Hello everyone. I hope that the great folks on BLF had a great Turkey Day. I am here again for help and advice. I am looking for my go to EDC flashlight. I realize that a “Jack of all trades” light will not be the best at any one thing, but I am ok with that. My situation is a bit different in that I was born with Optic Atrophy and I am very near sighted. I need a flashlight for up close work and do not care about throw. The idea here is a Christmas gift idea as I have a couple people asking about gift ideas for me. Here is what I want in a flashlight:
14500 AA size battery to carry in jeans/shirt pocket
pocket clip
rear tail switch
able to tail stand
four modes: moonlight, low, medium, high (in that order)
No blinky or flash modes.
Does not have to be a 1000lm light.
Light will be used from 6 inches to 6 feet.
no LED flicker if I can avoid it.
no “hot spot” in the beam. I want the light to flood and give a wall of light.
Something I can count on and is reliable day after day.
$50 or less in price.
Feel free to ask questions and thanks for the help.
May I ask why tail clicky? I assume it’s for ease of finding and operating the switch…for which there may…I say may be some side switch options that would be applicable and still easy to use in those respects.
I am open to the idea of a side switch. I prefer a read switch because you can hold the light in a cigar grip while using your thumb to control the light. It is easier to locate the switch when it is on the tail as it is always in the same place no matter how you hold the light. The side switch moves and is never in the same place if you simply pick up the light to use it.
Just for thought sake……I’m strongly considering the Manker E11 as my next AA light.
Cons per your list:
Not tail clicky (but a fairly big side button)
Has a strobe mode (but sort of hidden, need to double click)
Seems to have a bit of a hotspot (but not as much as the T10 compared to in the review linked below…and a bigger hotspot than the T10)
Won’t take protected 14500’s as far as I know…too long
Pros:
Very compact
Very good output on both 14500 and AA
Available in NW and CW
$30 and available Amazon.com in US
Well reviewed in general
Another side switch to consider would be the Olight S15A. In my perception…NO spill whatsoever with these style lights…but not exactly a flooder either.
Thank you all for the help. Keep the ideas coming. What I am looking for is an even glow of light without hotspots or rings. Similar to what you get from a modern car headlight, under the counter LED or florescent lighting. It just lights up the area but will not spot or throw much distance. I have seen some adjustable focus lights do this but have no idea what they were or about the quality.
Your description sounds like a mule light to me: one with no reflector or optic, so the light just radiates all ways from the LED. I can’t recall hearing of any AA / 14500 ones, although I’ve seen a fair few 18650 designs discussed on BLF & CPF. I’m ignoring mini-lantern type designs like the Nitecore LA10 when I say that, though.
The only current light I actually own that meets most of your criteria is the EagleTac D25A Clicky (I have the Nichia 219B version), but I find that it has quite a concentrated spot. The reflector is such a light orange peel as to be virtually smooth.
Could you add a diffuser to a more focused light? Some AA lights are wide enough in the head to accept a Nitecore 23mm diffuser for example. I’ve also heard of people using some sort of diffusion film (might be called DC-Fix?).
I’m legally blind as well, but my difficulty is severe tunnel vision, so I actually need a tight beam to concentrate all the light into my limited field of view. Unfortunately, that’s throwing me off a bit as I try to come up with ideas for you, because my requirements are pretty much diametrically opposed to yours
My eye issue in a nutshell is lack of detail, no depth perception, and very near sighted. I have a very narrow field of vision and focus but I do not see as tunnel vision or through a pin hole. What happens with me is that my eyes jump around so I can see the flicker in some LED lights. Then the “hot spot” can be too bright and the surrounding light is like a shadow or ghosting. I have a TrustFire R5A3 flashlight. I just took the smooth reflector out of it. Now it just gives light but is much dimmer. I will play around with using it this way to see if it will work until I can do something different.
Have you considered the Skillhunt H15 yet?
Because it has those 4 modes in that sequence, although it’s quite a bright moon mode…
Plus it’s an angle light and has the button on top, and a hidden (but not very well hidden) strobe mode, and a UI you have to get used to… But it’s a floody light, so no tiny hotspot when you use it for things close to you.
Plus it has a red beacon LED in the switch for when you can’t find it.
…and, it’s just a beautifully made flashlight.
And maybe there’s still a coupon code for it around here, so you can get it for less than 30 bucks.
I think some of the SK68 clones have 3 modes ( mine has only one ). They’re good with close-in flood, zoomed wouldn’t do you any good though. Kind of fat for AA/14500 light though.
Nice call! :THUMBS-UP: . I have one and didn’t even cross my mind to suggest it. It’s sort of a trail clicky. And the magnetic tailcap is sure to come in handy. And it’ll accept every 14500 I have and AA’s of course.
how about Nitecore LA10 - they call it a camp lantern. Available with Cree XP-G2 or Nichia high CRI emitters, small size with built-in retractable diffuser. I have not used or even handled that light - anyone here with hands on experience that could share your impressions?
MSRP is $30, but I just saw it for under $20 with a quick Google search.
It sounds like a zoomie flashlight in flood mode should work for you. The hard part is finding a good zoomie that’s AA/14500.
The three AA/14500 zoomies that I have are the SK68 clones, this single mode Meco skinny zoomie, and the single mode Coast HP1. I think these are cheap enough for you to try and experiment with.
