My Klarus P1A has failed. The battery is stuck in it and the switch doesn’t work. I suspect a leaking alkaline battery. My 8xAA Fenix TK41 is going back to China for its second switch repair, so I’m without a torch for some time. Well, I have a couple of little ones somewhere, and some LED lamps…
Here’s what I’m looking for
1 or 2 AA cells (not 4), but I might go for good quality 14500 cells to avoid battery leakage issues. If I go 14500 I’d need a charger.
Probably US$30 absolute max, but not an ebay special that’s $5 with a included rubbish quality battery. My wife doesn’t think I need another torch…
Not concerned about switch type
Doesn’t need to be super powerful. Prefer quality over brightness
From ebay or Bangood, or somewhere similar that ships to New Zealand reasonably cheaply / quickly
Any recommendations? They forum has too many threads and reviews to read them all.
Thorfire TK4A
Four AA (start use Eneloops, they don’t leak and hold capacity well)
A bit pricy to start new (light and cells) but a really nice power light
Thrunite Archer 2A or 1A.
I have 2A and it works fine. OK it is 500 lumen only in first maximum 10 minutes, after that drops to 300,but is still enought.
Other option is Jaxman M2.
Both are in your price range.
Hey mate you now have heaps of options depending on your budget 30USD is heaps so you have heaps of options. If you dont mind using AAA you could go really cheap and buy some Hugsby XP1 and XP2s. I think a 4 AA light is to heavy to EDC.
What output would you like? I can probably get you coupons for these lights they will all be cheaper then 30 USD
I have the Jet-1 MK and T11 and Mi7 and i like them all so its a hard choice i would probably chose the Jet-1 because its cheap but output is the lowest output when compared to the rest.
I think the single AA size is best for me. Plus I have about 60 AA Eneloops I can use, and chargers, so wouldn’t need to buy a 14500 charger. Max brightness isn’t that important, and I rarely use a torch for longer than a few minutes, but decent brightness is helpful.
Jetbeam Jet 1 seems good, but I’m too busy / lazy to even read reviews for the six options people have already posted, so I’ll probably just go based on the recommendation here. I think whichever is cheapest is what I’d get, so long as it isn’t rubbish.
Yea one thing is its a twist to turn on light. It has memory so you wont need to twist 1000 times.
My review is here i have pics you can look at for brightness. My grass looks decent in this pic hahaha summer killed most of it.
Its a 150 lumens with a NiMH/AA I think i measure mine to be about 190 lumens. The current draw is like 1.3 amps so you will get up to about 90 mins run time on high using a 2500mah NiMH.
I EDC mine for a while and its held up well. Its a simple design light the one thing is dont drop any AA torch to many times because they are using a boost circuit and that is a tad easier to break.
I had both the Utorch 01 in NW tint and the Klarus Mi7. Both were running a 14500 battery. (Unprotected)
I didn’t like the tint of the Utorch. I ordered the NW tint and it is too yellow for me. It is also a little bigger than the Mi7. I passed the Utorch on to a friend and the Mi7 is the one I reach for and carry.
I much prefer the tint and the size of the Mi7. The on/off switch protrudes from the body and it is prone to accidental activation unless you lock it out.
Olight makes a slick little USB charger which is a great portable charger for short money.
Mi7 too expensive for what I need. Jetbeam looks good. Utorch is about 3x brighter for the same torch, but the control button / system looks annoying. If there’s something brighter than the Jetbeam with an easy control system and is decent quality for the same price range I might get that.
Consider also quality of ligtning (tint).
In this case Nichia 219B is the best option.
Jaxman has a model wiht 219B and the price is around 22$.
Here is the review.
If you not going to use 14500 this is good choice.
Not too concerned with tint. Appreciate all the advice, but the Jet I looks good and nothing posted looks better yet. Open to suggestions still and not in a huge rush
