Jetbeam pa 40 @ wallbuys is $47 with coupon
XinTd X3 (3*AA) is $31-34 with coupon
I know exactly how you feel :_(
Starry Light 4xAA, $25 plus shipping at Illumination Supply. No word on it yet from BLF folk but Craig and Calvin don’t peddle junk.
That looks very promising, if the LED is upgradable and it has a good buck driver then that looks like an amazing deal
If i had known about this a year ago i would have bought it instead of the crelant v21a
very interesting. Never seen that one before..definitely a good price for people in the US.
I wonder what the Chinese equivalent is...
Edit: seems like they sell it under the same name at Alibaba.
4AA is a great way to go, especially with xml2. The picking are pretty slim right now. Here are a couple good recommendations I got in this thread:
Trustfire TR-A9 from Kronological and phsinvent <-- Not sure if 4AA will fit
What shape of light are you looking for? There are some Li-ion lights that you can use AA's in.
Wow. That Starry Light looks amazing. Looks just like the PA40. And the Ultrafire looks just like the EA4. Slim, you’re right about them though, they do carry quality stuff. I think I might give this Starry Light a try.
In regards of shape, I’m not too picky. I’ve already got a tiny but bright EDC light, but wanted to get something with a little more “oomph” that would make good use of my Eneloops. It seems there are only those two options of sizes since AA aren’t super small. Either 4 standing next to each other for a short, chubby light or two on top of two for a longer, slender light. If I get the Starry Light, I’ll definitely throw out some beam shot pics for everyone. I’ve been hard pressed to find any online.
I’m going to give this one a try! The 4xAA platform is rare indeed in the budget realm!
For big light, I would go with the Trustfire TR-3T6 with the extra extension tube (so it can hold 3 18650). It's the brightest light I can think of on 4AA's.
I might pick up a Starry Light myself. For less than $30 shipped it could represent a great value for a 4xEneloop light. With the popularity of li-ion cells there isn’t a great variety of solid 4xAA lights when the latter platform represents a perfect match for XM-L2 plus a buck driver. 4xEneloop XX store the same energy but deliver it at higher voltage than an unprotected 3400mAh Panasonic.
I hope it’ll be easy to swap emitters and maybe do a resistor mod 8)
Please post a teardown review of the Starry Light somebody (when you get it) 
The runtime doesn’t jive with the output though, i would surmise 40 min on max if it is 880 lumens
I saw that; I presume it has a timed stepdown?
Anyway I’ll definitely have to see about this one. If there’s something petty about it that I don’t like, I can give it to my parents or a friend (plus some Eneloops ;)) if it’s any good!
FENIX E40
265m of throw at 3 hours
3 modes
http://www.fasttech.com/products/1601/10004704/1384800
Trustfire TR-A9 4xAA is a good light.
My Bad!
That light runs 4 NiMh's??? (Sorry if I missed a thread on this one.)
Oh, and that Starry Light does seem interesting!
-Garry
I feel like i am becoming a shill for Sunwayman, but how did this thread go 19 posts without one mention of the D40A?!?
It’s my personal 4AA favorite, if not most used light on my shelf. I own two.
It can routinely be found for around $50 - even if the list is around $70.
OOps! Sorry, I’m wrong again! Don’t know where my head is lately.
For full disclosure the Starry Light has PWM on the lower modes for those who are susceptible to that. Here are some quick partial disassembly photos I haven't figured out or used brute force to get into the driver yet, apologies for the low quality.
Head, held in place with a retaining ring.
Retaining ring removed
Reflector unscrews.
Easy access to LED.
Nice! Thanks Calvin!
-Garry