Need advice on AA LED 500+ lumens

Hey all. I'm looking for a nice bright LED (500 Lum or more) handheld type light that can run on AA's. I would like if it could run on Lithium, NIMH, and alkaline, but I have heard some will not run on lithium. I will be using this light for SAR applications; I will be in a car along a shore or in a boat on a small river looking for missing kayakers and canoe's, and tubers. The light will be occasionally submerged in swift water and may sit in about a foot of water for periods of time. I'm not really looking for a diving light, just something that can hold up too a little abuse every now and then. I have about $125 max to spend since this is a volunteer job. Any input would be great.

There are not too many lights out there that produce 500 lumens with AA batteries. Fenix comes to mind. The TK40 is out for a while with very mixed reports about reliabilty (from very rugged to reports of high failure rates) and the TK45 that seems to be on the horizon.
Most high powered lights use some sort of lithium batteries (CR123, ...) that can handle the load better then the AAs

Fenix TK40 and TK45 seem to fit the bill. Both take 8x AA Alkalines or NiMh (no lithiums though) and are tough lights.
TK40 has a nice beam with some throw, while TK45 is floodier and a bit brigther.

Sunwayled M40A should do too, it takes 4x AA batteries (don't know about lithiums, but I guess those could be used) but the brand is a newcomer in the scene and there ain't tests for that particular model yet (at least there ain't any I know of).

ITP Polestar takes 6x AA batteries and has a floody beam pattern. It is also very reasonably priced too, which I would take into account for a light supposed to take a beating from time to time. I don't know how much durable it is, you should check the forums.

I wish you the best for your volounteering! :wave:

For SAR, get the Stanley HID Spotlight.

Thanks guys. Chenko those three were on my list. My concerns were reliabilty. THe IDP at about $80 looks inviting.

zipster223 said:

Thanks guys. Chenko those three were on my list. My concerns were reliabilty. THe IDP at about $80 looks inviting.

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If you will be on a boat or car with power, you should consider the Stanley HID - as long as it's attached to unlimited 12v (about 3 amps worth) it will run indefinitely, giving long-term light for any search. Its onboard battery is weak Sealed lead-acid technology, but it's a nice vehicle light. It's brighter than every light on a police cruiser.

I don't understand the AA criterion. Surely you don't expect a small handheld that's running on one AA to give you 500 lumens and be reliable as well?

Once you get into multiples of AA's then a larger battery size is nearly always better.

500 lumens is a lot, and will chew through any battery type pretty quickly.

Greg

You might consider a HID light. They are meant for throwing long distances and you can get one pretty cheap.

The itp A6 Polestar is a very nice light. BUT, it is very floody and won't have the throw you will need.

The TK40 is your best choice. It has solid throw and good brightness. 8xAA eneloops is about the same energy density as 2x18650s, so runtime will be similar. It costs 150 bucks, BUT now that the TK45 is out, you might be able to find a deal. (The tk45 has LESS throw but more lumens and efficiency so you probably don't want that one).


math: 18650 = 3.7 ave volts x 2400mah = 8.9 Watt hours x2 = 18ish.
eneloop = 1.2 volts x 2000ish mah = 2.4 Watt hours x8 = 19.2ish.

Alot of the lights you listed have been measured for out the front lumens:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/260659

check it out and I also try and record the current at the tailcap so you can get an approximation of the power consumption.

Hi, I'm the owner of a ITP Polestar, I use it almost every night, even that, I use always Eneloops ( NI-MH) I know that I could use cheaper rechargeable batteries like Rayovac, but that's the batteries that I have…
I'm quite satisfied with my flashlight, no problems of reliability at the moment, and I use to carry it in my backpack, riding a MTB. Then when I arrive to destination (country, farm, etc) is where I use it. Is a bit floodier than TK-40 (not so much) but with +/-700 lumens, is enough to succeed in almost any task. Feels quite solid, the only problem that I heard about it was battery holder, but they redesign it in the new batch (mine).
Besides price is nearly half of TK-40, it doesn't mean that TK-40 doesn't worth it, is just that ITP is a good budget flashlight.
Mine i get it from ShiningBeam, top notch service....