Hellbore
Enlightened
I know questions like this have been asked many times, but perhaps not this exact question, so bear with me. A little background info:
I am the family's main flashaholic, but several other family members have some level of interest in LED flashlights and appreciate a useful, practical LED light. In fact they are usually most jealous of my AA pocket-carry lights.
In the past, I have made gifts to certain family members, like my parents, sister, etc. I have usually gifted them a less expensive light, like an Ultrafire or Elly whatever DX brand AA light I can find that got good reviews, or a Romisen, etc. They are usually very pleased with the light... at first.
The problem is, every time I have given them a light like that, it has eventually developed contact issues in the switch, or in the head, driver board, etc. and would either flicker or not work at all, and eventually they end up giving up on the light and they don't carry it any more.
I would even be skeptical as to whether a slightly higher-priced light like a Quark Mini AA would be suitable for them, because I have had contact issues with mine as well and needed to give it some special attention to get it running reliably again. I find my non-flashaholic friends and family will give up quickly on a light that is flaky. It's just not worth it to most people to bother with it if it doesn't just work every time.
So my dilemma is, is there an affordable AA light that is small enough for EDC, but not plagued with reliability issues that would discourage a non-flashaholic? It doesn't have to be the brightest or best, but it needs to have good battery life, be affordable, and be virtually idiot-proof. Things like having a sealed head, for example, would be preferrable... I have had family members get curious and unscrew the head of the light and either damage the LED or cause intermittent contact issues :\
It just would be nice if there was a small, affordable, AA light that is idiot-proof and just works every time no matter what... If I knew of such a light, I would make sure my whole family had one!
I am the family's main flashaholic, but several other family members have some level of interest in LED flashlights and appreciate a useful, practical LED light. In fact they are usually most jealous of my AA pocket-carry lights.
In the past, I have made gifts to certain family members, like my parents, sister, etc. I have usually gifted them a less expensive light, like an Ultrafire or Elly whatever DX brand AA light I can find that got good reviews, or a Romisen, etc. They are usually very pleased with the light... at first.
The problem is, every time I have given them a light like that, it has eventually developed contact issues in the switch, or in the head, driver board, etc. and would either flicker or not work at all, and eventually they end up giving up on the light and they don't carry it any more.
I would even be skeptical as to whether a slightly higher-priced light like a Quark Mini AA would be suitable for them, because I have had contact issues with mine as well and needed to give it some special attention to get it running reliably again. I find my non-flashaholic friends and family will give up quickly on a light that is flaky. It's just not worth it to most people to bother with it if it doesn't just work every time.
So my dilemma is, is there an affordable AA light that is small enough for EDC, but not plagued with reliability issues that would discourage a non-flashaholic? It doesn't have to be the brightest or best, but it needs to have good battery life, be affordable, and be virtually idiot-proof. Things like having a sealed head, for example, would be preferrable... I have had family members get curious and unscrew the head of the light and either damage the LED or cause intermittent contact issues :\
It just would be nice if there was a small, affordable, AA light that is idiot-proof and just works every time no matter what... If I knew of such a light, I would make sure my whole family had one!
