AA/14500 light w/ button indicator that glows

I’m looking for a light that

  • can use both AA and 14500
  • has sub lumen firefly mode
  • side button that glows all the time so you can find it in the dark
  • click for on and click again for off

The last two I can find lots of in 18650 formats, but not the AA/14500.

I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving this week.

Armytek Prime A1 PRO
however, side button doesnt glow, but blinks (but when the light is on, which I guess is not exactly what you want…)

Skilhunt M150 V2 using Mode Group B.
https://www.skilhunt.com/product/m150-usb-magnetic-rechargeable-flashlight/

It has a small dot light in the side switch that’s blue when the flashlight is powered on and the battery is good.

Moonlight is similar to my Zebralight SC64c LE. Approximately 0.05 lumens.

If you lock it out by holding the button for 1.5 seconds while off, then the light in the side switch will glow red every second. You can hold while in lockout mode and it will turn on and exit lockout mode. Click for off.

View post on imgur.com

That glowing light will kill your battery and when you need the light, it will be dead.

Perhaps you should check the Lumintop Tool AA 2.0.
It doesn’t meet all your needs but some of them.

Quite cheap and reliable.

B.

Pretty much that!
The V1 of the Skilhunt M150 has a considerable drain of battery if the switch is lit up.
And as far as I perceived from some reports here, so does the Tool AA V2 with lighted tail switch.

And I can tell you that I have lighted switches in two 14500 lights and they drain fast. Probably it is not opimized for those batteries, but it drains the cells…
Nice feature but…not so nice after all!

the (optionaly) lighted switch in my Manker T02 doesn`t seem to drain batteries that badly, but it doesn`t really have a moonlight mode either just a Low.

Moonlight and nice low mode - that’s the main advantage of the M150.
Really fine flashlight.

imho Tritium is a great option for glow in the dark markers.

Reylight Lan and Pineapple have the possibility of meeting all the OP dream light features, except, the button is on the tail, and will not drain the battery.

imo the button on the tail is much easier to locate in the dark by feel, than a side head button.

other features of the Reylights
moonlight,
dual fuel,
High CRI Neutral White,
click on click off UI,
optional memory,
fancy metals
and Tritium slots.


pic is a link to more info

What John says! (He beat me, i was going to say that)

Some lights will have a lit switch only for 14500, but not for alkaleak/NiMH. Simple enough to limit current from a Li cell, but you’d need a booster for a low-volt cell.

The Sofirn IF25A was the first light I got that had the lit indicator button. The tailcap current is 80 micro-amps. Let’s say that it takes 6 months to drain it from 4.2 to 3.9V. I’m OK with that kind of consumption for the benefits of a light that is easy to find in the dark and one that is a go-to light that I’d expect to recharge a few times a year.

I figure the AA battery would just be if I absolutely can’t get a 14500 for some reason, and need to fall back on AA.

The Tritium feature is nice, but very uncommon on budget lights I tend to buy. I also don’t like the button on the tailcap. Easier to find perhaps, but the so unnatural to hold the light that way and changing grips to manipulate the button is a pain.

But the Reylight is very pretty though.

Astrolux x6

Those look gorgeous with tritium. But there are some disadvantages to it:

  • Cost - tritium is expensive. AT $6-$10 per vial it can really add up especially when you have 10 or vials in a light.
  • Brightness - trit vials aren’t that bright. Depending on how they’re tuned Aux LEDs in a flashlight can be significantly brighter without causing a meaningful battery drain.
  • Radiation hazard - Not clear what, if any, the hazard is from these. Did a check online and most results seemed to suggest an old tube CRT radiates more. On the other hand, I also came across references that trit vials do emit a small amount of x-rays which do penetrate.
  • Legal issues - I did a check awhile back to see the legal status of trit vials in flashlights in the U.S… My recollection was such vials are not permitted to be used for frivolous purposes. And I think this counts since you don’t really need trit vials to have a functioning flashlight. Seems like they would be borderline illegal even if the law isn’t enforced.
  • Travel - before Covid there was the issue of traveling through security at airports. Not sure I’d want to bring a radiation emitting device through airport security.

+1 what’s been said about 1.5V needing a boost to activate a secondary LED and/or as with a14500 powered light, runs the risk of draining cell, for other than occassional use.

+1 for lights with trit(s), a viable option.

And even for lights without a dedicated trit slot, just find your own location and install one anyway -

It cannot use AAs, only 14500.