What's the best flashlight that uses AA's or AAA's?

jill jackson

jill jackson

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Sep 5, 2006
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I got one from Walmart, a Coleman that says it's 115 lumens with a LED and a red and a green bulb, you only twist to switch to. The white light runs 5-6 hours, on 3 AAA's and the green/red goes 50. The model has got good reviews and seems well made and yeah it's bright enough to take the dogs out at night. Cost 30 dollars and of course it's made in China. Has a 3 year warranty that you have a USA address for.
So, anyway after I've bought the thing (as always on something like a flashlight), I started wondering what are the highest rated AA or AAA battery flashlights available and what do they cost?
 
look up fenix brand. I like surefire the best for my users though. BReak em.....they replace em. That simple. There high $$$$ though and dont use AA or AAA.

I prefer CR123's for flashlihgts because they wont run down just sitting stored in the flashlight.
 
fenix and nitecore have AA lights that rate over 200 lumens, iirc.

cost is likely $100+.

from what i can see, the 200 lumen output is the starting point for diminished returns regarding brightness, but cost increases substantially above that mark.
 
blgoode said:
look up fenix brand. I like surefire the best for my users though. BReak em.....they replace em. That simple. There high $$$$ though and dont use AA or AAA.

I prefer CR123's for flashlihgts because they wont run down just sitting stored in the flashlight.
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I've used those flashlights with those high dollar batteries. That is what I'd like to get away from. I have a really cheap source of alkaline AA's and AAA's.
I just wondered what is the best flashlights made that use these batteries.
Is there anything high lumen and better than my 30 dollar Coleman, from Walmart?
 
MORIMOTOM said:
fenix and nitecore have AA lights that rate over 200 lumens, iirc.

cost is likely $100+.

from what i can see, the 200 lumen output is the starting point for diminished returns regarding brightness, but cost increases substantially above that mark.
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Thanks, I posted my last post as you did.
That is what I was wondering. What is bright and well made using the standard AA and AAA's.:)
 
jill jackson said:
I've used those flashlights with those high dollar batteries. That is what I'd like to get away from. I have a really cheap source of alkaline AA's and AAA's.
I just wondered what is the best flashlights made that use these batteries.
Is there anything high lumen and better than my 30 dollar Coleman, from Walmart?
Click to expand...

Best is always subjective, it depends on an individual's desires and priorities. So I won't say "best".

But I've found Fenix lights to be very good. They're well made, sturdy, bright and have efficient electronics to help give good run times.Cost is moderate. There are also slightly cheaper brands that are approximately as good.

Be warned though, that a bright light means high current draw which is not good for alkalines. They don't do well in high current draw situations, it wears them out prematurely, giving you lousy runtimes. If you really like brightness, rechargeables are a good idea as they can work fine in higher-draw applications. They might also wind up saving you money in the long run. Well unless your cheap alkalines were really free. :D
 
fenix EO1 - costs about $15, uses 1 AAA, provides about 10 lumens of light. Thats not much, but in a dark environment it is more than plenty. The light is regulated, which keeps the output constant for about 8-10 hours. Then you get another 20 or so of diminishing output. Awesome light, and not spendy.

Fenix also makes AA and 2xAA lights, which have low-med-high-turbo output levels plus a strobe. They are generally going to run in the $60 range more or less.

See fenix-store.com.

The guy who runs fenix-store is CPF member 4sevens, and he has a similar brand of light called Quark, which also comes in various flavors using AA and 2xAA.

Consider using rechargeable NiMH AA or AAA batteries that you can get a Walmart or Target.

Eneloop rechargeable batteries, which are made by Sanyo and are found mostly on the internet, have a very low self-discharge rate and will stay juiced up for months at a time.

Jill, I have one of those TK40s that you reference, and its an awesome light. Not the kind of thing you carry on your belt or purse, but a good car light, bedside light, etc.

I have about 10 fenix lights, including a titanium Quark 2xAA on order, and EDC a 1xAA Quark. Awesome stuff.

right on

:thumbup:
 
I don't need extreme brightness often. Just in the winter months particularly, I'm outside a lot at night with my dogs. Once in awhile I need to up my light output to see what's going on off in the distance. I can get by on low lumens 99% of the time. But, when I have a dog several hundred yards off fighting with something I like to light the area up and see what's going on. One of these adjustable power models would be perfect.
 
Try LED Lenser they have a couple of the tactical style of light with AAAs.I have the P7 and its output is around 200 Lumen I believe.
 
FWIW, I've been using a Fenix L1Tv2 as a helmet-mounted bike headlight for over a year now in year-round commuting an mountain biking. That would be weather from 0*F-100*F+ sun/rain/sleet/snow without a SINGLE issue. I do, on the rare occasion, clean the threads/o-rings with rubbing alcohol and re-lube with Syl-Glyde silicone grease.

Now, not quite as impressed with the L0D on my keychain, but I think it just requires a little more frequent cleaning on the battery contact due to over-lubing the much smaller threads :p
 
The Maratacs H2OCutter mentioned are great; they're also available through GoingGear. My primary EDC is a cheap Rock River 2AAA from Target. $10 or so, good runtime, good form factor, but a little fat. Not an eyeball-scorcher, but a good pocket stick size as long as you flip the clip around.

The Fenix E01 is also good for its light weight and supposedly twice the runtime of an Arc AAA. Have never owned an Arc but most of the E01's runtime is "moon mode" and the housing is supposed to be much flimsier than the Arc's. Just haven't been able to make myself pay for the extra build quality.

My favorite AA flashlight was the SMJLED kit for the Mini Mag-Lite, which is no longer made. As for batteries (AA or AAA) I stick to Energizer lithiums for light weight, extended runtime, and slightly brighter output, but they will degrade your emitter over time because of the hotter voltage.

OOPS--forgot the Maratac AA that's also available from GoingGear (GG has add-on battery tubes for 1xCR123A and 2xAA, too). Excellent flashlight that's now an emergency EDC along with a few small tools.
 
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ive tried a bunch of the fenix and nitecore lights, and generally you get a good light for a reasonable price. especially when you consider the lumen output.

however, i have also found they are not nearly as reliable as surefires. the variable settings are tempermental. sometimes mine change settings on their own, and sometimes i cant find the setting im looking for.

and the many of the lights with 4+ settings require you to toggle through each setting, which drives me nuts. i like variable output, but from a simple platform like on the surefire u2.

fenix/nitecore/4sevens are way ahead of surefire regarding led technology, but with complicated circuit boards come a greater liklihood of problems.

the switches are way better on the surefires, and the lights with multiple settings have a much simpler and reliable platform.

the clips on the nitecores suck. the screws are tiny, they back out, and the heads strip easily.

most fenix lights dont come with pocket clips, which is the main reason i have never carried one on duty.


ymmv.
 
btw, candlepower has some great info, but very technical.

simple questions get complicated answers, most of which i cant decipher.
 
Hey Guys..

I just bought an Olight T20 190 Lumen on AA cells..

I'm slowly getting away from 3Volts and opting for AA which are cheaper and a Hell of allot easier to find...

Buying 3V in Canada is extremely expensive and I go through so frigging many of them I usually just buy them by the case..

I'm only keeping a couple of my 3V lamps running , one on my shotgun and the other on my Trash can gun,, the rest will collect dust or I'll trade them off..

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
As a dealer for half the brands mentioned, I'll chime in. If you want max lumens on AA batteries, there are two 700 lumen lights that use the CREE MC-E LED:

-Fenix TK40 - Uses 8 AA batteries, 4 brightnesses, 4 flashing modes, rear switch

-iTP A6 Polestar - Uses 6 AA batteries, 3 brightnesses, strobe, side switch

If you want something that is in a bit more of a pocketable size, I would recommend one of the models that uses 2 AA batteries. The single AA lights using alkaline or NiMh batteries cannot compare to the lithium lights, but the 2 AA lights come close. If you want 2 AA, there are a ton of options from me alone, and I don't even have all of the ones on the market (give me a couple of weeks :D ):

-Fenix LD20 - By far the best selling 2 AA light for me, 4 brightnesses, strobe, SOS, good interface

-Fenix TK20 - Two brightnesses, warm white LED (good for color reproduction in the woods), nice rubber grip

-4Sevens AA2 - Basically an LD20 with lots of knurling and a really low low, 5 brightnesses, 3 flashing modes, comes with a pretty cool hand grip thing

-4 Sevens AA2 Tactical - Same as above, but with a forward (momentary) switch and you can program head loosened and head tightened to whatever you want instead of cycling through different modes. Also available in warm white.

-Jetbeam Jet I Pro EX 3.0 - This one is really neat. You have three modes that you cycle through, but you can program all three modes to whatever you want. You are not limited to certain preset modes like the Quark Tactical, so you can set different brightnesses, strobe from 1 - 20 Hz, different flashlight rhythms, and all kinds of other stuff. Sounds complicated but it's really not bad to set up. Probably the brightest out of those listed.

-NiteCore D20 - Uses a piston sleeve instead of a traditional switch, good interface, adjustable brightness

-iTP C8R - Adjustable brightness by turning the head, really good ergonomics, strobe, SOS, lowest priced

-iTP C8T - Same as above but without strobe and SOS and with a forward (momentary) switch
 
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