High output AA?

Hey rick, I recently reviewed the Rofis R2. Heck of a light. I got around 240 on AA alkaline and about 700 lm with the included 14500. Built in charger as well. I actually run mine with a AA.

They spec 5A and the Eneloop Pro (and equivalents) can handle that for limited runtimes.

You’re not getting long runtimes at that current, but it’s better than anything an alkaleak can handle at that draw.

Chris

I’ve used eneloops (not pro) at 10 amps.
Alkalines just voltage drop and deliver unusable currents, even brand new energizers.

So it looks like I’m not going to do much better lumens wise than the Thorfire TK05 if I’m going to use AA’s (I haven’t tried Eneloops or Everready lithiums in it to see what they do). So I think I found out what I needed to know. I’ll check out some of the lights mentioned above for their UI’s and other features.

You always have the option of finding lights that take more than two AA cells?
Or AAA?

Led lenser has a bunch around 300-400 lumens that run on AA or AAA.
Since they’re focusing TIR optics they basically have the throw of a 1000lm flashlight and the spill brightness of a 1000lm flashlight, just not both at the same time.

Note that the maximum rated current for an Energizer Lithium AA in continuous operation is 2.5A (PDF datasheet ), so using them in a Zebralight drawing 5A is dangerously out of spec.

Stick to quality NiMH cells like Eneloops or Fujitsu LSD.

You don’t need an Eneloop Pro for the Zebralight SC5w. I use regular Eneloops, and they work just fine. It will put out 500 lumens on a regular Eneloop for about 20-25 minutes. Cumulative run-time on 500 lumens, because you have to step the light back up to 500 lumens every 3 minutes. You have to do that test with a fan, or the light would get too hot.

You obviously get much better runtimes and efficiency on lower modes, but it’s nice to have 500 lumens when you need it.

As for other brands than Eneloop, they probably work fine as well, as long as they’re based on the same tech. There are lots of Eneloop clones. I’ve never used any of them personally, but many people swear they are identical.

Alkalines won’t get you the 500 lumen output, of course. Stick to 100 lumen lights if you require alkaleaks, or just never use the higher modes on brighter lights.

Thanks for the suggestion. But Ledlensers are too expensive. I looked at the Blitzwolf that comes with an extension tube, but it is rated at only about 180 with AA.

I asked my question because I’ve read the caution that, for possible emergency situations, it’s advisable to have a flashlight on hand that can use readily available alkalines. I can use my TK05 for that, but I wondered if there was an affordable AA light with higher lumens. I’m not going to spend more than $30 for another flashlight since I’m not an aficionado like most people on this list and remembering that I bought lights in my initial frenzy that I rarely if ever use. Under $20 sounds even better. So I’ll keep an eye out for sales on suggestions made in this thread. Thanks, all, for your responses.

That’s a great idea…of course unless you only want a single alkaline. Thorfire has the TK4A and there’s a generic version of it for cheaper I believe. The Thorfire puts out over 1,000 lm.

Any other lights hit that high with eneloops like a zebra but cheaper? Pretty sure every other model I’ve seen with AA can only do 200ish.

The TK4A is an interesting one. Really chunky: almost 1 5/8”. It’s one to look at again.

TK4a / Sofirn SP11 is stout and heavy when filled with NiMH, but I find it very satisfying piece of gear.

The 2xAA Sofirn SF13 is also an option.

Sofirn SF13 thread:

Thanks for the suggestion. A requirement for (almost) all my flashlights is that they have side switches only. My thumb doesn’t like tail switches, and I don’t like them anyway. Personal preference.

It may have already been mentioned but…….The Thrunite Archer V2 3A is a nice little light with 500 lumens and uses 2x AA or Nimh cells. It does have a tail switch to power the light on or off , but otherwise everything else is controlled with the side switch. Price has been lowered by $7 since my review on it , which you can find HERE

Thanks. I’ve seen that one. Lights with two switches like that don’t make sense to me. But taste aside, I need to avoid that kind of thumb action as much as possible.

Not necessarily. A Energizer lithium ultimate primary L91 AA is a different animal than alkaline. A light behaves very differently on it vs an alkaline. So it is an AA and gives much higher output than an alkaline AA. In some lights, it even outperforms a NiMh

Energizer ultimate lithiums will get you way over 100 lumens

Solution is Manker T01II 500 lumen on AA throw 282 meters no expensive like Zebralight.