Which River Rock light at Target

Which River Rock light do you suggest? My local Target has the 2C, 2AA, and 2AAA. Comments and suggestions please. Are there reviews of any of these lights?

All of the "Target" threads are full of reviews...and many link back to the original models such as the 2xAAA going back to the Nuwai .5 watt model.

IMO, of the four I considered, the 2C is oversized and the lantern needs a dimmer function while the 2xAA 1.5 Jupiter/Aurora and the .5 2xAAA are winners.

The 2AAA is starting to come out a winner. Here is my review:

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=92554

I concur on the 2AAA.

It alone among the handheld models has a reflector. The 2AA and 2C have optics which I understand do throw well but have zero spill. This is also quite puzzling however. At the same time I bought the 2AAA I also got the Inova Radiant 2AAA and IT has an optic. It also has great spill??????

Anyhow the 2AAA River Rock only lacks a clickie to be a GREAT flashlight!

I also bought the River Rock 2AA and 2AAA lights at Target. My pick is definitely the .5W 2AAA.

I am really dissappointed with the 2AA light. Bluish "moonbeam" spot with no sidespill, similar to the old Princton Tech 4AA Nichia lights - and not that much brighter. The 2AAA puts out more useable light, and it's only ten bucks!

Actually, anybody that likes the RR 2AA light would think the Element 3AAA lights from Sam's club are virtual searchlights by comparison. I don't know if I just got really good ones or what, but they really light up my back yard.

PlayboyJoeShmoe said:

I concur on the 2AAA.

It alone among the handheld models has a reflector. The 2AA and 2C have optics which I understand do throw well but have zero spill. This is also quite puzzling however. At the same time I bought the 2AAA I also got the Inova Radiant 2AAA and IT has an optic. It also has great spill??????

Anyhow the 2AAA River Rock only lacks a clickie to be a GREAT flashlight!

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The Inova Radiant 2xAAA doesn't have an optic, it has a reflector and a strangely LONG emitter with a tip that looks like an optic at a quick glance.

George1 said:

Which River Rock light do you suggest? My local Target has the 2C, 2AA, and 2AAA. Comments and suggestions please. Are there reviews of any of these lights?

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George1, welcome aboard and as they say here... hang on to your wallet!

There are tons of commentary about these lights (I should know, I found 'em first:naughty: ). Do a search on Target and/or Jupiter.

Helping you choose a light really depends on what real world application you plan on using them for.

You might want to glance at some of the other threads, including my real world field report at http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=92341

Mostly the common advice here... buy 'em all!

srvctec said:

Definitely 2aaa.All in all- a great little regulated LED light for 10 bucks! Not many like that out there for this price.

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Roy's runtime charts show that the Nuwai 2AAA .5w River Rock 2AAA twin is NOT regulated well with alkalines. It has a much flatter discharge with lithiums. Another runtime chart on the River Rock confirms that it is not well regulated with alkalines. Even so, I still like my Nuwai versions that I've had since January and I EDC one clipped to my pants pocket with the clip turned around for bezel down carry. The only other River Rock light I've tried is the 2AAA headlamp, which I also recommend.

LightObsession said:

Roy's runtime charts show that the Nuwai 2AAA .5w River Rock 2AAA twin is NOT regulated well with alkalines. It has a much flatter discharge with lithiums. Another runtime chart on the River Rock confirms that it is not well regulated with alkalines. Even so, I still like my Nuwai versions that I've had since January and I EDC one clipped to my pants pocket with the clip turned around for bezel down carry. The only other River Rock light I've tried is the 2AAA headlamp, which I also recommend.

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If it's NOT regulated ,then we have a case of false advertising. See this photo- it states right on the package that it is regulated.

Spectrum said:

I am really dissappointed with the 2AA light. Bluish "moonbeam" spot with no sidespill, similar to the old Princton Tech 4AA Nichia lights - and not that much brighter. The 2AAA puts out more useable light, and it's only ten bucks!

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I guess it depends on your definition of "useable light" but the 2AA is in a whole nother class in terms of brightness. The tint of both lights is comparable (both are somewhat blue, but my 2AAA is bluer) but the beam patterns are totally different. The 2AAA might make a better EDC, but only the 2AA will be able to show you what's going on across the yard.

I am guessing at the price the 2AAA lights just have a boost circuit as the graphs I have seen seem to show no regulation off alkalines and the normal flatness associated with nimh/lithiums vs a near flat line with regulated lights dropping off a cliff.

srvctec said:

If it's NOT regulated ,then we have a case of false advertising. See this photo- it states right on the package that it is regulated.
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It's the same misrepresentation that many LED light manufacturers and marketers indulge in. The output is more like semi-regulated. It's definately not constant output throughout the life of the battery when using alkalines.

The package states "Provides Maximum Light Ouput throughout Entire Battery Life". I guess that this is true in that the light output is the maximum that the batteries will allow until the batteries die, but the maximum light output diminishes as the batteries deplete. If interpreted this way, this statement could be true for almost any flashlight and wouldn't be false advertising, even if it is misleading.

Boost is a form of regulation...and as Solstice said...it throws! I think the 2AA is worth keeping just for that.

I bought the 2AA River Rock 1.5w Jupiter flashlight at Target today. As mentioned above, it has a magnifier lens to focus the beam. It's a great spotlight, but almost has zero spill.

I think the 2AAA River Rock is the best light of the 3, but then I like some sidespill to my flashlights.

If the regulation in these Nuwai lights is anything like the regulation in the Costco 2AA, it works like this:

The boost circuit is a voltage regulating boost circuit, although the regulation is not perfectly constant. For every 1 V the source drops, the output drops about 0.16 V. Given the voltage discharge curve of alkaline batteries and the current/voltage curve of the LEDs, using alkaline batteries there will be some noticeable dimming over the life of the batteries, though not nearly so much as you'd see in a direct drive or resistored light. Using NiMH batteries, the light output curve will be almost perfectly flat.

The other effect of using a voltage regulating boost circuit is that variations in the LEDs' Vf will make a big difference in light output between flashlights.


It's easy to look for this kind of behavior in the flashlight if you can get a voltage measurement of the LED in different lights and by varying the number of batteries.

Well, in reality the boost circuit's voltage input/output function is more complicated than a straight line. The most important thing is that the output voltage is nearly constant for a range of input voltages.

Thank you to all who responded with comments/suggestions. I purchased two of the lights - River Rock 2C and 2AAA. I do like the AAA for the size, weight, and features. Build quality is OK - especially given the price.

Does anyone have comments about the 2C???

I remember it was huge...

Yes, it is roughly as long as the 2AA, heavier, and larger in diameter. The beam is perfectly round with no spill.