Wow, I’m a member of a lot of forums; you guys are most responsive. Thanks.
I like the Ea4 and at the time, I thought the AA ’s would be a nice, convenient feature but
I assumed I could put Eneloops in and keep them recharged with a wall wart or USB if necessary, but I was disappointed the first time I went to use it and was dead in a couple of weeks. I just didn’t anticipate the parasitic draw. I’m left to unscrewing the top just to disengage the battery.
I guess I just want something that is as reliable as a vintage flashlight, but much brighter. A wide zoom would be quite a nice feature for me.
I’m not fussy about the battery type and I know the technology changes constantly and it’s hard to keep up.
What I want is something that I can put in my pocket, around 1000 lumens (more is better as usual), a nice, wide zoomable field, but also have a bright spot as well. My step daughter just got a zoom from Costco and I loved the wide field, but the spot was not very bright for some reason. Price was good, but if I can find it all for around $100 would be ideal. Willing to spend more, though.
Frankly, the rechargeable feature would be less important if I could get one that didn’t have the parasitic losses. That really bummed me out with the EA4. I guess I could just keep unscrewing the cap, but that seems like a step backward in progress.
BTW, my stepdaughter’s light is pretty good, but requires three C’s and must be alkaline, I suppose because there is no other current limiting built in. Seems like a cheap and dirty design, but price was right for her.
Finally, I’m also looking for an upscale have-it-all unit as a nice gift for my outdoorsy SIL. Up to 2-300 USD if it’s worth it. Extravagant, but he’s worth a nice gift.
If you’ve made it this far, thanks a bunch.