LED Max Runtime for Briefcase Carry?

Well, I have just purchased an Arc AAA LE for "keychain carry" and an Opalec Newbeam for the Maglite in my glove compartment. I would like to finish this round of newbie insanity by purchasing an LED flashlight to stow away in the bottom of my briefcase or in my business travel dopp kit. "Maximum runtime" is more important than "smallest size", although I would like to keep the size within practicable bounds.

What LED flashlights are there on the market (or close to market release) that combine small-ish size with the maximum possible runtime? I am interested in both normal LED's and Luxeons.

Thanks. -JDIV

Well what size are we talking about? Max runtime on an LED would probably be the lightwave series of lights where the 4000 series runs on D cells. Is that too big? You could always go with a Minimag drop in LS. How much light do you need?

This may get bumped to the LED forum...

I'd recommend the Streamlight ProPolymer 4AA 7LED. It won't be too big and should offer very nice runtime.

Another option (if you're ready to go hardcore flashaholic) would be to order a VitalGear 3x123 body tube and a SureFire KL1 head from TadGear.com. With 3x123's you'll get 6 to 8 hours of bright Luxeon light that will put your Arc AAA and Opalec to shame. You'll be looking at about $60 plus some batteries but you'll have a really nice, easily brief-cased LED light. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Jon

go check out the runtime plots that Roy has posted.

you will see that your opalec has incredibly long and regulated runtime!

with a luxeon, one of the longest overall runtime in a small package (though not as bright as a badboy or madmax) will be an inretech adapter with a pair of lithiums (or a CMG reactor 2aa lithiums).

a long runtime madmax (not being made yet) would be an excellent choice.

happy hunting!

Bob

Certainly another option for briefcase carry would be a small light, like an infinity, and a few extra batteries. With the long runtime on the infinity, a couple of spare batteries could give tens of hours of light. If you like your Arc AAA, four AAA batteries would take up little room, but provide hours of backup.

If a single LED output would suit your needs, this might be a way to go. Of course, it wouldn't neccessariy be a good excuse to get another light!

Hello JDIV,

20 key chain lights for $20 would be another way to go. That would give you about 20 hours of light, redundancy and spares to hand out if you needed to.

Tom

most of the better known longer lasting lights outside of the lightwave lights are the small ones running on a single battery

these lights last a very long time and are a good value for your money.. the CMG Ultra Governments... if you just want something small like your Arc aaa style in brightness, this light can't be beat. You should get at least 15 hours of light from an AA battery in this light, probably more.

http://www.countycomm.com/cpflight9.htm

The CMG Ultra-G is basically an overgrown Arc AAA, so maybe it's redundant with what you already have.

I think since you're doing this for insanity purposes, you might prefer something new and different rather than simply what fits your description best. So: you might try the PALight, or (fancier) the Eternalight, maybe the XRay Elite model if you really want to go nuts. Finally, perhaps you want to consider a small headlamp, very helpful if you want to do something two-handed. The PT Aurora is a nice compact fairly-long-running 3AA model.

www.palights.com PAlight

www.techass.com Eternalights

The CMG Ultra-G is basically an overgrown Arc AAA, so maybe it's redundant with what you already have.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Paul is right, BUT, with a Lithium, it approaches three times the run time of the AAA Arc, and it'll survive cold, and heat.

For really long runtime in a small package the original CMG Infinity is great, but dim. The Infinity Ultra will give you Arc AAA type output, but longer runtimes.

For really, really long runtimes, consider the EternaLights. The Ergo model gives 50hrs at its brightest setting. At the lowest of the 12 brightness levels (1 led with PWM) the claim is 2800hrs. Technology Associates says they measure their runtime as the point where output is down to 40% of fresh battery output. The EternaLight's flat design also makes it good for a briefcase cary.

I think I would move the Opalec Newbeam to the briefcase, and get something brighter for the glovebox, like:

- Streamlight ProPolymer 4AA LED (my own glovebox light - nice worklight flood, good runtime, LED toughness)
- Princeton Tec 40 (bright, cheap, completely waterproof)
- Dorcy Boss (bright, very cheap, surprisingly sturdy, considering the price)

Or maybe even a small C or D cell light, like a Lightwave or a Mag+EverLED.

Or, if your budget allows it, you could get an Arc4 for your briefcase. It offers either bright light or impressive runtimes, as you desire. I'm struggling to keep my credit card from jumping out of my wallet and buying one of these right now. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

My breifcase has an (original style) Inova X5 tucked away in the back. Brighter than most "little lights" - not a vast runtime, but long enough for typical power outages at the office etc.

Thanks to all for all of your recommendations. I will do my research. The Arc4 looks interesting but $$$$.

-JDIV.

Take a look at the Streamlight TT-3C...less than $40.00...runtime of 32 hours on 3 leds.....runtime of 22 hours on 6 leds....runtime of 2.5 hours on Xenon! Would fit in a briefcase with no problem. ....also makes a dandy club!

I travel a lot and most of it is international to Asia. What I carry is:

Arc AAA on keychain.
PT Aurora in briefcase.
SF A2 in briefcase and/or jacket pocket.

Here is the rationale:
The AAA is always on my keychain, so it gets to go along for the ride anyhow.

The PT Aurora I keep if I need lighting on an airplane or for reading light in a hotel room. More often that you realize, the airplane lights malfunction and/or burn out. Not fun on a 14 hour flight. Also most hotel rooms have really poor reading lights near the bed.

I carry the SF A2 starting recently for a protection light. No airline will consider a flashlight a weapon and it could be very useful if attacked or threatened either on the airline (you know what I mean) or in some of the cities I travel to.

I just recently purchased an Arc LSH but it won't replace the PT Aurora's function and its on time for reading would be hard on batteries and it would get hot. The Arc4 might be ok though.

This has worked great, it very light and has all of the functionality I need. I have been thinking about seeing if the A2 would fit in the headband attachment thingie you can get for a mini mag. It would fill the PT Aurora's function in LED mode if that worked. Then I would be done to two.

J