AA question: Dereelight or JetBeam?

I am having trouble deciding between the two brands. I know I will probably end up getting some of each brand down the road, but I need some recommendatios for the initial push. I am looking at AA versions from each company, if that helps.

Any advice would be helpful.

thanks
-Patrick

I don't know about the Dereelight, but I have been very happy with my Jet-1 Pro V.3. My brother is very happy with his ITP SA1 and SA2. My wife likes her Quark AA as well.

Out of the 2, I would take the Jetbeam. Throws a mile and accepts 14500.
Dereelight has a strong following as well. I don't think you can go wrong with either.

CPF answer...... buy both!

Barry

Barry,

Thanks for the quick response. I was initially leaning towards the Dereelights, but if there is one knock I have heard about them is that the UI can take quite a bit of getting used to. Not that this is a major issue, it has moved the JetBeams up into direct contention.

thanks again.

You can set each of the Jetbeams 3 modes to whatever you want. From low to high, variable strobe or even beacon. I carry mine bezel down in my pocket and can clip it to my hat for a quick headlamp with the 2-way clip.
If you order from bugoutgear don't forget to use the discount.

Barry

You didn't really explain what you were looking for in a AA light, but it's really hard to go wrong with any of the big names.

If I were looking for another AA light, I think I'd be looking at the Zebralight just based on my positive experience with the UI in my H501.

--flatline

flatline said:

You didn't really explain what you were looking for in a AA light, but it's really hard to go wrong with any of the big names.

If I were looking for another AA light, I think I'd be looking at the Zebralight just based on my positive experience with the UI in my H501.

--flatline

Click to expand...

I did narrow it down to those two specific brands. I guess I would have to say that I am looking for a light with more throw than the Fenix L1D and the Ra Clicky I am currently using. In addition to the Dereelight or JetBeam, I am looking at getting a Nitecore D10 for pocket carry and the other will reside in my messenger bag. Hope that helps.

The Dereelight C2H has a forward clicky, a higher bin emitter, accepts AA/14500 OR 123's and puts out more lumens. The UI is very simple and intuitive. It has three modes with mode memory and no disco modes.

The Jetbeam has a narrower beam that reaches farther and may be more or less usefull depending on the application. It seems to be a very popular light on CPF.

Oh, the Dereelight also offers upgradeable pills as new LED's are introduced.

I'll be the first to say GET BOTH can.t go wrong with either..

... what Alpha said ^^^ ...

AND..
I have a Nitecore D10 - a JetBeam Jet 1 Pro V3, and a Dereelight C2H.

All 3 of these can operate on a 14500 cell.

If you need to look 100 yards ahead, Jet 1 w/R2
If you need to blast a dark room with a wall of light, C2H w/XP-G

Each one suits a different niche purpose.
Each one is high quality.
If you're going to buy the D10 for pocket carry, get the Jet 1 for the bag.

I have the JetBeam RRT-0 with the AA extender, OP reflector and holster. With that extender, it can take AA and 123 sized cells including AA NiMH, AA alkaline, AA lithium, 14500 LiIon, CR123A lithium and RCR123/16340 LiIon. I like the ability to use various cells.

I love the UI too using the control ring to select brightness levels. It is a 4 level light but the low low is available with a twist up a level and then back down and is memorized. Repeat to go back to low. The ring is nice so you can choose the level before turning it on.

As far as brightens levels, it is quite bright on max using 1.2-1.5V cells (AA) but it is very bright using 3.0-3.6V cells (123 sized). The brightness level separation is great even with AA's. The low low is nice for long runtimes or night-adapted use like getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom :candle: . So it is essencially a 5-level light but only 4 are memorized at a time.

The beam is what I would consider "throwy" with a tight bright hotspot but the spill light is still quite adequate. The beam is nice and smooth with the OP reflector and the tint on mine is cool with the XP-E R2 emitter. A warm/neutral version (Q3-5A) is available but you lose a bit of output and an XP-G R5 is newly available for more output and efficiency.

Other features include the ability to tailstand, forward clickie switch and no blinking/flashing modes. I really appreciate that last non-feature in an EDC role. And lastly, it is one nice looking light! JetBeam, IMHO, makes some of the best looking production lights.

Buy your JetBeam from BugOutGearUSA-dot-com and get a 10% off CPF discount.

Dereelight is modular where you can buy a $30 upgrade when a new LED comes out. Plus you can mix and match battery types and get new dropins to get your light to do whatever you want. While with JetBeam you stuck buying an entire new light every time you want something different

The Javelin is best AA thrower on the market right now and the only 3xAA host out there. 3xAAs are needed to get the most brightness and runtime out of an LED light.

I've got a DBS for that exact reason. While there are better 18650 throwers out there, the DBS is actually upgradeable without a soldering iron.

Don't overlook a Quark AA, AA2, or AA Turbo. Great lights. Sturdy as hell.

My EDC for a few years now has been a 2008 Jet I Mk IBS, which is a Jet I with a beam pattern similar to a Quark; the broad beam profile is fantastic for everyday use, much more so than a thrower (which is why I never updated), and getting >200 lumens out of a 1xAA format (on 14500s) is awesome. If I didn't have this older Jet I, I would have a Quark AA.

red02 said:

Dereelight is modular where you can buy a $30 upgrade when a new LED comes out. Plus you can mix and match battery types and get new dropins to get your light to do whatever you want. While with JetBeam you stuck buying an entire new light every time you want something different

The Javelin is best AA thrower on the market right now and the only 3xAA host out there. 3xAAs are needed to get the most brightness and runtime out of an LED light.

I've got a DBS for that exact reason. While there are better 18650 throwers out there, the DBS is actually upgradeable without a soldering iron.

Click to expand...

3x AA? wow think about the possibilities! you can run one of nailbender's high powered drop-ins. voltage is ok, i dont know about the amperage though.

anyways, for 2xAA i would go with the javelin, for single AA the jetbeam. either the jet pro I v3 or RRT-0 with extender.