1 AA Night Light

I'm looking for small lights I can use in power outages.

These lights will be turned on when the power goes out, AND LEFT ON till the sun comes up. So if the power goes off in the afternoon or early evening, there is a chance, or it's possible, that the lights will be on all night. As such, they should be able to handle long runtimes easily, and without much or any heat build-up.

What I'm looking for is ------------------

1) Single cell AA (eneloop or alkaline)
2) A pocket clip & / or headband holder, that could be used with tie-wraps to secure the light to furniture or a light fixture or something overhead. Some lights may be set on a counter and bounced off of the ceiling. So even though you can't tailstand & ceiling bounce a Zebralight H51, I still would consider a right angle light like the Zebralight, as it has a pocket clip and headband holder which allows it to be positioned & secured in another way.
3) Long battery life, when set between 8 and 20 (or so) lumens.
4) The smoother and wider the flood, the better.
5) Reliable light
6) Durable construction that could handle being dropped on a slab from 3'.
7) Well machined - smooth threads. I hate the feeling of rough threads, when I don't get around to putting lube on them. Something along the line of my Fenix LD10 r4 would be nice.

Long runtimes at between 8 and 20 lumens or so, is of primary importance. And I would only consider max lumens, if all else was equal or close to equal ---- as it's all about long runtimes, at 8 lumens min., with small 1AA lights.

So far, I've started to look at and consider the Zebralight H51, and the Fenix LD15.

With the LD15, I would hope I could find a pocket clip for it. Or I could just use a couple of tie wraps or a velcro strap to hold it I guess.

The H51 runtime @ 8 lumens is 26 hours using a 2000 mAh Eneloop.
The LD15 runtime @ 8 lumens is 39 hours using a 2500 mAh NiMH.
So I wonder what runtime the LD15 would have using a 2000 mAh battery?

I use either eneloop 2000 mAh batteries, or Kirkland Alkalines.

Any suggestions or help would be appreciated,
Steve

As you say "you are looking for lights",means like you need a few to scatter around the place.As it will be a costly exercise I would suggest buy a few Fenix EO1(AAA cell),cheap and a decent runtime plus a moon mode when the battery becomes used up.Any left over funds buy a better edc as a master outage light.

At the end of the day you need light to see so does not really matter what you buy does it?

So many good AA cell that will do the job no real need to ask for any opinions as you seem to have a good idea already.

Can always keep a couple spare batteries around the house and pop one in if you are worried about it starting to get low on juice If it's for emergency use primarily I wouldn't focus on it being sized small enough to hide in the bottom of a small pocket, 2xAA or even more/bigger is better in every way - handling, output, runtime, etc.

What about a Quark AA. Super long runtimes in Moon mode. A 4 and 22 lumen setting as well.

ive owned a H51w, and you can easily ceiling bounce it.
just rotate the clip, so that the clip is not on the spine of the light. and the clip also acts as a leg, to stabilize it.

same thing can be done with my MC10.
fenix MC10 or MC11 might be a good choice too. its alittle bulky for a single AA light, but its adjustable angle head is really handy.
i stuck a diffusor film on my MC10 for a more floody beam.

Yes, look no further than the Quark AA Regular or Tactical. But the latter you have to program it to moonlight mode first, but the low is very low. Sometimes i tailstand it on the nightstand and it can provide good night light, the whole night long and still have enought charge to EDC it the next day!

Thanks everybody for all the info on the E01, Quark AA, H51, and MC10 & 11.
I've going to cruise over to the Fenix, Quark and Zebralight websites, and check these out.

I started my search for something like this, but alkaline batteries keep sealing up my lights when they are subjected to continuous discharging in enclosed places. I ended up building a 3W high-CRI desk lamp with battery backup instead. Works just like a desk lamp, but turns on when the power goes out, and runs for up to 15 hours on 4 D-cell batteries in an removable carrier. If the electrolyte ruins the battery holder, its a simple connector away from a new battery pack.

If you must use alkalines, check your lights often

That's right! But most flashaholics would rather just use eneloops or lithium rechargeables at worst, disposable CR123's. I'd only use Alkalines in emergency situations, then throw them away once i get to a power source to charge my NiMH's.

How about the Gerber Ultra, runs a long time on one aa cell.

It sounds like the Zebralight H51Fc would be a great choice. I got one for a similar reason. In a power outage, a floody light that can go very very low for a long time, with the ability to be used with a headband for hands-free use is a must. The Zebralight H51Fc is perfect for this, with the added benefit of having a pretty neutral high CRI beam, so it is much easier to use and to look at for long periods of time.

To me, in a pitch black house, anything over 1 or 2 lumens is overkill when you are trying to sleep with the light on as a night light, or when moving around trying not to disturb others who are sleeping, and to preserve your dark-adapted vision. The Zebralight can drop down to .28 lumens for tasks like this. You'd be surprised how useful that .28 lumens really is when all the lights in your house are off, with no ambient light coming through your windows (such as in a power outage). The H51 comes with a very decent headband (with additional GITD silicone holder). The 90 degree spill beam of the F model is perfect for all indoor tasks, and doesn't blind you when reflecting off of white walls or windows, mirrors, etc. The floody, high CRI, neutral temp beam is the ultimate LED for cooking, as it renders colors and "doneness" of meat and vegetables much better than a typical LED.

To sum up, here are some things that make the Zebralight perfect as an indoor light for power outage situations:

• High CRI helps render true colors of meat and vegetables when cooking
• 90 degree flood beam with no hotspot
• Designed for use with a headband
• Reversible pocket clip that spins 360 degrees around the light for multiple carry options
• Neutral tint is easy on the eyes when used for long periods of time
• Very low mode (.28 lumens) comes in handy in a pitch black house
• Takes AA batteries - which can be found all around your house in remote controls and other small electronics

DaveG said:

How about the Gerber Ultra, runs a long time on one aa cell.

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+1 amazon.com has the green Gerber 22-80010 Infinity Ultra for just $15.23; the black Gerber 22-80012 Infinity Ultra is $17.70. Both of my boys have and love these. Single level that is bright enough (these new ones are twice as bright as the original which I believe was 3.5 lumen, so 7ish lumen for these) with a super long run time.

I have a Fenix LD 10 R5 and really like it and think it would be perfect for you? It tail stands, had long run-times on a single AA battery, has several useful modes and has a lantern wand attachment that is just brilliant for 360 degree ilumination.

Steve.

Illum, roadkill, DaveG, JohnnyLunar, DavidD, ateallthepies
--- again, thanks for all the info.

From reading everything here, I've got a feeling I might be buying a few, or a number of different lights.

A little more info -------- these lights are not for my benefit --- but for elderly family members, that are REALLY getting up there in age -- and who are at a stage in life where I will have to turn these various lights on for them, and leave them on, so they will have enough light to get to the bathroom in time -- amongst a few other things then may need to do. So I'm going to be lighting up a fair amount of the house for them, when the power goes out.

As is the case now (when power is on)--- I leave a 23 watt compact fluorescent on that lights their way to the bathroom and casts just the right amount of light into the bedroom, the light over the stove is left on, and I also leave another light on for a different part of the house.

I use the Alkalines as back-ups ONLY, for my nicer LEDs. But I have been using them in some old incan Petzl headlights that I've been using in these emergencies.

So now I'm thinking maybe a Gerber Infinity Ultra or two, a Quark AA, a Zebralight or two (might wait for the H502 which is supposed to be out this month), and maybe a couple Rayovac Sportsman Xtreme 300 Lumen Area Lantern's.

And for my use, I've a couple Fenix L2D's, a LD10 r4, two 3D Mag LED's, two 2AA Mag LED's, Power On-Board HID, and some assorted other lights.

Thanks again everybody.

Not sure about other brands, but Fenix brand LD series has diffusers that you can fit on them. After using their diffuser, I found that it is better than ceiling bounce especially for brightness below 10lumens.

DaveG said:

How about the Gerber Ultra, runs a long time on one aa cell.

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The Gerber Infinity Ultra is a great light. Half the price, and about 70% of the run time of the LD15. The E01 is a great EDC light and is cheap. Personally, I went with the ZL H51w (still waiting for it), simply because I (like you) do not care about the big time lumens. I prefer no more than 20lm. What sold me on the ZL H51w was the low lumen modes that run for days. Having a D11.2, I came to appreciate the low-low, and am amazed as to how much I can see with so little light. The H51w just seemed like the next logical step for me.

the Gerber infinity ultra running alkaline will dim to almost nothing in about 15 hours... but its certainly a good option. gah, why did they have to discontinue the red version... :shrug:

Anyone know the runtime of the Gerber Infinity Ultra on 2000 mAh eneloops ?

these are great..

http://www.palights.com/store/home.html

Even though I suggested a quark, I will also have to agree with the user who posted about the H51FW. I bought one of those for hunting purposes: common battery size in case I need spares in a remote location, high CRI to better render reds, browns and greens.

That all being said, I found that I had to "rob" the light from my nightstand to take it hunting! The low setting is really quite useful. I've been using it to find my gear and get dressed early in the morning without waking the wife. It's a great light.

I will say that I don't totally agree about the light not having a hotspot. The diffused lens doesn't make A true flood, but more of what people refer to as "spot with spill". The beam has a very smooth transition from the brightest spot in the center to the spill area toward the edge of the beam.

Please also remember that you can get the equivalent Zebralight in a flashlight model (SC51FW, not sure about the high CRI version though), that would be capable of tailstanding as is, and yet still comes with the headband and holder like the H models.