Small pocket light recommendation

Guys, I'm looking for something to supplement my Arc AAA for a small pocketable worklight. The Arc AAA is nice but is always on the keychain and so can be a bit cumbersome to use at times. This would be something I would slip in my pocket at the beginning of the work day and put back in the drawer at night. It can be bigger then the Arc AAA but not by much. This is something I want to be able to pocket as I'm not quite ready to holster a light. Hopefully a little brighter then an Arc AAA but with somewhat similar beam characteristics, meaning not too narrow. Cheaper or good value for money is always better as well, hopefully less then $30 or so. I do have the Dorcy AAA light but that is not quite ideal being quite a bit bigger then the Arc without any other advantages.

I carry the .5 watt from Advancedmart in my pocket most of the time. It's plenty bright but it is bigger than the Arc AAA. Sounds like what you might be looking for.
http://store.advancedmart.com/nu5waposiled.html

Nuwaii QIII (~$34), this is what i carry in my pocket in addition to my arc aaa on my keychain.

Ryan

Nuwai QIII

I carry both the Arc AAA and the Nuwai QIII. Great combination.

The JIL CR2 1.3w would be a good choice, except it's still new and the price is still a little steep.

the Nuwai QIII is a fantastic light meeting your stated requirements.

Nuwai QIII fits great in my pants pocket. Gram for Gram the best value in a flashlight(IMHO) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

the Peak Solution LED would be a next step from the ARC. they both have similar charactors. i believe the Peak lights are just a alittle bit dimmer then the ARC unless you get the multiple LED versions for the Peak which will blow the ARC away.

Definitely the Q-III, as it's a great little light for the price.

Or a Surefire KL1 head with E1e body or Vital Gear FB1 body. It would be slightly smaller than the Q-III, but a lot more expensive

I had a QIII but it sat on my dresser most of the time because it was too big for comforbable pocket carry. Also the run time is pretty short and there's no warning that it's about to go dark on you. It's ok for carry in it's belt sheath if you wear a belt, but the 1AAA .5 watt was the one I wound up carrying all the time even though it's much dimmer. If I need a brighter light for going outside, I stick my MJLED mini-mag in my back pocket. I gave my QIII to my brother.

Try a Peak ultra-power AAA. Brighter than the Arc AAA and essentially the same size.

I would get a QIII from wherever and then buy a tailcap mod from 4sevens or goldserve or milkyspit or whoever to make it a 2 stage output. I find a "really bright" and a "just enough to walk around and read" is all I ever use anyway. You could accomplish this with 2 seperate lights, but its nice to have if the one light is all you happen to have on you and you can just bring one type of backup battery (in this case a CR123). An L1 would be a good option also (the 2 stage switch is better) but its more $, longer, and harder to mod if you have a bad tint.

Nuwai Q3 is real nice, though the expenditure goes up if you put a 2 stage switch on it. What you really want is something like a Firefly, but that's much more expensive than you're asking for.

The other basic alternative is a small incandescent, like a UK 2AAA xenon or a Princeton Tec Blast.

One other possibility: the Tektite/Tekna Splashlite LS. This uses a Luxeon side emitter at fairly low current for a nice wide beam. It's nowhere near as bright as the Nuwai, which is around 30 lumens. I'd say the Tekna is in the 10 lumen range and the Arc AAA is around 3 lumens. But the Tekna is wonderfully pocketable. It's about the size of a CMG Ultra but since it's made of plastic, it's not cold in your hand, and you barely notice its weight. It's $40 retail but may be discounted at places like batterystation.

I'll second the goodness of the Splashlite, but IMHO, you don't need to spring for the LS version. The $20 (from batterystation) L222 LED replacement is actually brighter (albeit bluer) to my eyes and lasts longer on a battery.

[ QUOTE ]
KahveOrta said:...

Or a Surefire KL1 head with E1e body or Vital Gear FB1 body. It would be slightly smaller than the Q-III, but a lot more expensive

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, I have both and the E1e+Kl1/E1l is slightly LONGER than the Q-III, even if you substitute the Z57 with a standard LOTC. IF you have a McE2s Flat TOp 2 Stage switch however it would be shorter, but then it would be out of the price range by a long shot...

Well, the guy asked for something a LITTLE brighter than the Arc AAA, not ten times brighter, so I don't seee why a Infinity Ultra wouldn;t work...

Nick

Infinity Ultra and Arc AAA are almost exactly the same brightness.

How about the uk eled 2aaa small and cheap.

The uk eled is a good light, but it's not really brighter than an Arc AAA either- just more focused, which isn't necessarily a good thing. However, someone had a thread in which they modded one of these with an MJLED and it freakin' rocked- of course it would be more $ and trouble for the mod though.

The Nuwai .5w 2AAA is longer than you asked for, but with the clip reversed for bezel down carry, it clips nicely in the front pants pocket and you barely notice it. It has decent brightness and a pretty flat discharge graph using AAA lithiums.