Deciding on a good AA LED light

CSRevenant

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Oct 14, 2009
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Hello,

Im new to CPF, and I was hoping I could get some input from you all. I have been shopping for a good AA LED light for a few months now, and I can't decide. I have checked a lot of reviews on here and other sites, and I still cant decide.

Ive been looking at the Fenix LD10, Olight I15/I25 Infinitum, and some others by nitecore, mainly the NDI and D10/D20, and Eagletac lights.

Im looking for a high output thrower, hopefully above 150+ lumens on AA's. I'd like as high output as I can find reasonably. My budget is around $100. Looking at specs alone, im leaning towards those listed, but any other choices are helpful too.

These all seem to have good specs, but how big of a difference is there between torch lumens and emitter lumens?

Many thanks,

Dan
 

dracodoc

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I think you have to use 14500 to get 150+ lumens on single AA light.
If you like 2AA, D20 Q5 is on sale on 4sevens, you can get it around $40, which is a pretty good deal. It will produce 180 lumens and have a good flood beam pattern.
 

CSRevenant

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I think you have to use 14500 to get 150+ lumens on single AA light.
If you like 2AA, D20 Q5 is on sale on 4sevens, you can get it around $40, which is a pretty good deal. It will produce 180 lumens and have a good flood beam pattern.

I have an aversion to specialty batteries, they seem very expensive and hard to get a hold of, especially in my small town. I figured most of the 1xAA lights have figures based on the 14500, so I'm shying away from them.

I also noticed the D20, but I would like something with a lower low, something between 5 and 30 lumens or so. But then again $40 is very cheap, and another $30-$60 buy a ton on AA's:grin2:.
 

KAP

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jetbeam jet-I pro is about $70 and seems to meet your criteria.
 

Saint_Dogbert

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If you want serious throw, do not go with a Nitecore. I do not own one, I'm sure they are great lights, but beamshots and lux measurements indicate they don't do so hot in the throw department. I'd say an Eagletac P20A2 might bet the way to go. It has a smooth (SMO) reflector option to maximize throw, and has the highest measured throw and highest advertised output of any current AA flashlight.

A general rule of thumb for estimating 'out the front' lumens from LED emitter lumens is generally around 80% of the emitter lumens. So a light rated at 100 emitter lumens would likely be putting out around 80 lumens. 200 lumens > 160 lumens, and so on.

In any case, most recent (2)AA lights will achieve 150 lumens or above. The Eagletac will definitely get you over the 150 lumen mark, and out-throw the Fenix TK20.

Hopefully that is helpful! :welcome:

Edit: Oh yeah, and remember that some manufacturers, just to make things interesting for you, quote emitter lumens, while others measure OTF lumens. Just the way it is, unfortunately.
 
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CSRevenant

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I'm liking the eagletac p20a2:twothumbs230 lumens from emitter seems quite good on 2xAA, and it has many accessories. Does anyone know if www.eagletac-usa.com is a good retailer and reliable? I can't find any website reviews for them. I'm careful of who I buy from.

Thanks!
 
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kimck99

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Hi,

Well I was in a similar search and I ended up purchasing Nitecore D10 R2. I haven't receive it yet but the selling point were 1) the light level control, 2) the lumen rating seemed very good for a 1xAA and I plan on getting 14500 batteries for longer runtime, 3) will, I have the Fenix L2D and thought about the LD10 but wanted something different, and 4) size.

I looked at the other R2 emitter lights but eventually came back to the D10 R2.

Good luck.
 

Saint_Dogbert

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Just one thing to mention, if you do get the Eagletac P20A2, make sure you get the second run/generation/version/whatever. In the first run, the strobe is accessed by turning the light off, then back on anytime within 3 seconds. This could be somewhat annoying, I'd imagine: :sick2: > :green: > :sick: The updated version (still P20A2) will reduce that time to 1 second. Not ideal (in my opinion), but still an improvement. Probably not a deal breaker, just something to keep in mind if you don't like having impromptu discos. Unfortunately I don't know how to tell which version you are ordering; maybe ask the dealer you want to buy from, or someone else on cpf may know.

I think Eagletac-usa is owned by Pacific tactical solutions, which is a reputable site, so you should be fine ordering from them.

:wave:
 

Zeruel

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If you want an AA thrower, go for Jetbeam Jet-I Pro 3.0.
If you want a good, useful AA light, go for D10.
 

fyrstormer

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Nitecore D10. Done.

It runs on fancy batteries or cheap batteries, behaves like a twisty and a clicky at the same time, and has adjustable brightness. It has a good mix of flood and throw. The only thing it's not good for is hitting people with. (for that, the D20 is a better choice. ;))
 

hyperloop

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If you want an AA thrower, go for Jetbeam Jet-I Pro 3.0.
If you want a good, useful AA light, go for D10.

+1 on this, i have the Jet I v2.0 and an EX10 (sorta like a baby D10) and they are BOTH good EX10 is in my pocket everyday cos of size, Jet I in my bag
 

AnAppleSnail

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I am surprised that nobody is suggesting the Quark. I got the D10 and very happy with it - but are very tempted to go for a Quark, especially because of the moonlight mode.
It has a pretty hotspot, but is slightly orangepeel - so it's not a pure thrower. To me that's a good thing though.
 

LED_Thrift

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Hi, welcome to CPF CSRevenant.
I have an EagleTac P10A2 [2xAA batteries] and I love it. EagleTacs give LOTS of light for an AA powered light. The P10A2 does NOT have a low so it does not fit you wishes, but I wanted to mention that ANY high-power AA light will strain Alkaline batteries and won't run at full output for very long. There is a relatively new [two years] rechargeable technology that powers high-powered lights very nicely. It is called Low Self-Discharge nickel metal hydride, or LSD NiMH. Sanyo Eneloops and RayOVac Hybrids are two specific models, though there are others. They have no memory, so you can top them off after using them a little or run them down all the way. They don't lose power while sitting around, so the light is good to go when you need it. Very simple and safe to use and charge.

You might consider getting two lights rather than one that can go really low AND really high.
 

CSRevenant

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I think the p20a2 best fits my needs, it is kind of large, but has good output, and is fairly priced.

If I order one, should I get OP or SMO, or both? I have looked up the difference, and I think I'm set on the smooth, but I'd like to have a option for more spread and wider hot spot. Will the included diffuser work as well as a OP reflector? Or will the diffuser reduce performance?
 

CSRevenant

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Bump:laughing: Does anyone know how good the diffuser is? Is is as good as a OP reflector? Or should I buy a separate reflector?
 

bullinchinashop

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I think the p20a2 best fits my needs, it is kind of large, but has good output, and is fairly priced.

If I order one, should I get OP or SMO, or both? I have looked up the difference, and I think I'm set on the smooth, but I'd like to have a option for more spread and wider hot spot. Will the included diffuser work as well as a OP reflector? Or will the diffuser reduce performance?
An OP (Orange Peel) reflector will give you less throw and more of a solid wall of light. Depending on the reflector there might not be a hot spot at all.
A smooth reflector will give you more the beam can sometimes be ugly (You really won't notice it unless you spend all day shining your light at walls). Also smooth reflectors usually give a very distinct hot spot and a dimmer spill.
If you can get both I'd do that. You might like one of them more than you thought you would. Or you might not like the one you think you'd like.
 
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