Looking for a small flashlight

Hi Everyone, /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink2.gif
First of all, I would like to say that it was great to find out such a forum exists. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif None of my friends ever understood my fascination with flashlights (and especially not my girlfriend...) and suddenly I find out that Im not alone in the world. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grouphug.gif Thanks for creating such a great community!
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thanks.gif


As to my question, I never got around to buying an Arc AAA-P, and now it's too late for that /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif. The question is, should I get a Gerber Sonic or wait until there is a TNC Key-Lux N-Cell for sale? How do the Sonic and Key-Lux N-Cell compare to the AAA-P? (beam shots, runtime, etc.).

Thanks!

Welcome to CPF, Flamo. It's kind of funny how we all have the same reaction to finding this forum.

If I didn't already have an Arc AAA and I wanted a light that size to carry I would definitely consider the Sonic. It's probably the closest in size, weight, and output to the Arc AAA. Next closest might be one of the Peak models. They're going to be a bit longer and heavier, especially the brass ones. I'm very tempted to try one of the Peaks (AAA in brass with high power snowy LEDs). I sure the Key-Lux is a great light, but I don't have one. I suspect it's more than I want to pay.

Geoff

Hi Geoff and thanks for your answer!
I guess it's simply the great feeling of finding people that share one of my better interests, especially when I never met other people that shared it before - not to mention cared enough about it to create a forum /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif Also, these are things I always wanted to discuss with other people and this is the first time I am able to, without getting the "It's only a flashlight" answer /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Thanks for raising the price issue regarding the Key-Lux. I wasn't aware of the Key-Lux's price, and simply assumed it would be close to the price of an AAA. Seeing that it isn't, I will leave the Key-Lux for now (though it does look like a nice flashlight and I might reconsider it sometime in the future...).

I looked at the Peak light's site, and they do seem to be similiar to the Arc. So now I need to decide between the Peak and the Sonic.

Regarding the Peaks - what is the significance of the brass case? Will one led give a similiar output to the Arc or should I consider three leds?

FWIW, I just got a Sonic today and am somewhat underwhelmed. As others have noted, and as I stated in another thread, the twisty tailcap is sorta loose and will rotate on your keychain or while in your pocket. It also has a spring that is soldered in the tailcap that seems flimsy. But output is said to be in the general range of the Arc AAA and Gerber/CMG Infinity, and its not costy. I can't comment on the Peak, tho it looks promising. [Edited to add: got an email solicitation from pocketlights.com which convinced me to order a Peak 1xAAA 1xLED; what pushed me over the edge was that they ship USPS, which makes it easier for me to slip a new light into the house past my baby's momma).

I have an Arc on my keychain, but would carry an Infinity or a Photon (or the Inova equivalent) before carrying the Sonic. There really is nothing out there like the Arc, tho hopefully that will change if other manufacturers try to fill the void.

best regards

Welcome to the place. The light is always on. Better then motel six.

OK, on to your question. Check the reviews section for some great threads on numerous flashlight comparisons.

You will find that in order to really answer your question, you need to narrow things down. So many good flashlights.

So, what is your budget? What is your intended use? What did you like about the Arc AAA-P? Do you want throw or flood or a mix? Etc.

First if you check or post to the BST you might find a Arc AAA-P. I bought a Arc AAA a few weeks ago from there, see below.

I personaly like bright small lights. I have a Photon III, Key Lux N-Cell, and a Arc AAA moded with a Luxeon pulling 750mA from the battery. Dmo and LED_ASAP offer Arc AAA mods. Currently Dmo has some listed in another forum. I think completed unit is about $85, but that may change.

I got the Key-Lux for $75, and a Photon III or Freedom is about $13 plus S/H (ebay).

The Key Lux is a quality light. Very well made. It looks good, has decent run time (I think an hour) and is bright and has good beam quality. I recomend it, if you are thinking about it and the price is right for you. Plus you can order the rechargable batteries for guilt free lighting.

Right now I carry the Arc AAA that was modded to be super bright. It is a wow light and useful. I got it from LED_ASAP, and I am very happy with it. It is brighter then the Key Lux N-cell. As they say, the most useful light is the light you have with you.

Now if I can find something as small and brighter or better throw, I will get it.

you might find a micro illuminator in b/s/t.

I have one on my keyring.

It is a luxeon star modded brinkman 1 aaa light.

I am using lithium aaas in it now-works great and
it is very bright.

Thanks!

I guess that rules out the Sonic /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Isnt the Gerber Infinity a larger AA model?

Does anyone carry the Peak and can comment about it?

regarding what Im looking for : A small light, small enough for a keychain, with a predictable brightness and decent runtime, nice flood with some throw.
Easy battery change is important.
what I especially liked about what I read regarding the AAA-P was the more than 2 hours of runtime at near full brilliance it had - and at an affordable price.
BTW, was it regulated?

Being a keychain light also means the flashlight should be able to withstand abuse.

Regarding the budget I was planning to spend up to 40-50$ or so, although I can see myself going higher if I think its worth it (brighter, regulated, modded, whiter, etc.), or lower, if need be /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif. Although its out of my budget, Im still thinking about buying a Key-Lux N-Cell (after all, it does seem to be a great light), but with that light being so scarce, I might find it hard to place it on a keychain, not to mention that I hardly believe i would be able to find more than one - and I got several keychains waiting...

Where can I find some info on the micro illuminator?

The Peaks are thought of well and would seem to be your best fit.

For your budget check out Dmos Arc/Peak thread. Although teh run time is shorter then two hours. But you get brighter.

I had the Key Lux N cell on my key chain for a while. That and the Arc AAA is about as big as I like to go for key chain, since I carry mine in my pocket. The Key Lux n-cell, from memory, was about the size of a AA battery, a little longer.

The micro illunminator is a mod that isn't being made right now. Lamda is doing other things, so I wouldn't expect it this year. You can get used on BST. You can find it on Lambda's web site.

If I was you, I would get a Peak, wait for a run of the Key lux or get Dmo's mod.

Hi Flamo,

I, too, have been looking for an EDC light for keychains. I got a Peak a week or so ago (1 AAA, 3 Snow LED, Black HA III). It is nicely bright but not blindingly so, white light (less blue than most, but blueish kinda like those HID headlights), and throw is OK for its size, but there is not a lot of sidespill. I do carry it every day but don't actually have it on my keychain because it is a little long (maybe 0.5 inch longer than ARC AAA). If you check out Peak's accessories page there is a hint that the ARC style bodies are coming, so that may not be an issue.

However, if you want the ARC brightness from a Peak 1 LED, I think you have to go with the Ultra Hi-power option which is not listed, but available from the Custom design side for $5 more (I asked them since I was thinking of a Stainless Steel one with custom engraving!).

I am also looking at Key Lux N-cell and just won the Key Lux AA Blue Auction. I have thought about a 123 cell light like Nuwai Q-III, Zorch, Longbow, etc. No Arc's for me since they are really expensive without any warranty.

Just be careful, you'll see that this can be really addictive and hard on the wallet.

Cheers! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Take a look at the Streamlight Key-Mate. It's small and bvright. On the down side, it uses 4 pill size batteries. It is cheap.

I should have mentioned in my earlier post a more easily available solution, the Dorcy AAA. While certainly not quite as pocketable as the others, it is bright, cheap, and reasonably well made.

Geoff

Thanks for all the extremely helpful replies!

I have been looking at the Peak site, and found out there are way too many versions of Peak flashlights to choose from. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif Since size is an issue (should fit comfortably in my pocket with my keychain), I am considering getting the Peak brass AAA or the keychain N-Cell, with 1 Hi-Power led, in hopes that the Hi-Power led will be bright enough.

The Streamlight Key-Mate looks like an exceptionally cute light. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif Thing is, the weird form of batteries it uses, complicates battery change - and I am looking for an easy battery change.

The Dorcy AAA is a good suggestion, and a money saving one at that. It does not fit on a key chain, but does save me getting an extra Peak (or a different expensive light) as a backup light. Thanks!

You are right about this being hard on the wallet - right now I am fighting the urge to simply buy the all the flashlights that were discussed here (not to mention several Peak variations). Also, after reading several threads, I can already feel the "need" for a Surefire build up... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I personally don't own any Peaks but on another 'ARC-AAA replacement' type thread someone suggested one of the prototypes on Peak's 'Discount Items' page. At the bottom of the page are some AAA's that are dead ringers for the ARCs, accept that they are in the white. They are the same length, too, without the removeable lanyard thingy.

It's $14.95. I have no idea as to how it compares to the ARC in brightness, but I thought that they looked interesting for a number of reasons. I thought that they were kind of cool.

They are dimmer than the arcs but perfectly useable. However, the only ones left are bare aluminum, not anodized.

Remember that Arc overdrives and Peak doesn't. So if you want similar performance, you should get the 3LED Peak. I have the 3LED hipower version and it is noticeably brighter than my Arc, but with less sidespill due to the recessed LEDs. Maybe the regular version of the 3LED would be about the same brightness as the Arc.

They are being sold as PROTOTYPES. The assumption that it is dimmer than an ARC is unwarranted unless you've seen one or emailed peak and asked them. Prototypes may not be the same as the finished products. In this case, for example, note the form factor. It is different than anything else in the Peak line, but unlike brightness it can be discerned from the photo.

Wow, this forum is amazing /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif Thanks again /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

From what I've seen in the Peak lights site, the lengths of the Peak keychain N-Cell's are 2.91in for the 3 led version and 2.71in for the 1 led version - not much longer then the Arc. There are also "pocket" versions which are much shorter then the Arc AAA (2.22in and 2.02in respectively) but I need the light to connect to a keychain. The Peak AAA 3 led is longer at 3.45in, which puts it at a point of possibly being somewhat too long to connect to a key chain and place in a pocket. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

On the other hand, from what I gather from your posts, Peak's regular 3 led option is most probably the one that will give me a good brightness level (a bit more then the Arc, though).

The batteries chart in "FlashlightReviews" shows there isn't a big difference between AAA and N batteries other then size (and perhaps availability?). So the Peak N-Cell option is about similiar to the Peak AAA option in everything, only smaller.

Since this is the case, it looks like I should get Peak's keychain N-Cell 3 regular leds version (instead of the 1 led hi-power AAA I was thinking of getting), as from what I gather, it seems like the best candidate for replacing the Arc for my needs.

One question left: Should I go for the "white" led or the "snow" led? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thanks.gif

Search for posts from owners of the "snow" leds. They all seem to like it. That's what I'd get.

The Peak accessories page is showing a photo of the prototype AAA bodies, but no price on that yet. You might want to wait a bit and get a 3led AAA head with a prototype body.

One more option is to get a quote on a custom light from Peak:
http://peakledsolutions.net/custom.html.

- Ultra-high power 1 led
- "snow"
- prototype AAA body

This should be very close in size to the Arc AAA, similar brightness, probably better color, probably less runtime. Looking at the pricing on their accessories page, I'd guess somewhere around $35-40.

n cells are a little less capacity than aaa cells.
aaa cells are available in lithium chemistry

I want one of those brass AAA LED jobs to but their phone is disconnected (PEAK LED SOLUTIONS) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif
I have a very nice 7 LED Brass 123. Very nice quality. I hope I can still get more.
I have the SNOW colored LED's. Very nice white (Not Blueish) color . I gues I will email them /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/broke.gif
NikolaTesla /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

An Arc lamp is the Spark that takes away the Dark--HID Forever!

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