 hours on regular and 10 hours on moon mode. What is moon mode? The price is right at $15 though which is more what I was hoping for. The Nitecore D10 looks nice but $60 + I don't think so...

Keep in mind the Gerber Infinity Ultra isn't really 100 hours of runtime as considered on CPF. Most of that is in what is considered a "moon mode".

The D10 can do a constant 3 lumens for 45 hours, the D20 can do a constant 2 lumens for 150 hours. The NDI is a constant 3 lumens for 45 hours. The Photon Proton Pro runs off 1xAA for 230 hours at ~1lm.

can you explain what moon mode is?

Beacon of Light said:

can you explain what moon mode is?

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Many LED lights are regulated in some fashion for relatively constant output. When the batteries are exhausted, the circuit often transitions into a much dimmer moon mode, which is some small fraction of the initial output and which can last for many more hours. This can be programmed in, an artifact of using a voltage boost circuit, or simply a method of not leaving you suddenly in the dark when your cells run dry.

In this graph, you can see how you get rapidly declining output. The graph leaves off as the light is entering a kind of moon mode. The output will be at that level or lower for the remainder of the "100 hour" runtime.

In these graphs, you can see what happens when a well regulated light falls out of regulation and goes into moon mode.

This happens with the lights I already own that have a high/low light. The high setting becomes identical to the LOW light when the battery falls that low. Low doesn't become 1/2 power of low with a drained battery though.... I notice this with my StreamLight Task Light and the RiverRock headlamp. Also my Maglight with the NiteIZE LED replacement and IQ switch. In 100% with a almost dead battery it just switches into a lower mode, not some additional "moon mode"

I wouldn't necessarily call this phenominon I am talking about in my situation "moon mode" but how is moon mode different than what I described?

Beacon of Light said:

Yeah I was hoping for monster long runtimes. I will check out the zebra light.

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Yea it will run at the same output aka regulated. The L2D is regulated too so I think the 55 hours is for 12 lumens of pure output that does not drop. The LD20 say 9 lumens for 71 hours. I have the L2D given the output it runs for a long time. Maybe the longest of any AA light for the regulated lumens but don't have too many good AA lights to compare .

Left to run long enough, they probably would go into moon mode. It's difficult to notice in most lights because the step down is not sudden.

I also think you might be confusing the "lower mode" with the moon mode.

Marduke said:

Left to run long enough, they probably would go into moon mode. It's difficult to notice in most lights because the step down is not sudden.

I also think you might be confusing the "lower mode" with the moon mode.

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I guess I am confusing the two. Is moon mode even dimmer than a typical LOW mode? For the models with "moon mode" is it only activated when the battery drains to such a low level or is it like the 25% setting on the IQ Switch?

The Photon Pro is the current 1xAA runtime champion at 230 hours (570 red).

The Nitecore D20 is the current 2xAA runtime champion at ~2 weeks.

I'm not aware of any extensive testing of AAA lights, however I'd wager the Peak Fujiyama (2xAAA, 1 LED, lowest power option) would probably be the winner.

Beacon of Light said:

I guess I am confusing the two. Is moon mode even dimmer than a typical LOW mode? For the models with "moon mode" is it only activated when the battery drains to such a low level or is it like the 25% setting on the IQ Switch?

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The moon mode depends heavily on the specific light, so you really can't make blanket statements. I have never tested the IQ switch to see what sort of moon mode it has (if any). Since it can only stay on 15 minutes at a time anyhow, it might not have a noticeable moon mode, since most lights take longer than that to transition into it.

StarHalo said:

The Nitecore D10 is the current 1xAA runtime champion at 146.7 hours.

The Nitecore D20 is the current 2xAA runtime champion at ~2 weeks.

I'm not aware of any extensive testing of AAA lights, however I'd wager the Peak Fujiyama (2xAAA, 1 LED, lowest power option) would probably be the winner.

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Proton Pro has always had the D10 beat, at 230 hours for white, 570 hours for red.

Beacon of Light said:

What's the runtime of this light? Seems like the website showed the L2D in low mode at 55 hrs. which is pretty good but since it is a 2AA I was hoping for over 100 hours, heck a 1AA Gerber Infinity Ultra can do over 100 hrs. Price wise whats a good deal as their website has it for $50.15 which seems way to pricey for what it is.

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If you're look for "monster runtime", there are more efficient lights. Most often, you'll sacrifice "brightness" for duration. You can always buy a standard AA Minimag and mod it with a Niteize 3-led drop-in. But based on you previous purchases, you probably won't be satisfied with this solution.

You should consider your power source as well. Alkaline cells, while abundant, shouldn't be your primary choice. I keep a few dozen around for emergencies, but I mainly use Sanyo eneloops and lithiums in for my AA lights.

Since I use e2 lithium AA cells in my L2D, I get substantially longer runtimes than the manufacturer's ratings.

I am looking for monster runtime and cost efficiency which is why I only use NIMH batteries. I already own the NITE IZE 3 LED drop in as well as the IQ Switch. I have been out of the loop for a while and I guess I didn't miss THAT much.

Hi-Tech Guru said:

If you're look for "monster runtime", there are more efficient lights. Most often, you'll sacrifice "brightness" for duration. You can always buy a standard AA Minimag and mod it with a Niteize 3-led drop-in. But based on you previous purchases, you probably won't be satisfied with this solution.

You should consider your power source as well. Alkaline cells, while abundant, shouldn't be your primary choice. I keep a few dozen around for emergencies, but I mainly use Sanyo eneloops and lithiums in for my AA lights.

Since I use e2 lithium AA cells in my L2D, I get substantially longer runtimes than the manufacturer's ratings.

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I do love the NiteCore D10 & D20 as well. I'm still undecided as to which to buy next, the Q5 or Golden Dragon...decisions...decisions...