Can anyone step up for an AA/2AA only BLF budget flashlight?

Include me, as well, the AA camp....would be very interested in a 2xAA.

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.

BLF members rule number 1.

All late comers to the end of the line.

Pulling rank huh?
:bigsmile:

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.

pleas let it be something that can run on single or double AA! I love the 14500 format too!

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.

Hehe, two heads you say :D? AA regular one and 14500 wider and deeper reflector for throw?!

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.

There’re a couple of reviews that just popped up this morning for the Manker T01. That seems close, but it’s a side switch only.

(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)

Wow, that T01 does look very good!

A Convoy S6 style AA light would be great; its the kind of thing I am after (hence my use of a Thorfire TG05 currently).

Narrower, and shorter than the S6 obviously.

With the driver performance of the Manker T01 driver, if possible. :slight_smile:

Although I would be perfectly happy with just 500ma going to the LED on Max…

That Manker T01 with an optional extension might just fit the bill!

The only good looking AA lights I can think of are the Sipik SK-58 and a 2 x AA that looks nice but came with very cheap works. There is a type of 1xAA light with similar shape to the SS-5039, but it isn’t nice. I can’t say why except that the metal is too thin and the surface too smooth.

I think a modded hugsby xp11 or 12 would be nice, Tom E’s modded TG06 would fit the bill and last but not least a BLF version of the olight s15 would be great too.

Beautiful shapes have compound curves, so they are almost impossible to prototype on a manual lathe. The best way would be to make a prototype in clay and then have it produced on a numerical control lathe. There was someone on here who had worked with NC. There was a thread of beautiful 3D printed lights, but none of them could be mass produced.

Surely the majority of people would want a slim pocket friendly light rather than anything too shapely, tactical or otherwise? The look of the Convoy S6 shrunk down suitably I would have thought would have been ideal.

The battery tube of the SS-5039 has a smooth curve to it without being any fatter or heavier or weaker than a cylinder would be, and without taking any longer on the machine. It is a bit thinner near the center and a bit fatter near the ends. That makes it beautiful and easier to hold and improves the overall strength relative to a cylinder or any combination of cylinders with the same average radius. The head has a bit of extra metal, that has little function until I put new insides into it so that it needs the extra for cooling.

Even slinkier/curvier, the Smiling Shark SS-5050 1 Mode (1 x AA Battery)