AA Arrival + Relative Brightness Measurement

Whew! I got the AAs today but it took some work. Thanks to Fed-Ex tracking I saw that they missed my house. I ended up picking the package at the Fed-Ex center after work.

I am very impressed with these lights. I agree with previously posted praise. This light does not directly compete with the Ultra. Better fit and finish. It really is smaller and lighter, though IMO not enough to make it a keychain light. I haven't done runtime tests, but expect its more efficient circuit to pay back the added purchase price over time.

I have done some brightness tests. This is not a big sample. It was simply 1 Arc 2003 CPF Edition AAA, 1 Infinity Ultra, and I Arc AA. I ran them with 1 of each of the following grabbed from my stock: Maha 700 mAH NiMH AAA, regular Duracell Alkaline AAA, Maha 2000 mAH NiMH AA, regular Duracell Alkaline AA, and Eveready Lithium AA. I used the nightlight shutoff test and carefully measured how far each flashlight was from the nightlight when it could no longer turn off the sensor. I then squared each distance (since brightness falls of as the square of distance) and calculated the proportional brightness. Here are the results, listed from dimmest to most bright. I set the CPF AAA at a value of "1" since that's sort of a standard for many around here.

CPF AAA NiMH: 89%
CPF AAA Alkaline: 100%
Arc AA NiMH: 106%
Ultra NiMH: 131%
Ultra Alkaline: 151%
Ultra Lithium: 151%
Arc AA Lithium: 158%
Arc AA Alkaline: 165%

It's a small sample, and therefore of limited statistical significance. I may have had a dud lithium or an uber alkaline. Here's what I conclude from the exercise:

-- The AAA is significantly more dim than both AA lights.
-- The Ultra and Arc AA are, for practical purposes, equally bright. The minor difference between them might have been entirely due to the AA's polished reflector and lack of time-aquired dust and grime.
-- I would only run lithium in either AA light for the level output, greater runtime, long storage life, and temperature tolerance. Brightness isn't a significant difference.
-- The Ultra is surprisingly strong on NiMH.
-- Early reports of the Arc AA being much brighter gave me concern about its longevity. My brightness tests lead me to believe that longevity won't be a problem. Peter has put the AA as high as it can be while maintaining good longevity and reliability.

At least for the short term, I'll use the Arc AA with lithium as an EDC (along with my LSH-S). The Ultra will be relegated to NiMH powered nightlight use. My CPF AAA will stay on neck cord duty.

Many thanks to Peter for caving in, then surprising us with a light that's even better than we asked for. The standable tailcap is a winner!

Nice report Dave. You EDC lineup is similar to what I believe mine will be. The AA in the pocket, attached via a short lanyard to my new Benchmade 310 Benchmite knife + LSH-P belt mounted in the ARC pouch. One of my AAA will remain on my keychain and I'm debating on wearing an AAA around my neck with a lanyard. I don't wear chains or anything around my neck, so I'm not sure if it will be comfortable for me or not. I'm not sure how the FireFly will play in the EDC scheme. Too many damn choices, which confuses everything.

Benchmite, eh? How do you like it? My only Benchmade is a 750 Pinnacle - my outdoors & rough use knife. For the last year or two my main dressy knife has been a Bubinga handle Opinel Effile. Acceptable in mixed company yet with an easily maintained razor edge. Cuts fruit and mail better than my Benchmade on account of the Effile's thin blade.

I've been thinking about a BM 773 for daily use though. Any opinions?

As for the lights, I never carry more than 2. Usually just the LSH during the day, add the AAA neckcord if I'm going to the movies or other places where low light output is desired, drop both and carry just the AA after dark around the house.

Hope all your AAs arrive soon!

The Benchmade 310 Benchmite is a pretty good looking little blade! Where's the best price one can pick one up? I like that idea of the ARC AA with it!

It still seems that LED must be seeing 80-100mA - isn't that a longevity concern? Or is it heat-sunk so well it's not?

The tailcap is useful, but I think it would have been better if the hole the ring went through had an axis tangent to the circle and not across it. i.e., the bottom would look more like the letter "Q", Q minus the outside part of the tail and with gaps on either side of the inside part of the tail. That way the ring would move more freely, and a wider range of ring diameters would work.

I haven't cut with the Benchmite yet, however I like the looks, the feel and the locking mechanism. Since BM hasn't made this knife for sometime, it was rather difficult to find. I eventually found it at BestKnives. This is the only BM I've ever had. I love the Titanium aspect of the casing.

radellaf, I had the same reaction of the split-ring mounting when I saw it on my 2nds. Although the concept of how the ring "hides" in the ledge of the endcap, it limits what attachements can be hooked onto the splitring. I'm not even sure a Berkeley Point Mini-Clip will go on there and still allow the light to stand on end.

Someone in another thread tested a Mini-clip and says it works fine with the AA tailcap, and doesn't interfere with standing on end.

I wonder whether the higher hotspot brightness (nightlight sensor test) of the AA is because of its bigger reflector area concentrating the light more. I'd had the impression earlier that the LED and electronics were going to be exactly the same as the AAA LE, so total lumen output should be the same.

Maybe it's just me but I'd be perfectly happy with less output. If I want a brighter light, that's what the Arc LS is for /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif. For the past few nights I've been using a CMG Infinity (not Ultra) and when I compare it to an Arc AAA, the AAA is actually uncomfortably bright for some things. I guess I haven't heard of any Arc AAA LED's popping yet, but overdriving them (apparently around 70 mA) does make me worry a little.

I hope the Arc AA does become a regular product, and also that it gets a pocket clip like the AAA has.

how many lumes does each of the lights put out?

nonbox,

I don't have the equipment to measure lumens (total output) or footcandles (projected brightness) against recognized scales. I use a handheld lightmeter and automatic nightlight to estimate relative values for both output and brightness.

Peter Gransee's commissioned lumen output tests reported 3 lumens for the Arc AAA. That should give you a range for these lights.

How much brighter is the Arc AA compared to the Arc AAA? Is it significantly brighter. I would love to see comparison beam shots of the The Ultra, Arc AA, & Arc AAA.

From what I'm seeing it's only slighter brighter according to the light meter and not noticable by the eyes.

Look here for the measurments I did on my ARC AA Second.

Is the Arc AA really worth it's over $30 price since it's only marginally brighter but it's much larger.

I do like the fact that it can stand on its bottom.

Will the Arc AA make it to regular production?

My AAs are significantly brighter than my AAAs; it's not even a fair comparison. The AA I used this last weekend during my kids' scout camp performed like a champ. This is a great little light to take hiking or camping.

For what it's worth, here's my comparison.



Left to right, Arc AAA standard, Arc AA (second), CMG Infinity Ultra



All three lights with fresh Ray-O-Vac alkalines. Distance is about 18 inches (45 cm) from the wall.

The Arc AA is the brightest of the three, but not 2-3 times brighter as some have reported (speaking subjectively - I have no measuring equipment). I would say it's more like 20% brighter than the AAA. Of course, variations in LED quality can account for what any individual may see or measure. The Infinity has a wider but dimmer spill area that doesn't show up well in the photo (I make no claim for color accuracy either - maybe someone can give me some pointers on camera settings for beamshots.)

I like all three lights. Due to its brightness and high build quality I think the Arc AA is worth the extra money.

Nice beamshot Zig. Maybe it's time to get me one too. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/broke.gif

I believe the AA is using the same converter as the AAA.

Will the Arc AA make it to regular production?

glad im not the only one whose AA isnt twice as bring as his AAA

Thanks for the beamshots, Zigzago!

My Arc AA arrived yesterday, so I was comparing it with my Arc AAA last night. At 10 feet, the flood from the AA is 1-2 ft greater in diameter than the AAA. At that distance, the brightspot doesn't appear any more intense, just larger in diameter.

This is about what I expected contrary to early reports.

I think the quality of the spot and spill is as flawless as I've seen. Very smooth. Standing mine on its tail it gives enough indirect light for getting stuff out of closets and drawers and navigating in a nightime bedroom.

The Arc AA is more comfortable in my front pocket than the Infinity Ultra, since it's slimmer.

I don't think the Arc AA adds enough performance to make up for its larger size to replace my Arc AAA for everyday pocket carry. But, for anything beyond plain vanilla EDC, the AA will be along.

It's bumped the Infi Ultra to reserve status.

Arc has done it again. Arc LS, AAA, and now, the AA. I think they are the best-in-their-classes.

BC