I prefer AA lights and only have AA*1 style budget lights. I’d like to get a budget (< $20) AA*2 light and not sure which battery configuration is better?
Desired runtime 1 hour or less
What lights do you recommend?
I'm also a fan of AA lights but I've never seen:
- A 2AA side by side light.
- A 2AA parallel light (1.5V).
A series layout would probably be better for efficiency in any case as boost drivers are quite lossy. 2AA lights are almost always brighter than 1AA as they don't have to boost quite as much to reach Vf of the emitter.
For under $20 your options will be a bit limited.
If you haven't looked at the Sunwayman D40A or Nitecore EA4/EA41 it might be worth some reading. 4AA in series giving Li-Ion range outputs. More than your $20 budget unfortunately but good high-output options for those who don't want the risks of Li-Ion. (Such as for younger kids perhaps)
Someone, here at BLF, did a very useful job : a mindmap of 2xAA flashlights. In the thread are also some links to reviews.
Unfortunately, many of these flashlights are not budget.
I got one of these, it’s actually throws quite a bit of light, single mode though
http://www.fasttech.com/p/1700407
I have never seen a parallel 2 X AA light, do you have one in mind you could link to??
This Shining Beam Caveman is the best 2 X AA light for its price that I have any experience with, but it is over the listed budget.
This Romisen is in your budged it gives you the option of useing a cr123 and is in the US warehouse but it is very outdated.
The sipik sk75 has parallel AA setup and an eswitch. It looks a bit like the enterprise.
It’s a special light, I have one in my spareparts box…
I guess I incorrectly assumed some of the side-by-side lights were parallel.
Yes, by far I do like that one the best so far. You have pretty good flashlight tastes for a hokie. 
http://www.cnqualitygoods.com/goods.php?id=1676
This is a very nice light also. Seems to be out of stock at the moment (at the link above) but if you can find someone selling it at a reasonable price, it is also worth a look. I have one (neutral white) and have been very happy with it.
The sk75 is a lot cheaper at gearbest 10.78$ http://www.gearbest.com/led-flashlights/pp_6198.html
or fasttech 11.99 http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10001931/1138400-sipik-sk75-cree-cr-e-q5-3-mode-350-lumen-zooming-l
I think that it’d be hard to find one with 2xAA in parallel (which would give you longer runtimes), but for 2xAA in series, a lot of folks have the “C3”, e.g.:
http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10007963/1700407-fandyfire-c3-1-cree-xr-e-q5-1-mode-150lm-neutral
I have that one from Fasttech, and a review there. It’s ok for a 1-mode light, and can work with either 1xAA or 2xAA (there’s an extension tube), but at least on mine, I have to fiddle with it to get the 1xAA configuration working (not sure why). I got it mostly as a potential mod host, but haven’t gotten around to that yet, and instead just use it as-is.
Aren’t all (or pretty much all) 2AA torches in series because it provides higher voltage for the LED?
As others have said, I think you definitely want series for the higher voltage.
I’d like to see a budget AA that drew more current than some of the ones listed here. 2AA can easily do 500+ lumens with XML2.