Hey all,
My first good flashlight was a Fenix LD20 2xAA light. I got it in college and impressed everyone with the “intense 180 lumen output”. At some point down the road, I traded it away. After that, I sort of ignored the 2xAA form factor. Later on, I tested out the Fenix E20 v2.0 but it didn’t stick around (for reasons described below). Now I am revisiting the 2xAA form factor and the pool of options out there seems to be much smaller than I remember. I have begun casually searching for a tube light that runs on two AAs and suits my uses but I’m not coming up with much.
Here’s what I am looking for:
A good usable medium mode (ballpark 75 to 100 lumens) with respectable runtime that can be accessed directly from “off”. I guess this means mode memory, but could also be achieved through an electronic switch and shortcut.
Simplicity and affordability, from a company that has at least some semblance of reputation and customer service.
A more neutral (or even on the warm side) CCT.
The two most popular 2xAA lights out there seem to be the Olight I5t plus and the Acebeam Pokelit 2AA. Both of these are available in neutral to warm CCTs and are simple lights. However, neither of them have any medium mode at all. They both jump from ~15 lumens to an over 500 lumen turbo mode that doesn’t run for long. I plan to use the light mostly for “across the front yard” or “across the campsite” ranges so I really want something in between those two extremes. Frankly, a small daily utility light with no medium mode is baffling to me.
The Luminop EDC 2AA is another common option. It does have a decent medium mode and it has mode memory as well. However, from everything I can find online, it has a SUPER cool CCT that is pretty ugly.
The Fenix E20 v2.0 was a good light and I enjoyed many things about it. It has great runtimes and a couple of different “medium” modes to choose from. However, I don’t like starting in ultra-low every time I turn on the light. I really want some mode memory so the light comes on in medium mode when I am expecting mostly mid-range outdoors use.
That seems to leave the Thrunite Archer 2A V3 in neutral white as an option. I don’t know much about it, but it looks like it could check the boxes. The way they elongated the body to turn the 1A into a 2A is pretty lazy, though, and the pocket clip being right in the middle of the tube is some kind of head-scratching goofiness. Same seems to go for the Wuben T2, which appears to be a very similar light in almost every regard. I know basically nothing about Wuben or the P9 emitter in the light.
Other than those, I’m not finding much out there.
Anything I am unaware of? Is the prevalence of 18650’s just making 2xAA lights obsolete? Anybody think they still have a place?
It just ain’t a form-factor that easily slips into a pocket because of the length.
That said, there certainly ain’t much in WW in anything but “enthusiast” lights, so I wouldn’t expect it in a 2AA. So anything you’d want, you’d probably have to swap the emitter.
I got a LuxPro 2AA that does something like 100/300 lemons, forgot if it’s got memory or starts-on-XX. I knew where it was, 'til my cats started knocking shiite off to make lounging-room for themselves, so now it’s probably under a nighttable or something.
It’s got a hateful little G3 behind the lens, so that itself should be enough reason to swap the emitter, but I just slapped on some diffusion film to hide a multitude of sins. So now it’s a quite-nice flooder.
Also got a pair of Quark 2AA-Xes, but Quarks are green, so yeah, another emitter swap. Don’t think they’re even sold anymore.
Soooooo, nope, don’t think there are that many 2AAs out there. Maybe the Sofirn/Wurkkos 2AAs, or were they 2AAAs? There was one in a beautiful coffee-brown that I almost got just because of the color, but figured it’d end up being Yet Another Light I Rarely Use.
Convoy T4. 519A 3000k. Several of the options with that 12 group driver give you the medium you want (a little fiddily to set the mode group option you want but then you never need to mess with it again).
Well, I missed it at first. But after you mentioned Wurkkos and I did some more specific searches, the Wk05 seems to check the boxes I listed. Its a neutral CCT (519A, 5000K) with a 100 lumen medium mode that runs 6 hours* and has mode memory. And the clip is in a much less stupid position than the Thrunite/Wuben.
I have no experience with Wurkkos but I have started to see them pop up all over Amazon and consequently on Youtube. I try to avoid the companies that have no presence outside of Amazon, but it seems that Wurkkos perhaps is becoming a bit more established. I may have to try this one out.
Thanks for pointing me in that general direction.
*EDIT: The 100 lumen/6 hr mode is with two 14500 cells instead of two AA’s. With two AA’s it appears to be 70 lumens for 14.5 hours, which is even better in my book.
Ah, yes. Forgot to mention the T4. I have owned a couple of lights from Convoy and I do like the 12 groups. My S3 in 4500k 519A is a solid light. I just find the diameter of the 187650 lights to be a bit too large for sticking in a front pocket comfortably.
The T4 is definitely another option. I wish it had a pocket clip and the exact specs of the various modes was more readily available.
Not a straight body tube light but the Jaxman M2 is very good. Only 2 mode 60/400lm, comes on in 60lm each time (no memory). Warm white options available last time I looked (a while ago).
Downsides:
More expensive than Convoy
the XM-L2 pretty dated by today’s emitters.
Head is 35.5mm diameter
I forget if I’ve flowed a 519a into mine yet, might even try a 5050 footprint when I’m next modding, its a fun host.
Thanks for turning me onto that, I didn’t even know it existed. I agree, that host looks great. I wonder if it would fit the convoy T4 driver? That would give it more mode options as well as 14500 support, which could be nice.
If it’s not too much trouble, could I ask for some photos of the light? Especially the area inside where the driver is?
Even if it doesn’t fit the T4 driver, it still looks interesting.
At one point last year I was very close to doing the same mod, I forget where I found the information that suggested it might work. I just googled again, and for this:
So may not work. I don’t have the light to hand I’m afraid as I’m away for work, I’ll try and remember to take some pics in about a week when I’m back!
There is an inherit danger of using 2s battery in a light. You could discharge a cell to the degree of permanent damage. The VL protection has to be very conservative, and batteries have to be tracked and maintained in pairs. It’s more hassle than single cell lights.
Yeh, that’s why I like that weirdo cell in the Pokomon. Double-length Li cell with charge-port.
Definitely keeping that puppy with the light.
If using individual cells that can be reverse-charged or otherwise ruined when put in series, they’d better have damned-good protection circuits on each individual cell.
Alkaleaks will just do what they do best and ruin the innards.
NiMH cells will always kill the runt of the litter which drops like a rock once depleted, ie, from 1.2V to 0 and then negative after being reverse-charged.
That’s why I generally stay away from series-cells in lights unless they’re throwaways (cells and lights).
Ah, good to know about the risks of series cell lights. Maybe it’s best for me to just avoid them, then. Especially since it’s not been easy to find one with the specs I like.
Now that I think of it, a single cell AA light with a spare battery may be easier to carry and give essentially the same overall capacity.
I have Zanflare F2, Convoy T4, Wurkkos Wk05 and Boruit BC25.
Zanflare is out of production.
Convoy T4 is very good because you 12 mode driver and have a choice of many led emiters and colour temp options with dissadvantage that it doesn’t has low voltage protection when use AA batteries.
Wurkkos is very good if You are satisfied wih 519A 5000k which only comes in it.
I purchase Boruit BC25 very cheap for about 10 euro and it is very quality made but user interface is a little stupid but it can be used and it is bright and very efficient.
I get a holster with it two rubber o’rings and spare tail cup.
Generally I agree though there’s something I find really pleasing about the 2xAA format, perhaps a combination of form factor and nostalgia of loading up those 2AA minimags with alkaleaks…
Most LEDs require 3v, so single cell lights need to boost the voltage 1.5V > 3V.
If you’re driving an LED at 500mah, that’s (approximately) a 1A draw on the cell, if you’re running NiMh, this isn’t too much of an issue. If you’re running alkaline cells, this makes a big difference to overall runtime. Examples of how current draw affects supplied energy are here in this excellent comparator..
In practice this theoretically means a 2xAA setup will give more light than 1AA plus spare.
All that said, for convenience, I agree single cell plus a spare is superior.
NiMH AA’s do not require specialized low voltage protection. When the battery is nearly empty, the voltage will sag so much that the light will dim by a multiplicative factor (as in, turbo down to low/moon brightness) to let you know the cell is about to be empty. Due to the sag, the current it can pump out is so low that it is impossible to overdischarge the cell without actively trying to.
Convoy T4 continues to work with voltage of 0.6 volts and that will be 0.3 volts per battery or if batteries are not of equal capacity than we have a case that one of them can go to turning in polarity. It have very effective boost converter and it is very long stabilized with brightness with consequence of rising current from batteries.
Because of its effective boost converter it give good ammount of light on first 3 ranges with discharged batteries and if You don’t turn it off it will discharge batteries under health voltage. Of course if you turn it off and try to turn on it wouldn’t start with that low voltage.
I think that minimal voltage for start is 1.6 volts, I maasure it with power supply but maybe I forget precise information.
Wurkkos WK05 has low voltage protection on 14500 and on AA.
Zanflare F2 has on side low voltage indicator red led and it after batteries are empty go to ultralow - sublumen mode and You know that you must turn it off.
It is likely that the 0.6V (or 0.3V per cell) you see is the sagged voltage under load. I’ve tried to completely discharge a NiMH cell by shorting it, and even when no more measurable current is outputted, the cell always restores itself to around 1V eventually. Of course if I try to run a T3 with this “1V” cell it immediately goes sub-moonlight. Doesn’t matter how good the boost converter is, the cell itself is simply incapable of providing the current needed to run even low/medium.
Also NiMHs don’t take damage the same way Li-ion cells do. I’ve had one that had been under 0.5V rest voltage for over a decade, and dug it up while house cleaning. Charged it up and it still has over 2000mAh out of the rated “up to 2100”.
Yes it was voltage sag under load.
I try it first with power supply and than with Varta 2100 mah NiMH in plastic case with wires to flashlight head so I can measure voltage of both cells independent and current.
Even on on this low voltages flashlight give a usable amount of light.
After test voltage of cells recover to about 0.85 volts so it is conclusion that they are 100% depleted.
After the rest this discharged cells can start flashlight in 1% and 10% mode and give light a few minutes. I write about that when I say that Convoy T4 has very efficient boost driver. This is good when you use alkaline or primary lithium batteries because flashlight pull last atom of power from cells but with NiMH there is a solid theorethical chance that you can over discharge it if you don’t take care or give flashlight to someone who doesn’t know how to properly use it and forget it in ‘ON’ state of switch.
Wurkkos WK05 have protection in this scenery of use, which doesn’t mean that Convoy T4 is bad flashlight - for me it is one of the best 2 x AA flashlight.
Thank you for conducting the tests and sharing your analysis! It is theoretically possible to over-discharge if the light is left on for an extended time. I didn’t personally consider this factor because I am generally cautious/picky and expect anyone who uses rechargeable cells to have a similar level of awareness, but forgetfulness is possible.
One could also argue that not having LVP is a feature as it provides lighting in an emergency when fresh cells are not readily available, though I find the possibility of that happening equally remote.
I recently gave my sister a Convoy T4 with a Nichia 519A emitter. I increased her supply of AA eneloops, and I asked her to discard her supermarket-brand NiMH batteries. I find 2AA flashlights easier to hold than AA flashlights.