Which 1 x AA light gets the best boost from 14500

Which AA light from these few listed gets the best boost in high output or length of runtime on high on a 14500 from its performance on an Eneloop?

JETBeam Jet-1 Pro v3
Quark AA Tactical
LumaPower Connexion v2
NiteCore D10 SP
NiteCore NDI

Do any of these lights exhibit only an increase in runtime on a 14500, without a signifcant (define that however you like) increase in max brightness?

I can't confirm the NDI but all the others do have a nice boost in output with 14500.

If your looking for a good 14500 you might want to add the Zebralight SC50 to your list, also a good boost with 14500.

According to the 'actual lumen readings in a 10.5 inch sphere' sticky, a Quark mini AA does about 320 otf on a 14500.

I know it's not on your list, but hey, that's a whopping amount of light from such a tiny, little light.

Jash said:

According to the 'actual lumen readings in a 10.5 inch sphere' sticky, a Quark mini AA does about 320 otf on a 14500.

I know it's not on your list, but hey, that's a whopping amount of light from such a tiny, little light.

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I have seen that.

But that much light coming out of so small a package...somethin's gotta give. I bet the thing will melt in about 3 minutes!

But, it is pretty darn cool.

BigBluefish said:

I have seen that.

But that much light coming out of so small a package...somethin's gotta give. I bet the thing will melt in about 3 minutes!

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Dude, you asked.:nana:


I used to work in the rental branch for a major car rental company. Folks would call Friday evening right before we closed and ask what time we opened Saturday morning because they just had to get a car first thing, ASAP. I'd tell them 8am and then it would be like, "um, well, that's a little early. How 'bout you put me down for 10am."

Jash said:

According to the 'actual lumen readings in a 10.5 inch sphere' sticky, a Quark mini AA does about 320 otf on a 14500.

I know it's not on your list, but hey, that's a whopping amount of light from such a tiny, little light.

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wow

is that more than the other lights asked about in this thread?

The Quark Mini was never designed to run on a Li-ion battery, so use at your own risk, and if it dies on you, don't try to send it back for warranty work. I haven't read about anyone running one on a Li-ion for any length of time, so no reports as to whether it will actually damage the light or not. Why not just buy the Quark AA, which is designed to run on a Li-ion battery, and run it on a 14500 for close to the same output?

My NDI gets a big boost when running on a 14500, and it's an early one, so I imagine the R2 version might be even better.

I assume the boost in light out is from the higher voltage but what about the lower mAh? Shouldn't the lower mAh translate into less runtime?

The newer R2 Nitecores don't really get much of a boost from a 14500. I suspect that they regulated the newer ones because they knew it couldn't reliably handle the heat generated. The Zebralight does get a nice boost and is made to use them. I suspect that even with the Zebralight though the life of the light is reduced. They get very hot. Run time, however, I believe is still better with a Nimh.

The AA mini has a very large difference between 14500 & Eneloops, but does get hot quickly.

The NDI also gets a very large boost running the liion's and is very bright on just a standard alkaline.

From Selfbuilt's review of the NDI:



Conclusion:

• No bones about it, this is the brightest light on 1AA alkaline or NiMH that I have ever tested. Runtimes on Hi are very respectable on these battery types.
• Output and runtime on 14500 is very good, with output somewhat brighter than regular batteries (although not the brightest I've seen – on 14500 Fenix and JetBeam models are brighter, but shorter lasting).
• Regulated output on all battery types in all output modes is impressive (e.g. unlike Fenix on 14500, where you loose low modes until light drops to regulated level)
• The user interface is a model of simplicity and ease of use. Strobe is neatly tucked away so you don't need to see it.
• The continuously variable brightness system is very well executed – better than the Liteflux in my opinion.
• Build quality on my pre-production sample is very high quality, on par with the highest end Chinese-made lights in my collection.
• The Shipping version has the same regulated output and runtime as the Pre-Production version, but is lacking the early ~10% increase in initial output during the first 5-10 mins of the runs shown in the Pre-Production version.

I've been EDCing my Pre-Production NiteCore since I received it, and my opinion of this light has not changed. It has performed reliably and consistently, and will remain my EDC. :twothumbs

Source:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/184939

I picked a few up after reading his review on the original, and it's still top three of my favorite edc lights that I have. Heat is not as big a problem with these lights and I have run mine for extended periods (cooled in the hand only) with no issues. Mine have all been the Q5 NDI Silver.

One of the best UI's out there and great ergonomics.

Brasso said:

Run time, however, I believe is still better with a Nimh.

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14500 lithiums are about 900mAh and AA NiMH are around 2500mAh. The AA NiMH is 2.7 times the capacity of the 14500 lithiums. So I'm thinking the runtime should be 2.7 times longer on NiMH at the same light level but i could be wrong.

carl said:

14500 lithiums are about 900mAh and AA NiMH are around 2500mAh. The AA NiMH is 2.7 times the capacity of the 14500 lithiums. So I'm thinking the runtime should be 2.7 times longer on NiMH at the same light level but i could be wrong.

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When calculating runtimes, you need to know the energy in the battery, not the capacity.

AA NiMh has 2500mAh*1.2V = 3Wh of energy.
14500 has 750mAh*3.7V = 2.8Wh of energy.
Eneloop has 2000mAh*1.2V = 2.4Wh of energy.

So, the difference between the high capacity NiMh and 14500 is quite small. However, note that most flashlights work much more efficiently at higher voltages - and since the 14500 li-ion has a higher voltage than the Ni-Mh, they normally end up having equal/longer runtime, as well as the ability to go brighter.

hoongern,
thanks for the calculation. For single battery lights, i guess the 14500 is the way to go, as long as it can handle the higher voltage.

I was reading about 4AA 1D maglites and someone suggested four 14500 in parallel rather than four AA NiMH in series. Now this situation probably gets a bit trickier to figure out.

carl said:

For single battery lights, i guess the 14500 is the way to go, as long as it can handle the higher voltage.

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From my limited experience, I think it really depends on the light. For my RRT-0, spec sheet says I get 1/3 more lumens on RCR123, but I get better runtime on NiMH (I don't have any 14500 but you could infer they will get slightly better runtime than RCR123). The lumens with li-ion aren't so much more that it really makes a significant difference, so then it comes down to form factor and personal preference of battery type. When li-ions can cost 2-3x the price of a sigle quality NiMH, it seems to require quite an offset to make up the difference. But again, peersonal preference goes a long way.

You're right, it depends on the driver too. If its a buck driver set at a low max voltage, it may not take full advantage of the higher voltage of the 14500.

Stats on the NiteCore D10 Tribute edition show the following.

14500 = 145 Lumens (80 min)
NiMH = 145 Lumens (50 min)

Haven't tested the runtimes myself, but I can certainly verify there is no discernible difference in output between a fresh 14500 and a fresh NiMH in my D10. The Li-ion (19.8 g) is also significantly lighter than the NiMH (30.1 g). Loaded in the flashlight (with pocket clip), that corresponds to 68.8 grams (2.4 ounces) and 79.1 g (2.8 ounces). So a D10 with a 14500 is ~15% lighter than one packing a NiMH.

I own each of these ...

JETBeam Jet-1 Pro v3
Quark AA R2 Tactical
NiteCore D10 R2
NiteCore NDI Q5 & R2

These 2 show the most boost on 14500 IMO.
JETBeam Jet-1 Pro v3
Quark AA Tactical

My collection is 95% AA/14500 torches - and only those that run both cells,
I have many, and of all of them, I'm really most pleased with the JETBeam Jet-1 Pro v3 on 14500.