Arc AAA alternative?

Hey everyone, first post here. I've browsed the forums anonymously for awhile but I felt the need to post. I'm looking for educated opinions and I figured that this was the place to find them. I ordered an Arc AAA about a month ago and it's been on backorder since then and of course now the backorder is sadly no more.

What would be a reasonable alternative to an Arc AAA? I'm looking for something in the same general size area, for pocket and/or keychain and same general price. I'd ordered the premium edition AAA for $35 so that's still reasonable. I unfortunately can't bring myself to drop $60+ on eBay for someone else's used Arc AAA.

Opinions are appreciated, thanks! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

As mentioned, pocketlights.com still has a few AAA's left, or had some as of last night ($28.95 each, I think), limit one per customer.

There are something like 20,000 Arc flashlights floating around, and it's a safe bet that most of them are AAA's. So if you really want an Arc AAA, you can probably get one, especially with a little bit of patience.

As for alternatives, basically the main choices are the Peak LED's Matterhorn series (www.peakledsolutions.com ) or the CMG/Gerber Sonic (www.cmgequipment.com ). www.texastacticalsupply.com is a good place to get the Sonic. However, neither of these lights is a totally satisfactory substitute for an Arc.

Another not totally satisfactory quasi-substitute for the Ar AAA is the Dorcy 1xAAA - cheap and bright, but bigger).

Another interesting light was the 1xAAA 3 led light haveblue used to sell, but I don't see them around anymore.

Thanks for the quick response Paul. I actually checked pocketlights.com before I posted and they're now listing the AAA as sold out. I'm not sure if that's definite as I haven't called them directly.

I'll take a look at the Peak and CMG flashlights, thanks again!

I vote for the Gerber/CMG Sonic AAA.

Brightness: Sonic's hotspot is brighter then my 2003 ARC AAA LE although its corona is slightly dimmer - probably same total output for both lights.

Runtime: ARC is a little longer.

Price: Texas Tactical Supply sells Sonics for $9.50.

Switch: Sonic seems more positive with less flickering. The Sonic's switch spring eliminates battery rattle which the ARC has.

Finish: ARC is better with a harder coating.

Size: ARC is slightly smaller.

Some Sonics had a problem with the switch spring but mine is doing well so far.

Main probs with Sonic: 1) less waterproof than Arc; 2) turns on in your pocket by accident (improved in Gerber version via thicker O-ring, but partly inherent in the switch design); 3) it's subjective but I find the Sonic pretty ugly-looking.

I'm not too impressed with the Dorcy AAA as an Arc alternative. It's a great value but you may as well get a CMG Ultra which is about the same size.

I think someone said Tadgear.com located some Arc inventory, but that's probably been snapped up by now too.

Too bad about pocketlights. I sorta wanted a red-led AAA but decided against spending the cash and am now sorta wishing I'd ordered it. I realistically wouldn't have used it much though, so I'm better off without it.

You might consider the UK 2AAA ELED. It's not as compact as an ARC AAA. However, it's regulated, bright, and costs about $12 at Brightguy.

Not a AAA, expensive and currently sold out but the TNC KeyLux is an amazing little light in about the same size package as the Arc AAA. If you don't mind the N cell thing and can find one it is a very bright little luxeon with a reflector. Fantastic craftsmanship too.