Why not get a Photon coin-cell light?
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.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rayovac-Value-Bright-2AA-LED-Flashlight/22086112
PROS
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
CONS
Brighter than what you asked for
Hi!
I know they are not AA, but I have these 2 lights and to be very deem, and single mode, I recommend these:
http://www.trueutility-store.com/pocket-flashlights-c6/true-utility-nanolite-p32
It’s a True Utility twist keychain light, 4 LR521 batteries and the box brings 8 spare batteries; costs ± 9€, and I guess you might find it a local kiosk, shopping or even book store.
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.
Hope it helps! Regards!! :+1:
That comes the closest I guess… Just need a way to crank that brightness down.
Isn’t there a simple way to crank an led down in brightness? Or have a battery give out less power…?
How about the Utorch UT01
running on NiMh
always starts on Low
all moded can be set to
Tint the lens. Find some cheap automotive tint and cover the lens until its the brightness you are looking for.
Fenix E01. Old, reliable, puts on just slightly above a conventional Moonlight mode, runs for 10 hours if not more, total battery vampire.
Another option would be take a flashlight you like and replace the sense resistor on the driver to lower all modes
Also replacing the original LED with a high CRI LED
Klarus mi01 is a good choice, the tint is nice too
It runs on aaa, not AA
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.
If a flashlight that takes one AAA battery will work, check out this thread:
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.
The gerber ultra infinity though would be my recommendation…. These have been around for decades. Previously they were made by CMG for the US military, as a low lumen task-light. So their design roots goes way back pretty far. IIRC they are 5~8 Lumens though, so slightly brighter I think than your needs… but it is as close as I can think of in the AA format.
https://www.amazon.com/Gerber-Infinity-Ultra-Flashlight-22-80012/dp/B00062APHU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1500664258&sr=8-1&keywords=gerber+ultra+infinity
My cousin has a ~20-25 year old CMG version and it works fine here in 2017.
If you are OK with single AAA lights, the Fenix E01 will suit you very well. I have been using its predecessor (E0 dart) for over a decade with no problems at all. However IIRC its also in the 5~10 lumen range… more than what you may need.
https://www.amazon.com/Fenix-E01GSBK-B-E01-Flashlight-Black/dp/B00BNUBDKW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1500665318&sr=8-1&keywords=fenix+E01
How about this:
Moonlight level output.
I would just grab a 3*AAA or 3*AA Light, get rid of the driver and use a 5mm LED instead of the existing one.
probably way more sturdy than any of those cheap AA lights made of plastic.
example: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Mini-Blacklight-Invisible-Ink-Marker-9LED-UV-Ultra-Violet-Flashlight-Torch-Light-3xAAA-Batteries-powered/32691941785.html?
Just desolder all the LEDs and put a single white one in it + resistor of your choice.
I was at walmart yesterday and they had a 1-AA Ray o vac, LED flashlight that I think might serve this purpose very well. It was ~$3, and had what looked like a 5mm LED behind some kind of optic lens. Surely couldn’t be much more than 10 Lumens. I have no idea how reliable or durable they are though, but at that price you could just buy 3-4 of them and stash them in the tent or RV.
Since my suggestion isn’t available anymore maybe someone knows of something similar???
I would suggest an XTAR H1, it’s a AA or 14500 powered angle head light that was intended as a headlamp. The low is pretty good but it came with a red LED that I prefer to most moonlight modes. These came out 5 or 6 years ago and I don’t see any on ebay or amazon.