Any single cells AA lights suitable as weapon mounted lights?

Believe it or not, some folks like the Streamlight Protac 1l (a single cell AA) as a weapon mounted light. At 180 lumens, I think it's a bit underpowered but I do like the small form factor.

Are there any AA lights else out there with a little more output that also have the 'tactical' features (forward clicky, simple UI) and, just as importantly, are robust and reliable?

(ideally they'd be potted like Elzetta or Pflexpro, etc, but I dint think that exists, or does it?)

Thanks

I guess you could use a Malkoff MDC AA if you could find a mount for it. That's the problem- virtually every weapon mount I am aware of is set up to fit a 1" body.

Rob Babcock said:

I guess you could use a Malkoff MDC AA if you could find a mount for it. That's the problem- virtually every weapon mount I am aware of is set up to fit a 1" body.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I'll look at that Malkoff.

Theres a a really nice mount for .81" to .85" diameter lights. Proctor Light Mount

https://cpwsa.com/products/proctor-light-mount

or I could use a shim on the standard 1" mounts.

edit to add: the Malkoff MDC AA tops out at 115 lumens and starts on low low, which makes it a no go for me. Though it's probably bombproof.

Yeah, Malkoff has no single-high-only, or even max-first UI with its 1.5v drivers. Take a look at the Armytek Partner A1 though - tight bezel Max-only UI, forward clicky, and they claim weapon mountable (don't know if it's dual spring though).

It'll be bright for a AA, but take their spec claims with a grain of salt, esp. compared with an honest US company like Malkoff. Also don't be fooled by the Canadian thing, and take their warranty with a grain of salt.... unless you can wait a long time.

Thanks all. I was doing a little more reading last night, and I might be going down the wrong path by looking at AA lights.

my thought was 'if you can get 500 lumens (which is all I need) out of single AA (which are readily available around the world and I have a free supply at work) then why bother with cr123 or even 18650 lights.' But now I've read that those high output claims are based on Eneloops or other non-off-the-shelf AA batteries, which kinda defeats my purpose of wanting to use AAs.

So adding to that that most AA lights don't have the UI I want, it's probably not worth it to just save .2" in size.

feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about the above.

I'm explaining this so you guys don't give me too hard of a time if you see me asking about cr123 weapon mounted lights in a few days. . I'm going to do some more research and will probably be back with more questions.

Thanks again.

Redbone said:

Thanks all. I was doing a little more reading last night, and I might be going down the wrong path by looking at AA lights.

my thought was 'if you can get 500 lumens (which is all I need) out of single AA (which are readily available around the world and I have a free supply at work) then why bother with cr123 or even 18650 lights.' But now I've read that those high output claims are based on Eneloops or other non-off-the-shelf AA batteries, which kinda defeats my purpose of wanting to use AAs.

Click to expand...

I agree. You stated your desire to find an AA model so I didn't want to sidetrack the thread...but for a WML I think CR123A cells are a better option. Higher voltage, more energy dense and more reliable (ie less likely to leak or self discharge). Most of the really "serious" WMLs are built around that cell for good reason.