Questions about AA and AAA for EDC.

Great forum you guys have here. I am considering the AA and AAA for a keychain EDC and have a few questions. Unfortunately here in San Francisco it's tough to find "tactical" looking gear in the stores, so I rely on your hands-on experience to guide my purchasing decision.

How do you feel about the twist on/off switch of the AA/AAA? Does it ever come on inadvertently in your pocket? How bright is the light compared to the usual watch-battery microlight LED? Is there a significant size difference between the AA and AAA (I would prefer to carry the AA if it's not too big)? Does anyone carry the LSH on the keychain, or is it too big?

Thanks in advance.

I carry my AAA loose in my pocket with my coins, rather
than attached to my keys (that live in my other front
pocket).

I don't think I would want to go any thicker, unless
it got shorter as well (like with an N-cell light).

The AAA is sufficiently tight that I haven't had any
accidental illuminations and don't forsee any. (Only
2 weeks experience with the light though).

Greg

As far as brightness I wouldn't say that it is neccessarily brighter than a coin light. The major advantage of the AAA/AA is that it will stay at its high brightness level much longer than most coin-cell lights. When it comes to the size question here is the best way for you to judge them. The AAA is basically the size of a AAA battery plus a little more than a quarter inch for the head, whereas the AA is a AA battery plus a little less than 1/2 inch for the head. Personally I prefer the AAA for the size and convienience. Which ever one you go with you'll be extremely pleased. Nothing beats the ARCs for durability and useability.

Hey Sith,

Welcome to the forums. My Arc AAA has been riding on my keychain for a good year now, its still as good as the first day I got it. I have both the AA and AAA and the AA is just way too big for EDCing on your keychain.

I've never had the AAA turn on while in my pocket, yet its quite easy to turn on with one hand when you need to. I've owned a couple photons, the problem with coin cell lights are their runtimes, they dim noticeably within the first 20 minutes of use. I think my Photons are the same brightness as the AAA in about 10 minutes. My AAA doesn't seem to dim on me till about 4 hours of use! It's great cause it uses a easy to find AAA cell so changing the battery is easy and convenient.

My AA is more of a bedside light, its just as great as the AAA, but with more runtime and the ability to stand on its end. Whichever you choose, I'm sure you'll be happy with it.

-Josh

Welcome to the forums!

Love the twist-activation and have none accidentally come on.

Photon is brighter by a little initially, but after 5-10 min, the ARC will win out. RUNTIME is the main difference.

AAA is a much better choice for keychain use, but AA is nice for extended runtime.

I'm pleasantly surprised at how the Arc's are operable with one hand, yet seem to be very secure against accidental activation. Not so with my CMG Sonic, currently on my keychain, I've found it on a couple times. It's a good light, but the ARC AAA still blows it away.

The AAA is amazingly small, yet sturdy. The AA is just the right size for a bedside light, or in a jacket pocket.

I just got my ARCs a few days ago. . . I'm so happy with them, I just ordered several more. I don't think you will be disappointed in the least with these lights. . . you are buying at least one of each, right? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

As others have already said, I too beleive the AA is too big for the keychain (and in my case the pocket). The AAA, however, rules on the keychain and/or in you pocket. I've had at least (1) Arc-AAA riding my keychain for the last couple of years. Never, never, never, never has it come on (either light) accidently. From what you'd want for a keychain light, brightness isn't the only consideration. With the regulation and the good useage of the AAA cell, the Arc-AAA will never let you down when you need it. Another advantage of the AAA over the coin-cell lights is the fact that the lithium AAA cells will be release towards the latter end of the year. It means less weight and probably longer runtime in your Arc-AAA.

So, what part of the city? I had the same problem too but I just base my purchases on what is reviewed and discussed here on the forum. Haven't made a bad purchase yet. I pocket the ARC AA, belt holster the LSH 24/7 and find that these two handle almost all normal light needs. However, my shoulder bag will always have something bigger/brighter/longer running just in case. Now, about that earthquake/power outage????

Sithjedi, the Arc AAA is not what I'd call tactical looking. If you're looking for tactical stuff, you might try www.tadgear.com which is in Oakland.

An AAA with a new battery is a little dimmer than a Photon-type light with a new battery. The AAA's brightness drops steadily over 6 hours or so til it's at around 30% of its original brightness, which is still very useable. After that it drops fairly suddenly to almost nothing (but you can get some good output from it again by turning it off for a few minutes and letting the battery rest).

The Photon drops to 50% in less than an hour, and dribbles off slowly after that, producing dim but useable light for 10 hours or more. There are some measurement graphs in the reviews section and elsewhere.

If you have a small LED light (Photon or whatever), try going into a dark room, turning on the light but blocking 90% of the output with your finger. You'll see the light is still very useable. Brightness from these lights is less important than lots of users seem to think.

Basically you get more total output from an AAA cell than you do on a pair of 2016 coin cells, but the coin lights are nothing to sneeze at. The AAA's advantages are very simple battery replacement (no tools, commonly available batteries) and good ruggedness and waterproofness compared with most coin lights.

Photon 3 review with runtime graph (Photon 2 graph should be like P3 on "high"):
http://ledmuseum.home.att.net/pho3.htm

Arc AAA graph:
http://ftp2.itexas.net/Rbost/arcaaa-a.jpg

A bunch more runtime data:
http://www.uwgb.edu/nevermab/battery.htm

Thanks gentlemen, this is very helpful. Initially I was interested in the Inova X5, because in a pinch it could be an impact weapon, but after reading endless posts on it and its narrow beam cousins, the X0 and X1, I decided that they were probably too large to be practical for day to day needs (I like having as little on my keychain as possible).

Greg, an N cell light sounds interesting, but from what I read here they are limited custom production and probably don't have long battery life.

Aloft, I'm sure I will eventually succumb to the CPF disease like the rest of you, but for now... I.. fight to... maintain... control

Reaper, I live in Pac Heights. If you know of a good store, I'd be happy to support my local neighborhood establishments, but otherwise I trust your opinions.

Paul, thanks for the links. Being of quantitative bent, those graphs really put it in perspective for me. I currently have an old Inova microlight that has never failed me. I never noticed its dimming because I use it so infrequently and it still blinds me when I look into the light. I guess I expected a larger unit like the AA or AAA to be brighter, and in fact it is over the batteries' useful lifetime. I wish the LSH were smaller because people here might get the wrong impression if I walked around with that thing in my pants. But it sounds like in the end the limitation is the battery output.

Peak LED Solutions makes two versions of N-cell.
One for keychains that is about as long as the ARC AAA
and one for pockets that is about 1/2" shorter.

They don't overdrive the LED like ARC does so the single
LED version should have a decent battery life, but
the 3 LED version will be pretty short, unless you
use the 700 mAH nimh cell that's been mentioned in
various N-cell threads.

Cheers - Greg

Sithjedi, one more bit of data to plug into your considerations: With a lithium batery my Arc-AA runs FULLY-REGULATED for ten hours, while the ARC-AAA (Limited Edition, with alkaline bat.) will gradually drop from the get-go to 50% brightness after six hours. Beam patterns are similar, whith the AAA on a fresh battery being ever so slightly dimmer than the AA. As the batteries drain, the difference in brightness becomes more noticeable due to the AAA dimming gradually while the AA/lithium remains at full intensity. Both have a bluish center to the hot spot, which is not objectionable in general use but a bit annoying when using the light for reading. I love both lights.

Get the AAA for the keychain,
I have the AAA and AA and used both on a keychain. The AA is too large for that duty but works well with a lithium on a lanyard.
The AA is a great light, very nice beam quality due to it's larger reflector and can stand on it's tail. Has over 12 hours of run time so you can read that book all night.
The AAA is so small and unobtrusive that it is a fixture on my keychain (until Arc makes an AAA with a Luxeon)

Thanks Greg, Rudi, Bent.

I have been doing tons of searching in the forums, reading about modded AA and AAAs with 1w LEDs and Firefly. Any experience with these? Is the AA/AAA with 1w that much brighter than the stock version? From the pictures posted it looks more diffuse but not necessarily brighter. What about reliability and runtime? Thanks.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB14&Number=262874&fpart=&PHPSESSID=

Yes, it is much brighter and the runtime is much shorter.

Just rec'd ARC AA & compared overall brightness to my AAA:
AAA: approx. 20,000 mcd
AA: " 29,000 mcd
(12" to an LM631)

Since you mentioned 1W Luxeons…I find the 5mm Nichias too dim for EDC carry. I am often on construction sites and have to light large ceiling plenums and rooms. Lots of times we step in from bright settings to dark ones and don't have the time for our eyes to fully adjust. I carried Arc AAA and AA lights for a couple years and rarely used them.

Lately I've been carrying a 2-stage Fire~Fly during the day and around the house at night. I pick up the Arc4+ when going outdoors at night. The two lights are very different. The Arc4+ (2.9 oz., 1" diameter, 3.2" long) was designed with throw as a priority, operates more efficiently at the lower output levels that are all we really need much of the time, and is essentially non-upgradeable and non-serviceable. The Fire~Fly (1.8 oz., 0.8" diameter, 2.7" long) has more of a flood beam, operates more efficiently on its high setting, and is easy to tailor, upgrade, and service. Fire~Flys are difficult to get right now, but production and accessories should improve soon. I use the Fire~Fly more (on account of its incredibly small size) but, if forced to bring only 1 light on a trip, would pick the Arc4+.

You can't go wrong with either. The Arc4+ is a technological wonder. The Fire~Fly is a marvel of simplicity.

I had an AAA, but just didn't like it on my keychain. I went back to a Photon on my keychain. But I do EDC an AA Arc. I keep it clipped IWB, with a berkley point clip, on the left side of my pants. Carrys great there. Nobody sees it, so they can't ask to borrow it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif I also EDC a LSH on the right side, also IWB.
You can't go wrong with an ARC.


Blades

If you are unable to make a final decision as to which light to attach to your keyring, may I suggest you schedule all your work during the daylight hours since the sun is the purest, whitest light there is and the burn time is tremendous. What's more, you'll never have to change the batteries! Just a thought I had. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

But for those overcast days, I keep an ARC AAA on a small neck cord and where it every day.

Actually I am very happy because my new AAA replacement is much brighter than my old one, got it since three weeks ago.Amazing light,I take it everywere with my truck's keys, allways in my pocket /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif