1xAA thrower to replace Ultrafire C2

Hey gents, I'm about 3 years out of date -- more details below -- so I humbly submit to your experience.

In the last few years, my hiking/camping/edc lineup has been as follows:
- Fenix L0D (1xAAA/70 lumen max) EDC on my keychain
- headlamp (3xAAA/70 lumen max) camping/hiking headlamp
- Ultra Fire C2 (2 x CR123/ Uknown max lumen). Link claims 100 lumens on 18650 but provides no info on using 123s. This is a great thrower for me, used mostly when hiking to see "what's over there, off trail". It's used fairly infrequently, in fact I've still got the 123 primaries in it that I bought 2.5 years ago! I'd like to replace it with an AA thrower of some sort. So far I've been looking at things like ZL SC51 that claim 200 lumens. Do you guys think it's a fair comparison? Is it realistic? I find it hard to believe that a light with half as much power can generate the same amount of light OTF, but LED tech moves quick. What do you think?

The SC51 isn't really a great thrower, with it's small reflectors. Honestly I don't know any 1xAA throwers, but I think XREs are going to give you better throw than the newer LEDs.

If you don't mind keeping the 2xCR123 format, than the Olight M21-X should be and excellent choice (600 lumen OTF). The JetBeam RRT-1 also have excellent throw as well.

Hi,
are you looking to replace your blankfire with a higher output light or a higher priced light?
I just bought a 4sevens Quark 123x2 turbo X and I love it! It will run on many different batteries, and can push 450 lumens with a 1x123!!! Other bat opt. Include 1x14500..2x14500..1x123..2x123..1x17670..1x18650..2xAA, because its head will fit on any quark body, that is between 3 and 9 volts.:naughty:
You said AA thrower but apart from my TurboX I don't have any AA throwers, but it depends on your definition of a thrower, a sc51 is not my idea of a throw light, more like a EDC, and I assume that you mean one or two AA batteries, because a fenix tk 45 takes 8 I think! :sick2:Size is really the only limiting factor, how big are you willing to carry? To give an example. My quark AA with a 14500 will produce about 240-280? And my TurboX on high will output 260, but the turbox looks brighter than the quark AA because of its tighter beam pattern.:thinking:
Hope this helps...... :huh:

Wow, thanks for the advice guys.

I was hoping to standardize on A/AA batteries but seeing how much more output 2x123 would give me, I'm not so sure anymore. I could get 200 lumens out of Quark AA2, which is what I'm getting out of my Ultrafire C2 right now. On the other hand I can get almost 500 out of the quark turbo X with 2x123.. Then I have AAAs and 123s....aaaaaargh

A couple items:

First lets talk about output. It is easy to get more than your current 100 lumens from an AA cell. That does not always translate to throw. These new emitters are larger with a lower surface brightness so they need a larger reflector to get more throw. Honestly, you can get every lumen with an AA light that you can with a lithium cell. The only reason to do lithium cells is because AA lights are a bit larger. If size is important, cr123a or 18650 may be better. If size is less important, standardize on AA cells.

The Quark X AA2 will do 500 lumens on high for the first 5 or so minutes. It then drops to about 350 lumens. Great beam and massive output on 2AA cells. Still a very small light. Throw, well not so much. The XML is a very large emitter with low surface brightness. However, the Quark X AA2 does throw as well as their XPG version and will light something up at 150 feet without issue.

Yes, the Zebralight SC51 puts out every bit of 200 lumens on a single AA cell. It is a great light. Is it a thrower, not so much. reflector is small. It will light up something at 100 feet without issue so I guess it depends on what kind of throw you are looking for.

The best smallish AA thrower I've tested is the Sunwayman M40A XML version (the old version uses an MCE). It has 600 lumens output on 4 AA cells and throws better than any 18650 or 2 cr123a light but it is slighty thicker. This light has throw! 300 feet. no problem. 400 feet, no problem.

The king of AA lights is the Fenix TK41. As much throw and output as most 2x 18650 lights. Uses 8 AA cells.

Hey thanks for that tre. One thing that I'm not understanding is how 2xaaa lights achieve the same brightness as 2x123 lights. Isnt 123 twice as dense as aa - 1.5v vs 3v? Also I'm looking at 4sevens site, aa2 tactical puts out 200 or so lumens, I'm curious where you got 500. Thanks !

eart said:

Hey thanks for that tre. One thing that I'm not understanding is how 2xaaa lights achieve the same brightness as 2x123 lights. Isnt 123 twice as dense as aa - 1.5v vs 3v? Also I'm looking at 4sevens site, aa2 tactical puts out 200 or so lumens, I'm curious where you got 500. Thanks !

Click to expand...

You are looking at the Quark 2AA not the Quark X 2AA. Look under XML lights on their site. I did make a typo. It is 400 lumens for the Quark X 2AA (4sevens lists 280 lumens because they are conservative). The issue holding back the output of a light is heat as opposed to battery chemistry. The 350 lumens in a light as small as a quark X 2AA is all you can get before heat destroyes the light. The drivers are efficient enough that they can drive an XML to the max a light that size can handle. CR123 cells can drive it harder but you would need a larger heat sink in a larger light so the emitter would not fry itself.

Here is a review of that light
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?322570-4sevens-Quark-X-AA-2-Review

Here is the review selfbuilt did on the 2x cr123 quark X vs the 2x AA Quark X.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...2-X-Review-(XM-L)-RUNTIMES-BEAMSHOTS-and-more!

Hmm a 1 x AA thrower? Kind of an oxymoron.

Would you be willing to step up to a 1 x 18650 light? I figure you might because you were talking about 18650's in your OP.

If you are willing to go with an 18650 your options open up quite a bit. I think you will really get what you are after too, real THROW.

Quality said:

Hmm a 1 x AA thrower? Kind of an oxymoron.

Would you be willing to step up to a 1 x 18650 light? I figure you might because you were talking about 18650's in your OP.

If you are willing to go with an 18650 your options open up quite a bit. I think you will really get what you are after too, real THROW.

Click to expand...

Fair enough, but "thrower" is so subjective. My "thrower" is a 3 year old Ultrafire C2 (link in the OP) that uses 2xCR123. I think the new Quark AA2 X will easily outperform the C2 and will allow me to standardize on AA batteries. Certainly 18650 or CR123 lights are going to be much more powerful but the convenience of an AA light can't be beat, I think.

Tre, thanks again for all your help!

I see. If you want the convenience of AA I can certainly understand that.

Throw can be subjective yes, but in this day and age we actually have a number for throw, usually measured in lux or cd. Also measured in meters as the distance the beam will throw its light to .25 lux. So if you truly want the best AA thrower it would be as simple as looking at some beamshots (for your preference) and picking the flashlight with the highest peak beam intensity (lux).

It sounds to me like you don't necessarily need a ton of throw, you just want a nice upgrade to your old light. The best AA thrower that comes to mind is the Fenix TK-41. I'm not sure if that's too big for you, but you would be amazed at its throw, its a great light. If you'd like something smaller the Quark X AA^2 suggested will be fine as well. Also check out the Zebralight Q50 (not technically a thrower but it will impress you and still out-throw your old light).

I am not familiar with your Ultrafire C2, but if its max output is 100 lumens, then I can tell you that nearly every modern light suggested here will out-throw it by a large margin.

I've got a Tiablo TL-1 and that's not a bad thrower for a single AA light. We're not talking tiny LED image cast 200 metres away but it's noticeably more throwy than a couple of my other single AA lights (klarus st10 and xeno eo3 xm-l)

An iTP C7 is a great thrower, uses 1 AA or 14500 battery, and now sells for about $27 at Shiningbeam.
I have one and can vouch that it is indeed "throw-worthy", mostly due to its comparatively very deep reflector.

TerraLUX LightStar 100. Tiny emitter (XR-E) combined with TIR gives it a beastly throw for its size.

If you don't mind doubling up on the AA, EagleTac P100A2 or Dereelight Javelin with XP-E will throw mighty far.

But, honestly, AA lights can't compare to the raw power that lithiums can provide. Check out ThruNite TN11, which can throw out to 300 meters on 2x123 or 350+ on 3 or 4x123.

I just got a Nitecore EZ AA

1xAA

Pretty nice light, bright at 160 lumens for approx. 60 min.

Looks like good throw to me

I just wish the o-rings weren't broken and too small to fit upon arrival,
a 'brand new' box from batteryjunction

OK, so maybe I DONT recommend Nitecore

:scowl: