Are 2aa lights good anymore?

So I have been looking at buying a 2aa flashlight just because I dont have a good led flashlight that takes aa batteries. I dont know how much Ill use this light as I mostly just use 18650 flashlights. Ive been looking at the streamlight protac 2aa, which is around $40. But, im not sure I want to spend that much as this light probably wont get much use. I have 18650 for throw and aaa for up close. Im willing to go with a 1aa, but i was thinking 2aa since they tend to have more throw. Any ideas for a good 2aa or 1aa with decent throw that doesnt cost that much?

Fenix LD22 is nice, but slightly over your budget.

The Rayovac Indestructible 2AA has decent thrown. I think I payed $10 for mine.

The mini-mag also throws pretty well, as I recall. But I don't actually have one to compare with.

--flatline

Don't get the Streamlight Protac 2AA. My dad and I both have one, and we have had nothing but problems. They've been serviced many times, and still have issues. I have many other Streamlight products that have been issue free, but for some reason the 1AA and the 2AA have a boatload of failures.

I have a Maglite Pro 2AA LED. Great beam, very useful, but only has one brightness level. If you can deal with one setting and a twisty, go for the Maglite.

You might want to check out the Manker T01. It's a 1xAA light, and is my throwiest AA light. Around 10,000 candella and 400 lumens. Very good throw for such a small light. It's probably around your price point. IIRC, they also have a 2xAA version.

There hasn't really been much innovation in AA lights over the past few years. There's been some incremental improvements, but they started maxing out on output awhile back. The limiting factor is the power of the battery.

Let me also give a big
* Thumbs Up *
to the Fenix LD22 flashlight !


:twothumbs
_

I was really looking at the protac 2aa, but the main reason why I havent bought it is because of the price. I have a protac hl-x and a scorpion led that have been great. Do you mind explaining what issues you've had? What about the nitecore 2aa? I know thats around $30, but does anyone have any experience with that? Im also looking at the zanflare f2.

Nephron44 said:

Don't get the Streamlight Protac 2AA. My dad and I both have one, and we have had nothing but problems. They've been serviced many times, and still have issues. I have many other Streamlight products that have been issue free, but for some reason the 1AA and the 2AA have a boatload of failures.

I have a Maglite Pro 2AA LED. Great beam, very useful, but only has one brightness level. If you can deal with one setting and a twisty, go for the Maglite.

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The maglite pro plus has low and high. You just twist it on when pointed down

The Nitecore MT22A takes two AA cells in a side by side layout and is not bad. I find the light very useful for a general purpose light that takes AA cells and is $30 or less.

My favorite 2 x AA light is still the 4Sevens Quark X, I sure hope Prometheus brings it back.

Ford1500 said:

I was really looking at the protac 2aa, but the main reason why I havent bought it is because of the price. I have a protac hl-x and a scorpion led that have been great. Do you mind explaining what issues you've had? What about the nitecore 2aa? I know thats around $30, but does anyone have any experience with that? Im also looking at the zanflare f2.

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I have replaced my switch three times in 2 years, and it's not even my main light. My father has had to replace his switch twice in under a year. Both of my 1AAs and my 2AA have horrible random flickering, and my 1AAs are hit or miss if they turn on with the first click...even with a new switch.

yoyobrotha said:

My favorite 2 x AA light is still the 4Sevens Quark X, I sure hope Prometheus brings it back.

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* YES * ! ! !


:twothumbs :twothumbs :twothumbs :twothumbs :twothumbs
_

So for those of you who carry a light with a twisty to turn on, how hard is it to turn it on one handed? I never considered flashlights with a twisty for edc just because id figured it would be too much of a pain to turn on one handed. Do you also use the twisty flashlights for tactical purposes? The one good thing about these lights is that they are cheaper.

Ford1500 said:

So for those of you who carry a light with a twisty to turn on, how hard is it to turn it on one handed? I never considered flashlights with a twisty for edc just because id figured it would be too much of a pain to turn on one handed. Do you also use the twisty flashlights for tactical purposes? The one good thing about these lights is that they are cheaper.

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I would not use them for a tactical light, but the Mini Mag's are pretty easy to turn on/off with one hand, especially if you put a tiny bit of lube on the threads. I find the bigger C cell ML25's to be even easier to turn on one handed because they have a fatter more hand filling grip, in fact when it comes to twistys I think the ML25's are my favorites (I often run them on AA's with a spacer tube). The AAA Mini Mag LED is pretty nice as well, I find these a little easier to tun on than the larger AA Mini Mags. For the AA size Mags, I like the Pro Plus because of the low mode.

My favorite modern AA lights are by Pelican. The 2nd gen 1x 2350 and 5th gen 2x 2360 are both nice little lights. Interface can be tailored to start on high or low, you decide.

Ford1500 said:

So for those of you who carry a light with a twisty to turn on, how hard is it to turn it on one handed? I never considered flashlights with a twisty for edc just because id figured it would be too much of a pain to turn on one handed. Do you also use the twisty flashlights for tactical purposes? The one good thing about these lights is that they are cheaper.

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I carry a small 1xAAA light in my pocket all the time, and it uses a twisty to turn on and for mode changes. You're right that usually it's difficult to twist it with one hand, so I removed the rubber o-ring. That makes it very easy to twist with one hand, and there's still enough friction on the threads that prevents it from turning on in my pocket accidentally.

I gave up waterproofness for much easier usability. Good trade off for a light that is mostly used indoors, or occasional use outdoors in good weather. For outdoors, I prefer a 18650 light. Better throw and much more output.

The 1xAAA light is great for its compact size.

What about Eagtac's D25A2?

My personal favorite 2AA is the Fenix FD20. It's focus-able.

For a AA light for the price the LED Mini Mag would be my first choice. Have had one in the tool bag in my car for a long time has been dropped and beat on several times
but never failed. Second choice would be the Fenix LD22

LetThereBeLight! said:

What about Eagtac's D25A2?

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Sadly they are phased out. Once upon a time I managed to purchase a D25A2 with a Nichia LED at NKON, but they are not available any more.