Reliable SMALL EDC AAA light

I've tried various bright (>10 lumen) AAA led flashlights but return to a 10 lumen Arc that I find reliable.

Just checked my drawer and I still have a defunct Fenix E1.

What I don't like is to whip out the light when I need it and find it does not work. Or, to switch it off and find it won't light up again (not sure why they sometimes do this).

As it could be for emergency, some kind of moon mode would be as a warning before total exhaustion.

Beam pattern should be floody to an extent - don't mind a little hotspot but not so much to distract close up work.

Funny, these specifics would be out-of-place on many fora

Any suggestions?

I was thinking either the E05 or the itp e03 - how reliable are these?

tia.

The E05 and itp A3 are both pretty reliable, but I think the E05 is more floody than the A3. I don't own an E05 but my A3 does definitely have a hotspot. The nicer thing about the A3 is that it has multiple modes. Peak has a lot of options in this category and have a reputation for reliability

The ITP A3 is pretty solid. I've had one on my keychain for 2 years or so and it still functions perfectly. I gave 6 or 7 as xmas gifts 18 months ago and they're all working fine on their respective owner's keychains.

But if reliably is super important to you, look at Peak. They pot their electronics to protect against shock and vibration and have an excellent reputation for reliability. I only know that from reading CPF. I've never seen a Peak in person.

The Fenix E1 and E5 have excellent reputations, but if you've already had trouble with an E1, you're probably not interested in more of the same.


--flatline

EO5 is a top little light. I got two yesterday and they're great. Very floody, very small. Smaller than an EO1. Brighter too with a lovely white light, no blue tint whatsoever.

Fenix E01 is a simple and reliable light, if you can overcome your bitter experience with E1. There are various tricks to achieve softer or fully diffuse beam pattern (do a Google search) and the flaslight is cheap enough to give it a try. Using a regular E01, some CPF members have managed to drain the AAA battery down to .5-.6V, and some have achieved far better runtimes than those advertised by Fenix (regulated + moonlight mode). For ultimate reliability and extended runtime, use lithium primary batteries and you won't be disappointed, this light is built to last.

Cheers,

Tam

definitely E01 + Lithium primary. There was a destructive test thread 2-3 years ago and a CPFer was THROWING his light off a 2-3 story building and it survived just fine. The E01 is somewhat unique in that its electronic guts are completely encased in a hard plastic epoxy. So structurally, its very SOLID. Gene Malkoff dropin modules are constructed in a similar fashion... FWIW.

With Peak now using the QTC pills, and infinite brightness settings, they really should be at the top of the list for anyone looking for a small and crazy tough EDC light.

If for some reason none of their lights strike your fancy, I have had very good experiences with my stainless LD01. It has been very reliable for years.

I'm with nbp on this one. I don't think there is another light as robust as a Peak in Stainless steel.

I didn't know about the QTC pill - that would be great on a flashlight. Went to the peak website and read countless reviews but frankly I'm more confused with all the configurations of that product.

I considered the fenix E01, but it only trumps the arc on runtime. The E05 looks good so far but cannot find mention of any moon mode - does it stop dead after the regulation bit dies?

Thanks again for your replies.

kramer5150 said:

definitely E01 + Lithium primary. There was a destructive test thread 2-3 years ago and a CPFer was THROWING his light off a 2-3 story building and it survived just fine. The E01 is somewhat unique in that its electronic guts are completely encased in a hard plastic epoxy. So structurally, its very SOLID. Gene Malkoff dropin modules are constructed in a similar fashion... FWIW.

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kramer & others, this is a little OT but was it just a sam's anomoly when i found their energizer aaa's MORE expensive than their AA's? Going to aaa's would open up more options for me more than any need to go smaller. I'm just not paying more for less battery. Where are you guys buying your energizer lithium aaa's?

Jash said:

EO5 is a top little light. I got two yesterday and they're great. Very floody, very small. Smaller than an EO1. Brighter too with a lovely white light, no blue tint whatsoever.

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+1

E05 is very good for close range work and it never failed on me.

If you are considering the iTP A3 you should check out the Maratac AAA as well. I have a couple stainless steel versions and they work great.

edcarc said:

I didn't know about the QTC pill - that would be great on a flashlight. Went to the peak website and read countless reviews but frankly I'm more confused with all the configurations of that product.

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Don't bother with Peak's site, it hasn't been maintained. You can see their offerings at RMSK. They are Peak's largest retailer, and Bob can help you through making any product decisions.

Originally Posted by edcarc
The E05 looks good so far but cannot find mention of any moon mode - does it stop dead after the regulation bit dies?

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HKJ did a review of E05 on his website. Take a look at the curves - seems like E05 has a moonlight mode.

Originally Posted by leon2245
Where are you guys buying your energizer lithium aaa's?

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I'm using Camelion, the only available Li primary AAA in my area. Energizers would be too expensive, anyway.

Cheers,

Tam

the E01 is one of the most reliable made.

on the other hand, reliability is number one with you, THE most reliable is quite a bit more expensive and extremely rare (at least for now): Mako Flood

the E01 has proven to be more reliable than the itp a3 and E05.

i would go with a peak eiger. single mode, for better reliability.
do your research before getting the peak eiger, there are plenty of options, such as body style, tint, AL/SS/brass bodies, brightness levels, wide/med/narrow optics.
you can even call up peak, and custom build your light. peak is very nice to work with, just need some patiences cause it can take awhile for your order.

ive owned all 4 lights i mentioned above. quality goes to the peak eiger. hands down

skyfire said:

the E01 has proven to be more reliable than the itp a3 and E05.

i would go with a peak eiger. single mode, for better reliability.
do your research before getting the peak eiger, there are plenty of options, such as body style, tint, AL/SS/brass bodies, brightness levels, wide/med/narrow optics.
you can even call up peak, and custom build your light. peak is very nice to work with, just need some patiences cause it can take awhile for your order.

ive owned all 4 lights i mentioned above. quality goes to the peak eiger. hands down

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I can't find any explanation or comparison of the narrow, medium, or wide optics. Are you aware of any such thing?

--flatline

flatline said:

I can't find any explanation or comparison of the narrow, medium, or wide optics. Are you aware of any such thing?

--flatline

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There are various beamshots of these scattered about, although it does take a little searching. There was recently a thread started in the Peak subforum to try to do this in an organized fashion, but it hasn't made much progress yet.

In such a small light (Eiger), I might point out that all of the beam-shapes tend to run a bit floodier than in lights with larger or turbo-type heads. My Eiger-narrow has a hotspot, but still has substantial surrounding spill. In other words, don't expect "narrow" to provide something like an E1B beam.

The EO1 defines reliable in my book... This one was tossed 10-12 feet 200+ times to simulate dropping it, thrown at a rock wall 50 times, run over with my car 10 times, run through my dishwasher and clothes washer, frozen and brought to 165+ degrees repeatedlu, left running in a snowbank, and will run 60+ hours on a USA made duracell. Granted, 50 of that is a tapering moonmode, but at 60hrs. it is still plenty bright enough to navigate to the bathroom or kitchen for a snack at midnight. I still EDC this on my keys, it's been left in 140deg. cars, dropped many more times, etc. Never fails to light when I twist it on. A bit of steelwool smooths the beam nicely, for $12.50 I don't see what more you can ask...

EDIT- I'd be certain the Mako could withstand similar abuse, but I draw the line at replicating these tests with a $125.00 Titanium light, unless someone wants to start a fund to replace it for me.oo: Just kidding, I'm still not sure I could do it...

Reliability is "engineered" into a product design -- choice of material dictate a lot about how reliable your flashlight will be. For eg., all lights with exposed "smart" circuits are inherently less reliable than the single-mode-potted-head ones. If you find the Arc AAA reliable, then very few other lights come close to that definition of reliability. I can think of the Muyshondt Mako, and the Peak Matterhorn or Eiger line of lights are the best replacements for an Arc AAA. Fenix E01 is a good light, but it does not come near to Arc AAA, since you cannot boil its head. Arc AAA's head can be boiled in water to clean the goo and gummy residue of the battery retainer donut ring.

So if you want reliability the way Arc AAA has it, that's the only light which satisfies the requirement. Everyone else comes close, but simply are not there.