It seems hard to find AA battery lights with a good run time. Don has a nice list of lights with lumens and runtime. But it seems the lights that run longer than an hour are few. And the lights which can run longer than 2 hours you can count on one hand it seems.
Other than the BLF powerlight / Delight what good lights are there that are 30+ lumen with more than 2 hours of runtime and under $15?
I've got the Trustfire F20 which has a nice long lasting low power mode and can tailstand... but I find it finicky and switches modes easily with a slight bump... very annoying.
dimeotane is right, this IS a forum for budget lights, hence the forum name. I am unable to help much because most of my carried lights are 18650 for that extra runtime. And my AA's are all pretty much run on 14500's because I like pocket rockets. My ultrafire UF-H2B (headlamp/angle light) on low mode can run for hours and hours, and my mr.lite BLF special on moonlight can also run for a good time. However, those two lights are more than $15, the closest being the mr.lite J4/BLF special at around $20.
Pardon srfreddy, he's a refugee from the other place.
There's got to be a good answer, but most lights are geared towards maximum output. I can't think of any runtime kings offhand. Most lights will run longer on NiMH than li-ion, albeit dimmer, but that's something you're willing to deal with. I know Mr. Admin prizes long-running lights, so maybe he has some suggestions . . .
I haven't got anything against budget lights.. christ I own a few of them.
But efficiency is where they lack by such a huge margin due to their nature. The aim of these budget lights seems to be all about grunt and light output, meaning that efficiency/runtime doesn't get a look in.
I think you will struggle to find such a light dimeotane for $15, it is such a tall order.
Efficiency is what makes me save up for the more expensive lights, these lights have been designed with a different approach angle to what budget lights generally are.
Take the Zebralight H51 it will do your required 30 lumens not for a few hours but for 12 hours! It is crazy and very very appealing.
But it is over 4 times the cost of your $15 you want to spend.
Hi there dimeotane, this is a good question, and one of my most sought-after features in a good budget light.
First of all, I think I might have the solution for the finnicky issues with your F20. I had the same issue with mine, but I was able to solve it despite being all thumbs. Just unscrew the head, and use tweezers or something sharp to grab the little dimples on the emitter module and thoroughly tighten it down. I hope this fixes it for you.
Apart from the F20, the Ultrafire C3 stainless, the Tank007 TK-566-5, and if you can stretch your budget just a little bit more, the newest version of the Trustfire R5-A3 all have good brightness and good runtime on low or medium. In most cases, MUCH more than 2 hours.
Hard to beat a Gerber Infinity Ultra for runtime. Depending if 4aa is an option, the Streamlight 7 led Propoly's also has a good runtime. In both cases, check the batteries often if you are using primaries. I've had some leak at least in both of mine....ruined my Streamlight.
I guess the Gerber uses a 5mm LED? I don't think you'll get 50 lumens out of that. More like 10 or so, I'd guess.
I wonder if there are any drivers that have a switch that engages different numbers of linear regulators? 1 regulator for 350mA, 2 for 700mA, and maybe 4 for 1400mA. That'd be pretty nice and seems like it would be simple and very efficient on lithium-ion batteries. At 350mA, the Low would be 50 lumens or so, but would run for over 2 hours on a 14500. No PWM.
the solution for the finnicky issues with your F20. I had the same issue with mine, but I was able to solve it despite being all thumbs. Just unscrew the head, and use tweezers or something sharp to grab the little dimples on the emitter module and thoroughly tighten it down. I hope this fixes it for you.
It helped, but it still changes modes when I set it down to tailstand. I think it's because of the cushy spring with the AA is too soft. I wadded some tinfoil under the battery above the switch and now it doesnt' switch modes when I set it down to tailstand.