I am looking for cheap (around $5) flashlight powered by AA or AAA batteries with long runtime. As I can see all 7W lights can last not more than 2 hours in power safe mode. Correct me if I am wrong. Anyways, could you please advise on cheap and good product?
Thesaurus, I own and can recommend the Sofirn SF10 for $6.95 with free ePacket shipping from the Sofirn Official Store on Ali Express . It takes either AA or 14500 batteries (not included). It has four modes and a hidden strobe. The mode spacing is decent and you get an energy conserving firefly mode. It always starts out in High and does not have mode memory Here are some more specifications off the web site:
Modes and output:
Powered by AA battery : Output: High(100 LM)/Mid(50LM)/Low(15 LM) /LL(2LM)
Powered by 14500 Battery: Output: High(430 LM)/Mid(200 LM)/Low(30 LM) /Firefly(5LM)
Double click to strobe mode
Color temperature: 5350K-5700K, NW(Neutral White)
Smooth Reflector (Note: mine is orange peel, but maybe they changed it)
Made by Aircraft 6061 grade-aluminum alloy, used CNC machines, Premium type Ⅲ hard-anodized anti-abrasive finish to get solid built body, anti-crash and better heat exchange
Toughened glass lens, anti-crash and wearable
The waterproof level is IPX8, can be used in rainstorm.
I see the low PWM if I wave the SF10 in front of my face, but not during normal use. I am generally not sensitive to PWM. Here's another alternative for those that are:
The Ultrafire A1 is available on Amazon for $11.99 with coupon code SS6TRV2E that brings it down to $10.79. It only has three modes that are evenly space, with a great Firefly mode when using a AA or Ni-MH:
14500: Low/20; Med/280; High/600
AA: Low/1; Med/30; High/220LM"
No strobe
It has uses a XP-L HD LED, Type III Annodized Alum Alloy, and Orange Peel reflector. It has an IP68 weather rating, always come up in Low, and has no mode memory. To me, the A1 is an ideal flashlight to use with Ni-MH or primary lithium AA batteries. Comes with a no-name Alkaleak battery.