You guys are the most resourceful and fast posters I have seen in any forum.
I have checked them all and understand very well that using nearly dead batteries is a solution but come on guys you must admit… So far we have only found “High Lumens Lights with a Low Setting” or “Workarounds with nearly dead batteries”. I’m not criticizing the help here please believe me but you guys have to admit it’s not easy to find a quality light that goes forever, loads an Eneloop and just has an old school Incandescent brightness…
Yet there are hundreds of lights with either 23 settings and/or 500+ Lumens. There must be one type within one brand that’s just a “Run Forever” flashlight.
From OFF, a long press straight to 5 lumen, just the thing going to the toilet, and yes, a short press goes to max, and for your 4,5 and 6yr olds, the lockout feature is best if you don’t make them aware of this feature.
Holy Moly does that Klarus have some functions… But it looks like “Outdoor Setting” has what it takes. Does that give instant Low Mode? Looks like that’s possible.
So funny when you think about it… There are millions of families that could use a “Run Forever/Kids Safe Quality Light” yet we all buy “Tactical Assault” Lights… I don’t think 90% of all fathers is Special Forces… :cowboy_hat_face:
Yes, yes I admit I’m also shining my massive Terralux beam to the stars while walking to the toilet but… it’s funny!
I would build a convoy s2 or one of those plastic solarforce P1 (seems abuse friendly).
And get a nice nice high cri nitcha or cree emitter in 3500-4000k.
And a driver with the correct modes and output.
Would solve the output issue and get a nice emitter as well.
Only place i realy find a high cri/warm light useful (a must almost) is in nature, everything just comes alive so much more.
Don’t know if they have them in your location, but in the US Walmart has a 12 lumen 2XAA Rayovac LED light complete with 2 “heavy duty” batteries that run for 23 hours. US $ 1.44. It will probably run a lot longer on NiMH or alkaline.
Dirt cheap including batteries.
Comes with a standard 2 cell bulb, so if the flashlight breaks you can take the bulb out and use it in another 2XAA or 2XD light. I put one in my military style 2 D cell anglehead flashlight and it’s been working fine.
Comes in different colors, so the kids don’t have to argue about which black flashlight is theirs
Also a twist light, a bit brighter but not that much, you won’t wake anyone with this one during the night, takes 4 AG13 (LR44) batteries and works pretty well too! I have 1 of these on my bedside.
It’s not that you can use them in a looong period, as they use small batteries, but they may be very handy at those low lumen levels.
Closest I can think of is the Fenix E01. Single mode, but it takes AAA and puts out 13 lumens:
It also has a twisty on-off action, which may be a problem with small children, because twisting too far takes the head right off (that’s how you replace the cell), so the very small head becomes a choke hazard.
I’m personally not convinced, but I’m gong to mention it anyway. Nitecore LA10 CRI. Yes it is 85 lumens, but it is 100% diffused, so it’s not going to blind you compared to a 10 lumen reflector light. It’s single AA and price is less than $20 with discount.
The older Quark 4Sevens AA-Tactical. The 1AA is my preference. Yes it has multiple modes… BUT they are Totally programmable. let me explain a little.
Its essentially a TWO mode light, tighten the bezel for mode 1, loosen the bezel just a little for mode 2… with a simple tail cap click switch on or off. No mode cycles, no soft press anything, no hidden-mode anything. Its a simple ON/OFF interface once you select your mode.
How you program each of those modes is entirely up to you…. firefly, low, med, turbo, SOS, Disco. You can even program the same output to BOTH modes at the same time so tightening or loosening the bezel results in the same output. So essentially in your case you would end up with the ~.2 Lumen firefly mode, programmed to both…. and just leave the bezel tightened all the way down.
Availability is going to be your problem though. I checked Ebay 1-2 months ago and they can be found there, but being discontinued its going to be hit and miss.