Longest Throw *1 Cell* AA Flashlight <$30?

Looking for a moderately inexpensive light with a throwy beam in the $30 range. AA preferred, but not terribly against CR123 lights either.

So... I'm guessing we would start with a Cree XR-E, but not sure if an excellent reflector or an aspheric lens would be next. Thoughts?

i just bought the jetbeam bc10 yesterday takes a cr123 it can throw 100+meters rated on the box and it looks great but if you want AA check out the Ba10 less power though

torchjunkie said:

Looking for a moderately inexpensive light with a throwy beam in the $30 range. AA preferred, but not terribly against CR123 lights either.

So... I'm guessing we would start with a Cree XR-E, but not sure if an excellent reflector or an aspheric lens would be next. Thoughts?

Click to expand...

even cheap 1.50$ plastic aspheric lenses beat reflector-based throwers (it's physics, sorry.). those lenses throw up to 400m (with no spill). most premium brands dont offer such torches though (because the lens would be too heavy and expensive), so in the budget category of brand name products have a look into the JetBeam B-series and the Olight iTP Eluma series (SA1, SA2, ..). EagleTac is another first-rate option, fairly priced priced fairly.

Among reflectored lights, consider the Romisen RC-G2 II...the older version, which used an XR-E Q3-5B. It's just $15 at Shiningbeam. I see it as a poor man's JetBeam Jet 1 Pro.

But don't try to use any AA more powerful than a 1.6V L91 lithium. A 1.8V nickel-zinc destroyed my original switch. Hoping that the cause was, in part, NiZn's low resistance, I replaced the switch (thanks, Shiningbeam) and began using a 3V CR14505 cell. Now the clickie is a momentary-only.

But the RC-G2 is outthrown by at least two equally affordable 1AA aspherics: the Romisen RC-29 II and the Sipik something-68. Owners have reported that when fully focused, each can project an image of its rectangular die for hundreds of meters.


If you can spend just a few dollars more than 30, look at the ITP SA1, available for about $35 shipped. It holds its own with the Jetbeam Jet 1 Pro.

Thanks for the responses!

--I've heard great things about the jetbeam, but isn't the XPG limited as a thrower by its larger size & wider viewing angle (compared to XR-E)?
--And yeah, I may just mod something I own already with an aspheric. Aren't glass aspherics preferred over plastic? I'm guessing they throw further, but how much?
--I realllllly like that RC-G2 II (esp. for that price), but that OP reflector! I am a fan of the Sipik, but I think that iTP may be what I'm looking for. How is the output on alkalines? Dad is too old school for "those fancy batteries" and always has a ton of alkalines handy

torchjunkie said:

. . . . . but isn't the XPG limited as a thrower by its larger size & wider viewing angle (compared to XR-E)? . . . . .

Click to expand...

Only if you're looking at setting records measurable on a Luxmeter.

If you're interested in getting a spot of useful size, the greater efficiency of the XP-G is the way to go.

torchjunkie said:

--I've heard great things about the jetbeam, but isn't the XPG limited as a thrower by its larger size & wider viewing angle (compared to XR-E)?

Click to expand...

Yes, in the same reflector with the same drive current an XR-E will significantly out throw an XP-G, even the lower bin XR-E's out throw an XP-G R5.

torchjunkie said:

--I realllllly like that RC-G2 II (esp. for that price), but that OP reflector!:

Click to expand...

They throw suprisingly well for OP reflectors, the XR-E romisen has comparable throw to the SMO reflectored fenix LD20.

JacobJones said:

Yes, in the same reflector with the same drive current an XR-E will significantly out throw an XP-G, even the lower bin XR-E's out throw an XP-G R5. . . . . .

Click to expand...

I've just tested an R4 XR-E with Q4 XP-G at 5 metres using the SAME 60mm aspheric - the Die image for the XP-G is 1.1 times the size of the XR-E Die.

In a Reflector an XR-E is actually worse than XP-G, because it concentrates the light in a narrower beam, missing the reflector.

MikeAusC said:

I've just tested an R4 XR-E with Q4 XP-G at 5 metres using the SAME 60mm aspheric - the Die image for the XP-G is 1.1 times the size of the XR-E Die.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that's the only problem with the XR-E, for some uses it's beam can be too small. Using shorter focal length lenses and precolimators will increase the size of the projected image but also decrease throw slightly (but still more throw than an XPG)

MikeAusC said:

In a Reflector an XR-E is actually worse than XP-G, because it concentrates the light in a narrower beam, missing the reflector.

Click to expand...

Depends how you define worse, if worse means more light wasted then you are right. But even with a lot of wasted light they still throw further than an XP-G in the same reflector.

My Fenix LD10 Q5 throws longer than my Jetbeam BA20 and my Led Lenser P5 beats both of them...

wtg led lenser! hhehee

If aspheric isn't your thing, check out TerraLUX LightStar 100.

XR-E combined with TIR makes for an insane throw for light that uses a single AA.

Plus, it's only $15-20.

I recently bought the light TerraLUX LightStar 100 and the LED was off center pretty bad. For the price though didn't care to much and it's beam was still easily usable. Other then that It had a really nice TIR lense and the body was really well made. It was actually impressive for how much I payed for it. Throw and output were ok I didn't think much of it to be honest but for the price it as much, much better then an Energizer Tactical 1AA they sell at Target.

Although, from some of the other lights mentioned here I don't really think this light would stand out when looking for the longest throwing AA. I compared this to my RRT-0 XR-E and my new Jet-1 Pro XR-E that only ran on high(defective) and it didn't stand a chance. The the RRT-0 is actually pretty big for a single AA. The Jet-! pro was awesome and good size for single AA. I had to return it because it was stuck in high mode.

I was thinking maybe the ITP SA1? I checked out the lux readings. Looked into this light myself. Goodluck!

El cheapo Sipik SK68 from Dealextreme throws well, especially with a 14500 in it.

kreisler said:

EagleTac is another first-rate option, fairly priced priced fairly.

Click to expand...

EagleTac's P10A was a superb 1AA $50 thrower with a momentary switch and simple bezel-controlled mode switch. Unfortunately, it was discontinued about 2 years ago and is now impossible to find.

Paul_in_Maryland said:

1AA $50 thrower

Click to expand...

oops.
fifty bucks.

Usually their pricing is better than that!!

Check out the 1AA Balder SE-1, which uses an XR-E R3 in a reflector. In the words of one reviewer, it "throws with the best of them." 3 simple modes, defaulting to Hi. You can use any cell chemistry, from alkaline to lithium-ion. For $20 to $30 shipped, you can't go wrong. I've been researching throwy, not-too-fat 1AA keyring lights, and I just ordered an SE-1. If that doesn't work out, I'll probably try a Dereelight C2H with an XP-E R2 (4A tint) and smooth reflector.