The single mode from tmart posted earlier. :)
I wish!
A mate had a Desmo 250 that was plain evil - that thing would break your leg rather than start. Then it burned his garage down.
To "keep it real" I actually did buy a light. lol
I would normally go straight to Dx first but I am so "over" their poor service.
Edc, i would really want a review on that one! :)
Should get it in 2 - 3 weeks.
I'm happy this post started like a "stupid" curiosity is becoming a way to discuss about low low low low budget light.
I don't know how but i didn't buy any flashlight (not yet 
).
If i have 10 $ (12 with the bonus!) to spend in 5 minutes probably i would buy this
I love akoray flashlight! But also this one suggested by rzezniq is good
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/uniquefire-aa-s1-3w-osram-160-lumen-led-flashlight-1-aa-1-14500-24220
Which one do you think is better??
I don't know so many on-line shop but probably my first choice if i am in a hurry, would be DX.
When I can't decide between two I get both. When I first started buying lights I had no idea. I didn't even know what an x-re. I spent days looking at dx and was totally confused. I read hundreds of reviews etc.
I ended up with some pretty good aa/ 14500 lights that feature on this site.
So you rip your bumper off of yourr car just so you can buy a flashlight ?? crazy man crazy …
##I don't ;like the osram It's green and me and green disagree ,,it isn't warm it's ugly ..ick ahh and it's a 1 mode ..i don't like one modes unless they are little 60 lumen AAA lights .. I think vectrex is right trying to force yourself into a under 12 $ is a little odd when 3 or 5 bucks may do much much more for you ...money shouldn't be the constant .. what do you like ?? do you like a lot of knurl ?? smooth lights multi modes ?? low lows ? heavy small tiny ?? does pwm bug the hell out of you like it does me ? Do you want runtime ?? how about resale value .. price doesn't mean much ..
I like the question about 10$ and 5 minutes ...Sounds a bit lurid .. my dirty mind 0:)
LOL...when I first saw this post title, I thought it was a "build challange".
$10 in parts
5 minute time limit
Goal: Come up with something neat...
GO!
The time limit might be a bit short, but I do like the idea...
Alright Match, we're starting the clock for you... NOW! =D
We used to have a motto 20+ years ago which of course is totally outdated now.
It said: “Italian is the bike you wish you had while you fall with a Japanese bike. Japanese is the bike you wish you had while pushing an Italian bike” 
@ Aleister: What?? Italian bike are the best in the entire universe! Infact i have a Yamaha!!! LOL (obviously i'm joking..)
@ edc: i know that the best idea is always buy both flashlight, but if you're forced to choose one of them? For example your wife enter while you are putting the second flashlight in the cart!
I would try this. http://www.dealextreme.com/p/dx-xp-e-cree-xpe-r2-120-lumen-led-flashlight-black-1-10440-44620
$10 parts and 5 mins...
Ignorning the battery and the heatsink that are just around... I can't actually do it now.. (im not at home), but what I would do. (I can get pictures later when I am at home next week, or try to collate pictures from online)
Time = 0 min, 1) Start Pre-heat for sldering iron, Collect parts = XP-G (Neutral, Naturally), 1A KD driver, some hookup wire, thermal paste, screwdriver, spare heatsinks from computers (that have screws in them already), get a power source (probably my 3S 1000, or 2000mA lipo packs sitting around), collect a few elastic bands.
Time = 1 min , 2) Strap battery pack to the heatsink, strap driver to heatsink, thermal paste and screw emitter onto the heatsink (depending on how hot the iron is, might do this after soldering), usualyl with only 1 screw becasue spacing doesnt match emitter board dimensions.
Time = 2 min, 3) Solder the emitter to the driver, solder flying leads for the power input for the driver
Time = 4 min, 4) Connect driver to the battery via aligator clips
Time = 5 mins, 5) Enjoy some light
Reality is.. I just use my existing LED power supply pack that I made for all my LED power needs, so its more like
Time = 0 min, Pre-heat iron, collect emitter, heatsink, led power leads for driver battery pack
Time = 1 min, Solder wires to LED,
Time = 2 min, Connect LED to heatsink of choice, Connect Optic/reflector of choice
Time = 3 min, Enjoy 100+ step adjustable log taper light output from 0.1% to 100% (680mA) with voltage meter, LVC, and electronic power switch!!
Time = 5 min, get bored, so
1) Try other optics/reflectors
2) Try other emitters
3) See how well things transmit light
4) Try to capture insects
5) leave it on the table
6) take it apart after a couple days.
Well, after much deliberation for anticipated gifts (beyond gifting), where the requirements were:
- good performance on a single AA alkaline or NiMH
- Cree LED
- good output (boost circuit)
- reputation for reliability
- preferably under $15, bias closer to $10
- reasonably small,
I went for a $14.31 P31 Hugsby from DX, and Sipik SK68 zoomie from Meritline for $10, who has the Q3 version apparently identical to the DX version. Meritline (shipping typically from Singapore) stuff tends to, or at least sometimes does get to the USA a little faster than DX, which is always slow. I noticed Manafont is calling their SK68 a Q4 <shrug>. Manafont seems to take as long as DX, FWIW. I actually did a couple DX orders, one with drop-ship, one without, we'll see if they show up at different times.
Ones I pained over trying but lost out this time were the Stainless Ultrafire C3 at Tmart and the $12 Romisen RC-G2 from DX. I think the C3 would be seen as the most cosmetically attractive to non-flashaholics, but the reports of poor reliability lost it for them, despite being stainless. I think a flashlight with such a history of unreliability should probably be shunned anyway; I expect more from Ultrafire. As for the G2, I've nearly bought it several times, and probably will at some point, but for a female and possible purse carry, it seemed a little too big, though I'm not really sure if it's significantly larger than the others. Honorable mention went to the Tank007 TK-703, but it was presently passed over due to it being (single) AAA and though very "purse-able", not having adequate runtime for other possibilities.
I'll be interested to see what more I get for the 40% premium for the $14.31 Hugsby over the $10 Sipik. I'm having them shipped to ME first, not drop-shipped, so I can play with --ahem-- test, compare and verify functionality of them beforehand. I have a $10 TorchLight C78 zoomie that I think is pretty miserable on 1 alkaline (pretty good on a 14500). So I'm expecting these to outperform it on AA.
This whole thing DID take (a lot) longer than 5 minutes, but I wouldn't have known about the Hugsby P31 otherwise, and I learned a lot of what's out there. This thread was very timely. It doubles as an "inexpensive but good gift" thread.
Thanks for everyone's input, especially Vectrex, who obviously was quite influential in my decision.
I like the hugsby p31 and would have chosen that as well but I already have one so went for something new
Thanks for your trust. I am pretty confident that you will like the P31, since I bought and looked at many 1AA lights and since I only use eneloops (and sometimes alkalines as backup). I like the P31/P32 better than the UltraFire C3 /Ultrafire C3 Stainless Steel / UltraFire C3 grey 2AA/ Torch Light C78 / Romisen MXDL RC-G2 / Romisen RC-29 / UniqueFire G10 CREE XP-G R5 6-Mode / SKYRAY S-A1 / Tank007 E07 / Romisen RC-H3 / UniqueFire AA-S1 / Uniquefire S10 6-Mode on which I had/have first hand (eneloopish ;-) ) experience. Only the Eastward YJ J09 in the 4-mode variant comes close, but mine turned out to be only 3-mode and less current draw than Don's version. Lights that I would like to try in the future are the TrustFire R5-A3, an Eastward YJ J09 which is actually 4-mode and of cause that mysterious new BLF light, when it will be strobe-less/multi-mode. But these lights will be closer to the 20$ mark.
I have this light and love it. Really makes an impression on people with it output to size ratio
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/mx-power-ml-108-cree-q3-wc-150-lumen-led-flashlight-1-aaa-32875
Nice post.
Thanks OP.
A little follow-up here on my budget single-AA shootout.
I did ultimately purchase a Sipik SK68 for $10 and a Hugsby P31 for $14.31.
So which did *I* like more? Actually, overall, the Sipik SK68, though the P31 is higher quality.
I hope to do a photo comparison review at some point, but don't have the time right now, so here are the highlights:
I really like the zoom function of the SK68, plus it's easy to unscrew the lens to have "full flood" mode. Although wider than the Hugsby P31 (I assume to accomodate the lens, and I think the design it's copied from is originally for CR123 cells[?]), it's still quite a handy size, and a little shorter. The P31 DOES in fact put out more light, but I feel I can actually 'do more' with the smoother and focusable light of the SK68 (from reaching out far to wide open flood). The P31 has a traditional reflector and a pretty bright hot spot. That makes it good for working on cars, or anywhere you need a fairly focused light. The Hugsby P31 also has 3 modes (High, Medium, Strobe); the SK68 only 1, kind of a bummer. And the P31 does 'feel' and seem higher quality, from the finish, to the threads, and throughout. My SK68's are painted, not anodized. The P31 has a more reliable clip (slip-on vs the drilled and tapped VERY SHORT screws on the SK68). Speaking of which, I bought a second SK68, and the clip's screws tore out from the threads. The other SK68 is still fine and I've put a lot of pressure on it.
I can't say authoritatively which is better for heatsinking, but the SK68 has a lot more metal in it, which isn't necessarily a good thing, but could be... not to mention those 'heat fins', which don't seem to do much actually (the heat is concentrated further forward). What's going on inside the respective pills in terms of thermal path is unknown to me, but the SK68 at least has the potential for better heatsinking at least due to greater mass. The P31's medium mode could help keep things cooler cooler and longer-going on longer runs with fresh cells too. The P31 is definitely lighter. The SK68 does get hot on a fresh cell after awhile. I didn't run the P31 long enough to find out. The SK68 did better on a 1.2V NiMH cell than a fresh alkaline; I guess the lower-voltage NiMH can still produce more current. You can get some use out of somewhat drained alkalines by keeping them around as a "low mode" battery, which I did during a power outage, using the clip and full flood mode to help me prepare and eat dinner.
Ultimately the P31 gets to be the gift for the female rep at a commercial establishment who did me a favor. I'm more confident in giving it as a gift at this point (plus it looks nicer and is not as useful to ME). I keep the SK68, and buying more SK68's for gifts for family & friends.
A note on emitters. My Meritline SK68 claimed to have a Q3, and the Manafont SK68 claims to have a Q4. Another BLF project I'd like to do but don't have time for would be a photographic comparison of the two, but suffice it to say I was originally doubtful of the varying claims. However, I can say that the claims do appear to be accurate. At least, my Manafont one is noticeably brighter... albeit with a cooler tint, as is a typical tradeoff with brightness bins. I do think it's the LED and not any difference in driver. Which emitter is preferable is personal, and for me it depends on what I'm doing. But, most people usually simply prefer more light. And generally, the higher the Q series, the more desirable they're considered, and more expensive. (Q5 is the highest, then R2, though I never heard of an R1--I don't know how Cree comes up with such conventions.)
Also, beware of using older alkaline cells in any of these cheaper aluminum flashlights. Trying to use up old cells, I had leaks in BOTH flashlights, which produced a lot of corrosion (eating away) in the aluminum. On the P31, the battery actually leaked into switch, creating corrosion which deactivated it, which I had to dissemble (needed a wrench and those special hobby pliers I bought for getting pills apart), sand one piece, lose and re-find a little part, and reassemble, but luckily got it working again. One leaky battery was a Duracell brand, the other was Energizer! Sheesh! And during this time, one of the flashlights actually worked, while leaking, unbeknownst to me. So if you use alkalines, I'd recommend removing the battery if you're not using it regularly.
EDIT: Also adding that I own a TorchLight C78 (1 mode), which I also like and works best with 14500 (currently serves as my "oven" light), and last I checked goes for around $10 or a little more. I'm a little dubious of the switch for gift purposes. It doesn't tailstand, which both others will, and no clip. It is the longest of the 3 discussed here, though the narrowest, and still quite pocketable. My C78 zooms in a little tighter than my SK68, and zooms out a little less-far. Actually, the lens assemblies of each will screw on to the other (threading matches), but then do not focus properly. The smallest single AA light I can imagine would be a C78 with the head removed, with the pill then screwed back directly into the body, in 'candle'/full flood mode, though the LED is exposed. The C78 pill is wider (bigger star). The C78 may be able to take Mini-Mag aftermarket switches, not sure (it's close) though the original MiniMag tailcap won't fit nor work as a twisty. Just checked, both SK78's are a little brighter than the C78 on NiMH, even switching the batteries. So when I want a single NiMH flashlight, or just would prefer to have a smaller torch over one of my hand cannons, lately I've been grabbing the SK78.