2*AA side-by-side aluminum flashlight - DCF01 by Sofirn (Formerly: Resurrection of Duracell Durabeam)

Wouldn’t that make it your MDC?
:smiley:

I like the Nitecore MT22A light as well. Get rid of the strobe, and put a nice NW emitter in it. I was going to buy a few of the Nitecores for the kids while camping, but the strobe function in the main mode group killed the deal for me. Didn’t want the kids strobing in the campgrounds.

Simple 4 mode, water proof, tail stand, and inexpensive.

Wow, blast from the past! I had one of these as a kid, and I loved it to bits, first torch of a reputable brand that I’ve ever had. It rode in my pocket a pot and saw relentless use until the host’s plastics cracked too much to hold the black casing in place. When it gave up the ghost, the switch’s tin plate was oxidized, the reflector was more cracked than a boiled egg before peeling, and certain sections of the brown plastic were beige from elastic fatigue.

If you ask me, two LEDs (liked the “one flood, one throw” idea) driven to produce about 15-20 lumens each, with only one mode. That way a slide switch can be used and muggles will love the simplicity. And no, it should be all alkie or NiMH, no going fancy with battery formats, save that for a special model.

This may became interesting. It seems most of serious players on flaslight market already discovered advantages of rectangular section host. On the other hand I hope the beam will not have any visible rectangularity.

This could become an interesting project.

Why in this age of almost endless inhome possibilities look for cooperation with established manufacturers. BLF has members with 3D-printers, and skills in AutoCad or what ever sofware you need for a 3D printer.
Use the search function :wink: Ahem, my name won’t be popping up, because I posess no useful skillset.

I have the Nitecore MT22A and I like it quite a bit. I wouldn’t care if it supported 2*14500 or not. The output possible for two AA is impressive now. That Duracell was my first flashlight as a kid. I kept it in an old army knapsack with extra batteries and an extra bulb in a medicine bottle. Good memories!

I like the idea, would surely buy one or two…

Pay attention, Sofirn. Group buy, group buy! This is a great idea. Simple yet very useful. I especially like the 2-LED Flood/Throw combo idea.

I don’t have much experience with this kind of 2xAA lights, but maybe it was fun to see what they could do from this idea!
With a good UI, decent output and host resistance (and ergonomics), it might be a good stuff to offer my parents and aunts, instead of lights with 18650s! :+1:

Like the idea, classic pocket shape its time. Shape allows for many power options.

Let go for it Sofrin…… Could be a winner…….

This is also the best shape for holding in the mouth when hands are otherwise occupied.

Like using Prusik knots, climbing a slippery muddy wet rope out of a deep cave. Done that.

Anyone resurrecting the design should consider making sure it fits teeth.

Interesting idea. I never had the pleasure of using one of those Durabeams, but having seen a few recent side-by-side lights that look interesting, including the Manker T02 and the Freelux Synergy, the form factor is starting to intrigue me.

The slider switch is a feature I sometimes think might be worth reviving in a modern, improved form. If I remember right, a lot of them had a small button on the switch that could provide momentary mode, while sliding it forward actually turned the light to constantly on. A modern take on this idea might make the button an easy to find mode-selection.

Interesting idea!
The output in plastic should be low but it will be good as a bike light too if you make a mount thing on it. I suggest Gopro style so you can use a wide variety of mounts.

Here’s another one, from the invaluable Flashlight Museum

http://www.flashlightmuseum.com/Eveready-Flashlight-F215-2AA-Cell-Sport-Gear-Waterproof-Grip-Light-with-Lanyard-2AA-1995

$4, 1995

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And the children’s version:

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and a few weird ones here:

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And [Gas$p!]: https://www.illumn.com/sunwayman-d20a-xp-g2-xp-e-p2-258-lumens-2-x-aa.html
$41.50 REGULAR PRICE $83.00

I briefly toyed with this idea…

thanks guys.

there are two ways sofirn can help. One is you guys find a plastic light in alibaba, sofirn improve it according to your ideas and do the group buy. the other is design a aluminum light you wanted, such as the 2*AA light.

the difficulty is not to fulfill it but to fulfill it at a low price. It needs keep it simple and big quantity of group buy, let’s say 1K.

all things are not clear, all I can say is we can talk about it and see if we can make it together.

cheers

PS: I found flashlights for kids is a big need, it will be great if we can make one or improve one existed, simple UI, kids friendly, tough, cheap, nice looking for kids……

I found that the Sofirn C01 is excellent for kids, if Sofirn could continue making it, perhaps not with Yuji led but another 5mm led (preferrably with neutral tint), that would be great. If the price is still 5 dollar it is cheap enough to loose it too.

The C01S is great for kids too but too expensive to loose (my son would loose it all the time).

Is anyone able to post the measurements of 2AA Duracell Durabeam please? Those are needed for 3D modelling.
Thank you in advance :wink:

I think most kid flashlights are probably better off being larger, more colorful and with a plastic lens. AA sized lights are fine too but I think our kids are the exception since it’s our hobby too.