AA Flashlights

B

Barry L. Schuchart

Joined
Apr 25, 1999
Messages
94
I am looking for opinions on inexpensive, 2 cell AA Flashlights for use in outdoor and survival situations. I currently have a Streamlight Jr. in my kit, but I'm really not very impressed with it. I have also toyed with Minimags, Tekna and Pelican brand lights. I have been looking at lights made by Princeton Tec. Does anyone have experience with this particular brand? What are your general comments/experiences/suggestions? Thank you.
 
I don't know about the Princeton Tech lights, but I can recommend the UKE 2AAA lights. They are very bright for their size and feature a pre focused lamp assembly. There are a couple of models, a 2AAA Pocket Light, a 2AAA Pen Light and also a 4AA Mini Light. They also make a 3C and 4C as well as a 2L (lithium) light. I recently saw the 2AAA models for sale at Wal Mart for around $6 and they dissapeared very quickly. If you find one, give it a try. The UKE 2AAA are much brighter than my 2AA Streamlight Jr. and Mini Mag lights, and less expensive to boot.
I have seen the Princeton Tech lights but never used them so I can't really comment on them.
 
I have to agree, Underwater Kinetics (UKE) make a very good 2AAA flashlight, maybe the best in size-to-power ratio.
 
I like the Minimag lights, they are bright enough for thier size and are very rugged. I prefer them for the most part at that size. For one thing they are easier to find bulbs for in my experience. Most of the newer flashlights have a module type buld which are not available everywhere. The Mini-mags have been around long enough that they are pretty much everywhere. Also I like the ability of being able to carry a spare in the butt of the light.

Smaller lights than that I go with the photons, they are very bright for thier size and are extremely portable.

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Lee

LIfe is too important to be taken seriously. Oscar Wilde
 
Barry,

Forget about all the other flashlights scrap the 2AA ones (Maglight etc.) and go for the UKE 4AA with "stacked batteries" a Yellow one for outdoor use is perfect.
Buy some Lithium Energizer batteries they are about $6.95 / 2 so $14 for the UKE 4AA
(that's only $2 less than the UKE costs with Alkaline ones, but you want the best
biggrin.gif
)
And you have a weight/price/light ratio that is very hard to beat.

Just for fun get a $9.95 UKE 2AAA with the order and you have two great flashlights.
Service might you ever need it from UKE is 200%

You can get the UKE flashlights cheap at www.brightguy.com (he's also a very nice guy to deal with even from Holland)

May the UKE-light Force be with you
smile.gif


Cheers, Bagheera

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[This message has been edited by Bagheera (edited 01-05-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Bagheera (edited 01-05-2000).]
 
Bagheera,

The UK light is a very nice light, but is suffers from the exact point I made earlier. Where do you get spare lamp modules if you need one? The "other 2AA lights" such as the maglight you dismiss so readily has bulbs that can be found in most sporting goods, or general stores. Some of the others are even easier to find than the maglights.



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Lee

LIfe is too important to be taken seriously. Oscar Wilde
 
I like the Minimags myself! But unfortunately I've met too many people who like them too, and mine disappear!
frown.gif
I've "lost" two 2AA minimags over the years and have managed to retain a AAA Solitaire. One thing I like about the Mag lites is the "candle" cabability. This is where you can remove the LENS cap and have an electric candle for lighting an area like a tent.

I also like having the spare bulbs in the endcaps. I found a BUNCH on clearance at an old Walmart and bought several two packs of bulbs for $.25 per pair.

Good luck!


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Plainsman :)
primitiveguy@hotmail.com

You use what you have on you, then you improvise! :)
 
What do you want in a AA light ? A headlamp so that both hands are free ? A very bright light that uses up expensive batteries in an hour ? Dimmer lights that last a long time ? For a compromise I've changed from using a AA Maglite to a single AAA and double AAA Maglite as both use the same batteries. The double AAA batteries and bulbs last longer than the double AA but the AA has better cold weather performance. For long life I use a yellow LED light that I made from a single AA light. It uses 2 N cells and a jumbo LED, and I've looked around for a double AAA light with a push button switch to convert. The jumbo yellow LED seems to be a lot brightert han the yellow Photons that I've looked at, and mine works fine leading groups on trails at night in thick woods on moonless lights. One of my favorite double AA lights is the Coleman with the large reflector as the reflector provides an excellent spot beam and the light uses standard prefocused bulbs that are available everywhere. For a brighter light I'll use a PR6 which draws about 300 milliamps and for a dimmer light a PR9 which draws about half the current. The large reflector makes it easy to store a few bulbs.
 
Mich, the lamp modules for the UKE lights can be purchased via mail order easily enough. I imagine that once they are a little more available (discount stores) the bulbs modules will become available too. As I stated in my post, I only recently (before Christmas) saw them for sale at a local Wal Mart. I got my first UKE 2AAA at a gun show 2 years ago. It replaced my Min Mag Solitare, and I have carried it everyday since. My girlfriend also replaced her Solitaire with a UKE 2AAA. Neither of us has had any problems with the bulb breaking/burning out.
I can understand why you would want spare bulbs around, but as I said the UKE modules can be purchased when you buy the light. I really don't think the bulb would break as easily as a Mag Lite's bulb. The plastic body would absorb more impact shock than the aluminum Mag Lite.
 
Michlee, concerning the spare bulbs remark, yes it's true these UKE bulb/reflector assemblies are not to be found everywhere and are a lot bigger to carry as a spare then "the bulb in the endcap" Maglite solution.
When buying a UKE light just get an extra bulb/reflector assembly with it so you don't have to worry for quiet some time not having a spare one.

The reflector/bulb assemblies of UKE furthermore contain a chemical absorbant that binds Hydrogen gas escaping from batteries so there will be no potential buildup of flammable gas inside the flashlight. These UKE's are approved by some "Fire hazard institution" you can use them in situations where there is an explosion hazard.
Alspo a friend of mine used the UKE's while diving in Bulgary and he went to 30 meters without any problems and lots of light.
Try that with a maglite.

In Holland all ambulances and firebrigades only carry UKE flashlights.
The police has rechargable maglites that they can use as a nightstick in emergency situations.

Personally I like the lightweight of the UKE's compared to maglites.
One last remark when it freezes outside the Aluminium Maglites are no joy to take ino your hand without gloves.

Cheers, Bagheera
 
Bagheera,

I do not disagree with the fact that the UKs make excellant lights. They are very nice, throw a lot of light and are compact. But I still would prefer somethign that I can get spare bulbs for easily, carrying a spare on the light makes sense to me, but if for some reason it burns out fast (defective?) I would like to get another easily. Same is said for the UK lights, if I carried a spare and it burned out (defective? ), or it got crushed somehow or lost and I cannot buy another fairly easily, then I have to buy another light anyways, which would probably be a maglight. Just a matter of preference.
smile.gif


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Lee

LIfe is too important to be taken seriously. Oscar Wilde
 
Michlee, this is what I like about the Internet and Forums. I'm talking almost realtime to someone 7000 miles away.

It's nice that not everybody has the same taste and preferences, you prefer maglites I prefer UKE's just fine for both of us.

I live in Holland and should my UKE light burn out I will practically always see lights from houses nearby. We don't have the space like in the USA you probably have woods as big as Holland over there so I can understand your second bulb easy to have/get preference.
Light the night, cheers, Bagheera

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Barry,

I've had a Tec-40 for about a month now. (I was stocking up for my Y2K kit). I have to say that I'm happy with it. This is the one that uses 4 AA batteries and a halogen bulb. It measures just under 6 inches in length and has a plastic casing. The things I like about it are the brightness, lightweight, waterproofness (up to 2000 ft), and the lanyard attached at the base of the light. Now for the things that bug me a little about it: To switch it on, you must twist the head and it's hard to do with one hand whereas with a MiniMag, you can hold the head of the light with your pinky and right finger against your palm and use your other fingers to easily turn it on. I also wished it had a focusable beam. Mine has a reflector that puts out a concentrated beam but I believe you can buy a replacement reflector that has a wide beam. It also doesn't have the replacement bulb that all Mags do. Altogether though, I've been happy with the light and yes, I would recommend it. You can also look at a Tec-20 that uses 2AA batteries and is just a stubbier version of the Tec-40.

Also, would anyone know whether a Carley bulb can be used in the Princeton Tec's? I've heard that they burn too hot and really aren't recommended but I've only heard of one person saying this.

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ET

 
I just picked up a Petzl light (I got the Mega belt, so I can stick the pack in my coat ** )and am really impressed with it. I believe that most of the lights work of the same bulb, and are mostly 4.5 volt. I am _very_ impressed. No light, no moon illum, clouds and snowing. The only downfall was lighting up the snowflakes in front of my face. It lit up my trail nicely, with more light than I needed and to a greater distance than I was paying attention to. If I do any casual skiing/hiking, I'll give you a better description.

I've long been a fan of maglights, and have seen them used to pound in tent-stakes on a regular basis with no ill effect. (Not I, there were more foolish staffers than I that I worked with though...). I have no use for a diving light, and do not expect me to survive long at 30m underwater, though I have used a maglight at depths to which I can survive, and reach easily (<5m). Once, I got minor condensation on the inside. That was the worst. I really like 'em. Yes, the aluminum is nasty in the cold, but if it's that cold, what're you doing without gloves to start with? I have cold-soaked a 3D maglight before, and I'd not had experience with that before, and was ticked that my second bulb had burnt out too...
smile.gif
But that is the result of storing my light in the snow-hole I used to point it, rather than in my bag with me...

There are other lights out there, brighter, lighter, and more expensive. But the brighter ones eat batteries faster, the lighter ones will not survive pounding a tent stake in, and the more expensive ones, are, well... more expensive. There are trade-offs for everything, and for a multi-use flashlight, especially one I can stick on my belt, and keep there, I like the maglight...


Stryver

 
I just received a Princeton-Tech "Blast" 2AAA for Xmas. I sat down last night and compared it to the following lights I have in the same category and in my opinion it blew them all away:
- Pelican 2AAA
- Bucklight 2AAA(UKE)
- Tekna Microlith 2N
The specs on the Princeton are as follows:
1000' H20 proof, clip, xenon wide focused reflector/bulb, 1.5oz.,key ring.
Even though the Princeton is slightly larger than the UKE the beam is MUCH brighter and disperses a nice wide pattern to light up a room. It is not as tightly focused as the Pelican but at the same distance projected, the Pelican appeared to have worn down batteries(yellow). In fact the Princeton was so "WHITE" it was not until I compared it to my Surefire that I saw a hint of yellow light in comparison.
Needless to say I am replacing my long carried UKE in my coat pocket for the Princeton 2AAA.The reflector is probably 2x the size of the other lights which I like and personally I prefer a wide beam in a small light to "flood" areas I use this light for.
My comparisons included new batteries, and bulb/assemblies. The factory claims a 2-3 hr run time. I hope this provides some insight.

Dave
 
I like the mini-mags. They are very tough. I have dropped mine many times, spilled battery acid all over it, gotten it soaked many times, and had many other things have happended to it. It still works. It doesnt look pretty with most of the paint gone and scratches on it but hey it works.
 
I have a Princeton tec 2AA Sports Flare, which is a faily nice light, can use standard bulbs, but it's a little wider than some AA lights, and around $12 to $14.

If bulb replacement is an important issue, I'd condsider getting an LED light. The Led's will last a very, very long time. The only drawback is their cost. The white photon lights are pretty amazing.

DaveH
 
Just got a handy flashlight from Action Electronics (actionelectronics.com). It's LED lights (4) lets the 3 AA batteries (I use rechargeables) last for over two days straight without turning it off!! It isn't as powerful as other Xenon powered lights but it LASTS longer. In my experience the others always go out just when I need them most (Murphy's Law) but not the LED one I've got now. I figure I need more light (length of time) and am willing to trade off brightness in a survival situation.
 
Turambar,

Sounds like you got the Lightwave 2000. I'm interested to know the runtime for a AA Alkaline and Lithium. If you think 2 days is something I had a Cool White 3LED bulb in my 3D cell maglite. It lasted 2 1/2 weeks before I gave up and turned it off
smile.gif


DDS,

If you liked the Blast you need to get a Princeton Tec Rage. It is the same as the Blast but 4AAA instead of 2AAA. It is slightly brighter than a Tec 20 with a more usable beam for up close work. I have the spot and wide reflectors for the Tec-20 and the Rage is still better in my opinion.

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"A knifeless man is a lifeless man"
-Nordic proverb
 
Guys and Gals,

Thanks for your input. I have decided to pick up the Princeton Tec line for retail sale. They appear to make a very serviceable product. Logistically it appears to be a good choice, many of the parts are interchangeable (between the head and handlights). They have a neat little waterproof strobe light (actually all the lights are waterproof) and two types of battery powered flares. They use AA or AAA batteries and there are only four different bulbs (and two of those are optional) in the entire line of eight lights. Compare this to MagLite with four different battery sizes and a mind-boggling array of bulbs. Add to that the fact that MagLite just ain't what it used to be.
 
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