Brighest 2AA flashlight ?

Hello

I am looking to replace my Fenix l2d with something up-to-date. I currently have a zebralight h51f and am super impressed with this company, beam is "smooth", tint is wonderful (although I am looking to try a warm tint, just to see what the fuss is about), everything about this light is awesome. I want a light with this kind of quality, but 2AA, and super bright. I am not sure if I want flood or throw or a combination right now. I don't use my flashlights for anything specific, the use constantly changes.. night fishing, working in a dark cellar, working in a low lit recording studio with lots of cables, and gear to see around, night hiking, night biking, working on computers.. ONLY 2xAA Please!!!

Wanted to add that I also prefer something that people consider fairly bomb proof. My fenix has been dropped from a ladder on to cement, with almost 0 damage.. a slight paint scuff is all. I also like lights that can handle water, ip8 seems to do the job for me. I have used my fenix and zebralight under water successfully.

Thanks for your help, and sorry for another Best/brightest AA thread.

If we define "brightness" in lumens, Eagletac P20A2 MkII with XP-G S2 or HO XM-L modules, depending on the balance of throw/flood you favor.

If we define "brightness" in lux, I'll let the throw afficionados propose you one of their favorite lights.

nap.

Hello Nap, thanks for the response. I checked that light out, I like the looks of it. I am wondering why the neutral at 200 lumens (could not find an exact lumens rating for the neutral) looks brighter than the cool at 360/290 lumens ? Is that how much better the neutral renders colors outside ? I was comparing these 2 photos. Never noticed that much difference before on other photos, but I clearly can make out a ton more fence detail with the neutral over the brighter cool. Any thoughts ?

Neutral - http://www.illuminationgear.com/images/pics/TNOP_p20a2nw.jpg

Cool - http://www.illuminationgear.com/images/pics/TNOP_p20a2mkiicw.JPG

I don't think the neutral is really brighter, I think it's more something to do with when/how the pics were taken. The differences should be mostly in the hotspot size, XPE should have the smallest (and brightest) hotspot, then XPG larger then the XML the largest. As total amount of light, the XML will output the most, but it spreads it widely so the hotspot does not appear as bright as with the XPE.

You may find a side by side pic of XPG vs XML here:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?315743-New-Toys!/page2

Also you may e-mail illuminationgear with any questions, Tod is friendly and will help you with chosing.

Nap.

And here a good post comparing the various modules too:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?315998-Eagletac-P20A2-MKII-ET21-Module-Comparison

Nap

any other options ?

Klarus ST20 or JETbeam BA20

4Sevens, AA^2 Turbo, perhaps. Throw's definitely good.

IMHO, you need more than 2AA's to get close to the performance of lights with specialized batteries (18650, 14400, etc).

Candidates starts with the Jetbeam PA40. 400+ lumens, Fenix Tk40, 630 Lumens, Tk41, Tk50, Tk60, so on and so forth.

You can drive a Malkoff M31 (or M31W for warmer tints) with 2xAA. There are custom battery tubes (to match the Surefire "C" head that the Malkoff is designed for). I use this variation for my travel flashlight--in fact I use a McGizmo 2xAA battery pak (much better tailcap/switch than you get with the custom 2xAA battery tubes) with a VME head available from Malkoff. That's an expensive way to go to be sure. But the custom aluminium battery tube is much less expensive and quite doable.

The lumen output of the M31 is 210-230, depending if warm or cool tint.

Hey Marcis. I own a TerraLUX LS300. And I'm eye-balling a JetBeam BA20. At 300 and 270 lumens respectively, these two might be contenders for your 2AA hunt...

you linked to the P20A2 300 lumen R5 vs the 220 (IIRC) lumen Q4 pics...

Have not had a chance to work on the XM-L HO or R4 Module pics yet...
am severely overdue


AFAIK the P20A2 360 lumen HO module offers the highest lumen output on 2xAA... you'd probably have to look at an XR-E R2 light if you want most LUX

Cheers
Tod

marcis said:

Hello Nap, thanks for the response. I checked that light out, I like the looks of it. I am wondering why the neutral at 200 lumens (could not find an exact lumens rating for the neutral) looks brighter than the cool at 360/290 lumens ? Is that how much better the neutral renders colors outside ? I was comparing these 2 photos. Never noticed that much difference before on other photos, but I clearly can make out a ton more fence detail with the neutral over the brighter cool. Any thoughts ?

Neutral - http://www.illuminationgear.com/images/pics/TNOP_p20a2nw.jpg

Cool - http://www.illuminationgear.com/images/pics/TNOP_p20a2mkiicw.JPG

Click to expand...

If you had the money and were patient, you could buy a TK41 and get someone to make a custom 2AA battery holder to screw onto the massive head and run two 14500's for 800 lumens of two AA sized batteries.

Not real practical, but you would have the brightest 2AA around, and one that throws like a beast.

Quark 2AA Turbo does a pretty good job for both output and throw. I know there's brighter but I own one and can vouch for how good it is. It's my GHB/BOB light for the very properties is possesses.

Solarforce L2r Black AA SST-50
Voltage Input: 0.8v-4.2V
I just don't know how much light it can produce on 2xAA, maybe 1x14500 and a dummy AA could produce more than 400 lumens as it states brightness of 680 lumens in the specs.

another one
Solarforce L2r Black AA P7 led
Voltage Input: 0.8v-4.2V

does anyone have these lights?

Ian2381 said:

Solarforce L2r Black AA SST-50
Voltage Input: 0.8v-4.2V
I just don't know how much light it can produce on 2xAA, maybe 1x14500 and a dummy AA could produce more than 400 lumens as it states brightness of 680 lumens in the specs.

another one
Solarforce L2r Black AA P7 led
Voltage Input: 0.8v-4.2V

does anyone have these lights?

Click to expand...

Wonder if anyone has tried that to see how it is, and how long runtimes would be.

The Solarforce Low Voltage drop-ins are .8V~4.2V input and are actually about 80 lumens on a single cell and 120~160 lumens on 2*AA cells and require 4.2V li-on cell for full power.

The Eagletac P20A2 is the brightest I have see off just 2*AA cells at over 300 OTF lumens.

I would love to see full 5~6 watts from 2*AA cells. It would be 500 OTF at least if its XM-L LED driven.

lebox97 said:

you linked to the P20A2 300 lumen R5 vs the 220 (IIRC) lumen Q4 pics...

Have not had a chance to work on the XM-L HO or R4 Module pics yet...
am severely overdue


AFAIK the P20A2 360 lumen HO module offers the highest lumen output on 2xAA... you'd probably have to look at an XR-E R2 light if you want most LUX

Cheers
Tod

Click to expand...

Where can i get the eagletac with the ho module?

Is it the brightest 2aa (overall outout) currently on the market?

Jash said:

If you had the money and were patient, you could buy a TK41 and get someone to make a custom 2AA battery holder to screw onto the massive head and run two 14500's for 800 lumens of two AA sized batteries.

Not real practical, but you would have the brightest 2AA around, and one that throws like a beast.

Quark 2AA Turbo does a pretty good job for both output and throw. I know there's brighter but I own one and can vouch for how good it is. It's my GHB/BOB light for the very properties is possesses.

Click to expand...

Won't the voltage be too much? If not you can just use the standerd battery holder with a minor mod. Not sure why, your runtimes will be very short.