Good AA edc light under $30?

I've been carrying a Streamlight Microstream for a few years now. Click on/off tail cap and pocket clip. Plenty bright enough. It runs on one AAA, though.
 
If you want a light that will (with an Energizer Lithium) shine FOREVER ( or ~50+ hours), try a Gerber Infinity Light. Brawbacks are twisty, lowish lumens, one brightness and only basic waterproofness (~3ft.). Pros, beside long life, are indestructibilty, simplicity and a reversible pocket clip that can mount the light on a hat brim or impromptu headband. It is the "Jeep" of AA pocket lights.
 
Eagletac D25A, is a super fine light! I have a few of their lights. Great quality for the price. It can be found in the $30's.
Also check out the Thrunite T10. Solid performer.
Lumapower EDC LM31. Flame thrower when run on a 14500 cell!
Nitecore MT1A built like a tank, has several modes (my favorite is the 5 lumen ultra low).


Footnote: For those who like AAA, look into the new Fenix LD02 is a rear clicky like the Streamlights, but blows them away in all areas! $29. Super great light for the price.

Hope that helps you folks.
 
I have a Thrunite T10t (2014 model) and love it. Perfect size for everyday carry and more than bright enough for any task. Firefly mode is really useful for close up illumination as well as late night trips to the bathroom when you don't want to turn the lights on. Comes in a nice tin box with clip, diffuser cone, extra o-ring, pocket clip screws, and an extra click switch. Well worth the $27 I paid for it. I like this torch so much I recently ordered another one in titanium.





 
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I work in an industrial environment and have carried a Streamlight Microstream for many years. Amazing reliability for $20.
 
Not AA, but I got a Streamlight Protac 2aaa for christmas and I love it. It seems brighter than 80 lumens to me, but it might depend on how you measure it. The strobe is nice and fast and I like the way you switch between modes. Some people complain about flashlight modes because they don't want to have to deal with them, well this is great for that. You just double click for strobe and triple for low so if you don't use those, just ignore them. No memory issues where you have to cycle through it to get back to high. Its feels really solid so I'm sure you could use it "tactically" if need be. Even in the 10 lumen low setting its surprisingly bright. It might not look like it during the day, but when its pitch black 10 lumens does just fine. Only about an hour and a half run time on high but you probably won't have it on for extended periods anyway, and if you do it lasts like 30 hours on low.

I also have to put in another vote for the various incarnations of the Sipik SK68. Great little light for like $3-$5. Probably more like 100 lumens using a AA rather than 300 but it is supposed to be significantly brighter if you want to use 14500's in it. Just get some good batteries if you do, as a lot of the ultrafire and other cheap chinese ones are old cells from laptops with questionable capacity and life left in them. The quality and brightness seems to vary a bit between flashlights but I think they're all worth the $3 or so you're usually going to pay. It sure beats the $3 gas station lights everyone has. I've gotten several now and waited quite a bit for most of them. If you're planning on ordering more than one I'd say try to get one in the US for around $5 or so and then get the rest cheap from china. That way you can enjoy it right away and still save a few bucks. Even if its not your primary carry light its good to keep in a coat pocket or glove box.
 
+1 for Fenix

A lot of their under $40 lights are great.

I picked up an E25 recently and thought it was nice for it's price point. 130 lumens on high, 260 lumens on "burst" mode and powered by common AAs.
 
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