any single AA better than a PA01??

just wanted to know if there is any single AA flash lights with a better runtime and high mode than a jetbeam PA01
which is 140 lumens at 1 hour 30 min. I think there are some zebralights with higher times and lumens but i want a light that i can just
give to someone and they will instantly know how to use it without me having to teach them so the zebralight UI is out.
a few weeks ago i went on a night fishing trip with some friends. i gave one of them my sc600, taught him how to use it, and the rest of the night he never got it. he didnt even know how to turn it off, he just kept changing settings, he even got it into strobe somehow and i kept saying "what the hell!? its just one button!!" lol..
and to celebrate new years my mum went to a bbq i taught her and gave her my sc600 to use. she later told me she didnt know how to turn it off so she left it head standing on all night .. and somehow... :ironic:... the lens came back cracked. so yeah no zebralights lol

so if anyone knows of any single AA's with better specs than a PA01, that any idiot can use lol it would help me alot.

Klarus xt1a bright, 3 modes plus strobe, and easy UI.

sleep creeper said:

Klarus xt1a bright, 3 modes plus strobe, and easy UI.

Click to expand...

i love the xt series lights have the xt10 and xt1c waiting for the xt11.
but the xt1a is 150L for a hour runtime ... so u get about 7% brighter for 1/3 less runtime which is alot

jay_rush said:

just wanted to know if there is any single AA flash lights with a better runtime and high mode than a jetbeam PA01

Click to expand...

The Klarus P1A seems simple enough (leave the bezel tight for High mode, click-on, click-off), and in the third-party runtime tests I've seen Klarus flashlights tend to have better output and runtimes than their JetBeam counterparts. There is also the JetBeam BA10, which works much the same way and has slightly higher output than the PA01. The PA01's mode memory seems to be a handy feature for the sake of simplicity, but accidentally bumping the switch will change modes, and if you're planning to use the highest mode anyway, then maybe these other two flashlights would be a bit more foolproof...not that anything truly is....

Another possibility is the ThruNite Neutron 1A, which is much brighter (more than the specs indicate) but also has a shorter runtime (not as much of a difference as the specs indicate, though). Here is a comparison of a bunch of similar flashlights (scroll down to the Neutron 1A section):

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?311559

jay_rush said:

which is 140 lumens at 1 hour 30 min.

Click to expand...

I'd go with the test results shown above instead.

jay_rush said:

I think there are some zebralights with higher times and lumens but i want a light that i can just
give to someone and they will instantly know how to use it without me having to teach them so the zebralight UI is out.

Click to expand...

If you're interested in High mode, then ZebraLights are just as simple as any other--click-on, click-off. :thinking:

jay_rush said:

a few weeks ago i went on a night fishing trip with some friends. i gave one of them my sc600, taught him how to use it, and the rest of the night he never got it. he didnt even know how to turn it off, he just kept changing settings, he even got it into strobe somehow

Click to expand...

I guess he just kept double-clicking, which most people these days have ingrained in their "muscle memory" from using computers. :shrug:

jay_rush said:

and i kept saying "what the hell!? its just one button!!" lol..

Click to expand...

Remind people that they should only click once to turn the flashlight on or off, just like with the other flashlights mentioned in this thread?

jay_rush said:

and to celebrate new years my mum went to a bbq i taught her and gave her my sc600 to use. she later told me she didnt know how to turn it off so she left it head standing on all night .. and somehow... :ironic:... the lens came back cracked. so yeah no zebralights lol

Click to expand...

If she can't turn a ZebraLight off, then how could she turn any other clicky flashlight off? Most other clickies are harder to push, too. Perhaps a slide switch is in order?

sleep creeper said:

Klarus xt1a bright, 3 modes plus strobe, and easy UI.

Click to expand...

But it has TWO buttons!

jay_rush said:

i love the xt series lights have the xt10 and xt1c waiting for the xt11.
but the xt1a is 150L for a hour runtime ... so u get about 7% brighter for 1/3 less runtime which is alot

Click to expand...

I bet that it actually runs for longer than the PA01 in reality.

whats simpler than 1 click for high?

hook63 said:

whats simpler than 1 click for high?

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My point exactly, but we have to get in the minds of the less tech-savvy. :thinking: On a ZebraLight, for example, if they click but don't release the switch soon enough, they'll get the Low mode rather than High or off. On a forward clicky, if they stop pressing once the light comes on, then it won't ever click on. On a reverse clicky, if they stop pressing once the light turns off, then it won't ever click off. If all else fails, I would guess that everybody knows how to use the slide switch of an Energizer Industrial 2D flashlight--the latest version has four 5mm Nichia LEDs, which should be plenty bright for most purposes.

I wish I had a PA01 to compare.......still working on my collection :devil:. If looking for something simple, how about a Romisen RC-G2, R4 or R5. Just one mode and pretty decent run time and output. Typically you get what you pay for and since this light isn't that expensive, it also doesn't have all the modes.........just one mode and just a click on or off tail switch. I have the R4 version and its a nice sweet beam pattern with around a 4850K nice neutral white color. I also have more expensive lights such as the Fenix LD15 an Olight T15, an Olight i2 and an EagleTac D25A that I've compared run times and outputs with. When grabbing a light for some project around the house, I usually get the RC-G2 because if I drop it, scratch it or damage it I won't feel so bad.

Thats hilarious about your experiences trying to lend out ZL! I guess you either love the UI or you dont get it at all!

I think the problem is so many electronics you have to press and hold to turn off, cell phones and things like that. So folks press the button and it doesnt do anything instantly so they keep holding it.

The Klarus P1A seems fairly simple but I'd rather have the ST10, you get more modes when you need em but still should be able to be used easily. Tailswitch for on/off and side clicky for going through modes if you need to. Loosen bezel for hidden modes (just dont tell you friends or family about that). I really contemplated getting the ST20 (2AA) version but wanted a warm white not a cool white.

The zebralight SC5 should be more user friendly when it finally comes out but I wonder if it will have the same on/off problem (needing a quick-click).

What about the Sunwayman V10A? Simple on-off + a very simple UI - just twist the adjustment ring for an infinite rang of lighting levels from ultra low to ultra high. Uses all AA battery types. I EDC my V10R Ti and use it at least 10 times daily in the shop. Wouldn´t be without it.

The Jetbeam BA10 is a nice bright light with reliable UI.

But I would also take a look at the Fenix E11, on paper it doesn't match the brightness of the PA01, (105 lumens for 1hour 50 mins) but in actual use, mine seems as bright, if not brighter. I think the design of the optic on the E11 might have something to do with it. And the E11 is dirt cheap!

Let me know if you want me to post beamshots.

DIΩDΣ;3838971 said:

Thats hilarious about your experiences trying to lend out ZL! I guess you either love the UI or you dont get it at all!

Click to expand...

Click on, click off...I don't get it--it's SO HAAARD! :duh2::hairpull:

DIΩDΣ;3838971 said:

I think the problem is so many electronics you have to press and hold to turn off, cell phones and things like that. So folks press the button and it doesnt do anything instantly so they keep holding it.

Click to expand...

That's probably true, and the remote controls of many consumer electronics products probably don't help in this regard, either.

DIΩDΣ;3838971 said:

The Klarus P1A seems fairly simple but I'd rather have the ST10, you get more modes when you need em but still should be able to be used easily.

Click to expand...

But what if they tried to turn the ST10 on or off with the side clicky? They'd either change modes or activate the strobe! :duck:

mr.snakeman said:

What about the Sunwayman V10A? Simple on-off + a very simple UI - just twist the adjustment ring for an infinite rang of lighting levels from ultra low to ultra high.

Click to expand...

The V10A is a very cool flashlight, no doubt about it, but (probably as a consequence of the infinite level capability) it's neither as bright nor as efficient as the PA01 (on an eneloop) according to the following runtime tests:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?309976-Sunwayman-V10A-(1xAA-XP-G-R5-Continuously-Variable)-Review-RUNTIMES-BEAMSHOTS

It's a shame about the unsuitability of the ZebraLight UI because even the older version of the SC51 with its R4-bin emitter kicks butt in those runtime graphs. oo:

I still like the Klarus P1A, and the Fenix E11 is a good suggestion, too. However, I fear that their tail-mounted forward clicky switches may be confusing for those who have never used or even seen a "tactical" style flashlight. In order to ensure that a flashlight is immediately usable by everybody, with absolutely no instruction whatsoever, I propose the following mod to a common and familiar type of flashlight:



No more excuses, and no more bewildered befuddlement over elaborate clickies and their infernal fickleness--just pure and universal usability.

GaAslamp said:

But what if they tried to turn the ST10 on or off with the side clicky? They'd either change modes or activate the strobe! :duck:

Click to expand...

I think its easier than a single button light though. To turn on, the side clicky wont do anything so that should be easy even to figure out on your own. If you did the press and hold on the side switch when on yeah it would go into strobe. I thought you had to hold it for longer, for some reason 3 seconds was stuck in my head but I just looked it up and its .5 seconds, so basically the same problem there as the ZL. But anyhow you push it, short, long, as long as you try the tail switch, you should be able to figure out on/off, and the strobe isnt memorized I dont beleive so if you got it by accident in strobe and then turned it off it shouldnt turn back on in strobe. Not sure can anyone verify that? Man now you got me thinking about an ST20 again.

Oh and yeah, for a loaner I guess something like that eveready or a maglight would me most user friendly.

V10r seems like a nice light but your starting to get up there in price I wouldnt be thinking about using it as a loaner.