ARC AAA Replacements? (Now that they are gone)

I made the huge mistake of selling my two ARC AAA Prem. & ARC AA for cash when the price hike took affect after the close of ARC ... I thought Peak LED was the choice for a great replacement ... after getting my Peaks for christmas (Shasta 3LED & Mat. 1 LED HiPowers), I see that the output is less than half than the Arc's.

Question: What is the best replacement for ARC AAA's now that they are gone or $150 a pop. THANKS!

Ryan

You might try the Sonic. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

I haven't found any that equal the ARC AAA/AA, but the CMG Infinity Ultra-G is a really good light. The Sonics while not in the same category as the ARCs or even the Ultra are about the only choice I know of other than Peak.

The next step down IMHO is the Dorcy AAA. At the prices the Sonic and Dorcy go for you might want to try both. If you already have tried them without satisfaction the ARC AAA at what ever you have to pay is your only option.

I'd say in a few weeks or months things will cool down and you'll be able to buy them back for well under what you sold for. Especially if you plan to use/carry it, the used ones will get very reasonable because the price will again be driven by their utility value. The NIP lights will drift around amonst collectors for high prices but that will settle down some too.

keep an eye open in the BST forum for Arc AAA's going for $45-$80.

there honestly isn't a replacement for the Arc AAA. really. i miss mine a ton. but i'm trying to stay strong and move on. LOL

Solomon, the Peak Matterhorn 3led 1aaa light should make about as much output as the Arc, but with a narrower beam. Arc seriously overdrove its LED while Peak uses multiple LED's driven conservatively to get the same output. You might choose Peak's "high power" version, which is a bit brighter than the regular version, though still driving its leds within the manufacturer's spec.

Hello Ryan,

Welcome to CPF.

If you check out Doug's (Quickbeam) reviews, the ARC LE AAA puts out 27 lux and the Peak Matterhorn 3 LED Standard puts out 40 lux. The Peak single LED High Power is rated at about 16 lux, so you would probably see a difference there.

The Shasta 3 LED High Power also beats the ARC AAA in output as well (50 lux for the Peak vs 27 lux for the ARC).

I know my Matterhorn High Power 3 LED (after about 4 hours of constant on) puts out more light than my ARC LE 2004 CPF Edition (with a fresh battery). The Shasta 3 LED High Power should be very similar.

Are you sure you are comparing them side by side?

Tom

I'm a little surprised, too. My new 3 LED high power Matterhorn seems to be easily twice as bright as the Arc.

Geoff

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SilverFox said:
Hello Ryan,

Welcome to CPF.
[snip]
Are you sure you are comparing them side by side?

Tom

[/ QUOTE ]

Tom,

It sounds like they would have to be compared side by sold from the original post /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif

Terry

I just did a quick lux test with two new Peak AAA I just got.

The high power single LED put out 21 lux and the high power 3 LED "snow" put out 40 lux.

To compare my Infinity Ultra-G has a lux of 32.

I'll post some pics when I get home showing you what I mean. I might have gotten a dud or something then?

My ARC AAA Standard Torq. LED (I did keep one Thank God)looks to be twice as bright than the shasta hi power 3 LED white with a 3 times as large spread of light.

PS. How is Peaks Warranty Dept? Another LED/Knife Company when I had a problem with a light they just sent me out a new one with prepaid return envelope for the faulty light.

The turquois ARC AAA's have always appeared much brighter than the regular 'white' ARC flashlights. I don't know that they really are but mine appear much brighter than the standards or premiums.

Terry

Isn't there supposed to be a peak body style coming out that is almost identical to the ARC AAA body style? What is the name of that PEAK light called?

welcome to cpf and hold on to your wallet!

I've still got ARC AAA's and AA available /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif. Please PM if interesed.

*Peak will have these babies coming soon

colored led's are always going to be brighter than white one. they tend to be less smooth due to the lack of a phoshpor coating but they make more light.
jimmy

I don't know if a lux test is right for comparing the Peak to an Arc, since the Peak has a narrower beam. Better to use a ceiling bounce test or something equivalent.

Anyone done a lux test on the Peak "snow" leds vs the ordinary white ones? I have reason to think the "snow" leds are less efficient (fewer lumens per milliamp).

About the Pic solomon posted, how do you operate that light? I dont see any part of the light where there is some sort of seam for twisting.

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Mags_despiser said:
About the Pic solomon posted, how do you operate that light? I dont see any part of the light where there is some sort of seam for twisting.

[/ QUOTE ]

The picture only shows the body, the heads are missing in the picture.

Not sure ... pulled that straight off the PEAK LED Website.

http://www.peakledsolutions.net/acc.html (2nd from the bottom)

*These are just the bodies ... but I would have to think they would come out with a head that fit these babies since ARC is gone.

Here is what I am talking about ... Brand new Shasta 3 LED HiPower Vs. Arc AAA Stand. Torq. ... 24" away from the wall.