Most Rugged Single AA Flashlight

I just wondered what you considered the most rugged single cell AA flashlight. I've been using a Thrunite T10 and it seems to hold up well. I've also had a Fenix LD15 that survived some pretty serious abuse.

Unfortunately I had Proton Pro die from a three foot fall and a Zebralight SC51 that keeps coming on in my pocket after a short fall. The Fenix LD10 and 12 seem pretty sturdy but I haven't really abused them.

So what do you consider to be the most rugged?

My Jetbeam RRT-0 R2 has been through several falls on concrete from 3 ft. and 8 ft. plus has been sprayed with water.

any quality light (fenix, 47's, surefire, jetbeam, nitecore, ect ect ect) can fail. And because of this I usually recommend FourSevens. There customer service is top notch and very easy to use. But with that said, Ive had a Fenix LD10+ for 2 years and it's taken a beating and still works like new. I trust my LD10 100%. If you do go for Fenix, I recommend the LD10 over the LD12. I like the UI better. Two switches on the LD12 looks like a pain and I dont like having memory mode. But thats just me, you might like it.

For me customer service and a good warranty sounds good, but it's useless at the time if the light fails when you really need it to work.

weez82 said:

any quality light (fenix, 47's, surefire, jetbeam, nitecore, ect ect ect) can fail. And because of this I usually recommend FourSevens. There customer service is top notch and very easy to use. But with that said, Ive had a Fenix LD10+ for 2 years and it's taken a beating and still works like new. I trust my LD10 100%. If you do go for Fenix, I recommend the LD10 over the LD12. I like the UI better. Two switches on the LD12 looks like a pain and I dont like having memory mode. But thats just me, you might like it.

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Gadgetman7 said:

I just wondered what you considered the most rugged single cell AA flashlight. I've been using a Thrunite T10 and it seems to hold up well. I've also had a Fenix LD15 that survived some pretty serious abuse.

So what do you consider to be the most rugged?

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My T10 has stood up to some serious abuse. Same with the BA10, which is a tank. The cool thing about the T10 is that it's an AA light which isn't much bigger than my AAA lights. Where the BA10 is a tank, but it's as heavy as a tank.

For AA, I would say Fenix E10, but not sure if any US retailer still carry any stock as it's discontinued model... (and I don't like the replacement Fenix E11)... here is a link to a "Fenix E10 Abuse" thread in another forum, complete with videos and pictures...

The Fenix E10 is a light that can take a great deal of abuse, not to mention great tint too. Sadly, there hasn't been any releases from Fenix that earned the status of "rugged" since TK20, E10 and E01 using AA/AAA for the past 1 year+... :shrug:

i dropped P1A once on a bathroom tile floor from 4 ft, the ano at the head chipped but no further harm done. feels very rugged and the website's ads advertise it as "it is tough, reliable, ..".

Definitely a Peak El Capitan, far more rugged than any light mentioned so far.
Made in the U.S.A., five year warranty. Available in Brass, Stainless Steel, or Aluminium.



Norm

"With alkaline batteries, the El Cap weighs 2.28oz (64.6g) in HAIII; and the HAIII Pacific weighs 2.39oz (67.6g). For comparison, the brass Pacific weighs 4.68oz (132.8g) with an alkaline battery.8" head"

the problem with El Capitan is that they are not optimized for anything. It is a big chunk of metal.
Of course, take 1 kilogram of metal, drill a hole in it and insert battery with LED electronics. and call it fleshlight.
it is gonna be rugged because the massive metal casing serves as protection ..

promised.

shelm said:

it is gonna be rugged because the massive metal casing serves as protection.

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Exactly:goodjob:

most rugged single AA flashlight

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Fenix e05, once they release the AA version*, if you can wait a while.

shelm said:

"With alkaline batteries, the El Cap weighs 2.28oz (64.6g) in HAIII; and the HAIII Pacific weighs 2.39oz (67.6g). For comparison, the brass Pacific weighs 4.68oz (132.8g) with an alkaline battery.8" head"

[the problem with El Capitan is that they are not optimized for anything. It is a big chunk of metal.

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it sounds like you're saying they're optimized... for ruggedness?

Of course, take 1 kilogram of metal, drill a hole in it and insert battery with LED electronics. and call it fleshlight.
it is gonna be rugged because the massive metal casing serves as protection ..

promised.

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*AA version will not be released

I was gifted a Fenix E10 and use it around the house. I never really thought of it as rugged. What's the difference between the E10 and E11?

I was also looking at the Nitcore EA1 but the switch looks like it might be fragile. I had an old twisty style EZAA that was really sturdy but it now resides on a friend's keychain.

Nitecore D10

leon2245 said:

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Leon, you're killing me!!!!

Love my brass El Cap, yeah, it's too heavy, get the pocket tube to reduce weight, but it's definitely the SHTF light. They still sell fixed level lights, just need to specify it when paying in the "note to recipient" part of Paypal.
Got a level 3 medium beam neutral. Potted electronics and the stuff shelm mentioned makes it a very rugged light.

I don't drop lights too often but I've tossed my Fenix PD30 on concrete and other surfaces from tile to dirt (30yd toss) several times to show my friends how tough the new lights are and have had no problems with it.

it is gonna be rugged because the massive metal casing serves as protection ..

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The more mass in motion, the bigger bang when it hits the floor. So if 2 lights use the same driver/electronics, one super heavy with thick walls, and one superlight. I'll put my money on the superlight with leaf thin walls will survive most drops. Simply because less weight means less bang when it hits the floor. And less stress on the fragile electronics inside (thats the stuff that breaks).
Peak is prob the most solid single aa light, but not because of the thick walls. Electronics are potted. Since Gadgetman7 is from Georgia, he will have a hard time getting his hands on a peak...:thumbsdow

I cant kill my mini aa. Have no idea how many times i have dropped it to the tile floor.

shelm said:

the problem with El Capitan is that they are not optimized for anything. It is a big chunk of metal.

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As Leon pointed out, they are optimized for ruggedness. Hence the big chunk of metal.

shelm said:

Of course, take 1 kilogram of metal, drill a hole in it and insert battery with LED electronics. and call it fleshlight.

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HAHAHAHAHA

- - -

Anyway...I'm not sure what would make a really good 1xAA light. The flashlight industry has largely given up on AAA and AA batteries for high-power purposes, because only the most expensive AAA and AA cells (i.e. Energizer Lithiums) can run a high power light for very long -- and since the development of all other features (including ruggedness) depends on the ability to sell the lights, and high-power lights make a lot of sales, there hasn't been a lot of work in making rugged AA lights either.

The Peak El Capitan is pretty good. The Jetbeam E3S is better, though, because it has a clicky switch and a two-mode interface.

I've been happy with the Jetbeams I own. My favorite is still the simple and relatively inexpensive BA20 but I'd have to give the PA10 the nod for most use and convenience so I carry it more just for the size diff. Its taken some falls and I've dinged the crap out of it on the end that its got dents in it but it still works fine. The caps are sensitive and if they loosen by the slightest amount the light flickers but if you are sure to make them tight they work fine with the alkalines and I get good life out of the batteries using the lower modes mostly. I like the Fenix too and I believe the one I have is the LD10 edit correction : LD20 if I'm not mistaken. It is nice also but I like the PA10 better for the single battery. If you do have a warranty or service issue with Jetbeam I doubt you'll be impressed from what I hear. Most just buy another light and give up or at least that is what I've had said to me by more than a handful of folks since buying them. Oh. The PA10 is the chunkiest little giant of a light for the single AA category or at least it is the stoutest I've owned lets say that. It has fairly thick sidewalls and handles heat dispersion quite well compared to some others I own.

jorn said:

The more mass in motion, the bigger bang when it hits the floor. So if 2 lights use the same driver/electronics, one super heavy with thick walls, and one superlight. I'll put my money on the superlight with leaf thin walls will survive most drops. Simply because less weight means less bang when it hits the floor. And less stress on the fragile electronics inside (thats the stuff that breaks).

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Your logic is flawed. The electronics will not be affected by the inertia of the body during impact. The electronics will only be affected by their own inertia and the inertia of the battery. The body will deal with its own inertia during impact.

However, a heavier body is usually a stronger body, and a stronger body is a stiffer body. This means a heavier body is more likely to resist bending during impact, and any electronics attached to the body will be less likely to bend and crack.

weez82 said:

any quality light (fenix, 47's, surefire, jetbeam, nitecore, ect ect ect) can fail. And because of this I usually recommend FourSevens. There customer service is top notch and very easy to use.

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+1

Within the last several weeks there have been several "best quality light" threads and I was amazed at the number of failure reports that came out of the woodwork from the legendary Surefire and HDS brands. On the plus side both SF and HDS have excellent warranty and CS and quickly took care of their customers.... that's about all you can hope for. Too bad neither company will consider the AA market.

You can also get a pretty good sense of the better manufacturers IF you read the reliability polls and/or thousands of these threads over a period of years, both of which gives you large sample sizes, but the individual anecdotal comments about "my light survived (didn't survive) ______" are next to worthless IMHO.

FlashKat said:

For me customer service and a good warranty sounds good, but it's useless at the time if the light fails when you really need it to work.

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And that's why "two-is-one and one-is-none" tends to be a motto around here.