Hi there, for those who are new to the high-performance flashlight world I think that 3xAA or 4xAA “soda can” style lights are still among the best options. They accept standard alkaline or NiMH cells and they’re as bright as some Li-Ion models but with less safety concerns. But they don’t seem to be very popular anymore. Are there any current options apart from the Lumintop AD01? And any opinions on the AD01? I can’t seem to find what color temperature it has, just that it has an OSRAM KW CULPM1.TG emitter. Thanks in advance!
I haven’t heard much about nice 3xAA / 4xAA lights lately, but I prefer 1x21700 / 1x18650 lights.
If I remember correctly, Lightbringer has some knowledge on the subject.
Although I cannot help you on this, I can give a friendly “bump”. 
Good luck in your search. 
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Sofirn SF 11 was 4xAA soda can light but it isn’t in production now.
My friend have it and it is very good.
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Yeah, I liked the tomato-paste-can lights like the Thrunite TN4A, Thorfire TK4A, and… Sofirn had one, SFsomething. SF11? I got the Thorfires.
Only issue was those hateful little alkaleaks doing what they do best, and ruining the innards.
Resisted using NiMH because if run down too much, it’ll still be working even though the runt of the litter is getting over-discharged to 0 and even reverse-charged to the point of ruination.
They’re incredibly nice, even getting close to 1000lm output, but you gotta watch 'em like a hawk and not even think about running 'em down too far. And pull the cells when not actively in use.
Same with the 4- and 8-AA Nitecores, the EA4 and EA8. Also, The Cave Man EA8 runs 4S2P, and you can in fact run it 4S1P. Not a “can” style light, but still worth mentioning.
Weird UI, though. “Off” is actually “standby” and keeps draining, so you gotta remember what’s actually off to make sure it goes into quiescent mode. Even I keep forgetting what’s what, and have to look it up to remind myself.
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I was lucky to get one of these: http://www.eagtac.com/product/gx25a3/
That Lumintop is nice and more flexible with the battery form factor… but pricey.
Right, basically while the light is on hold the button for a few seconds → “locked” (lowest parasitic drain mode), right? I have a few EA4’s and they’re still very performant even by modern standards. I’m not a fan of the UI though as usual with Nitecore products.
Yeah SF11, I looked for it and it doesn’t seem to be available anymore.
Looks nice, also no longer in production from what I can see.
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I don’t rightly remember the UI and what was off vs standby, just that I did indeed burn down a set of alkaleaks after just sitting idle a while. I had way way too many lights just floating around that I bagged most of them so they wouldn’t get lost, and the EA8 was among them.
Never had a MH20? BEAUTIFUL UI with the 2-stage switch.
Half-press’n’hold for moonlight.
Full-press’n’hold for turbo.
Click on/off with memory.
Tap-tap-tap to cycle through the modes.
Forgot what was strobe, so it was adequately out of the way. Maybe 2click?
When off, quick half-press for “beacon” (switch blips ~1Hz), automatically turns off when the next activation, or another half-press when off. But the beacon once in blinkymode is one of the best I’ve seen (bright but brief full-power blasts).
The UI’s not polluted with tons of extraneous crap. It’s about as intuitive as I’ve seen in any light.
The '20 was my gold-standard for ANY flashlight for the longest time. Still is, as an EDC, and not a “situational” light like my nighttable lights, kitchen/attic/basement/around-the-house light, etc.
I like flood, but want more throw? Get the MH20GT.
Other than the MH20s/-GTs, P30s, EA8, EC4GTs, TM20(?), I don’t recall having any other Nitecores. All those with dual switches, or at least 2-stage switches, are incredibly intuitive. You got power and mode for the duals, half- and full-press for 2-stage. They do pretty much what you expect them to do, to the point where you don’t even need the manual.
Just nice simple clean UIs.
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That sounds better. They definitely didn’t take advantage of the 2-stage switch on the EA4, it can be turned on with both a half-press as well as a full-press but it goes into different mode groups or something like that, I can never remember how it works.
Yeah, they must’ve been drunk when they designed the UIs for the EAs.
I picked up a “1D flashlight by Maratac” from countycomm a couple of months ago for a no-nonsense, emergency light for non-flashaholics.
Takes 1D or 4xAA in a plastic carrier, all the alkalines I tried fit fine, my eneloop cells didn’t allow the holder to fit back in the body tube. Some other brand NiMh I tried just about fit.
Activation is by screwing the tail on, so it’s essentially a twisty, which I like. 2 modes- 50lm and c.600lm (I’ve not verified).
Reflector is pretty wide, the 5000k XPL hi sits at the bottom, the led is soldered directly to the MPCB which has the driver components, so its a challenging LED swap (which is why ive not yet done it!).
Has a tripod thread on the base, if that’s your thing. One of the most tailstandy lights I own due to the wide base.
I’ve seen various reports/reviews about runtime regulation, but for an emergency, simple UI lamp, and something fairly unique for my collection, i quite like it- note I bought it on sale at about $35, if I’d paid full price ($65), I’d be disappointed, I’d want better driver (regulation, possibly programmable with hidden password or a solder bridge) and better emitter.
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Thorfire TK4A
Was an Amazon deal for $15 and I wanted one but didn’t have Amazon prime and didn’t want to pay for the shipping so I bought two to get the sale over the $25/ free shipping and have had one with a big magnet on the hollowed out bottom / on the refrigerator for 10 years now .
I have really nice straight walled tube type diffusers that fit perfectly on these lights. Running nimh and these lights have no parasitic drain to them at all . Great lights
That’s correct… as far as I have been able to search.
That’s a cool, simple light. I’d try to run it with a 26500.
1D Flashlight Kit by Maratac® – CountyComm
Well, this is a surprise! If willing to pay that price, I’d pick the XP-L HI:
https://www.opticsplanet.com/eagtac-g-series-gx25a3-compact-daily-led-flashlight.html?_iv_code=2E1-FL-GX25A3-GX25A3-XPLHI-CW
This is out of the budget price range but here’s a similar model as above AND with a newer OSRAM CSLPM1 option: EagTac GX30A3D *DIFFUSER* (LED Choice: OSRAM CSLMP1 COOL)
Better price: EagleTac GX30A3D Diffuser 3x AA 1330 Lumens Array XP-L HI V3
It’s “a beautiful thing”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOPbJ2otzKI
I’ve not yet tried a 26650 but I suspect it’ll be too long, not sure I’ve ever seen a 26500?!
Yeah, a ways back there was a light that took a 26500, think it had a weird nickname like “Little Fatty” or “Little Fatso” or something like that.
Was considering it, but a dearth of cells that’d fit was a big turn-off.
Why do I even remember that?
Yikes, that’s a pretty dear price. Looks like old new stock.
I agree with this, I have an old and battered MH20 that I’m very attached to. IMO, with the possible exception of the S and GT versions of the MH20 which I’ve not tried, Nitecore haven’t done anything as good since.