What should I buy for my nephews? 1x or 2x AA only please.

My nephews are 10 & 14, both are in Scouts, and they go camping regularly. They go camping as a family a couple of times a year as well. I gave my brother (their dad) a Fenix LD20 R4 last year (they all loved it.) The boys have always used cheapo lights. Now I want to get them something of their own, and I want them to say "WHOA." As a family they run everything on eneloops, so I'm narrowing my choices down to AA only with eneloops in mind...no Li-ion. I think I'd like to get them both the same light so they don't fight over one or the other. Also, I want the light to be pocketable, and I want to keep it under $75 each. Must order these soon....so hurry please.

Here's what I'm considering and why:
1) Zebralight SC51 - 200 lumens on an eneloop (brightest of any single cell light running on NiMh,) best UI around, great levels, great runtimes for a one cell light, comes with a head strap, and it's very very small - compact - & lightweight.
2) Zebralight SC51w - same reasons as above but neutral tint with slightly lower max.
3) Quark AA2 Regular UI R5 LED - I like the R5 color better than the S2, they're already used to this UI, great runtimes on 2 AA's, lego-able for future purchases, good balance between flood & throw IMO, and they like blinky modes.
4) Fenix LD20 R5 - I'd get this only if I couldn't find the Quark AA2 with an R5 LED, also this one is a little brighter than the LD20 R4 that their dad has.
5) ITP SA2 R5 - much cheaper than the other choices, and the UI & output looks good (I've never owned one of these tho.) They are not flashaholics like me, and may love this light as much as the others.
6) ITP SA1 R5 - same reasons as the SA2, but this one is 1 AA battery instead of 2. The output (145 lumens max) is pretty good, but not as good as the zebra's and not as good as their dad's LD20 R4.
7) Thrunite Neutron 2AA - they're used to this UI, has the XM-L, brightest in terms of lumens (260) but not as good with throw.
8) Thurnite Neutron 1AA - Same as above but 1 AA (145 lumens.)

Do you have any other suggestion?

I was leaning towards one of the ITP's because of price, but am now leaning towards one of the zebralights for all the reasons listed above...can't decide. Help.

why not go for the zebralight sc50+ ? its on sale and plenty bright.

My vote is for the Quark AA2 Tactical. I vote for the tactical because it is programmable, and easy to program, but fun. I agree with you about the R5, I'd ask 4sevens if you could possibly get the R5 rather than the S2 before ordering. The tactical might work better so they don't have to click through modes they won't use, and it programs fast so they can reprogram it to suit their camping needs. I think the programming feature is cool now, I'm pretty sure I would have thought it was awesome when I was 10 or 14 with my 2D Maglight. If you stick with the regular UI that will be a great light too. Sometimes my quarks are a little gritty, so I'd clean and lube the light before I gave it to them, or show them how to. You also get the lego-ablility that you mentioned, and the great customer service and warranty (10 years or something?).

My vote would be for the thrunite neutrons, since they run nimh cells, get the 2aa. Nice floody light, both fun and handy modes and there old enough to appreciate the brightness and be respectful of others. I have a Nuetron 1a and run it with a 14500 and love the beam, no preflash changing modes. Nice white tint, if you prefer neutral tint I saw in the marketplace (CPF) that they are coming out this week.

For your nephews, I agree with the suggestion for the Neutrons. My son is also 10 and just starting Scouts, working on his Tenderfoot. He already has an E20 I had given him some time ago, and one of those Romisen flood-to-throw models, which is actually his favorite.

You might also want to consider the JetBeam BA20; same interface as the Quark Tactical, just that the levels for the two modes are fixed and not programmable. Also about $20 less than the QT as well. The 2xAA configuration will give them plenty of run time for campouts and they won't have to change batteries as often.

Just to throw a curveball, if the goal is to get them lights for outdoor activities, maybe you should consider getting them headlamps?

Just a thought but how about a Sunwayman L10A? I have one and its a great rt angle pocket light. with the clip they could put in their shirt pocket while keeping hands free plus it takes AA lithiums/NI-MH and its a tough well built light.

I suggest the ZebraLight H51w for your nephews, and one for you too!

It is a very versatile light that can be used as a hands free headlamp, or handheld flashlight EDC.

The SC51w will not work as well as a headlamp since it will be on the side of your head, and part of the beam can be blocked by your head. Also, using a flashlight in a headband only illuminates at one fixed angle, and that angle may not be the best.

qtaco said:

I've tried a 1xAA light in a Zebralight headband, and while it works some of the time it is definitely not as nice as a proper headlamp. The main problem is it's very difficult to see things up close to you (say your hands as you are cooking on a stove) as you can't easily tilt the torch down enough. With the H51 you can direct the light anywhere from straight up to pointing straight down quickly and easily.

The H51 works better as a handheld light then a handheld light works as a headlamp in my opinion.

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The H51w will let you rotate the beam up or down which is nice for sitting in your tent allowing you to point the beam up to cast a glow on the ceiling, and out of others faces in the tent. It can also be used hands free without the headband if needed, just clip it to yourself, or something else.

Overall, for camping, setting up a tent, hiking, cooking, or doing anything that takes 2 hands... a good headlamp is indispensable. I also use my H51w as my EDC clipped to my front pocket, and I'm very happy using it as a flashlight most of the time.

The UI is fantastic, and one of the best around. It's nice to be able to turn your light on in either low, med, or high from off. The .18 lumen "mood mode" is really nice when you need discreet light at night, and do not want to disturb anyone.

The beam is a nice balance of flood and throw. I also would definitely recommend the neutral tint over cool white, especially for outdoors and camping. You can get an idea of the difference for yourself by taking a look at the link below.

http://www.illuminationgear.com/85243.html

If you got me the H51w... I would have to say you were my favorite uncle!

Check out the JetBeam BA 20 it looks like a pretty nice AA light.

This has been some great well-informed & well thought out info. I've considered going the route of a headlight, but think I'd rather give them a flashlight first & maybe a headlamp the next time. I am currently wavering between the Thrunite neutron 2AA and the Zebralight sc51w. The Thrunite is just bright and has good output levels. The Zebralight is really small & pocketable. I don't know if my youngest nephew could fit the Thrunite in his pocket.

I suggest the ZebraLight H51w for your nephews, and one for you too!

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Starchaser, that's funny that you mentioned this because when I order my nephews' lights I was going to order me a zebralight H51w....ha.

If you were a kid which one of these lights would be the "coolest" one to you?? I'm struggling!!

CarpentryHero said:

My vote would be for the thrunite neutrons, since they run nimh cells, get the 2aa. Nice floody light, both fun and handy modes and there old enough to appreciate the brightness and be respectful of others.

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CH, how does your neutron compare to your quarks in terms of throw versus flood? I consider my quarks to have a good balance, and expect that the thrunite neutron is more floody.

get them the Neutron 2AA (neutral) now. allow them bragging rights to their dad's "old cool tinted" LD20. LOL.
then get them ZL H51w later, as their headlamps. and they would be covered for most lighting needs at the campsite.

I dont know what kids really like, but my 10 year old niece's favorite is my thurnite catapult. I dont think she cares about its size or heft, just that its blindingly bright.

as far as throw is concerned for the neutrons. selfbuilts reviews always have a lux measurement.
im thinking the throw isnt a big difference. the neutron does have a wider hotspot. but its throw should be decent still, because of the extra muscle from the XM-L

EDIT: goinggear has 7 2xAA neutrals in stock right now. great dealer too.

I don't think the Neutrons are available in a neutral tint yet, if they are, could you share a link?

B0wz3r said:

I don't think the Neutrons are available in a neutral tint yet, if they are, could you share a link?

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I was just looking at them at GoingGear.com - ClickHere

By the way, great idea skyfire.

Outdoorsman5 said:

If you were a kid which one of these lights would be the "coolest" one to you?? I'm struggling!!

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The one that was the brightest.

Warp said:

The one that was the brightest.

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I think you nailed it Warp.....I needed to hear/read that, and focus on what they'd be focussed on - the brightest!

Outdoorsman5 said:

I think you nailed it Warp.....I needed to hear/read that, and focus on what they'd be focussed on - the brightest!

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When we went camping at the state parks when I was a kid it was about two things: Brightest and the most throw. We were for some strange reason also interested in which light could put a little dot the furthest away. Must have been a syndrome related to mag-lites being considered 'very good' flashlights.

Runtime matters too, but if it can make it through a night without a swap and there are more batteries available to swap out for the next day all is good

Quark compared to my Nuetron, there both quite floody. The neutron out throws the Quark because the hotspot though large is more defined, with great spill. It also outthrows the quark by being brighter.

Both the H51w and the Neutron 2AA neutral. I'll be getting the H51c and neutral 1C sometime this summer, when I've got the $$.

Outdoorsman5 said:

I was just looking at them at GoingGear.com - ClickHere

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Thanks!

(Now I have to figure out how I'm going to be able to afford a 1A, a couple more 14500's, and the new high CRI Zebra that's coming out!!!)

I'm a kid and i love flashlights and i would get the Thrunite Neutron 2AA