Peak AAA vs. Dorcy AAA?

I am considering purchasing a Peak ultra power Matterhorn. I currently carry a Dorcy AAA that I have put a brighter LED in and I really like the balance between spot and spill, but I like the higher quality of the Peak. Does anyone know how the beam quality and brightness compare? I have one of the Peak 3LED AAA that I use sometimes, but I am looking for something with more spill. Any real world comparisons?

Where can you buy a Peak ultra power these days? I've only been able to find a few places to buy even a high power.

Thanks.

No experience with the Peak, but the Dorcy tailswitch is a PITA. When I got home from work Friday night, I found that it had screwed itself down tight (it's on my keyring), and had been that way long enough that when I looked into the "business end" I could barely see that the LED was lit. Needless to say, it would have been useless to me in a situation where I needed it (which is why I EDC it), and I'd have been stuck with the Dollarama (similar to CountyComm's 20 for $20) unit on my car key ring. To top things off, the battery had leaked, and it was a royal pain to get it out. As soon as I can get something better, the Dorcy will be retired.

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AFAustin said:
Where can you buy a Peak ultra power these days? I've only been able to find a few places to buy even a high power.

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You can get the Peak ultra power from Peak. It is the single led model. The 3 led is one of the ones that gave them problems.

Thanks. Any vendors left with a few multi-LED ultra powers?

rwolff: You could try putting an extra o-ring around the tailcap to prevent it from screwing itself down, but if the thing was damaged by that battery leak it's probably a lost cause anyway.

If you get a good o-ring, you could probably get it so that if you screw it down yourself...the o-ring pops out until you screw the cap back again. One extra nuisance I know...but for the extra 25-1.25 or whatever you have to spend to get the right kind of o-ring...you could be saving yourself the trouble of finding a good EDC, plus improving your current one.

Again, it's up to you...if you hate that Dorcy there's no point in keeping it...but your problem could possibly be fixed to give the Dorcy another chance.

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Grubbster said:
I am considering purchasing a Peak ultra power Matterhorn. I currently carry a Dorcy AAA that I have put a brighter LED in and I really like the balance between spot and spill, but I like the higher quality of the Peak. Does anyone know how the beam quality and brightness compare? I have one of the Peak 3LED AAA that I use sometimes, but I am looking for something with more spill. Any real world comparisons?

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I do not have a Peak to compare directly.

But like you I really like the balance between the hotspot and side-spill of the Dorcy 1AAA - it makes the light coverage very usable and wide.

Please take a look at this thread - which may help put things into context -
Light Coverage - spill-diameter Pics

Compared to the nearest - the legendary ArcAAA - the Dorcy has a much wider and more useful coverage - at about 82deg - in comparison to ~64deg the ArcAAA is almost tunnel vision like - makes a lot of difference to me.

If you're using one of those 26Kmcd white LEDs in your Dorcy - I would say that would be hard to beat for a single LED 1x AAA flashlight for brightness or coverage - perhaps only in tint....

I slipped a piece of plastic tubing (1/2" ID clear tubing, maybe 3/4" long piece) over the tail cap so 1/4" of it is on the body of the Dorcy. It adds substantial friction so the tail cap firmly stays where you leave it. Makes by Dorcy 1AAA perfectly reliable as far as switching goes.