What Batteries To Show Off Your New Flashlight

If you where going to use your new bright AA LED flashlight to dazzle a friend tonight, what batteries (no LION's) would you put in it? I'm talking 2-3 minutes of dazzling bright showoff light.
Alkalines - Duracell, Eveready, Rayovac, Energizer etc.
NIMH - Eneloop, Tenergy, Accupower etc
NICAD -

How about Energizer Ultimate lithium? It's about 1.7v I believe.

Any half-way decent flashlight will have constant current control so the cell voltage won't make any difference. Basically any reliable battery should be fine.

What light are you planning to show off?

mojo-chan said:

What light are you planning to show off?

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This. We can all take stabs in the dark, but it's bound to turn into a bloody mess—meaning we can't recommend a battery for your light without knowing which light it is.

Any battery will do.

mcnair55 said:

Any battery will do.

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Yes, I recommend a TrustFire 14500 wait no. What a ludicrous statement; apart from form factor issues, there are a whole range of problems you can cause with the incorrect choice of cell. One thing I've learned on the internet is to never assume a level of knowledge on behalf of the person on the other end.

oKtosiTe said:

Yes, I recommend a TrustFire 14500 wait no. What a ludicrous statement; apart from form factor issues, there are a whole range of problems you can cause with the incorrect choice of cell. One thing I've learned on the internet is to never assume a level of knowledge on behalf of the person on the other end.

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If you say so.:nana:

mojo-chan said:

Any half-way decent flashlight will have constant current control so the cell voltage won't make any difference. Basically any reliable battery should be fine.

What light are you planning to show off?

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Not quite. Even if the light has good regulation, the battery has to be able to supply the necessary current. A good example is a 1xAA light. 1xAA lights can draw well over an amp, and sometimes two or more from a AA battery. Alkaline batteries can't stand up to this for long at all - maybe seconds before the light starts to dim. Also, some lights (like the SC52) have no regulation on the highest level. So brightness can SERIOUSLY taper off with a battery that is not up to the job.

Generally speaking, for a AA light, either NiMH or L91 lithiums are the best choice for good performance. Sometimes, NiZn can give better performance than NiMH due to the higher voltage. But availability and reliability concerns make them somewhat iffy.

mojo-chan said:

Any half-way decent flashlight will have constant current control so the cell voltage won't make any difference. Basically any reliable battery should be fine.

What light are you planning to show off?

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No particular flashlight. Just wondering what AA form battery has the most initial punch other than the obvious LI-ION.

Dimt said:

No particular flashlight. Just wondering what AA form battery has the most initial punch other than the obvious LI-ION.

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Excluding the 14500, then definitely the 3V CRAA lithium primary (although there's not many lights that fully support it)

reppans said:

Excluding the 14500, then definitely the 3V CRAA lithium primary (although there's not many lights that fully support it)

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One thing to keep in mind is that many lights which have 3.7V Li-Ion support have low voltage protection. This unfortunately means that cells using lower voltage lithium chemistries (such as primaries and LiFePO4) are looked at as discharged 3.7V batteries, preventing operation.