AA vs AAA??

Which is considered the better option by those of you who know your stuff (Which clearly i don't)

I've just oredered a LED Lenser P7 only to realise it runs on 4 x AAA which isn't a huge issue for me, but i have a lot of paintball equipment which almost without exception runs off either 9v or multiple AA's so I usually have a shedload lying around.

Anyone recommend a handy sized AA flashlight? I'm keeping the P7 anyway, but i have well and truly caught the bug so another one is due

OOh, and while i am on the subject, rechargeables? Yay or nay?

Hello.

First, the flashlights, 1xAA or 2xAA.

Quark: www.4sevens.com
Eagletac: www.eagletac-store.com
Fenix: www.fenix-store.com

FYI they are all the same seller, just split into different sites.

Batteries - eneloop, no question. Feel free to browse the forum to make sure I'm not just single minded on it, but believe me, after a while you'll be back in this thread thinking yes, he was right, eneloops - no question

Outside of a few countries they are not the easiest thing to obtain, but luckily for you there is a good UK seller.

Component shop UK

For a charger, that same site, top left, click through chargers/standard, then the one that is second down, 11.99 pounds.

There are 2 well known other brands of quality chargers, Maha and lacrosse, but both will be harder for you to obtain, and won't really serve you any better for basic needs that the one I listed.

Cheers for that NiConical. I will definitely be picking up one of those chargers as my current one has just decided to die anyway

I'm fairly familiar with most battery types, and if anyone is interested in hi performance rechargeable AA's these are the ones I use for my paintball loader, which is a fairly high drain device.

http://www.energypaintball.com/

Nimh AA rechargeables. Just another option for anyone who may be interested.

As for the actual flashlights, most people tend to use AA's then? I see some threads where AAA is possibly a little bit frowned upon by the more technical types??

Single AAA flashlights are quiet popular. There are some good models, small and bright. However, flashlights that take multiple AAA batteries are frowned upon as it usually means they are "direct drive". This means the battery is feeding the LED directly rather than being regulated, the end result being a short burst of max power followed by a rapidly declining output. The size and weight of a 3 or 4xAAA flashlight just doesn't match up with the brightness and output/runtime you can expect. You'd be better off with a good 1xAA.

As for the batteries you linked, seems they do both Alkalines and rechargeables. It's a flashy looking site, some good marketing, and some nice looking batteries but 2 facts remain. 1: Alkaline is Alkaline, regardless of how it is packaged. 2: Whatever the rechargeables are, they won't be as good as eneloops. Unless of course they actually are eneloops, you never know, eneloops are available rebranded. Unlikely for these though as we would most likely have heard of them if they were eneloop rebrands. Duracell precharged for example are eneloops with a duracell wrapper around them. Yes, the best of the Duracell line is made by another company :naughty:

EDIT: I must admit though, looking at that site again, camo batts - nice

*Dusty* said:

C As for the actual flashlights, most people tend to use AA's then? I see some threads where AAA is possibly a little bit frowned upon by the more technical types??

Click to expand...

I do not frown on AAA batteries, but you have to know the limitations, i.e. a AA cell contains about 2.5 times more energy than a AAA cell. I.e. AAA cells are best used for small light with a single cell or penlights with two cells. If you need more power, AA is much better.
Some manufacturers makes light with 3 AAA cells in a cheap battery carrier and direct drive, this is a low cost and not very reliable solution.

I.e. for small light AAA is fine, for more power use AA and for the real bright lights use LiIon 18650 or CR123 batteries.

Both in AA and AAA, NiMH is the best option for flashlight, they are better at supplying power and do not leak.

Niconical said:

Single AAA flashlights are quiet popular. There are some good models, small and bright. However, flashlights that take multiple AAA batteries are frowned upon as it usually means they are "direct drive". This means the battery is feeding the LED directly rather than being regulated, the end result being a short burst of max power followed by a rapidly declining output. The size and weight of a 3 or 4xAAA flashlight just doesn't match up with the brightness and output/runtime you can expect. You'd be better off with a good 1xAA.

As for the batteries you linked, seems they do both Alkalines and rechargeables. It's a flashy looking site, some good marketing, and some nice looking batteries but 2 facts remain. 1: Alkaline is Alkaline, regardless of how it is packaged. 2: Whatever the rechargeables are, they won't be as good as eneloops. Unless of course they actually are eneloops, you never know, eneloops are available rebranded. Unlikely for these though as we would most likely have heard of them if they were eneloop rebrands. Duracell precharged for example are eneloops with a duracell wrapper around them. Yes, the best of the Duracell line is made by another company :naughty:

EDIT: I must admit though, looking at that site again, camo batts - nice

Click to expand...

Yes indeed they also do Alkalines, and I have to say they are easily equal to the best of the mainstream brands. They are paintball specifically marketed as much like flashaholics, 'ballers also like shiny things

so basically AAA < AA < LiIon and or Cr123 in order of performance preference?

In one way I like the convenience of AA (because i have loads of them all the time) in another I would be afraid of missing out on something by NOT buy something CR123 powered I don't mind buying a bulk amount of them from somewhere if it means a significantly better light :twothumbs

Led Lenser P5 - amazing output on 1xAA, can focus too. You can see a few beamshots here

*Dusty* said:

Yes indeed they also do Alkalines, and I have to say they are easily equal to the best of the mainstream brands. They are paintball specifically marketed as much like flashaholics, 'ballers also like shiny things

so basically AAA < AA < LiIon and or Cr123 in order of performance preference?

In one way I like the convenience of AA (because i have loads of them all the time) in another I would be afraid of missing out on something by NOT buy something CR123 powered I don't mind buying a bulk amount of them from somewhere if it means a significantly better light :twothumbs

Click to expand...

A provisional 'yes' to your order of performance, but also consider weight/size. Overall if pushed for an answer, a majority of CPFers would probably agree with this statement....

"The best overall size/battery/output/runtime combo for a handheld flashlight is a single li-ion 18650 sized, LED".

However that doesn't mean the search is over. A single AA flashlight can be bright, and last a long time. It will also be a lot smaller and lighter than a li-ion 18650 one. It just depends which of those factors are primary for you, size, weight, output, runtime.

If you want bright, small, easy, and relatively cheap (in the grand scale of flashaholism) I would stick to 1xAA or 2xAA, mainly because this will match your current battery needs. Take as an example one of the Fenix 2xAA, very bright, long running, and small enough for a jacket pocket. Try one before you start dipping your toes into the expensive and sometimes confusing waters of li-ions etc. That's not to say don't go down that road, just start with 2xAA to at least give you a frame of reference for what "bright" and "long running" actually mean in our terms as flashaholics as opposed to "them regular folks" who buy a 5 dollar flashlight off the shelf.

I agree with the statements above, but would like to add some modifications:

For paintball applications, I guess that you'd prefer to have the SAME amount of light each time you hit the switch, meaning you want a regulated light. (When the battery is partially drained, voltage drops and direct drive lights will provide dim output for a loooooong time... good for the "I'm stuck in the outdoors" scenario, not really what you need for paintball, I guess)


A single AA battery is approximately the same capacity as 3 AAA (I think the actual figure is 2.7 or whatever).



I would guess that a good, compact 1*AA or 2*AA light of around $50-60 should serve you well. Fenix LD10 / LD20 comes to mind, but there are several others good choices.


Hairsplitting the eneloop argument, it is probably possible to invent hypothetical scenarios where the higher nominal capacity of conventional nimh's outweight the low self discharge rate of eneloops nihms. You probably need to empty the battery each week or so to achieve this (use untill near emtpy, then recharge - each week). If your battery sits around waiting for action more than 2 weeks, eneloop is the winner. The longer the wait, the more you want the low self discharge rate of eneloops. Substract a suitable marketing-inflation-factor from those inflated nimh capacity ratings (2700 mAh and above) and the performance should be somewhat equal in the use-n-charge-atleast-once-a-week scenario. Most of us don't get to play that much with our toys, so Eneloop is a clear winner in my book :thumbsup:

Paintball is just my "other" money draining hobby (and business) I don't NEED flashlights for that, I simply like flashlights. Dunno why

That said I am in the market for a decent headlamp for the darker winter evenings so I can scour for discarded kit and believe me it is dark out there sometimes.

Asides from that there is some great information there, the problem is I'll be buying based on what you guys advise and recommend as there is nowhere in Northern Ireland I can actually go to have a nosy at some of these toys in the flesh

I think you are right, all I want is something (or several somethings ) for my jacket pocket or the glovebox of the car, so 1 or 2 x AA seems to be the ticket.

*Dusty* said:

Paintball is just my "other" money draining hobby (and business) I don't NEED flashlights for that, I simply like flashlights. Dunno why

That said I am in the market for a decent headlamp for the darker winter evenings so I can scour for discarded kit and believe me it is dark out there sometimes.

Asides from that there is some great information there, the problem is I'll be buying based on what you guys advise and recommend as there is nowhere in Northern Ireland I can actually go to have a nosy at some of these toys in the flesh

I think you are right, all I want is something (or several somethings ) for my jacket pocket or the glovebox of the car, so 1 or 2 x AA seems to be the ticket.

Click to expand...

Firstly.... "I simply like flashlights, dunno why" - No need to explain, not here, not ever

So, your post above sums things up. Many CPF members use Surefire bodies custom bored to accept the wider 18650 battery, and aftermarket replacement LEDs that cost nearly as much as the flashlight itself. That doesn't mean that's the answer for you though. I'm sure there are similar equivalent examples for "new but serious about it" paintballers and "Pro and experienced" paintballers. Start with 2xAA, or maybe 1xAA (or swapable bodies for the best of both worlds) and you'll be set. Moving up the ladder is something you can do in time when you know more and can make your own choices.

Pelican 2360?
http://www.pelican.com/lights_detail.php?recordID=2360