What is the cat's meow for affordable AAA twisty lights these days?

I haven't perused the forums nearly as much as I have in my earlier days so I'm not up on the latest technology. I had an ITP (before Olight took over them) i3 AAA light that I used for years as my pocket work light which has now come up missing. I'm going to guess the max output was something like 80 lumens but it had a very useful medium beam that provided a good balance of light output vs battery run time. I'm wondering what is my best bet to replace it for say no more than $30. I would like a something similar three mode light but I assume the brightness level of these lights have gone up some? I like the fact that the ITP started off in medium mode. I believe now most start off at low but that's not a biggie. If the light memorized the last setting, that would be nice and although probably not available, if there was some sort of battery meter indicator, that would be a plus. When the ITP battery died, there was little warning.

Thanks for any thoughts. FYI, I still have a couple of Arc AAA's, not that they get much use.

I like this one. Dont got the aaa, but the aa is a fantastic light for the $. I guess the aaa is just as good.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...S2-1xAAA)-amp-Jet-1-MK-(XP-G2-S2-1xAA)-Review

I love this one. tritium light for ~30$. Have modded mine with a warm xp-l hi led.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...-G2-1*AAA-10440-stainless-steel-Tritium-tube)

I just got an astrolux A01 last week. 3 modes and uses a Nichia 219B. Not as bright as some AAA lights (only 80 lumens) but that's more than enough for what I use it for

Olight has some of their AAA lights (replacements for ITP) in brass and copper. They are very nice. I have gifted a couple of them. Beautiful packaging too. Well worth your look. One of them is 180 lumens version.

Maratac AAA (Rev 3) from the CountyComm website... Runs $35, comes on in Medium mode, good runtimes, pretty good build quality, reversible pocket clip so it can be used as a mini-headlamp if you wear baseball caps... Oh and it has a cool white beam color temperature - which I assume you're fine with...

Worth a look:
Maratac 1aaa (Ti Rev 4 has medium mode first)
Fenix E05
L3 Illumination L08

Like jorn said, "I love this one. tritium light for ~30$."
This is like a Tain AAA (reverse battery and operation) but in ss.
it's very very nice, you won't be disappointed.
VOLLSION
SP11-S (choice of trit) AAA
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VOLLSION-SP...hash=item2372366428:m:mUUUMH8FmTzc4eMDjArx5AQ

Depends on what you consider affordable, ah i see 30 dollar, thats actually pretty much for an AAA. 80 Lumen from an eneloop was the limit some time ago, its still not bad. Jetbeam has an 135 lumen light, then there is the ultratac K18 with a 10440 and 360 lumen. Acebeam coming with a 150 lumen xpg3 and of course surefire is the extreme end with 300 lumen from an eneloop but to expensive

Thrunite Ti3 is the smallest, lightest, most pleasing (neutral/warm tint available), affordable, multi level light that I've been able to find.

meh,bump your budget to 50 and get a surefire titan,it will last you a lifetime unlike many of the cheapies you will be spending more on replacing them over and over during your lifetime.Once and done.

I'll also suggest the Fenix E05. Very nice little light.

At $20 I dont think you can beat the Olight i3s, for a light that starts on Medium and has no PWM. i3s also has some of the nicest threads, and one of the most useful lows I can think of. Im also a big fan of Maratac, but it costs twice as much. Neither comes with a High CRI option.

I would Avoid these (none start on medium):
thrunite, they start on a super useless Low. Imo the low of the Astrolux A01 is too low, and it also comes first, plus the new version has PWM, and has no pocket clip (it IS THE cheapest 3 mode Nichia light though). The Volsion starts on High. The Fenix E05 has no pocket clip, its low is 8 lumens, not as low as the Olight or Maratac.

now about the High CRI Nichia Twisty choices:
since you have been gone, one of the latest trends is more lights are being offered with High CRI Nichia LEDs. The Copper Worm starts on Medium (but is over your budget and has no pocket clip). The L08 is a fantastic light, although it starts on low, I would give this one serious consideration, as it is available in a 4 mode with extremely well spaced modes (fwiw the L08 head is larger than the body, the Olight is more compact but does not come in High CRI)

there is also a recently released "novelty" light called the TIP. Its available in High CRI also, for about the price of an Olight, and similar weight.. but the TIP is not a twisty.. and some peoples carry style makes them turn on in pocket.. still its one of the Nichia LED options that have come out since you were gone. Its also the only one mentioned that has mode memory.

good luck with your choices

+1 on the Astrolux A01

jorn said:

I like this one. Dont got the aaa, but the aa is a fantastic light for the $. I guess the aaa is just as good.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...S2-1xAAA)-amp-Jet-1-MK-(XP-G2-S2-1xAA)-Review

I love this one. tritium light for ~30$. Have modded mine with a warm xp-l hi led.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...-G2-1*AAA-10440-stainless-steel-Tritium-tube)

Click to expand...

will these tritium lights get seized by customs if sent to usa? i always wanted one, but think I read somewhere they were not legal to ship here

Dont think so. Don't you guys got watches and gunsights with trits?

stephenk said:

+1 on the Astrolux A01

Click to expand...

Agree, great spacing of the modes, cheap and beautiful tint.

eh4 said:

Thrunite Ti3 is the smallest, lightest, most pleasing (neutral/warm tint available), affordable, multi level light that I've been able to find.

Click to expand...

I grabbed 4 at $15 each off Amazon a couple weeks before Hurricane Matthew. I really do love this driver, but I am not as enthusiastic about the neutral tint... a little orangy, but it's not the tint so much as that it is not high CRI.

The Ti3 is a great bargain at $15, especially considering how rare a firefly mode is in AAA, and the constant current (No PWM) circuit design is fantastic and efficient, but I just saw gearbest has Jetbeam Jet-1 MK AAA flashlights for under $10. At first, I thought they were single mode, but they have 3 modes. I've not used one, but other members have nice things to say about Jetbeam, and you can't beat the price... unless... well, maybe it could be a toss-up between getting 5x Jetbeam's or a single Surefire Titan...

chillinn said:

I grabbed 4 at $15 each off Amazon a couple weeks before Hurricane Matthew. I really do love this driver, but I am not as enthusiastic about the neutral tint... a little orangy, but it's not the tint so much as that it is not high CRI.

The Ti3 is a great bargain at $15, especially considering how rare a firefly mode is in AAA, and the constant current (No PWM) circuit design is fantastic and efficient, but I just saw gearbest has Jetbeam Jet-1 MK AAA flashlights for under $10. At first, I thought they were single mode, but they have 3 modes. I've not used one, but other members have nice things to say about Jetbeam, and you can't beat the price... unless... well, maybe it could be a toss-up between getting 5x Jetbeam's or a single Surefire Titan...

Click to expand...

+1 for the Jetbeam Jet - micron (u). I'm happy to pay extra to get a better light, but for under $10 you'll get over 100 lumens, dead flat regulation on highest for over 45 minutes on an eneloop AAA, and a nice looking little light which is smaller than its competitors and very comfortable to carry ( it clips into coin pocket and you don't know it's there). The twisty is the best one I've used and the beam is great for a light this size and not too cool. Can't fault it. [emoji106]

I'm another happy Fenix E05 user, although I suspect they're not the cutting edge of AAA performance. I'm using mine on alkalines for the moment, and don't think the output is very flat on high, but still a lot better than the unregulated lights I was previously used to. I'm sure it will do better on good NiMH batteries.

Never looked at the Jetbeam Jet-u before, but I may have to in the future.