Advice/help: AAA w/ strobe

My EDC is a red Fenix L0D Cree Q4. I'd like to find another (black/olive fine), or a suitable replacement subject to some funny constraints.

First question: Somebody got an L0D they're dying to sell?

Second question: what's a good substitute... subject to some constraints. I'm looking for something very small, like the Fenix L0D, with low/medium/high and strobe, and a user interface that's not so complicated I get lost going between modes. I want to run AAA NiMH and do not need the ability to run Li-Ions. I'd like something that gradually fades the longer it runs, rather than constant brightness then moon. I am happy with the L0D beam and would be happy with something wider/less-focused. That said, lots of light (even if spread out) is important, so lights with low-bin LEDs are not appealing, and high-bin LEDs are more appealing. The L0D came with Q4 -- something Q5 or better might merit more tradeoffs. Weight is important, so aluminum is desirable over SS or ti. Bulk is important, so a single diameter is desirable over something with a wider head, even though that would allow for better optics.

The Fenix L1D lost the strobe mode, so that won't do. In practice I get just shy of 1 hour on fresh NiMH from the L0D; the 4Sevens Preon has a much shorter high run time, about 40 minutes, and the medium setting is dimmer and longer-running than I'd like. (The various tradeoffs make lots of sense for some users, just not me.) There's lots of other AAA lights, but I have so far not found one with a tradeoff collection I like better than the L0D.

I suppose if I could define my ideal light it would be the highest-bin XM-L with the smallest head that will hold it (even though optics are compromised), smooth-shape body, "high" runtime a bit over an hour, "medium" three, "low" 10 (at whatever brightness that gives) and strobe mode about 1/3 brightness and 1/3 duty cycle (for around 10 hours strobe). All running on a 1x AAA NiMH driver with efficiency tuned to that, at the expense of not being able to run 10440s -- or runs with the above settings from 10440s, but most lights taking 10440s seem optimized for very bright light, albeit briefly.

I've looked at a bunch of lights and have yet to see anything that strikes my fancy more than the L0D, but I bet I've missed lots of lights, some of which might be a great match. Any suggestions?

I have a red l0d Q4 as well. My one broke, but a helpful modder helped to fix it for me. I may be interested in selling with some convincing. It has sentimental value for me, as it was my first 'expensive' flashlight.

Why don't you have a look at the klarus mi x6, seems to fit your requirements pretty well. It still has strobe, very similar to the l0d user interface. No PWM, but can not run on 10440 batteries. If you want something even smaller, have a look at the mi x5, it runs on AAAA batteries (I've got a review on my blog).

Have you check out HKJ's AAA line up?

The AAA lineup is kind of old. You have a good question though. The closest I could find would be:

a) Quark mini AA. (NOT AAA obviously), XP-G emitter, has strobe function (though hidden).

b) Illumina Ti AAA. no strobe but XP-G emitter.


Im not sure they will have an XM-L AAA light because the emitter is so much fatter than the XP-E and XP-G. There would be very little room left for a reflector.

You'd most likely have to go with custom made for XM-L, AAA and strobe (as many flashaholics hate strobes)

joe1512 said:

The AAA lineup is kind of old.

Click to expand...

For some never lineups take a look on my website, I do occasionally make a new AAA comparison.

A XM-L is not really a good led for a AAA light.

I'd look at the Preon 1

Liteflux lf2xt does everything. Hopes kuku427 can make the liteflux come back from the dead

Preon Revo in Stainless Steel. it's light weight for a SS light, good knurling, AAA, as what you're looking for. cons: Small LED lottery like with most lights, output sequence is L-M-H (may not be a con for you).

hazna said:

I have a red l0d Q4 as well. My one broke, but a helpful modder helped to fix it for me. I may be interested in selling with some convincing. It has sentimental value for me, as it was my first 'expensive' flashlight.

Click to expand...

I understand... I'm not desparate for "just that light", so you should hold on to it. It's not like it takes up a lot of room!

hazna said:

Why don't you have a look at the klarus mi x6, seems to fit your requirements pretty well. It still has strobe, very similar to the l0d user interface. No PWM, but can not run on 10440 batteries. If you want something even smaller, have a look at the mi x5, it runs on AAAA batteries (I've got a review on my blog).

Click to expand...

That's really great, thanks. I think I stumbled on their site half a year or a year ago, but this time around looking for a AAA light I never found Klarus. I guess that says something about my research skills. So thanks very much for the pointer! More on the Klarus Mi x6 at http://www.klaruslight.com/products/Flash_light/75.html for anybody who wants to look.

It looks like The Mi x6 meets most of my feature needs quite well. I am curious if somebody can describe what happens to output when the battery goes low? With the Fenix L0D, the light just gradually fades dimmer and dimmer, I think it eventually switches to "Moon" mode. Anyway, the "gradually runs out of steam" behavior is much more useful to me than another light I had (not a AAA) that would hold brightness then suddenly switch off completely. I was not able to find a description of the Klarus in this regard. And it is not a deal breaker if it just switches off, but I am curious if somebody knows.

The Mi x5 is very cute. There's a bunch of reasons why it is not the right light for me, but applause for having done it and done it well.

Thanks for the help, the Mi x6 is a much better match for me than any other lights I had found.

Zeruel said:

Have you check out HKJ's AAA line up?

Click to expand...

Thanks! I think I found most of the lights there already, but am going through it now more closely to make sure I check 'em all. Help appreciated.

joe1512 said:

The closest I could find would be:

a) Quark mini AA. (NOT AAA obviously), XP-G emitter, has strobe function (though hidden).

Click to expand...

I've looked at some AA lights and for my use they are too bulky. Which is too bad because some otherwise have good features. AAA seems to be the sweet spot for me.

joe1512 said:

b) Illumina Ti AAA. no strobe but XP-G emitter.

Click to expand...

Strobe's important for me.

joe1512 said:

Im not sure they will have an XM-L AAA light because the emitter is so much fatter than the XP-E and XP-G. There would be very little room left for a reflector.

Click to expand...

Yup. My understanding is it would give a quite floody beam -- not quite a Zebralight floody, but pretty floody. For my use that would be okay, though I can imagine the demand for such a light is so small nobody would make one. At the same time my guess is the (significant) extra efficiency is a good compromise for at least some folks who are today buying tight beams because that's what is available. I can hope, anyway!

joe1512 said:

You'd most likely have to go with custom made for XM-L, AAA and strobe (as many flashaholics hate strobes)

Click to expand...

That's a good suggestion, though I have no idea where to begin. It seems like folks doing custom each have their specialty. I have no idea how to find somebody who would want to build one in this particular corner of the design space.

HKJ said:

For some never lineups take a look on my website, I do occasionally make a new AAA comparison.

Click to expand...

Thanks -- it looks like the Mr.Lite KC-05 with custom UI (it's great they offer that!) may be a good match for me.

http://www.lygte-info.dk/review/Review MrLite KC-05 UK.html

http://www.mrlite.com/pro02.asp?id=1014

I have not yet figured out how/where to order one.

HKJ said:

A XM-L is not really a good led for a AAA light.

Click to expand...

My understanding is a big LED in a small reflector yields a floody beam, but electrically the XM-L is close enough to others you'd still get good drive efficiency, etc., so you'd get about 20% more lumens from a high-bin XM-L than a high-bin XP-G, if you don't mind splattering that over a big area (worse focus, dimmer at any given point) then it would be a reasonable tradeoff.

I had a light with a Luxeon that I replaced with something having much better lumens/Watt. The focus was terrible because the new LED was a poor match to the optics, but for my use it was a much better light. It's not an entirely fair comparison because it was more than 20% lumens/Watt, but it does suggest my use wins from "more lumens" as much or more than "brighter".

jorn said:

Liteflux lf2xt does everything. Hopes kuku427 can make the liteflux come back from the dead

Click to expand...

I have a LiteFlux lf2x where I replaced the white LED with a red Cree. It's great, but the UI is so complex I get lost just turning it on. Unfortunately, it is a little easy to go to sophisticated modes by accident, and not always easy to get out.

That light was part of why I remarked in my original post "a user interface that's not so complicated I get lost going between modes."

StandardBattery said:

Preon Revo in Stainless Steel. it's light weight for a SS light, good knurling, AAA, as what you're looking for. cons: Small LED lottery like with most lights, output sequence is L-M-H (may not be a con for you).

Click to expand...

Wow, I am lame. I went to 4Sevens and clicked on "Preon", I completely failed to notice the "Preon ReVO" page.

That looks like a better match for me than the Preon 1. The Preon 1 on high is going for max brightness at the expense of run time, the ReVO is rated for closer to an hour. The Klarus Mi x6 hanza mentioned looks to be tuned for slightly longer run time on high, which even at the expense of peak brightness is a good tradeoff for me.

And they both have strobe modes (yay!) with the Mi x6 at 2.3 hours and ReVO at 2.5 hours I would not notice the difference.

Any idea what happens to the light output when the battery runs down? One thing I like about the Fenix L0D is the light just gradually gets dimmer. I'd like to avoid something that runs along at constant output then just goes dark. I did not see any "low battery" info at 4Sevens or on CPF reviews.

Thanks!

you should take note the access to strobe on the revo is tucked away and harder to get to (you need to cycle through low/med/high twice). Most people prefer this, but if you want easier access to strobe, probably go for the klarus.

hazna said:

you should take note the access to strobe on the revo is tucked away and harder to get to (you need to cycle through low/med/high twice). Most people prefer this, but if you want easier access to strobe, probably go for the klarus.

Click to expand...

That's a very good point. Yes, I want easy access to the strobe. Thanks!

EnabLED said:

........ Any idea what happens to the light output when the battery runs down? One thing I like about the Fenix L0D is the light just gradually gets dimmer. I'd like to avoid something that runs along at constant output then just goes dark. I did not see any "low battery" info at 4Sevens or on CPF reviews.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

I'm still on my first battery so I don't know yet. I actually use the LD01-SS on my keychain. I'd put the revo on there except it's L-M-H sequence which is not my preference for the keychain. The Klarus and the Preon Revo are pretty close, depends which LED you get for output and runtime. As was mentioned strobe is hidden a little more on the Preon, I like that, but I see you may want it to be easier access.

My Klarus Mi X6, and the smaller Mi X5 both arrived defective. I was really surprised and decided that I should stay away from them for a while. The Revo is much easier to operate than the Mi X6, which is slick and smooth and I could see it being very difficult to grip at times. Since it only worked for about 2 mins, I didn't play with it a lot, but I did a little more after it was dead to get the feel of it. The Revo was way nicer. So for the first time ever I took a refund instead of an exchange on the two dead lights. So my vote is for the Revo over the Mi X6 even if it's a little less ideal UI for you. I like the Revo-SS enough that I bought a back up when there was the memorial day sale... unfortunately I didn't win the tint lottery on the backup... it's OK though, but if I put the two samples side by side, I clearly prefer one over the other.

Of course really there is nothing wrong with the LD01-SS, it works well for me and has taken all the rough handling that a keychain light needs to take (been a couple years now, mine is the original SS LE; I did buy the more recent one as backup, and I may have a backup or two of the original). Probaly because the LD01 is AAA (I use Lithium primary), and it just keeps working I have not replaced it with my Aeon. I probbaly should, but have not gone there yet. It woulds have been easier to put the Revo there because it's noticably lighter weight that the LD01-SS, and newer LED and strobe which is nice to have in emergencies. No strobe is maybe one more reason the Aeon is not the ideal keychain light for me, but.... life is usually better when you simplify.... so....

Good luck in your search.

I just got the Klarus Mi X6, a few preliminary notes.

I got it from GoingGear.com, which has about the same price as other places online and/but sometimes offers 10% of to CPFers. They have free shipping over $50, so instead of $3 shipping I got something else for $4 and it cost me only a buck more. I had it in hand in just a few days.

The light is the same length as the Fenix L0D, but the head is thinner and the body is thinner yet -- the L0D is close to 14mm diameter, the X6 is about 12.5mm in the head and about 11mm for about 3/4 of the body. It looks remarkably smaller. Whether this makes a difference depends on how much you usually carry with it

The head has 4x milled grooves for grip, the body is smooth. I would appreciate it if they milled 8x grooves in the head, and did something for friction on the body. I find it okay to grip, but I often use my L0D with gloves or grimy hands, so I expect I will notice the bad grip when it is slick.

To adjust the X6 light level, you twist the head on and off. The pattern is M/L/H/flash. I have to twist it pretty fast, else it thinks I turned it off, and it goes back to M. It is much faster than the twisty time on the L0D.

The X6 beam pattern is different than the L0D. The X6 emitter and reflector are both smaller, but the X6 reflector is about as deep as the L0D. The X6 has a wider hot spot and more gradual fall-off, where the L0D has a more distinct center spot. I suspect many users want a "hot spot" beam pattern, but for my use the wider hot spot of the X6 is better. The small/deep reflector on the X6 means the overall spill pattern is slightly narrower than the L0D; for my use, I prefer the L0D, my guess is many users would not notice the difference.

The L0D has a flat end and can be set on a table or the like pointing at the ceiling. The X6 has an irregular end so cannot. For my use, it makes no difference.

The nominal light vs. time is shown at http://www.klaruslight.com/products/Flash_light/75.html but it is unclear from the graph what happens when the battery runs down. I am still doing run-down tests, but it looks like it goes to "moon" mode rather than cut out entirely. After a while, it stops cycling M/L/H/flash and instead cycles between on and off, but it does keep running. I had another flashlight using RCR123As, and it would run for a while and then just turn off, which was dangerous for my use. I find "gradually dimmer" is much better. In my first rundown test, I ran the X6 about 45 minutes past where it seemed dim, and it just kept going -- eventually so dim I could comfortably look at the emitter under a magnifying glass, but still going is the important part.

I'll post some run-time tests once I have finished doing them

Thanks everybody for helping me choose the Klarus Mi X6!

I did some limited run-time tests using used Powerizer 1000 mAh nominal AAA NiMH. I fried my Sanyo 1000 mAh -- now I have a better charger, I should buy more: as at least some folks online say to expect about 90% of nominal from Powerizer cells, but about 100% of nominal from the Sanyo cells.

My test setup was a timer, no lumens measurement. My first run I started without a fan, but the X6 got warm so I decided to put a small fan on it just in case temperature made a difference.

With a Powerizer 1000 that was charged then left to sit 24h, I got about 50 minutes on high, compared to the X6 nominal 70 minutes. On re-test with a different Powerizer 1000 battery, I got about 65 minutes before it dimmed significantly. So for the 1st test, I blame me using a cheapo battery. On the 2nd run (good battery) the light looked constant past 60 minutes, then faded quickly from 65 minutes to 80 minutes -- at 65 minutes it was slightly dimmed but still brighter than my L0D on medium (with fresh batteries), which is nominally 30 lumens. By 75 minutes it was about the same brightness as the L0D on low, which is nominally 11 lumens. By 80 minutes it was significantly dimmer than the L0D on low.

It continued to run as long as I left it on, and when I turned it off and then on again, it came on. It lost the M/L/H/flash cycle, but running in "moon mode" is what I would expect.

I did a flash mode run, with a different battery also 24h off the charger. It ran about 2.0 hours in flash without obvious dimming. By 2.25 hours it was significantly dimmer than the L0D on flash with fresh batteries. The nominal rating on flash is 2.3 hours, and again I was using inferior batteries, so it looks like it met the run time spec. I left the light on until about 3.0 hours. It faded until it was hard to see in a daylight-lit room, but was still running. As the battery continued to discharge, the flash turned to a flicker turned to something that looked like steady with a bad regulator.

I will do a medium-brightness run-time test, but the results so far look like they meet or exceed the maker's specified run times.

EnabLED said:

I will do a medium-brightness run-time test, but the results so far look like they meet or exceed the maker's specified run times.

Click to expand...

Oops, I did the test and now cannot find the result. From memory, it met or exceeded the maker's specifications.

I have been carrying this about a year now and it works great. The O-ring is getting a little bit worn, and a couple times have found it turned on in my pocket. Thankfully without serious consequences. I have been carrying AAA keychain lights in my pocket since the Arc AAA was fairly new, and this is the only light for which I have had this problem. My guess is it uses a slightly looser-fit O-ring, and I hope I can replace it with something just a little bit thicker to get more wear area.

My only regret buying it is I do not own a crystal ball, Only the stainless steel version was available when I bought mine, I would have happily waited 2 months (or whatever) for the titanium version, just because titanium is fun.