**Update** AAx2 Flashlight

I just bought a AAA LED Minimag light----pumps out some serious light (87 lumens)-----$15 and American made

Slightly larger than a Cross pen and slips in my pocket easily----batteries are cheap and easy to find.

Can't beat it.
 
Rev you pretty much already know of the lights I was gonna suggest (Fenix, 4Sevens). What I did was subscribe to Battery Junction's e-newsletter and every now and again they have sales on top selling flashlights. I usually check those out, read specs and the user reviews and go from there. There are a LOT of lights out there now, Olight, Lumapower, Fenix, 4Sevens, Zebralight, etc etc. Makes your head spin! I need to pick up a couple AA/2AA lights for emergency use (ease of access to AAs) as most of my lights are CR123 and now RCR123/18650 rechargeables.

I too opted for the PD32UE for it's floody neutral tint. A buddy of mine picked up the PD35 on my recommendation for class (training to be an airplane mechanic) and he loves it, I just wish it had ta neutral tint too, much better color accuracy.
 
Indeed NM, I'm getting sensory overload for it all. I like the huge lumen on the CR123 lights, but they die pretty quick, the AA lights seem to have an edge in longevity, but are not as bright. That is the trade off it seems. I don't care much for the "cool" tint, as it does distort colors to some extent. I'm going to sign up for the newsletter, thanks for the tip. I'll be ordering something online tomorrow. If it doesn't work out for the intended purpose, then I will have another great emergency kit light. I might pick up something that takes colored diffusers.
 
I'd personally recommend you do go ahead and get one or two AA/2AA lights as backup and keep some Eneloops for them. If you need a good AA charger I can recommend the Maha MH-C801D 8 bay chargers from Thomas Distributing (http://www.mahaenergy.com/mh-c801d/) but Amazon seems to have them at comparable prices right now (check Amazon reviews for reference - avg 4 stars from 165 reviews). I bought 2 of them in May 2010 and they cost a bit but work great for my Eneloops for my Speedlites. I've been quite happy with them. BTW Thomas Dist also sells all types of batteries, chargers, etc.

Then I'd bite the bullet and get an 18650 light with some good quality rechargeables and charger, especially since you seem to like the higher output capabilities of CR123s, and RCR123s boost that output even more in compatible lights. That's what I do for my EDC, a Lumapower Incendio v3 which takes RCR123s, the PD32UE with the 18650s and a 4Sevens MLR2 (CR2). The only reason I got the MLR2 is because I had about 2 dozen CR2 batteries sitting around from my old film camera days (I switched to digital 11 yrs ago). The MLR2 is an awesomely bright floody light for the size BTW. Great tertiary backup light.
I keep spare RCR123s and 18650s in my EDC Maxpedition micro organizer as well as my EDC pack. I also bought a couple dozen regular CR123s (the orange and silver Titanium Innovations) from Battery Junction as backup at $1 a piece.
 
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Oh, I forgot to add, if you do go with 18650s, I was told to look for ones made by Panasonic. I think there are a few brands out there that are just Pannys rebranded. I'd also suggest getting protected batteries to avoid issues with over-charging/discharging which can cause fires in unprotected cells. Guys on CPF can make good suggestions on which brands to go with. Personally I've been using Ultrafires because I didn't know any better at the time of purchase. A lot of reviews I read don't talk very highly of them. I've got no issues with the red Ultrafire 18650s but my silver RCR123 Ultrafires don't hold a charge very long.
 
I like the Fourseven's Quark Tactical QT2A-X with a neutral white Cree XM-L2 emitter. These are usually sprint run versions with the neutral white so they're kind of a target of opportunity when available.
 
My Quark Tactical AA2 is great but it does have quite the pre-flash, something to think about.

Also, 5.11 makes a decent light nowadays. Not top of the line in any way but good output and battery life, good quality, no pre-flash.
 
After my Fenix lights, I hardly noticed the pre flash on the Quark. It is there, but it's pretty fast on mine.
 
dr_fosg8 said:
Its not on your list and not near 150 lumens but for a work light I have a streamlight junior led. 2AA and for the money it is not a bad light at all.
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I have one of these and have been happy with it. Not super bright but sufficient and has good runtime. May also look at SL Protac 2AA.
 
I picked up a LUXPro LP200 at a home improvement store for under 12 bucks. 90 lumens on high not sure what the low power mode is, and it has a strobe feature. Runs on 1 AA. Going to run this for a week or two and see how it holds up.
 
RevDevil said:
That is a nice one Mike. I'm hurrying up and trying to get all my kit put together before we get called out. Any day now and we'll see what gets the thumbs up or thumbs down.
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Not tryin to be nosy Charlie, but are you getting ready for fire fighting ?
 
Alright, I figured I would update this for those that were curious. I ended up picking up a Fenix LD22 Gen2.

This light has 215 lumen, has 5 different modes, SOS, beacon, and Strobe.
It's a pretty nice light, very well made, has a lot of knurling as to keep it in the hand.
Easy operation with thick pig skin leather gloves, Mechanix type gloves and barehanded.
Circuit protection, in case you drop the batteries in backwards.
Good overall length, not exactly discreet.
Has a flimsy nylon sheath, and it offers no real protection for the light if its dropped.
I'll add some pictures later compared to some knives and other flashlights I own.
 
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