Hi all,
I have 3 BLF-348s that have shipped out, and I'm really excited as this will be my first Hi Cri light and also my first AAA sized light.
I am trying to decide what batteries to use. I'm torn between the eneloop pros or a 10440 battery
I have one of these and gifted a number at Christmas. They are very nice.
They are single mode and quite high output on NiMh, so that is what I'd recommend. Basically 'any' low self discharge AAA will be fine. I tend to use Sanyo Eneloops the most, but there are others.
You really don't need to go for the pro ones. I've found people obsess with battery capacity in the flashlight world. But the reality is, it's a bit like obsessing about the size of the fuel tank on your car.
Changing a battery over is easy and takes no time and even carrying a spare is hardly a chore. So does it really matter if battery 'x' will last a little longer than battery 'y'?
If you don't think you'll use the light loads, then running it on a lithium primary like an Energiser Lithium (1.5v) would be fairly economical too, as an alternative to NiMh.
On NiMh the light will get quite warm, but will give you reasonable on time.
A 10440 is kind of fun, but being single mode the light heats up way to quick to be of any practical use. Fine if you'll only ever turn it on for less than 10 secs at a time, but if you actually need to use the light, then the 10440 option is somewhat redundant.
, but I don't know where to start as far as what 10440 is best today. I've read older posts saying good things about AW, but I don't know. Also are all 10440s unprotected only? That would be a concern.
As said above, I probably wouldn't go 10440's on this light. However if you are, then something IMR is the way, it'll have better performance and not suddenly turn off on you like a protected ICR will.
AW are probably fine, just don't over pay for them.
Efest are good and Windyfire 10440's seem to perform well.
Lots of battery (and charger) info here:
http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/CommonSmallcomparator.php
As far as chargers, I have the Nitecore UM10, but I don't know how well that would work with a 10440. I'm leaning towards the Nitecore D4 since it looks like it can charge almost any battery, can charge multiple batteries at once, and has many great features.
Any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks.
I wouldn't get too hung up on chargers. Just buy something quality and you'll be fine. The link above has lots of info on chargers if you are interested.
I would say, don't fuss over getting ONE charger that does everything. Usually a jack of all trades is a master of none. Buying something designed to do a single job is likely a better thing most of the time, assuming it does it well.
Likewise, batteries come in different shapes and sizes and have different demands for charging. So a charger suited for a 10440 may not work for a 26650 or vice versa.
I have 3 Li-ion chargers and 2 NiMh chargers and a separate hobby charger. I really wouldn't want one single charger to do everything, as I doubt it would be as good and I wouldn't be able to charge my NiMh batteries at the same time as my Li-ion ones.