I need it cheap. Nothing more than $15. AA or 2AA is preferred.
Intended use:
As gifts to non-flashaholics for use in case of power failure only.
- Anything 1 mode 30-50 lumens will do. If not available, a 2 mode will do but this is a waste really.
- Runtime: As long as possible (intended use: power failure)
- Will run primary if not exclusively on alkalines! So the lumens output must be alkaline compatible 
A Mini-Maglite does all those tricks, and costs not very much from Walmart or Home Depot. Incandescent, but reasonable run time.
Of course, there are the multi-led lights from the same places, but reliability is the question there, with them costing ~$3.99 or so.
BEST:
IFF you can stand a higher price (~20 bucks), the UltraFire U20S is hard to fault. It has âLowâ and âblinkyâ modes HIDDEN behind a tricky head-twist a-la Fenix⌠Screw the head down tight & itâs one mode only as you require. âUnfortunatelyâ, it isnât dim!! (Well, it will be âdim-enoughâ, âsoon-enoughâ as that dismal AA battery runs downâŚ) SWMBO EDCâs this one in her âshoulder suitcaseâ and wonât let it go.
BETTER:
This has been at the top of my âlust-forâ list since it sold for >$20 !!
It meets your requirements almost perfectly (it is NOT dim!!), plus has HAIII and good knurling.
For me, it would need a better emitter (brighter, actual WHITE w/no rings) and more Iled, but Iâm weird that way.
Good:
Clones of this one exist, any of which are a good fit. The single-mode requirement may take some digging to findâŚ
They are very popular around here. I can testify as to why. The main benefit of this family is, they encourage âmoddingâ as the mechanism of unscrewing the body to replace the battery, puts torque on the pill, causing it to become loose over time. Plus the act of pushing in on the switch to turn it on or off, pushes against the friction fit of the switch. Both of these âfeaturesâ lead to flickering light (after months or more of constant use), which is so easy to repair, youâll be a âmodderâ in no time.
Good for AAA:
IFF your family & friends can tolerate AAA, I predict much happiness from this UltraFire.
Thatâs my two cents worth, I hope it helps!
(A note about tailstanding: Put a Ping-Pong ball or one of those wee âbathroom cupsâ over the lens whenever you need to light up an area. Old film canisters made of white plastic work very well too. If nothing else, take a piece of white paper & roll a piece of it into a cone over the lens. Just shining the light on the ceiling wonât help much, in any hand-carryable format.)
Dimbo
for AAA
Nitecore T0 from Banggood.
Looks like it is still $12.99
My fav all around Solid, basic one-mode light fr Non-flashaholics is the
Romisen RC-G2
ShiningBeam still has the XP-G2 model for < $17
http://www.fasttech.com/product/1057106-ultrafire-wf-606a-cree-q5-wc-1-mode-230-lumen-led-
Here you go. The price is right. And its a 2xAA format.
And for your $15 max price. You could give each person 3 of these and still be within your price range. Good light for single AA operation. Giving them 3 will allow some redundancy in case one fails. They will still have 2 more. Ive given these lights as gifts many many times. Cheap but surprisingly built well with a cree Q5 led. The tomtop seller on ebay has always shipped them to me in 7 days and good quality control.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/290983550579?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&\_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
Romisen RC-G2 was my favourite too, around 13$ on DX. But then I discovered sipik SK-68 and itâs clone and for half the price (even 5$ for a clone), the quality not up to romisen but quite good for the price, 3 mode operation and zoomable⌠Like a romisen rc-29 but a lot cheaper.
The uinfire clone at fasttech is well made and they have a version with one mode.
I recommend the 3 mode SK 68 clone. The low mode will run 4+ hours on an Alkaline. Normally one mode lights are bright enough so that they do not last very long for a power outage.
I have just tried one with a cheap Chinese Alkaline from Harbor Freight and it ran 4 1/2 hours on low. A good US battery would increase that time by at least 1/2 hour or more.
Fast Tech has some 3 mode for $5.47.
Jerry
linx pleaz? :)
If you can live with aaa âŚcostcoâs Duracell 250 lumen 3 for 20 dollars. Very bright quite small. Keep one and make two friends happy.
http://www.fasttech.com/category/1601/led-flashlights They are calling them a Unifire B 68. I have not tried one. The three mode seem to have dried up on ebay, at least for now, but plenty of 1 mode.
Jerry
And another vote for the RC-G2, it's a great light, single mode, forward clicky, single alkaline AA, no li-ions, good throw for such a small light:
http://dx.com/p/romisen-mxdl-rc-g2-cree-flashlight-black-1xaa-3607
My go-to gifting light for non-flashaholics; especially those I don't trust with Li-ions.
.
Have you measured the run time on a battery?
Thanks,
Jerry
Yo guys. Thanks for the replies. Did not have time yet to analyse each suggestion. Will do so soon but the possible âGroup buy feeler thread: CQG AA SS NW (XP-G2 4A)â even with multi mode might seem like a winner on medium mode!
Waiting on it.