Can anyone step up for an AA/2AA only BLF budget flashlight?

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and for me much of the beauty lies in a lights practicality and usefulness. If an aesthetic beauty is also present, that’s nice, and I think that some should be there. But unless a budget light is just plain ugly to me, aesthetics take a back seat to the rest. In a premium light they darn well better be beautiful because I’m paying for that! Aesthetic beauty is wasted if the rest of the package isn’t up to the same high standard.

Any of the light hosts discussed so far look fine to me; I ain’t picky ’bout that.
Phil

and me, I really do not like the SS-5039 shape (see below), I prefer a boring plain tube shape any time.

Need a host, a nice driver and a sub $20 price!

Im probably in minority, but I would like something that doesnt look like UranusFire clone :D!

The driver I use for my AA and Cr123 lights is easy to find on search engines (I still have 2 unused ones from the pack of 5 that I purchased).

Google for “ld30 driver aliexpress”.

Its a good driver in general. Current controlled, low low, and a reasonable performance on high (although not as good as the latest Thrunite and Manker AA drivers)…

Works great on my Ultrafire WF-602C with Cr123 batteries - 3 good spaced modes (1 of which is moonlight), and is bright in my TG05 on Eneloop Pro’s…

It doesn’t seem to like L91’s though… Seems to think they are CR123s whose voltage has got too low or something as it just works in moonlight mode on those…

It might hopefully be a good driver to base ideas on how to create a new BLF driver… I would prefer the ability to use L91 batteries, rather than cope with 14500’s or CR123’s… Also a higher max output to the emitter on Eneloop of maybe 800ma would be good, with a turbo timer of some sort that drops down to 50% after a minute…

A good host is important though… Its got to be quite “light in the pocket” (no pun intended!) for use abroad on my holidays when there are the odd powercuts on Greek islands etc…

I wouldn’t be too bothered about it looking “fancy”… but its weight and size would be important.

And its dead!

Nah, the AA/14500 will live on…

Let me get on this! I just brought 80 AAA and 80 AA batteries give me some ideas also please… i have a Ultrafire q5 i might get a few of them for emergencies but there was a modded pen light from this forum but i can not remember the name? Maybe leave a few light around the house in different locations?

something like the SWM S10A with a thinner bezel to give way for a longer reflector will be great.

It is NOT dead! It’s just resting! :stuck_out_tongue:

Well its “rested” a couple of times since it started. What’s up with this thread? Where are the 190 folks who responded to that Google Doc? If this is an EOI thread, then consider my interest expressed.

There have been custom AAA, 18650 flashlights, 4XAA, custom UV flashlights etc but a real good AA/2AA format with a good driver has not really been attempted?
Either
i) It’s hard to get a good driver for AA/2AA
ii) People with the skills to make it happen are not interested!
iii) The manufacturing/logistics part of the side are not interested!

Maybe there’s just too much other “SE” stuff going on right now. I mean, there’s like 4 SE group buys nearing completion and a few others already underway. Maybe this can be revisited again when some of those folks get freed up from their current obligations and us customers have less lights already committed to.

In other words - let it rest a little longer if needed, but I hope it doesn’t die.

I asked Simon/Conoy if he was interested but I received no response. Well if we keep talking about it someone will step up.

Depending on what / if folks decide they want, I might consider building the lights. We are in the midst of some expansion / equipment changes here that need to be finished but once over with, our capabilities for mass lights will be greatly enhanced.

As a USA based mfg. we cannot, will not try to produce the $10.00 lights like China. But we can make affordable much higher quality lights in as large or small of quantities as required and give the end product a custom look, feel and add the custom internal parts as needed to satisfy demands.

Design On!! TL

Oh yeah, I’m all in on this! Put me down for at least one!

Fourseven quark is a great aa/2AA light. Just need to find a source for that driver.

Since we’re just spitballing ideas here, I’d love to see something in the same form factor as the Eagletac D25a - small tube style, reverse clicky, screwed on clip, gentle knurling for sparing pocket.

But I’d love it in copper, with a nw high-cri emitter, driven hard, with a better UI than eagletac’s convoluted setups. TKs style from the A6 would be great, or even a tail-mounted e-switch with something Zebralight’ey. Whatever works, but its gotta have easy access to moonlight and turbo from off. I’d buy that today.

Why not a 14500 only light? I get the want to use both AA and 14500, but the drivers for both are not as efficient as for 14500 only. AA until it is 3X loses a lot in the boost driver, most of us already have LiIon lights, and therefore the chargers for 14500….

Just a question…

I have no preference on cell type.

EDIT: That’s not true. 4v only would be okay with me, 1.5v only would be a deal breaker. But both is fine, too.