Help pick a light for an elderly neighbor

The #3 zoomie! I believe they run about 60 lumens on AA.

Warsun AA zoomie also comes to mind, we were talking about it the other day on the zoomie thread and it seems like a nice enough torch. Mine is on the way so I haven’t really got a chance to play with it.

My mum loves the Fenix E12 and the older E21 so those might do the trick, too. The E21 does need occasional tail retaining ring tightening.

One of the Energizer tactical lights available anywhere. Was my first EDC light. Now it lives in my car.

If there is a homedepot nearby they carry a few AA / AAA husky lights that are under $10 with simple ui and not too bright lumens

I was about to recommend a husky or rayovac, but I can’t think of anything that is sturdy and under 200 lumens. Maybe a plastic one, I’m sure that would probably be fine.

What about a Coast HP1? Keep the light in flood mode so you don’t have an overpowering hotspot. The problem is that according to the amazon price tracker, the HP1 has recently jumped to $20.

As others have said, any cheap hardware store light is probably okay. Some may be too bright, though.

Or, order one of those sipik clones from China for $3 or $4, or any of the 1xAA Chinese lights. They all claim several hundred lumens (that’s probably on a lithium-ion cell), but on a regular AA alkaline or NiMH, they put out about 50 lumens.

They’re not built extremely well, but most are sturdy enough, and will probably last an elderly person a lifetime. :wink:

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, I would like to avoid a zoomie because I’m afraid it might confuse her. The Higsby looks like it ticks off a lot of the boxes, though maybe a bit bight. I knew they made a AAA light but had no idea there was also a AA, thanks Jack.

The nearest Home Depot or Lowes is about 75 miles away; even the closest Walmart is about 60 miles from here. We do have a local Hardware store and I seem to remember seeing some Nebo lights in a display by the cash register.

I think I’ll take a stroll into town and see what they have, I kind of forgot you could buy flashlights from any place other than a Chinese retailer. :person_facepalming: If I don’t find anything I might order one of those Higsbys.

Thanks again everyone, in the words of Young Mr. Grace

Main thing is — put in Energizer Lithium primary cell, and a spare in the drawer for five years from now when the first one is tired.
They won’t leak.

LED lights with alkalines can go on cheerfully looking bright while alkaline cells are corroding away inside them, unlike incandescents that went dim orange as corrosion started to leak.

Yes, the Energizer lithium primary cells will cost more than the flashlight.
But they’re apt to last longer as well.

Good pro tip there, thanks Hank.

If you get the Hugsby and put some DC-Fix behind the lens , it will tame the lumens somewhat and create a beautiful flood beam .

Are you sure that a 13 lumen E01 wouldn’t be the simple and not too bright bathroom light for her?

Do you need to buy one, or is making one an option?

Lend her one, take the Mag, do a Match-mod on it with 800mA boost driver (Fasttech) and 90deg TIR lens (Amazon/uxcell) for something nice and floody. It’ll have some decent lumens, but they’ll be nicely spread out over a wide area.

Or if you don’t mind an angry blue color, a Nite-Ize LED replacement.

Both will be simple twisties.

Thanks again everyone, I picked up a Nebo CSI LUMA50, it was less than 10 bucks and has a crenulated bezel so she can look tactical. :laughing:

Hahaha, neat! Looks suspiciously like those infamous Police 5w ones albeit has a different colour and has the rubber grip thingy. :smiley:

This is apparently the deluxe model the Crime Scene Investigators use. I think those Police 5w models are intended more for your average beat cop. :smiling_imp:

Woah! Group buy? :stuck_out_tongue: :smiley:

Please refrain from using foul language on the forum ……

the word NEBO is not to be uttered .

i like the $2 #3 zoomies …gas de-domed while still in the light and 1/8th of the slider filed down to make both the flood super wide and laserlike in throw mode . mod takes 10 minutes.

you’re right about old people not being able to push a button…. you might want to try a super light AA twisty off ebay for about 5$

Beauty of these cheap lights is if they get lost or ruined with an alkaline it’s no great loss .

As in, dunk the light LED side down in a glass of petrol? Won’t it hurt the driver electronics, etc? How long does it take and is the gas warmed?

I didn’t mean the gas de doming only took 10 minutes ….

I de dome emitters in lights by adding a little gas to a 2 shot shot glass. then add paper towel and make a small ball of the paper towel to act like a wick …and i just set the emitter on top of the ball . next morning i knock of the emitter clean it up with some alcohol and let it air dry … done it to about a half dozen #3 zoomies …there is nothing to lose and the improvement is pretty dramatic …. the flood is as big or bigger than any other Flood to throw light I’ve ever seen. A good NW xpg2 doesn’t hurt these lights at all either

Appreciate the details, Boaz. Will try it myself asap. I ruined a latticebright from an sk68 clone by dunking it in petrol overnight. The bond wires came right off by themselves, and I’ve been hesitant to dedome cheapies ever since.