Dude, you need to stop spouting nonsense about CR123A's on here. Your posts on here are often wrong and full of misinformation(both about performance and pricing). Please do some research or stop posting misinformation. Its not fair to people who are looking for accurate information on here. Specifically stop scaring new users off CR123A because you dont like them
Dude, you need to do your own research. You might like wasting money on throw-away batteries, but I don't. Now, why don't we go through your post and point out your many errors:
AA NiMH are not comparable to CR123A's. While they have more capacity generally, they are not capable of producing near the current over a period of time.
Ridiculous, dude. Eneloops are quite capable of providing 5 amps of current over sustained periods of time. As high as 10 amps in bursts. Dude, this is plenty of current for EDC lights.
This mean much less lumens for about the same runtime.
Dude, you can buy a Thrunite 1xAA light that can put out 400 lumens on a single Eneloop. Dude, this is plenty of lumens for a EDC light. Want more? Dude, stick in 2 Eneloops for over 700 lumens. Dude, that's pretty bright! Want more? My 4xAA Sunwayman pumps out about 1000 lumens of light, all while sipping less than 2.5 amps from my Eneloops. Dude, that's bright!
This is especially evident when using the higher brightness settings on a light. And, although 16340/RCR123a has less capacity then primary CR123A, it is still plenty for EDC uses imo and often adds a nice boost in brightness over primary due to the higher voltage.
Dude, as I said, you get get 400 lumens from a single Eneloop. You don't need to go to lithium rechargeables to get good output. Plus, dude, the lithium rechargeable CR123 has less energy, and is potentially dangerous in muli-cell lights. Dude, you wouldn't want to blow your face off, would you?
I use my EDC lights every day(quite a bit) and my 16340/RCR123A powered ones still last all week with daily use. Plus, you can just charge every morning/night if you want to make sure they're topped up for the day.
Dude, Eneloops can do just the same. And, dude, they're safer to charge, and I can charge them 2000 times. Way more than your RCR123's, dude.
As for price, get a better job or quit obsessively buying lights you dont need there WalkIntoTheLight. At $1.20 or less for CR123A primary or $3-8 for 16340/RCR123A per cell here in Canada(and even cheaper in the US) you dont exactly have to be rich lol. Especially when one primary would probably last 2 or more weeks of daily usage for an average EDC user.
Dude, I can get Eneloops for less than $2.50 each, and they'll last for a decade, dude. Why would I want to spend $1.20 or whatever to throw away a CR123 every time I use my light? Dude, that's such a waste of money and bad for the environment. Dude, don't you care about the future?
The bottom line is; CR123A will always allow for a brighter/smaller light then AA. Even with 14500 you still end up with a considerably larger light going with CR123A.
Dude, you realize that AA and 14500 are the same size, right? Dude, a AA light is pretty small, perfect for EDC.
18650 or 26650 are probably the best options when higher capacity/brightness is needed.
Dude, that's the first true thing you've said!