SC52 if the money is no issue. After a year of SK68 clones, I am permanently switched for EDC to a 1x AAA Olight i3s, but I still have a few 3 to 5 mode SK68 clones with 14500’s that I use for tasks larger than the i3s, they just don’t live in my pocket. I am planning on grabbing one of the dealmetric $8 lights for larger stuff but I think I have an older clone of the 502b already, its just too big for me to use regularly.
IMHO at least a high and medium, if not a low are essential when using a SK68 clone with a 14500 due to heat issues and rarely needing that bright of a light.
Is the sideswitch on the SC01 stiff enough to avoid accidental activations
when carried in a pocket?
Have not had good luck with “pants pocket EDC’ing” side clicky lights.
Sc01 is a nice light if you get a good tint . I bought two and one is the best 3c I've ever seen ...output is great But the little button is a pain to be fumbling with . I like a D-10,a d25A ti, or a tank 566 nichia mod. Small lights with a side button just feel odd to me.
Not sure if you’re in the US but if so I can do an emitter swap for you, within an hour of receiving mine I swapped it to S6 7D3 (personal favorite tint, 90+ CRI 2900k) but decided someone that does what I do for a living (owns a flashlight business) needs to have a brighter flashlight in their pocket that the S6 output bin offered so I ended up swapping it back to T4 3C and I absolutely love it.
If you’re interested I can swap it to whatever tint you like, you can even have it delivered directly to me to save on shipping one way.
I’ve pretty much owned every light in this thread and the V11R has the major advantage over all the others in that its the only one that can accept 7 different cells (CR123 primary, 16340 li-ion, AA NiMH, L91, 14500 li-ion, 14505 primary, Alkaline)
Oh and in an absolute emergency you can even run in on a AAA/10440!*
*(with a little ingenuity and constructive use of a soda / beer can tab and a folded business card)
forgot another thing, I’m waiting on some 17500’s, then those will be my preferred cells (100mAh)! In short the V11R beats every other light I’ve ever seen in the range of cells it can accept. Hell with 2 bored extensions you could run a 17650 for 2200mAh if you wanted
A Quark or Peak Logan will run even more batteries/configs… And in a real pinch, for much, much longer runtime (due to the overhead drain of the SWM magnetic ring).
Yes with multiple battery tubes (each for the price of 3-5 spare cells), the v11r only needs one single extension (<$10) to run all those options.
And who cares about runtime, were all flashaholic’s. I have spare batteries and a charger in every vehicle and usually even carry a spare on my person when leaving the house (not to mention the V11r is only my backup light, I always have my RGBW_Clicky on my belt).
All three lights need one extra component to run the range of cells mentioned - you got me on the $5-$10 cost savings though. Guess we are all different, efficiency and runtime are of top priorities for me, especially with these small single cell EDC lights - makes me feel comfortable walking out of the house with a half depleted batt., and no spares. I would also argue that finite batt. capacity it’s one of the primary reasons most flashlights are multi-mode, while most household lights are single-mode.
People already mentioned most of the good AA lights, but a couple more worth looking at are the L3 Illuminations L10-219 and the EagleTac D25A NW. Neither is good with Li-Ion batteries, but they’re both great on Eneloops. Small, wide range of output, waterproof, well made. Oh, and the Thrunite T10S too. Also AA-only, but good.
My favorite medium sized light is now my newly modified SK-58. It has a Nichia 219B neutral white high CRI LED and the components of a Qlite driver on a BLF SK-68 15 mm. board, with moonlight mode group selected and four 7135s. The 15 mm. driver makes room to make thermal contact between the pill and the thick battery tube (where the fins are on an SK-68). (See sk68 clone: longitudinal section) To bridge the gap, with limited tools and materials, I twisted stranded copper wire in a loop, saturated it with solder and shaped it to fit snugly in the space. It draws 1.8 A on high, which seems enough for the little Nichia and low enough not to need the extra metal and fins of an SK-68.
