Best AA LED flashlight under $50?

looking to replace all my modded LED mag lights with a AA battery LED flashlight "under" $50.00. tactical tail switch, momentary on, output options would be nice, preferably one that retains it memory in last mode used, prefer thin barreled like maglight. what are users opinions on a decent light for this price. i know for a few dollars more i could have this or that, but im sticking to the 50 buck limit. flashaholics know this routine. i have plenty of lights in various areas of home, but the above parameters are what i need in my vehicle.

Re: user opinion on the best AA batt led flashlight...

Consider a Fenix E11. Runs on a single AA, has 2 output modes (32 and 105 lumen) and a forward clicky tail switch with momentary on.

Or a Fenix E21, Runs on 2 AA batteries, has 2 output modes (45 and 150 lumens) and the same tail switch.

There are loads of other AA powered lights out there, but I never saw/used those. Maybe other CPF'ers will advice you here.

Re: user opinion on the best AA batt led flashlight...

Make it $59 and get a Quark 2AA Tactical. You won't regret spending that extra $9, trust me. I've got tons of AA lights and the Quark is my favorite, 2AA light. Nice beam, decent output/runtime and solid for a smallish light.

I just picked up a Dereelight Javelin for $43 shipped on the market place. It takes P60s and you can buy the host and other parts seperatly and piece it together as you see fit. Great torch so far.

I have about 20 2AA lights. My current favorite is the Quark X 2AA tactical. It is $62 with CPF discount. It is well worth the extra $12 for the massive output and great beam it has compared to other 2AA lights.

Buy right and buy once.

Another decent 2AA light is the Fenix LD25. Indestructable, nice beam, neutral tint, forward clicky, 5 brightness modes, and a bit under $45 with CPF discount. Well, you can't get anything for free so here are the down sides to the LD25: It does not work properly on Alkaline batteries until the cells loose some charge. That means you have no low mode for a quite a while after you put in new batteries. However, if you use rechargeable NiMh cells like Eneloops, the light works fine. It also has a UI where you have to turn the head back and forth 4 times to access all but two of the output modes. This can become of bit of a pain if you switch modes a lot. It does remember which set of modes you left it in though.

I'd hilghy recommend the klarus ST10.

I've got a few AA lights (jetbeam ba20, tiablo tl-1, xeno e03 xm-l, klarus st10 and 2 other cheapies) and the klarus is my favourite. It might even be my favourite light out of all the non aa lights I own too.

The xeno e03 is ok for the money but the modes are silly, comes on in medium which is way too bright for a usefull medium, then goes low, high. The high is hardly any different to medium too and there's no memory.

The UI and outputs on the klarus are really nice. It has a tail switch and a head switch. You turn it on with the tail and you can cycle through low, med and high with the head switch. It's got memory too so if you want it to come on in a specific output it can. Then you've also got other modes which you'd never have to stumble through if you didn't want to. With the light on, twist the head and it goes into a super low (perfect for black out, I use this a lot as I'm up before 5am a lot and don't want to turn lights on) then use the head switch to cycle through that low, sos and strobe. You've also got your quick access to strobe by holding down the head switch at any time. It's got an awesome output for an AA light on high too.

I was just about to make a thread like this. I was curious to about the best led flashlight for under 50 dollars that runs on aa batteries. I use to had a maglight with led bulb and I think it was 2 d or 2 c battery operated.

Recently I looked into this topic. After quite a lot of reading, ended up buying a Fenix LD22 G2 - got it for about $51 shipped.
Its just what I wanted. Easy to use, multiple output options, long run-time on lower settings. Nice light for the money.

dangee said:

looking to replace all my modded LED mag lights with a AA battery LED flashlight "under" $50.00. tactical tail switch, momentary on, output options would be nice, preferably one that retains it memory in last mode used, prefer thin barreled like maglight.

Click to expand...

10x of Sipik 68 @ $5 each. AAx1, aspheric slide-to-focus. Many, many, many mode and drive options. Available 1 mode, 5 mode, whatever. Memory on some, but not on others. It's also a flashlight-modding gateway drug. Buy them by the box, that's what I do.

They double as emergency power-out giveaways. I hooked the aspheric optic head from a Sipik 68 to an iPhone "flashlight" just for fun. Throw was fantastic, but the baseline Sipik 68 soundly defeats the iPhone flashlight.

If they are lost, broken, or stolen, so what? Get another box of 10.

Edit: Amazon seller "Hamist" sells a 10-pack for $40+free ship. This light is sold under about a billion different names.

+1 for the SIPIK I have around 20 of these scattered at my property, work truck, personal truck, garage you name it. I also carry the XML version 18650 for an EDC work light cant go wrong with them there small put out good light and flood and spot all in one, you can also run the AA version on a 14500 battery for extra Lumens. Like More Vampires said if you break it, loose it, its stolen no big deal. I put mine through hell daily as an industrial truck mechanic and they just keep on running. I've carried the same one for EDC work light for 3 years now dropped it more times then I can count, ran it over dropped in oil pan, dropped in antifreeze the damn thing just wont die. best $5 light I ever bought. if you search around you can find them for $3

Plus 1to Foursevens Quark Be it the QTA or QPA, you will never go wrong with these lights. I highly recommend any of these two.

Oh yeah, Foursevens is top shelf. Love my QPA low voltage. They're currently going to the next generation. Can't wait to see what happens to the QPA next gen.

L3 Illumination L10C
Reverse clicky
3/4 mode
XPG2 or Nichia219
really good clip

The Sipik SK 68 is hard to beat, except for size if you want to carry in the pocket. I find they have great run times, and are rugged. I have never had one fail. You can spend a LOT more, but maybe not get a better light, depending upon your needs.

Jerry

IMHO, the best AA flashlight under $50 is the NiteCore D11.2. And, I believe it complies with all your requirements.

I drive for a living testing prototype vehicles for the big 3 and I do my driving of those vehicles at night so if anything goes wrong with them I need a really good light that is pocket size that has great output so I can check the vehicle over especially if it has a mechanical issue I need to be able to see it. So with all that in mind would you all still recommend the lights you posted for under 50 dollars?

I totally agree with ParaShootist: Fenix LD22 is a great AA light! I avoid alkaline batteries but a good quality pair of nimh cells will provide all the light you need in up close situations. I own two LD22s, purchased at different times for around $40. Tail switch provides on/off w/temporary on; side switch allows multiple output levels and strobes.

Tater Salad said:

I drive for a living testing prototype vehicles for the big 3 and I do my driving of those vehicles at night so if anything goes wrong with them I need a really good light that is pocket size that has great output so I can check the vehicle over especially if it has a mechanical issue I need to be able to see it. So with all that in mind would you all still recommend the lights you posted for under 50 dollars?

Click to expand...

Tater,

My background is military/LE and in that context I mostly carried SF LED flashlights powered by lithium primaries - my life depended on my equipment. Having moved on from those endeavors, I've opted for the convenience of a AA powered light – AA is just too easy (alkalines are everywhere & you also have NiMH rechargeables or lithium for long shelf life). Although I've reverted to civilian life, a flashlight is still a life-safety tool in my mind and reliability is therefore a large consideration for me. If the SF E2L AA Outdoorsman wasn't upwards of $175, that's what I'd have bought (I own many SF lights and like them immensely). As stated, I did a lot of reading before I bought – read lots of reviews in many forums. I wanted a practical, durable/reliable, flexible, easy-to-use EDC light. The Fenix LD20/22 series got great reviews all around and seemed to be the best option for me.

I've been very pleased. It's got the familiar clickie tailcap, an easy to use side switch to change between 4 light levels and max at 215L is plenty of light if I need that much (I keep it set on low). I wanted a two-cell light for long run time. Carry in a coat pocket or on a lanyard is usual for me, but the LD22 is not too big for my pants pocket.

It's GTG - not exciting, but a terribly practical solution with a lifetime guarantee that costs about $50.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?398382

Tater salad I still say the sipik 68 it will run on any AA size battery including 14500 lithium has flood zoomed in and spot zoomed out plenty of light to work on vehicles at night fits in a pocket with a good sturdy clip durable and not that big a loss if you loose it someplace. That said there are better lights as mentioned but for me as a work light that I'm gonna abuse Id rater buy the $5 durable then a $50 durable for hunting and around the house life dependent I'd say yeah buy the better brands even though My Sipik has never let me down in 3 years of very hard use as a mechanic. I can tell you Id have a sipik as a back up to any of my higher end lights in any situation and feel good about it.

Ill look into getting one of the ones you all have posted about. I am kinda curious. Has anyone built there own led flashlight that runs on aa for under 50 that would be better?