The problem with forward clickie is that switching modes is a bit awkward with it. When you have 2 switches, you can have the momentary on at the tail switch (that is advantage for some), and switching modes with electronic switch.
I am personally fine with reverse clickie or e-switch only.
I like that very much too, but if the 14500 compatibility stands in the way of a good AA boost driver I prefer a light without 14500 option.
I have many li-ion lights and love the possibilities and output. But I hate that I can never give one away without decent batteries, a charger and the full safety story on li-ions :tired: Last week I modded an AA zoomie with a dedomed XP-E2, and for a change I left the stock notsohigh-low-blinky AA boost driver in. And I was pretty happy about that, the performance had become way better with the dedomed R3 bin led, I gave it to a friend for his birthday (just like that, without a story at all).
David...for me...momentary "on". The drawback is how modes get changed without the e-switch. Essentially you half-press from "off" til you get desired mode then either switch "on" or use momentary. E-switch makes much easier and user-friendly. Without an e-switch...probably a pita for most but I am accustomed to it because all of my "work" lights are forward clicky..even my A6's that I use at work.
My ‘bug-out’ gear is AA powered or compatible so I could use something like this, and it would be a very good ‘gift light’ for non-flashaholics too. 14500 compatibility would be nice but not a deal-breaker. L-H or L-M-H would be all I need, L could be moonish but not too low. Priced right, I’d be up for a few or more.
AA is a world-wide standard, no matter where you go these are readily available, which can’t be said of many cell sizes we’re used to.
There were some very good EOS 1xAA drivers available for a while from Int-Outdoors, but that supply seems to have dried up. I’ve modded three of my old Fenix L1P carcasses into very useful 3-mode lights. Those drivers would tolerate 2xEneloops in good humour, but over-volted at the sight of 2 alkies - and went plumb haywire with 2 lithium primaries. I only have a couple of those drivers left; I wish I could source some more.
Of the current crop of 1xAA’s out there, the one I’m lusting after is the Lumintop ED15. Very impressive run times. It might make a good BLF candidate, with a neutral emitter of some sort.
I don’t like them, because it is too easy to run down a 14500 battery. Some expensive drivers try to keep track of what voltage type the cell is, but I can’t see that being reliable. I suppose it would avoid having to carry one more light sometimes, though.
It would be awesome if we could provide the whole package, as with the new K6: design the light and design the AA boost-driver with Attiny and BLF-firmware.
But who will be 'we' ??
'We' is someone with a lathe who can make a goodlooking host as an example for a manufacturer to copy, that is compact (compact is what AA size is about IMO) but still uses some standard parts, like 16-17mm switch board with small Omten, 14x8mm tail cap, and a 17mm driver, perhaps with a 18mm reflector like the Ultrafire C3 (the C3 is my personal favorite AA flashlight shape, but it has many -easily resolved- design flaws, so it should not be literally copied) or even the standard 20mm reflector that is also in the BLF-A6 (giving it a head diameter that is a bit wider than 'tubestyle).
And 'we' is also a gang of driver fiddlers who go ahead with the Attiny13 boost driver project and make firmware for it with nice modes.
And 'we' is someone with good contacts with seller and manufacturer to make the production and sales happen.
I PMed Simon to see if there was a possibility of a Convoy AA light in the near future. If he can give us one with a few choices like he does with the 18650 lights than that might be an easy, affordable solution. I am not sure if he will get back to me though; he has been AWOL for a while.
(warning: personal opinion coming up) I like everything about the Manker T01 except the styling: too MadMax for me, and I dislike grey too. And although I love its wide reflector for its performance, for a BLF-AA I think it is too big. (we should lend the Manker driver design: 500 lumen OTF from a single NiMh battery is a great achievement, just the UI is awkward)