Brighest AA LED?

Hi, what's the brightest AA LED light available out there? I'm standardized on AA for camping purpose and I'm thinking of using something other than the Surge as the Surge uses bulb and can burn out.

While I don't think there is an AA powered LED that can compete with the Surge, you might consider the following:
Try the Streamlight 3AA Task Light. SIngle luxeon. Good choice!
Other choices: Dorcy AA or 2xAA, both are inexpensive good performers.
Princeton Tec Impact XL

I am sure others will chime in with more suggestions.

The brightest AA LED would probably be a modded light. Another contender for a bright AA LED production light is the new Streamlight Luxeon Jr.

Though not the brightest, the Underwater Kinetics 4AA eLED work light would make a dandy camping light. Dourable, pretty bright (it includes a luxon LED, though I believe that the LED is slightly underdriven), and, best of all, 11 hours of regulated runtime on 4 AA batteries.

The Inova X1 has a pretty bright beam, but it's strictly a spotlight and might find limited use for camping.

Of course if you're featuring performers, maybe a guitarist or some folks playing charades at the campsite, the X1 spotlight could be useful.

I use a Vital Gear (2xAA,3x123) battery tube from tadgear and screw it onto my KL4. Pretty darn bright. Even at 3volts, it's still brighter than my KL1 at 6 volts.

You get an impressive amount of light from a minimag with a luxeon sandwich from
the sandwichshoppe. I've given away several as gifts. They always please.

Daniel

If all you're concerned about with the Surge is the bulb burning out, just bring a spare bulb, and a keychain LED light so you can see what you're doing while you change the bulb.

The brightest AA LED light that I remember hearing about is a 2D Mag set up like a Space Needle II, with a Hotlips-type heat sink and 5 watt LED and six AA's. But maybe that's not what you wanted to hear. Actually I now remember Mr. Bulk made an extension tail for the regular SN2, that let you run it on six AA's (this may have been the famous "Assault and Batteries" whacklight; my memory is hazy by now). But that light was almost 2 feet long, so maybe you'd find it even less practical for camping.

Another cheap incandescent alternative is get a 2D Brightstar plastic industrial flashlight and load it with six AA's and a KPR112 or KPR118 bulb. The Brightstar has a spare bulb compartment in the tail (like a Mag), but it weighs a lot less since it's made of plastic. Output should be in the same general class as your Surge, though the light will be a little bigger.

Really, unless you're camping under battlefield conditions, it's not that big a deal if a flashlight bulb burns out, as long as you have a spare.

I agree, /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif the Streamlight Task light Luxeon 3AA.
It has a bright beam and uses AA bateries with a 28 hr.
run time.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif

We're not finished reviewing it yet (WIP) but the Streamlight Jr LED 1W Luxeon is the best buy for under $30.
Our evaluation sample came from BrightGuy
http://www.brightguy.com/detail.html?cart=1090701788367317&sku=STR71500
In truth, we've only evaluated one other 2AA Luxeon, the Vortex L2A, also a winner but not a best buy any longer.
You can look for the SL Jr. AA LED eval here in a couple of days>
http://www.imagometrics.com/FLReviews/FLR.home.htm

We're not finished reviewing it yet (WIP) but the Streamlight Jr LED 1W Luxeon is the best buy for under $30.
Our evaluation sample came from BrightGuy
http://www.brightguy.com/detail.html?cart=1090701788367317&sku=STR71500
In truth, we've only evaluated one other 2AA Luxeon, the Vortex L2A, also a winner but not a best buy any longer.
You can look for the SL Jr. AA LED eval here in a couple of days>
imagometrics.com/FLReviews/FLR.home.htm

The most powerful will be certainly the VIP with 2xAA and BBH /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

I think the question was "what's the brightest", not "what's the best value" or "what's the brightest that will fit in your pocket". No 1 watt light will come anywhere near a Space Needle (overdriven 5 watt), and neither will a VIP/BBH, no matter how nice those lights are.

Doesn't the Space Needle use 123 batteries? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif

The original SN/SN2 used three 123's, but there was an extension gizmo that let you use six AA's in a long tube. There's also been an SN-like light in a Mag 2D body using six AA's in 3-to-D adapters.

I have a web page about the Space Needle II and the "Assault and Batteries" barrel that allows you to use six AA cells to power the flashlight instead of three CR123A cells.
That page is right here if anybody is interested.

Brightest AA LED? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif I would easily say it is the Lambda ProMagnum. In an original 2D Gaglite Kevin has made a completely new beast under the familiar shiny aluminum hull. It runs a beautifully white 3 watt Luxeon. It is very bright spot beam and the most consistent and bright spill beam I have ever seen in a light. I believe it shoots well over 8000 lux. It is a great general purpose light.

It can use 2,4,6 or 8 AA or 2D cells. It has a double converter electronics for a super flat run-time of 3 hours, 30 minutes with the 6AA batteries. The one I have has the optional sputtered reflector and UCL. I wouldn't give up mine; you'd have to fight me for it.

ProMagnum Thread

The way I see it, the Promagnum ran for 200 minutes on six 2100 mAH AA NiMH cells, or 15.12 WH/3.333 hours, which is about 4.5 watts going into the dc-dc converters. Certainly no more than 4 watts is getting to the LED.

The Space Needle / Assault and Batteries is running at more like 10-15 watts, direct drive. It's about 3x as powerful. No other single-LED light has ever come close. Integrating sphere measurements have clocked some SN2's at over 200 lumens, which is absolutely crazy for an LED light. Of course you pay for it in runtime. Well I guess there is the Megaclops/MR-X which are similar in spirit--maybe someone can fill in specifics.

There is also the Elektrolumens Blaster VI which uses an optic and a resistor, but you could remove the resistor and run it direct drive. I think the optic doesn't do as well as the Mag reflector though.

Darn, I thought Lambda had a good light. I guess he wasn't good enough.

Didn't Lambda make the MR-X?