Pricey pickles down under. 
in AA if you want high lumens you go for
Klarus P1A (150 lumens) or Zebralight SC52 (300) for single AA NiMH
For 4AA you would look at
Starry light (4AA), 700 lumens maybe, has some quirks/flaws
Nitecore EA4 (980 lumen) only a few minutes at max at a time, poor heatsinking
Sunwayman D40A, i don’t know much about it but seems to get good reviews
I think that about covers the best options, if i missed anything then please chime in
I think I’m going to go with the Starry light.
Even though it’s not the brightest one around, it should still be over twice as bright as my cheap UltraOK current brightest light.
The next time the flashaholism strikes, I’ll get some good quality 18650s and probably the C8, but I just think this light will get a lot more use without having to bother with any special batteries.
Thanks for all the advice! Even though I didn’t go with the C8 in this case, I never would have even heard of the Starry light without this place.
Just be forewarned that the Starry Light is not perfect. Bort can probably elaborate on that a bit for you. I wouldn’t want to have to wade through the GB thread to get all the details. I don’t think it’s a big deal. I haven’t handled mine for more than a minute, but it seemed to be what I expected when I ordered it based on the earlier threads like this one.
Also note that there are two versions available, the regular one that Illumination Supply got and a BLF edition that CNQG carries (this came about after IS got their stock).
Yes, be aware of the differences in the BLF edition before ordering.
Choose wisely, grasshopper. 
I like the looks of the BLF version! I was still looking for the best place to order it anyway.
I see the group buy is closed, but it looks like the lights are still available?
I don’t mind tinkering with stuff, so I imagine it’ll be fine. I’ll browse through that thread some more later.
The lights are still available, while the group buy was active it came with free shipping. Still a good price.
Yes, the BLF edition is still available at the GB price but you no longer get free shipping. CNQG is the only place to order the BLF edition as far as I know.
Starry light has 600 lumens tops, not more. AAs can’t handle more current (voltage drops quickly).
You may still think about C8. The one from Convoy has really nice quality, XM-L2 U2 at 2,8A means a lot of light (over 1000 LED lumens) and smooth reflector means nice throw. All that for $14,46 shipped after coupon (XML2 U2-1A SMO version):
Man…. It’s times like this when being as indecisive as I am kind of sucks! :face_with_monocle:
It really sounds like I couldn’t go wrong with either of them, and the $14 vs $26-$27 doesn’t sound bad.
The difference would pay for some better batteries…
Although… Thinking back, last year I used a flashlight with my cheap Ultra Fire 18560s almost every day for work, and they seemed fine. Of course, I don’t have much to compare to, but they didn’t blow up in my hand or anything…
They might be ok for a little while until I upgrade.
And I do still have my Fenix LD20 which gets most of my use…
I'm not sure if this helps or not. There's quite a few night shots of popular lights here that are stock including the Starry Light.
I think most of us would recommend not purchasing a new 18650 light before purchasing new batteries and charger. If you want to be cheap RMM has the XTAR MC1 and Nitecore i2 chargers in his shop here in the states, those should both be good quality budget options. He’s also got various 18650’s sold in singles and the well respected XinTD C8 flashlight.
Well, I have the C8 XML2 U2-1A SMO on the way!
I didn’t order any better batteries yet, but I’ll certainly get some soon.
I still like the looks of the Starry light, and I might get one eventually, but in this case… I couldn’t say no to 1/3 more light, for 2/3 the price.
Woot!
The Convoy C8 showed up in the mail today. I already added some thermal grease to the threads around the pill and added braid to the spring in the tail cap. I can’t wait to get it outside tonight and see just how bright this thing is.
The only thing I’m not to crazy about is… Every time you turn it on, it seems to cycle to whatever the next mode is.
Is there any way to make it turn right on to the brightest setting every time?
Pencil / resistor mod for next mode memory. Something like this thread: Attention! Solution for most of those next mode memory drivers!
Convoy C8 should not be next mode memory…
It might be a few seconds to save the mode, but it should remember the last mode it was turned off in.
Well…. Wow!
I just got finished looking across an old sand pit with this light, and it’s certainly an impressive little thing.
My maglite will still throw a beam farther, but the C8 just outs out massively more light. Sure enough, my crappy Ultra-Fire batteries don’t keep it lit long, but I’ll pick up some better ones soon.
The mode memory still has me wondering though. It seems a little iffy. Sometimes it saves the last mode, sometimes it just cycles through.
I suppose it’s ontime memory since it’s a Convoy C8 using a Nanjg 105c driver. For ontime memory to work you must run the mode for greater than a minimum time (say 1s or 2s, it depends on the driver). If you flick through the modes quickly before turning the light off that will cause it to turn on in the next mode.
Bingo!
That’s exactly how it works.
So, I’m completely happy with this light then. The build quality really does seem exceptional for a $15 light.
And, I just ordered one the battery packs linked in this thread. Lower price on a genuine laptop battery pack
I was expecting to pay $4-$5 a piece for halfway decent cells, so that looks like a fantastic bargain!
On the batteries – good, but I would recommend that you immediately invest in at least in a baseline “good” charger. Xtar has a sloooow USB powered one for <$10 that is accurate and got a favorable review from HKJ – here is the review. Be sure to get the MC1, not MC0 – it’s physically too small for your batteries. Personally I’d use at least a slightly nicer charger just for speed, such as an Xtar wp2-series charger or a Nitecore i2. You wouldn’t want your crap eBay charger to damage the cells you picked up for such a good price now would you? (or burn down your house [/scare-tactics])
You may eventually want to customize that driver into an offtime driver instead of ontime, it’s more intuitive by far! At your current investment level though I’d say you are a little ways off, you’ll need to drop another few dollars before you have the required equipment. Look here for some more information on flashing. Offtime also requires a minor hardware change that involves soldering, so if you don’t have soldering equipment there’s that challenge as well. Baby steps.
Anyway the stock Fasttech Nanjg 105c firmware is great for the money, can’t complain much about it. (I do prefer the traditional Nanjg 105c firmware due to my loathing for mode groups. Or better yet, a custom firmware 
)