Arc LS 2AA battery pack utility

With the big Arc sale going on, I gave in and ordered an LSH. I ordered the twist tail, since it was so cheap and I may want to have that option at some point.

What I'd like to get is some opinions on the 2AA battery pack. I know it makes the LS much larger, but what do you all think are the advantages/disadvantages? Do you get much longer runtime, but with lower light levels? Do you need lithiums to get decent performance? Maybe you only use it when your last 123 cell goes dead?

Just trying to decide if I should go for this as well while they're on sale. Any comments appreciated.

bj

I plan on getting a 2AA pack because not every store sells the 123's. I feel that I should be able to easily find batteries for any light that I edc.

I ordered mine for a number of reasons.

Presently, I edc my LSHP in my pocket. IMHO, it cant be beat for a multipurpose, rugged light. I got the 2aa tsp to expand its utility.

Although I bought a bunch of Lisuns and have spares on me or nearby, there will be times when only AA's will be available. For those times, I store the Tsp with 2AA's in it and 2AA's next to it in a dandy little pouch that Brinkmann sells.

Sometimes, I like to walk at night and know ahead of time I will be out for a couple hours. Rather than burning through a 123, I can switch packs and head out.

For house projects, no need to use up a 123, so switch packs. Then, when its Miller time, the 123tsp pack goes on and the light goes back into its home in my pocket.

When camping, although I plan to have123's nearbye, the 2AA tsp will provide great back up.

Brightnorm posted that he gets 5hrs of reguulated light on AA lithiums.

And finally, when I buy my LS4, my LSHP will get "permanently" mounted to the 2AA pack, so I have it for my "who- cares -if- it- is -on -light". The LS4 will then be pocket edc.
Heck, I might even program the LS4 for moon mode and something a bit brighter and use my LSHP2AA for my constant run bright light.

I love the options.

PS I bought the 123 twisty as well, to make the LSHP the ultimate tiny "survival" light. I can always use another LS 2AA light if I opt for this mode of carry.

I almost never use the 123 pack, and always use the 2xAA pack!

1)123s are expensive, if your not going to buy a box of them, or mail order them
2)AAs can be found almost everywhere, while 123s....
3)I don't carry my LS in my clothes - It's in my rucksack. The size doesn't make any difference - It's still about the size of my E2 that it replaced

You get longer runtimes with 2AA than CR123. AA NiMH +charger means that you can run the Arc as much as you want for "free" (Not really, but I have chargers and dozens of AA already, so it is essentially free to me)

IF I were paying $35+shipping for a 2AA tailpack, I would strongly consider a BB400/Q3L + minimag. It gives you an extra white Luxeon at almost the price of the Arc tailpack
I bought my 2AA tailpack for $24. still pretty steep, but I have both an LS1 and LSH-P, and its handy to keep on on 2AA power.

The greatest advantage I've found with the 2AA tailcap is the convenience of rechargeables, if I were to use the light heavily. I find it very convenient that in situations where rechargeables aren't wise (like camping), alkalines and lithium AAs are still a cheap and viable option.

The size of the 2AA isn't really that large. I have both the Kroll clickie 2AA and the flat-tail original 2AA body, and would actually prefer the Kroll one for frequent uses or a CR123 body...

I'll go along the lines with Obeck. I bought my AA pack, because, well I'm a flashaholic. I've done all my run time tests with it, but now that I have it, I probably won't use it, but I won't get rid of it.

One the best features of the ARC LS is its size. If I change from the clicky that came with it, it'll be to my twisty because it's even smaller.

For a larger light that's more economical to use, get a BadBoy or MadMax in a Brinkmann. I plan on getting 2 or 3 more. Twice as much money as an ARC AA pack, but it's ANOTHER FLASHLIGHT!

So how does a 123 compare to two AA's in the Arc LS?

T.

A good 123 usually runs from 130 t0 140 minutes. The cheapos seem to run 10 to 20 minutes less.

I ran several test and got almost a 2 to 1 ratio in favor of the AAs. They were 2200s. posted results about two weeks ago.

I plan on using my Arc LS as much as possible. So the 2AA tail should help alot. Plus, I really dont want to spend the $$$ on the 123 cells. And using my nimh's, im running the Arc virtually free. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Since I got 24 DynaCharge 1800 MaH NiMHs for my mouse and other things, I am using the 2AA packs on my Rev1 SLS and LSH-S. These are twisties, and I plan to get two 2AA clicky packs. I got used to the TSP-123 and miss the kroll. The clicky is real nice if you have the LS in a headband or helmet/hardhat mounted.

Note: The 2AA Minimag Full Flap Nylon Holder works real well with the Arc LS in 2AA configuration.

I get almost 3 hours of bright burn time with a pair of high capacity (2000mah+) NiMH AA batteries. It is great!

Awhile back I ran some basic run tests with LSH-P, and MM adj. I was getting close to 3 1/2 hours with MM and about 2 hrs. with LSH, using Powerex 2000's, at about full brightness. I noticed that LSH-P started going into moon mode when batteries were at 1.2 volts, while MM ran batteries down to 1.1 before going out of regulation. I think that LSH's are more geared to moon mode than getting full brightness over time. Just an observation.

Bill

Does the MM cut off at a certain voltage? The LS is designed to cut off at 1.4v which keeps your NiMH from being overdischarged.

Peter