Need help on selecting flashlights....

Hi all flashlight lovers.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif,

I am looking for 2 flashlight and hope you nice ppl could help me out. Firstly I'm looking for a EDC flashlight. Maybe you guys could suggest on the best but reasonable priced AAA led flashlight. I kinda like the Arc AAA, but am open to suggestions. I know there are many AAA led flashlight in the market. Secondly, I'm looking for a AA flashlight for my home. The NightBuster Luxia looks cool and using the Nichia? led(which is the best???) and costs only US34. Anyone uses this flashlight? Is it reliable? It seems that this brand is not that popular.

Basically my main concern for a EDC :
1. AAA battery.
2. Good led (nichia led?).
3. Not more than US40.

And for my other flashlight.
1. AA
2. For a US50 price range, can I get one with Luxeon led?
3. Not more than US50.

Just curious, comparing the nichia and luxeon led, can you really tell the differences?

Appreciate if you guys could help me out. Thanks a lot.

Welcome to CPF! Hide your wallet. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

EDC: I guess the overwhelming majority of people here will recommend the Arc AAA. I'm still waiting for mine to arrive.

AA: Have you seen the UK 4AA (Underwater Kinetics)? It's got a Luxeon. Not the brightest out there, but good construction (and lots of safety ratings) and runtime for about $20. A good source for these is brightguy.com PT (Princeton Tec) makes a couple of AA models, but I'm not as familiar with those.

I believe a single Lux will be a couple of times brigther than a single Nichia. Maybe somebody else can provide with the exact figure for "couple of times".

Just found this thread on the "brightest AA". I'm happy with my sandwiches for bright Luxeon AA lights.

Dreamer,

Welcome to CPF!

Buy the ARC AAA!!!!!!

For your AA light you might be able to buy a used Sandwich on B/S/T. If you want to go this route just post in B/S/T (WTB: Sandwich from The Sandwich Shoppe) These fit in a MiniMag and are nice and bright. There are several versions, but they are all a huge improvement over the stock MiniMag!

Another good AA light is the Streamlight Junior Luxeon LED

Here's Quickbeam's review of the Streamlight Junior Luxeon

There's a huge difference between nichas and Luxeons.

If brightness is more important than color, go for the turquiose arc aaa. It rocks, but you won't be able to distinguish colors.

Thanks for the replies guys. Appreciate it. What about this flashlight from www.streamlight.com and the model is Streamlght Jr. Luxeon. Let me know what you guys think of this model.Selling for US32.

There's a link to a review of the Streamlight Junior in my post.

Thanks hoghead. That was fast. Hey, there's another nice flashlight www.inovalight.com , the X1... uses 1AA batt, US20. Pocketable and small enough. Would love to get the Arc AA but costs US15 more.

Guess now I hv narrowed down my choice to Arc AAA or the Inova X1. And for the AA, I going for the Streamlight Jr. Any other recommendation? Thanks!

The CMG (now Gerber) Infinity Ultra-G is a much more popular light than the Inova X1.

The Ultra-G is a Hard Anodized version of the Infinity Ultra

The Ultra-G and the Ultra have beams similar to the ARC AA and ARC AAA.

The Inova X1 has a shaped lens and a tight round beam without any spill light.

In this catagory of lights the ARC AAA would be my first choice and the X1 would be my last choice. I have multiples of all these lights. My preference would be in this order:
#1: ARC AAA
#2: ARC AA
#3: Ultra-G
#4: Ultra
#5: X1

Quickbeam's review of the Ultra

Quickbeam's review of the ARC AAA Preimum , the ARC AAA standard is similar and I recommend the standard.

None of these lights are anywhere near as bright as a Sandwich or the Streamlight Junior Luxeon.

If you check the Review Forum, Roy has runtime plots for most if not all of these lights.

I have an evaluation of the Streamlight Jr. Luxeon right here and one of the Inova X1 right here if you're interested.
Both are AA cell flashlights; the Streamlight Jr. uses two, and the Inova uses one.
O, and my page about the Arc-AAA is right here before I forget. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
It is an AAA cell flashlight. It uses a single cell.

For an EDC you might consider the CMG/Gerber Sonic. I may have heard they were being discontinued. While I carry my Arc AAA during the day, around the house at night I'll often carry the Sonic.

Welcome!

You'll find a wide array of varying, but passionate opinions here on CPF. The remarkable thing is that they are generally expressed articulately and reasonably. But it can be confusing.

Relative to Hoghead's post listing five lights, they are all good lights. I own the Arc AAA (carry it on my keyring), the CMG Ultra G and the Inova X1. Many folks find the Ultra G (and the now Gerber Ultra - same light, different finish) to be more useful than the X1 because of it's broader flood characteristic. I find myself carrying the X1 quite often, though, because it's just more fun. It has a focused beam with significantly longer "throw", but can be a challenge to navigate with because there's very little leakage of lights outside the tight beam.

In my opinion, you won't go wrong with either of these lights.

Mark

Hoghead, looks like the Inoxa X1 is out of the list due to the "tight" beam. Now, my choice of edc would be Arc AAA or the CMG Ultra. Just curious, mind to explain why the Arc AAA is your first choice? Is due to the brightness? Or craftmanship? Warranty?

Craig(ledmuseum),
Thanks for providing the link. What suprised me is that the Arc AAA is waaayyy brighter than the CMG Infinity.(both uses fresh batteries?). Wonder the Infinity Ultra would make much diffrence? As I will be using rechargeable NiMh batteries, I'm sure it will last longer than normal akaline batteries, right? I currently hv 4 AAA Energizer NiMh 750mAH and 4 AA Sony 2100mAh(for Streamlight Jr.).

Well, guess I hv made up my mind on the Streamlight Jr Luxeon. But still undecided between the Arc AAA or CMG Infinity Ultra. Thanks for the feedback guys.!

Both the Arc AAA and CMG Infinity Ultra are nice lights. There is a big difference between them though; one runs off of a AAA cell, while the other utilizes a AA. Because the CMG uses a AA, it is much larger, and heavier, but has a nicer runtime. If you are looking for something for your keychain, go with the Arc. If you need a single LED that will run for a long time, get the CMG.

Welcome to CPF Dreamer /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
I suppose you live in the same country as I do? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
I own both the Arc AAA and Infinity. You can always come by if you want to have a look.
Like everyone else, I would recommend the Arc AAA as a keychain light rather than the larger Infinity.

And yes, the Streamlight Jr. is definately a good choice!

[ QUOTE ]
Dreamer said:
And for my other flashlight.
1. AA
2. For a US50 price range, can I get one with Luxeon led?
3. Not more than US50.

[/ QUOTE ]
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif
As for an AA light, I like the Streamlight Task Light
Luxeon 3AA. It is a little longer that the Streamlight
Luxeon Jr., however, the run time is longer because it
uses 3 AA batteries. It has a nice beam and is very
well built. It can be found on the internet for about
$30 to $35. A great general use light! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Tom /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif

Dreamer,

Sorry to take so long to answer, but I was out of town for a couple of days.

I prefer the ARC AAA over the Ultra because of size mostly. They are about the same brightness. IMHO the ARC has a nicer body, but build quality of the Infinity or the Infinity Ultra/Ultra-G are decent.

The Infinity (not Ultra) is dimmer, but it still provides useful light and would be the choice if long runtime was the most important feature.

You can use NiMH batteries in either the ARC AAA, ARC AA, Infinity Ultra/Ultra-G or Infinity. I prefer lithium batteries because they weigh less. AAA lithium batteries are to be released late this year.

I think NiMH are a great choice for the Streamlight Junior Luxeon.