AA...Will it be a legend like the AAA

I have a co-worker giving my girlfriend hints as to a future birthday purchase.She is perfect as she understands my light addiction.
My question is this...With the limited availability of the AAA LE I am leaning toward the AA.I have read many reviews and know it is a great light.I actually think I would prefer the size VS the AAA.Is the AA the same as far as features and quality of the AAA.When anyone asks for a great AAA light the Arc always comes up.Do you think the AA has the same potential to be the legend that has become the AAA...?Thanks for the help as I know this has been covered before.

I have to say that it has the potential. However, I would say that it probably wouldn't be as lengendary since the CMG Infinity Ultra came before it. When the AAA came out, it was pretty much the only single AAA LED light out there.

I prefer the AA for jobs around the house, or on-site computer setup because I can run it with a Lithium cell and not worry about it dying. For some tasks, luxeon based lights are overkill, too bright and 1 ~ 2 hour runtime. The AA is just about perfect. I don't use my AAA's as much because I like to know that they have good batteries in them for an emergency. I carry 1 AAA in my jeans change pocket, and another in a ToolLogic survival knife in my left pocket. Sounds a bit anal, but I know they will light my way whenever necessary. The work light (AA) can be dead, but I still have the AAA's.
Rob

P.S. Talk about being wierd, at night I also carry an ARC LSH in my right pocket and a SL TL-2LED in my back pocket if I leave the house, but I leave the AA in my home office.

That is a tough question,
The AAA is a legend with it's size to output ratio, the AA is larger with the same output. I love mine as it is a great light for my low lighting needs. The Lithium AA's are great to feed it but that will be less of a factor when the Lithium AAA's become available in August.
Those 4 emitters in one 10mm LEDs would be a great addition to the Arc AA. Drive it at stock specs for the output of 3 or 4 5mm LEDs...now that would be the ultimate Arc AA!
Peter is working on the Arc4 and Arc5, when those are running smooth I guess that he will turn his attention back to the AA. It is a great form factor for some interesting future lights.

No, I don't think the ARC-AA will ever be the legend like the ARC-AAA is. The ARC-AA was a late comer into the AA LED light arena. Don't get me wrong, it's a great light, but will never be in a legendary status.

The ARC-AAA, on the other hand, is an entirely different case. That light will go done in the history books and will be something great to tell our grandchildren about.

Robk it is perfectly fine to be it bit anal as it pertains to lights & knives & guns & well you can add your own as needed.
Topper

I was just curious as to the opinion of members here.I remember when I first joined and asked questions on a small light the answer always given was Arc AAA.
I always wondered why the AA was not brought up as much as it is mostly the same light.Is it just as reliable as its little brother?
I guess I am looking for long term owners of this light to advise as to the quality.It just seems fitting that the Arc is king of the AAA breed and I had thought the Arc AA would also take the title of AA powered lights.Maybe time will tell but as the common thing to do is own both and be happy....I learned that from the members here.When in doubt just buy all the lights in question..hehe
Just needed to know the opinions here as my girlfriend is trying to order one for me and the AAA LE is not in stock.
Does anyone think there will be a AA-LE version available?
Most of the reviews I have read show the AA as bright or brighter than the AAA-LE.This is also a plus for me as far as my needs.
I think I will get the AA and as soon as available I will have to get the AAA-LE.Mostly for the legend status and that I have always just wanted one.
Thanks for the input here as I have grown to depend on fellow members for my purchasing advice.

I guess I should say AA premium as this is more along the lines of what I was wondering.If the AA is as bright as the AAA Premium does anyone think that a premium version of the AA will be offered?
I really dont see how it could be much better than it already is.

The AAA-standard and AAA LE are the same brightness. The difference is the LE has warmer color on average. The AA is basically the same light as the AAA LE, except bigger and with a different battery. There's no need for a premium AA because the existing AA is already "premium".

The AAA is a favorite around here because it's a very well designed, practical light that's very tiny so you can carry it with you everywhere, typically on your keychain. The AA is equally well designed etc., but it's necessarily bigger because of its AA battery, so it doesn't fit as well on keychains. Its design also largely overlaps the already-popular and much cheaper CMG Infinity Ultra. The Arc AA is of higher quality than the CMG, but the CMG is still pretty good. Since the Arc AA is relatively new, most CPF'ers interested in a 1AA light already have a CMG instead.

As I see it, the Arc AAA is practically a necessity and everyone should have one on their keychain. The CMG Infinity Ultra is nice for use as a pocket light (e.g. for travel or camping), since its size makes it less fiddly than the AAA and it uses the more common and longer lasting AA battery. The Arc AA is more of a connoisseur's light, excellent for sure, but relatively exotic compared to the AAA and CMG.

Robocop, I have not found A AAA so i bought the AA and I am
happy with it. I think I would have been happy with the AAA
However they are sometimes hard to find or maybe I look in the wrong places.
Topper

Topper, I think pocketlights.com has some aaa's. Arc will have more soon.

I agree with Paulr that the AAA is simply a must have.

I have several of both the AA and AAA (standard and premium) and the big thing that I'd like to add to your thinking about the AAA is about the premium vs the standard. I recommend that you get the standard and save the $10.

I don't know if the LEDs have gotten better or more consistent, or if it's the newest circuit revision, but all of the recent AAAs that I've had, have all been very consistent and AT LEAST as good as my older premiums.

I would suggest that you get it from ARC so you know that you are getting the lastest version.

As for the ARC AA - get it. You won't regret it. If fact get the Ultra, Ultra G and standard Infinity, too.

You're a flashaholic, and this will probably be the cheapest that you'll ever get by getting this many lights that you can directly compare and learn the differences from. You can compare the size, feel, durability, output, beam characteristics, etc. All of them are good, useful lights that you can use or keep in different places for when you might need a light. If you decide that you won't use them all, then sell some. Usually when we say, "buy them all," we're half joking / half serious. In this instance, I'm all serious. I can't imagine not having at least 6 - 8 of this type of light around.

I second that mention of the standard Infinity. It's about half as bright as the Ultra and a lot of the time, that's exactly what you want. The CMG Ultra, Arc AAA, and Arc AA are all about the same brightness and are too bright for comfortable close-up use when you're nicely dark-adapted.

I think that the thing about lights for me is the fact that I actually use one every night.On duty I can not count the number of times I must have light of some form,especially on the night shift.I like the smaller AA and AAA lights as I use them in the car for report writing as the overhead car dome is too bright and it makes me a target.
I am also very hard on my duty lights as well as personal carry lights.Between foot chases and often fighting people who just dont want to go to jail I usually drop or scuff most of the things on my belt and keepers.
The thing I like about Arc is the quality of product and the theme that Mr.Gransee puts with all his lights of EDC.
He appears to be big on the idea that lights are a tool and builds them to be carried daily and used.
My lights,like my weapon,must function when I need them to and what is cost when one must depend on a product in time of need.I like his marketing ideas as he really hooked me with the recent LSL sale of 59.95.I now want one of all his products as the LSL has already performed flawlessly every time I reached for it.
I got a little side tracked here as my original question was on the legendary status of the AAA Arc.Sorry but it is not often I find a company who keeps the customer first and I talk a lot.....Ok back to the AA Arc.
I now know the AA is already a premium version.I was wondering if the LED used in this light is the best available as far as brightness or tint.I realize there is supposed to be a little difference between the AAA standard and premium AAA.Could a better tint or brighter LED be available for the AA in the future in order to have a more premium version of what is already available?
I am actually finding that each time I get a quality light the next one I have must be better than the last one I got.
I find myself comparing everything to my Arc and using this as a guide for quality.Man talk about a hard act to follow..hehe
I suppose I will wait for some more premium AAAs to arrive at Arc and then get one.For now I will get the AA version but I feel certain that this will just not be enough for me as I am a true flashaholic now.

Robocop, there's a slight problem here. The Arc AA and AAA weren't designed to be super bright. They're designed to be just bright enough, since as you said yourself, your dome light (for example) is too bright. So looking for a dim light and then asking if it can be made brighter is going around in circles /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

Anyway, the Arc AA/AAA are already about as bright as they can be with the type of LED they use. If you want a brighter light, go to something with a Luxeon. The new Arc4 is exactly what you want, 16 levels of adjustable brightness, looks fantastic if you don't mind spending $180. A little too rich for my blood at this time though. There are lots of other 1W luxeon lights in the $50 range or lower, some quite a bit lower.

Do you know about the Quiglight? It's designed by a LEO specifically for LEO's filling out paperwork in cars. It clips to your shirt pocket and illuminates the paper. Nowhere near as rugged as an Arc, but very specially designed to be the best at a particular purpose:

http://flashlightreviews1.home.att.net/reviews/quiqlite_pocketlight.htm

The Quiglight is very nice for LEOs and I have tried one.It was lost after about a week in a footchase when I jumped a fence.Afterwards I found myself usually holding my Photon in my mouth as I sat writing in my patrol car.
I think I am just looking for an excuse to purchase every light I want..hehe.
I see your point on the brightness of the Arc AA and AAA.It is mostly the ruggedness of the light that appeals to me.I think the reason I was curious as to the premium versions was simply wanting to know if the LED was the same used in the AAA premium.It appears the only advantage is run time as the AA is already matching the output of the Premium AAA.
I like your comment on a light being just bright enough.I have a Commander Incandescent that I use for long range problems as it has great throw and very bright.I found that when searching a car interior with this light it would often create a wash out effect and I would miss smaller items simply due to the blinding hot spot.
This is when I found the softer LED lights came in handy for the smaller areas as it helped my vision greatly.My new LSL has proved perfect for this and has replaced my Inova X5 that I used for quite some time.
I do think the Arc 4 would be the perfect blend of form and function.I have already lined up a few overtime shifts just for this planned cost...I got to have one.Thanks again for the input as I have learned very much from this site.Always very helpful members here

Robocop,

I like the AA a little more than the AAA; longer battery life and the case is beefier. As far as the size is concerned, it's just a little bit bigger as you probably know.

The AA offers nothing the AAA doesn't. So, no.

[ The AA offers nothing the AAA doesn't. So, no. ]

[/ QUOTE ]

Except longer runtime, wider beam, and the ability to stand on end. I personally don't know which one I like best. Here's a good way to put it. I prefer to carry the AAA. I prefer to hold and actually use the AA.

I guess time will tell if the AA Arc will be the legend that its little brother is.It is just strange to me that every time anyone asks for opinions on a small AAA light the answer is always Arc AAA.And each time the question arises of a AA powered light there are several different choices given with the Arc being one of many.
It almost sounds like the Arc is king of AAA powered lights and that Infinity is most known for the AA champion.
I simply must have the Arc AAA just for the legendary status that has built up over several comments and reviews I have read...it is truly a legend in its class.I can say this without even owning one yet.
Seems to me that the AA would have been automatically a legend in its own class simply due to the quality of the AAA.Like I said I think that with time Arc will hold legends with all of its products.
Having said all this it really just helps with my decision to buy both....Its the only choice..hehe
Any idea when the AAA premium will be available from Arc again.I think Christmas sales wiped out their inventory.
Thanks for the input as this has been a very interesting thread for me.