AA light needed

I'm looking for the brightest Off the shelf light that will run on single AA or even a 14500 cell --- Price no option

Thanx in advance

I am thinking of the Nitecore EA11 900 + lumen with a single 14500.
Want nicer quality light? TnC Ultra Lux 750 + Lumens from a single 14500.

If you want the brightest light off of just AA the Zebralight SC5 would be one to consider at 500+ lumens. Selfbuilt reviewed it with impressive results. Read Selfbuilt's review here.

If looking for one that runs on 14500 the Nitecore EA11 or MT10a are solid performers.

Although I have never used the Manker Godmes T01, and therefore cannot make a personal recommendation, I have read that it has pretty good output on both Eneloop and 14500. Specs say 500 lumens on Eneloop Pro. 900 lumens, on 14500. There are plenty of reviews around.

This flashlight was formerly called the Manker Quinlan T01. That may be the name you see in a review.

KeepingItLight said:

Although I have never used the Manker Godmes T01, and therefore cannot make a personal recommendation, I have read that it has pretty good output on both Eneloop and 14500. Specs say 500 lumens on Eneloop Pro. 900 lumens, on 14500. There are plenty of reviews around.

This flashlight was formerly called the Manker Quinlan T01. That may the name you see in a review.

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Only thing is the reviews I read indicated it only achieved 700 lumens on 14500 and 400 or so on Eneloop. Impressive but not quite the claims and the UI of it seems pretty confusing. It does achieve high output though and uses both battery types so if the OP wants both in one light it might be a good option!

I was thinking, I just answered quickly off the top of my head. I wonder if we would be of more help in asking what the planned use of the light was? Some folks aren't aware that these kinda lights won't hold 900 lumens all night long. I was assuming the OP knows all the ins and outs of using a light set up like this. Just saying. Have a good weekend y'all.

Yep I know flashlight pretty well I'll be using this light for work. I'm an Industrial truck tech. I want max brightness for looking into deep areas of the unit like the Booms since most lights now days have low and med modes those will be used for general work once problems are discovered. I have over 100 lights at present many are throwers I use for hunting I have some good flooders for the same use but all are to big for work. I have been using the sipik single AA light that has the zoom- flood feature for years as a work light and its served the purpose well, but at age 50 my eyes don't see well anymore and the light just isn't cutting it anymore. I need something that's super bright with modes that can run on a 14500 or AA if I run out of 14500 batteries at work I can atleast toss a AA in and continue working.

There aren't many lights that can use both 14500 and AA batteries and produce 300+ lumens from each cell. The ones I'm aware of would be the Zebralight SC52 which gets 500 lumens from 14500 and 280 from AA. The Manker T01 gets around 400 lumens from AA and 700 from 14500. The other lights like the Nitecore mentioned do get 800-900 lumens but only 150-200 lumens from an AA.

Maybe take a look at JetBeam's RRT0 SE? With the (usually included) AA/14500 adaptor, you could have up to 730 lumens of flood, and the ability to pre-set your desired brightness level before turning on the light. And if you ever wanted to go a bit smaller, you could remove the adaptor and use 16340s or CR123s?

I have the Nitecore MT10A and its pretty darn bright on a regular AA... with a IMR14500 it has some bang! Because it has a rear switch it will not drain sitting on the shelf. I like the Up/Down UI much more than the Nitecore EA series.

I've looked at the Mt10A and its impressive pretty much same as the AE11 except for design and a few more Lm, I am however impressed with the Zebralight SC5 cranking out 500Lm on a single AA battery that's insane. I may just grab that one as a pocket light. so rite now I'm leaning towards the MT10 pretty heavy I also like the Red light feature that nitecore uses that would come in handy for hunting so I could duel purpose the light. gonna go look at the Jetbeam RRTO as suggested and decide. I was ready to just give in and use my Olight S30R ll But I like having that light in my bug out bag.

Throwjunkie said:

I've looked at the Mt10A and its impressive pretty much same as the AE11 except for design and a few more Lm, I am however impressed with the Zebralight SC5 cranking out 500Lm on a single AA battery that's insane. I may just grab that one as a pocket light. so rite now I'm leaning towards the MT10 pretty heavy I also like the Red light feature that nitecore uses that would come in handy for hunting so I could duel purpose the light. gonna go look at the Jetbeam RRTO as suggested and decide. I was ready to just give in and use my Olight S30R ll But I like having that light in my bug out bag.

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Only thing with the MT10a is you'll get maybe 15-20 mins max on the turbo mode before the battery is depleted. Also if you use AA as backup you'll only get 170 lumens from it which isn't all that great. The Jetbeam might be a decent option and the Zebralight SC5 is also one to consider. If you want to get something about the same size you may want to consider a small 18650 light like the SC62, it's shorter than the MT10a (3.8 inches versus 4.25 for the Nitecore) while providing 900+ lumens and much better runtimes due to the 18650 cell. On the brightest turbo mode you're looking at 1-2 hours runtime and if you use the 580 lumen mode you would get 2+ hours.

Yeah I looked at that light as well the SC62. I have nearly 60 18650 cells. I just didn't want to carry a ton of cells around with me. I travel for my job working on equipment so being able to stop at a local store and grab a pack of AA batteries is a plus hence the reason I wanted a light that would run on those but would also handle using the 14500 cell I have a good number of those cells also, but would like to only carry 4 of then and charge on the go when I can. I do however like 18650 lights for there run time. I use my light all day long on the job. being half blind there just never seems to be enough light for me to see things well so I spend much of my day with a flashlight hanging outta my mouth, an AA size light makes this more comfortable as its smaller in dia and usually length as well. The little Sipik I been using is small lite weight and runs on both 14500 and AA it just doesn't output enough light for me anymore. I run through 4 14500 cells and 1 AA a day on that little light. on long days even more. My wife bought me a head light for Xmas two years ago and its bright but gets hung up a lot as I put my head into tight areas and I don't wear a hat to clip a light to so I really have little choice but to hold it in my mouth while working. Now If I could find a very small titanium light that took the 18650 that would work well.

I'm a train conductor and have used and own several lights but the one I always go to is a maratec AA tac. It's a 2xAA but it's small and bright as hell. When I'm walking a train at 2am I need something bright and lightweight and it fits the bill. I can put it in my pocket if need be or sit it on the ballast and do some work. If you don't mind the extra battery it's cheap and bright. Win win.

Thanx folks for all the replies I bought the EA11 and the Zebralight SC5 as well as the SC62 will put the SC5 in my pocket EA11 on my belt for those times when I need BRIGHT and run the SC62 for general work no way in hell I'm running out of light at work now. I have the greatest wife on the planet because when I was trying to decide what light to get she said get them all its for work and I want you home everyday with all your fingers. And I figured after 31 years she'd be dead tired of my old *** Guess not.

That SC5 looks interesting... 500lm out of a AA - nice!

Look at the Manker Quinlan T01. I have no experience with it but it looks pretty nice in Selfbuilt's review
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?414316

The SC5 is a great choice.

Throwjunkie said:

… she said get them all..

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Congratulations on the wife
I look forward to your impressions on the lights. Appreciate that you share specific application needs and battery options..

I dont think a cap would hold a light at a good angle for long hours of work. And your lights are way too heavy to put on a baseball cap anyway..

The mouth grip might benefit from a rubber sleeve of some sort.. though I think you are a really good candidate for a non snagging headlamp (I dont know the options)

fyi, from Zebralight SC5 Review:

selfbuilt said:

Potential issues: The voltage limit has been lowered to 2V, so 14500 is NOT supported

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So you ended up buying 3 lights, one is AA only, one also allows 14500, and one is 18650, like your bugout light.. sounds great, I agree you arent going to run low on light, youre totin close to a pound of lighting equipment

L3 l11c I have the old l10 and it is fantastic.