Getting into the 4 AA game

I have been researching 4 AA lights and have almost decided on the Nitecore EA41(2015)after reading many reviews about the various lights with a similar form factor.I found one with holster and diffuser for about $57+free shipping.Can anyone suggest anything better for that price point that I may have missed?Your advice and opinions will be appreciated.

I was considering a Fenix LD41 2015 Edition when I got distracted by the CL25R lantern. It's more money than the Nitecore, and I haven't seen any reviews yet, but you might want to at least take a quick look at the specs to see if you think the extra cost is warranted. And if so, you can write the first review

ThruNite TN4A

Thrunite TN4A NW or the Sunwayman D40A NW. The Nitecore EA41 is good, but it does have a parasitic drain according to some reviews out there, so keep that in mind.

Ryp said:

ThruNite TN4A

Click to expand...

+1

Unless you MUST have more blinky modes than just strobe TN4A all the way I have both the NW and CW either one is outstanding. EA41 is a great light but just is not on the same level when it comes to output as the rest of the stubby 4xAA class.

TN4A too, with the thermal regulation, it is something I wish my D40A had. These stubbie lights are fast becoming my favourites. They feel good in hand but I always like the girth of the D size mags.

I'm waiting to see if there is going to be a xp-l hi version of the TN4A

anyone mention TN4A

I have both the ea41 2015 and tn4a, get the tn4a, better beam pattern, brighter, even though they rate similar, I think the ea41 is overrated in full power. EA41 double switch is nice, and it is smaller in size. You cant go wrong with either but Id lean towards the tn4a.

LeafSamurai said:

Thrunite TN4A NW or the Sunwayman D40A NW. The Nitecore EA41 is good, but it does have a parasitic drain according to some reviews out there, so keep that in mind.

Click to expand...

Does it have a lockout though? My EA4 (not 41) has been locked out and sitting on a shelf for at least 6 months. It still appears to be fully charged, or close to it.

I really like my Sunwayman D40A neutral white. Well-built, bright, fairly throwy, pretty good UI, nice mode-spacing. Has a moonlight mode, which is important to me. It has some flashing modes if you're like those, but they're reasonably hidden so they don't get in the way during normal use.

lock out the TN4A by unscrewing the head to where it loses contact. Yes the 2015 is vastly overrated by Nitecore. It is at best a 900 lumen light. The modes on the 2015 are brighter than the previous edition and the strobe on the 2015 is a better fast-slow-fast pattern. Love my 2015 EA41 as well its smaller than most the others in the class almost as small as my ET GX25A3 so it has its place due to being compact.

markr6 said:

Does it have a lockout though? My EA4 (not 41) has been locked out and sitting on a shelf for at least 6 months. It still appears to be fully charged, or close to it.

Click to expand...

It does have a lockout. According to Selfbuilt's review of the EA4, he recommended that you lockout the light if you are not using it often to avoid any standby drain and this was likely to significantly help with the parasitic drain problem. This is probably the reason why your light is still fully charged as you have been using the lockout mode.

yes the EA41 is packed with features. Lock out is indeed one of them.

LeafSamurai said:

It does have a lockout. According to Selfbuilt's review of the EA4, he recommended that you lockout the light if you are not using it often to avoid any standby drain and this was likely to significantly help with the parasitic drain problem. This is probably the reason why your light is still fully charged as you have been using the lockout mode.

Click to expand...

OK. I have one of the original versions which has the long 2 second beacon. It drained my full Eneloop XX 2500mAh cells in a matter of 2-3 weeks!! The newer version has a quick blink and less drain, so I hear. Probably still worth locking out, though.

I have decided and ordered the EA41.After reading many reviews including Selfbuilt's the choice was very hard but the EA41 won out for my particular use.I want to thank everyone for the opinions and advice.I don't think you could go wrong with any of the recommendations.

Howdy,

I want too get a 4xAA light and have narrowed it down (I think) to the Thrunite TN4A or the Sunwayman D40A.

My main concern is build quality. I'm willing to sacrifice options, lumens, and cash in favor of quality and reliability. If be happy to hear any opinions on these lights or others.

As for the D40A, it looks good but those buttons look tiny and less than durable. Is this a reasonable concern?

D40A buttons are indeed small. When it comes to build quality Id actually call it a draw between the D40A and TN4A. Unless total compactness is what I need I grab one of my TN4A's every time. Thermally regulated and 1000+ true OTF lumens on turbo. Nice good size switch with built in low voltage indicator. Double click to turbo rest of modes are well spaced and has a moonlight mode all for literally half the cost of the D40A. TN4A beam profile is extremely wide much wider than D40A. D40A out throws the TN4A by a fair margin though. D40A has 940+ for real OTF lumens on turbo. D40A has all the blinky modes. D40A is one stylish piece with its beautiful stainless bezel and expertly done cooling fins. TN4A heat sinks well just through being the 2nd largest light in the class behind the Jetbeam SRA40 which is like carrying around a circular brick in your pocket. SRA40 is the thrower king of the class though. For the money the TN4A in either NW or CW are astonishing values and blow away the rest of the class in terms of output. As for D40A small buttons I can see how this would be a problem if wearing gloves.

Treeguy said:

Howdy,

I want too get a 4xAA light and have narrowed it down (I think) to the Thrunite TN4A or the Sunwayman D40A.

My main concern is build quality. I'm willing to sacrifice options, lumens, and cash in favor of quality and reliability. If be happy to hear any opinions on these lights or others.

As for the D40A, it looks good but those buttons look tiny and less than durable. Is this a reasonable concern?

Click to expand...

I have the D40A (neutral white). It's well built, and the battery carrier is extremely solid. IIRC, there was an issue on the early versions that caused the plastic over the buttons to crack, but they fixed that problem long ago. No problem with mine that I bought late last year.

Yes, the buttons are pretty small, but surprisingly that isn't an issue. They press easily, and their slightly raised profile makes them easy to find and click.

My only complaint is that the lanyard attachment point is on the side of the light, rather than the bottom. I'd rather it was on the bottom, so it would hang straight down. YMMV, and it's a minor complaint. Where it's placed probably makes it better as a wrist attachment, but I use lanyards around my neck mostly.

CelticCross74 said:

As for D40A small buttons I can see how this would be a problem if wearing gloves.

Click to expand...

Biggest problem I had with the buttons was turning it back on with my toe. Had taken off a light fitting and the D40A was on the floor. I knocked it over and trod on the power button. Did manage to get it back on again