I have to disagree a bit here, I had/have access to 6-7 Hugsby's P32/31 and 2 Skyray's S-A1 and I must say the Hugsby's are the better light on NiMH in my opinion. They are significantly brighter on NiMH on high and most importantly the Skyray S-A1 has no clip, what the original poster specifically asked for.
What build dates are your Hugsby's and what do they draw?
Both of mine are 8/2010 and do 2A, Both A1's do about 2A. They have indiscriminable difference in brightness and A1's have a much nicer beam (or at least the one without the offset emitter I need to fix :)).
The OP might also want to consider an EOS A2 if clip is important. They are the best ones for a gift, because even Hugsby have a certain roughness to them. ---- ah, beaten by sashi
Your measurements sound about right, if I remember correctly. I have the impression that the Skyray is darker because of the lower efficiency of that wide voltage range (driver) that it covers, but that is a wild guess on my part. Production dates on my Hugsby's vary from "general availability of the light" to "received 2 weeks ago". I can can look up the exact dates if you want. (I remember that 2010.02 and 2010.03 were my first) You are right on the quality of the beam, the Skyray's have a more even beam and a warmer tint on my samples... but I'm not sure they hit the 80+ lumen mark on high. If the original poster wanted a 14500&AA/multi-mode/without_clip light the Skyray would be a good option, but I think it's not a good recommendation if he asks for NiMH_only_80+_lumens/single_mode/with_with clip. The only downside to the Hugsby's seem the insecurity, what voltage range you get (at least for the P31 , as DON mentioned.)
I don't think a wider voltage range in drivers means anything. These are all boost drivers, and some just happen to work when higher voltage is present by bypassing the regulator. Has anyone actually verified they don't work in Hugsby's?
The working mode memory on the a1 means it's at least as good as the p31 as a 1 mode light and much better than the p32. I'm also pretty confident it's >80lumens.
I haven't tried it on the a1, but I don't really recommend using lithiums with xp-e's on direct. It's done that way on the trustfire z1, and the emitter's overdriven with fresh batteries (like 1.3A at tail).
It's also possible the new hugsby I got are worse than the old ones, unfortunate but not really surprising.
The P32 has no memory if turned off for longer than 2 secs, so you will most likely never have to switch through 3-4 additional modes, to be on high again. So for me not having a memory is a pro... I like strobe-less lights to have working memory and like lights with strobe modes to have no memory and turning on initially on high... I think it's a matter of taste. To me the P32 is closer to a real single mode light than the S-A1.
Both of mine from 8/2010 are 10 sec reset, which is somewhat annoying. So like typical chinese manufacturers, quality goes downhill.
You are right the newer ones have a different mode switching behavior ... just checked 3 P32, I didn't notice that before, but they do have similar brightness.
Beamshot (with an angle photographed, but the lights have the same distance to the wall) on an Eneloop NiMH, Hugsby P32 (left) vs Skyray S-A1 (right):
Now that I've read the initial requirement for a single mode, the Uniquefire is a pretty good bet. 101 lumens with an NiMH and 225 with a 14500 which is fearsomely bright.
The Trustfire R5-A3 though a 3 mode is also worth a look. It really screams on a 14500 at just shy of 300 lumens, and 117 on NiMH.
The downside of high brightness is short runtime which is where a good low mode can come in handy.
The Hugsby P31 is an excellent light too and is probably the best made of the three of them. But some have escaped with a 3 mode 14500 only driver.
which 14500 do you use? normalaa are tight fit.
All of mine will go in - the flame protected Trustfires are a shake hard to get it out fit. I have a couple of blue protected no-names which are about the same size as an Eneloop and 6 unprotected Trustfire 14500s that fit just fine - but one of those gave me two whole minutes runtime on high.
Must mark them so I can find that cell and recycle it.
My junk 2700mAh NiMHs won't go in at all.