Looking for single mode with clip to run on nimh 80+ lumens
Welcome to BLF and have a nice time here. I strongly recommend the HUGSBY P31 / P32 for your needs. They are cheap, good quality and are specifically designed to run good on alkalines and NiMHs. You can get them cheap at KD (P31 / P32) or DX (P31). I hope you are aware of the shipping times before christmas... in case you want to get the flashlights as a present.
Thanks Vectrex. Had my eye on those! Very aware of shipping times.Still waiting on stuff from DX ordered 2 months ago. They usually get stuff to Texas in 2 weeks from ship date.
Also you should consider the UniqueFire AAS1 which have an OSRAM Golden Dragon LED, is 1 mode, accepts nimh (about 130 lumens) and 14500 (+220 lumens)
However due to high power draw of OSRAM LEDs (too much amperage) the runtime is very poor with alkalines. NiMh is a must, and more than 1600mAh is neccesary.
With a 14500 is a cannon!
The P32 is probably the better bet.
There have been reports of P31s with the driver from the gold P32 which is lithium ion batteries only - it won't light with a voltage of less than 2.8V.
I have one of these.
There have been no reports of P32s with the wrong driver.
Oh and welcome to BLF charlescleec.
Good to have you here.
Also good reviews are getting the EastwardYJ J09 and the Trustfire R5-A3. The Trustfire seems to have similar brightness to the Hugsby's, the Eastward is even brighter according to Don's very useful output list.
@Don: Were those reports only from KD or DX P31's? Or from both vendors?
Thanks fran82 and Don.Have not got around to 14500s yet.Got the charger but have mainly stuck with 18650 and 16340.
Really been looking at the Eastward, but was waiting for someone to review it.The Uniquefire slipped under the radar. Looks like It might be what i was looking for.
Yeah... Don has one of them... but I guess he hasn't come around to review it, because he is busy buying the next 100 flashlights, when he is not repairing his car. 
But I haven't seen warnings from him... so I guess it might be OK.
Aloha and welcome to BLF charlescleec70!
I have the Eastward - will do a review soon. I think if you look in the thread for it you'll find quite a few comments. I know I've taken a bunch of pictures and as far as I know I've posted them.
Here are the beams at 2 feet from the Eastward and the Uniquefire AA-S1 - the Eastward is on the left.
I thought I'd done more beamshots with it, but I can't find them.
My verdict is along the lines of, the Eastward is smaller and lighter than the Hugsby. The Eastward's beam is nicer than the Hugsby's because it uses an XP-E LED instead of the XR-E in the Hugsby.
| Lightbox | ||
| Light | Battery | Immediate |
| EastwardYJ J09 High | AA NiMH | 916 |
| EastwardYJ J09 High | Alk. AA | 822 |
| EastwardYJ J09 High | Li Primary | 891 |
| EastwardYJ J09 Low | AA NiMH | 395 |
| EastwardYJ J09 Low | Alk. AA | 399 |
| EastwardYJ J09 Low | Li Primary | 379 |
| Hugsby P32 High | AA NiMH | 650 |
| Hugsby P32 High | Li Primary | 527 |
| Hugsby P32 Low | AA NiMH | 214 |
| Hugsby P32 Low | Li Primary | 201 |
Both are amply bright for the sort of things an AA light usually gets used for. Mt personal preference would be the Hugsby. Both could use their low level being lower and both have an annoying strobe.
Wow. Thanks Don!! Really like the numbers on the Eastward. Just ordered the Uniquefire. Now i have to order the Eastward.LOL The wife hates the flashaholic in me ,but she does not complain when it comes to taking which ever one she likes.
The nice thing about these lights is that it doesn't cost silly money to try several while looking for the elusive "perfect light".
The "perfect light" doesnt exist
Agreed. That is why there is so much fun looking for it.
I don't know - saw a guy on CPF who had just got one but he didn't say where. Someone else chimed in to say that several had got 2.8-4.2V P31s but again didn't say where they'd got them from.
If you build one, or get someone to build it for you, you can come " very close to perfect". If there would be a dropin form factor for 1AA's, it would be a lot easier.
Hello charlescleec70, welcome to BLF, thanks for joining!
I'd second the recommendations of the guys above.
The Hugsby has nice physical contruction, but I don't think it's that great of an actual flashlight. The tint is very 'cool' (~8000K), beam is average xr-e op reflector, and the modes and "memory" (next mode <10sec, high after 10 sec) is just average.
I like the Skyray s-a1 much better as a light. It has 3 useful levels and a nicely formed xp-e hotspot (w/ halo) with mellow tint. Perfect memory. However the design is more loose and it has some of the same niggles as most chinese lights (1 of mine has offset emitter board). The switch is also very nice, with positive click compare to husby's kinda vague short travel. It's the one I go for in actual usage.
Anyway, just another choice to consider.