Jetbeam BA20 vs Shiningbeam?

LED Flashlights – General Info Multiple AA / 14500 Flashlights
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I’m brand new to this forum (and to good flashlights in general). I’m looking for a new flashlight to replace my old incandescent Mini Maglite (I may upgrade that to LED later, but I’m going to hold off on that for now). After reading this forum and searching the internet for a while now, I’ve come up with a pretty good idea of what I want:

1) 2xAA format (I have a NiMH charger & lots of NiMH AAs, but will get some eneloops too)
2) Tactical / forward clicky switch with momentary on feature
3) Mode memory
4) Good variety of lumen levels that are well spaced, don’t need strobe, SOS, etc.
5) Natural white tint
6) A diffuser cone would be nice, but not necessary
7) Durable, reliable, and waterproof, under $50ish

After much reading, I’ve narrowed my list down to several main contenders:

Jetbeam BA20
Likes: no strobe to cycle through, simple mode changes (just twist the head, no loosen/tighten), diffuser cone available from Klarus, available through “common” channels
Dislikes: Only 2 levels, doesn’t go lower than 30 lumens

Shiningbeam Spark
Likes: Natural White tint, CR123 body included, and 1xAA easily available, low down to 7 lumens, cheap.
Dislike: Only 40 minute runtime on high(?)

Shiningbeam Caveman
Likes: Low of 7 lumens, most visually appealing, no strobe to cycle through, longest runtime on High of these 3.
Dislikes: None, really. I love everything I’ve seen about this light.

Thrunite Archer
Likes: Only one of this group with Firefly mode
Dislikes: generally costs about $50-$55 when the others are $30-$35; not sure Firefly mode worth $20.

As a Noob, I like that I can get the Spark with basically 3 different bodies, & try out which style I prefer, but I’m a little concerned about the runtime (which I have not seen in an actual test, it was just referenced in a post). However, I really like the Caveman; aside from not having a Firefly mode, it’s perfect, and I’ll probably get another AA/keychain light with Firefly anyway. And the Archer would solve all of those problems if I can find one on eBay.

I’ve generally heard good things about all 4 of these lights, but any recommendations for why I should choose one over the other would be greatly appreciated. I have looked at other lights such as the Olight T25, Inova X2, Mini Maglite Pro+, Nitecore MT2A, Thrunite Neutron 2a, but have generally decided that the 4 above seem to fit my needs better, but I’m always open to more suggestions!

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Hi and welcome DPRoberts. I cant really help you but have you heard the expression don’t always believe what the first person says to you. :wink:

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I had the BA20 some time ago. Didn’t like the coarse threads and the fact that it only had 2 levels. Had the Neutron 2AA as well… wasn’t terribly impressed with it. Gave them both away.
I’m seriously thinking about getting THIS (more than serious, I’m gonna get me one). It has a low of 3 lumens and 3 higher levels as well. And the blinky modes are hidden.
Have a look and see if it meets your requirements. Cheers :smiley:

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Other options:
EDC+ Xeno E15 or HKE Xeno E15 (with diffuser, no memory)
Illuminationgear Eagletac D25A2 (XM-L U2)
Sbflashlights Crelant V21A

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welcome to our forum - i would go with the caveman, just because i like shiningbeam

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Nah. The Caveman is a well built light, and a good all rounder. Used to hang on my backdoor for dog spotting in the garden. I also had a Klarus P2A, which I think is very similar to the Jetbeam BA20. I gave it away - not a patch on the Caveman. The Archer, as OP says, is overpriced.

Shame the Caveman isn’t available in neutral.

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This is my favorite 2 X AA light !

http://www.ebay.com/itm/XENO-E06-LED-flashlight-210-lumens-XM-L-T6-Neutral-White-takes-2AA-batteries-/160611233511?pt=US_Flashlights&hash=item25652ceee7

I have both the SB and JB lights mentioned in post.

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I’ve been looking into the Xeno lights since several people recommend them. They look really nice, but they seem to have either reverse clickys or forward clickys with strange UIs (the Xeno E06, according one review, only changes modes when the flashlight is off by half presses of the button, then a full click to lock it in, is that correct?) I don’t mind learning a UI, but I will be sharing this with other people occasionally, and simpler would be better.

That Crelant looks interesting - 450 lumens on high for 106 minutes on 2xAA? Really? That would be great, but seems optimistic relative to what other lights are putting out. And I was I was thinking of placing an order for an L3 Illumination L10 as a keychain light from sbflashlights anyway…

For those of you who recommend the Caveman - do you really think it’s preferable over the Spark?

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That’s how it works with forward clicky. You must turn the light off to change mode. If you don’t want to revenrse clicky is what you’re looking for. E06 looks decent - solid, neutral tint, well spaced modes.

No. Here’s the review with runtime graph:

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The archer is a great light. I have one in my collection and I love it.

It is a little long for being only 1AA and I wish the belt clip was closer to the tailcap.

Overall it has a nice UI and and great brightness/throw.

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I have the BA20 and still use it sometimes……then i went with the SolarForce T2 and like that one even better. Most of my lights are in the 18650 format but its nice to have one or two AA cell lights to keep around.

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Not “would be”, “is”… Cone is nice. And totally necessary, btw.

Welcome to BLF, DPRoberts. I’m sort of partial to either of the lights, or any lights, really, from Shiningbeam. Bryan is great to deal with. The first so called budget lights I ever purchased I purchased from him. He’s the gateway dealer to a whole world of fun.

In fact no matter which light you chose, or from where, you owe it to yourself to pick up some hot rodded Romisens from Shiningbeam.

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I love my Quark X AA2, the only 4Sevens light I have. Picked it up when they were being discontinued for $35 I think. Who could not be happy with this light?

Of the ones you listed I like the Spark. Shiningbeam has a great reputation. If you buy from them don’t forget the discount code, I think it saves 6% - ‘BLF user’.

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I have the ShiningBeam Spark Neutral. On High(Eneloop) the tailcap current is 1.5 Amp. I believe this goes up a bit as the battery drains. You should get a bit over an hour on high though. Medium mode the driver is more efficient 315 mA (6 hour), low is 30 mA.

This light is nice for the compact size, simple UI, CR123 compatibility, 1 or 2AA. The tint and beam quality is very good too.

I just leave it in the medium 100 lumen mode most always; for me an ideal light level for general use. I skipped the BA20 because there was no mode around 100 lumen.

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I say just get it all……in the end thats what usually happens. :bigsmile:

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I have owned several 2xAA lights including the three you have mentioned. By far my favorite and the only one I still use is the Caveman.
I know it’s a different shape and size but since I bought a my Nitecore EA4 and Sunwayman D40A, I seldom ever use any other AA lights.

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I have the Spark and Caveman and for me the determining factor between the 2 is how the light will be used. With the 2 AA tube in the Spark the Caveman wins hands down. Bigger, heftier, and to me, much better built. And way longer runtime on high. However I use the single AA tube with the Spark. It’s small enough for me to slip into a jacket pocket, which is virtually every day in San Francisco. If you want something you can carry easily, go with the Spark. If you want a full size 2 AA light then the Caveman is the one to get by far.

As to runtime on high, I ran the Spark with an AW 14500 for 45 minutes before I stopped to measure the voltage. After waiting 30 minutes it measured at a bit over 3.6v, so not much was left in the battery. The short runtime isn’t an issue since I also carry a Tank007 E09.

I’m taking both lights to the Amazon next month so I should have a better feel as to how robust, etc they are.

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Very good point. The problem is that I’m really not sure which “form factor” I want. I’ll mainly use it when walking/hiking in the evenings. Some of this is in a rural area where low/medium would be fine, some in a small town where a brighter light would be better, some along the side of a road where I’ll want Very High / Turbo to make sure oncoming cars see me. It will also be more of an EDC when camping, general purpose during blackouts, and several other uses.

So, I’m leaning more towards a heavier 2xAA - I’ve been using a 14-lumen Mini Maglite incandescent, and its weight is fine (hey, I think I’m leaning towards the Caveman!). However, any LED is going to be several times brighter than what I’m used to, so I might actually prefer something smaller on a lower setting. For all I know, I might also find I prefer CR123s, so the Spark would allow for that too (hey, I think I’m leaning towards the Spark!). Having said that, though, I’m also going to get a small, keychain-sized 1xAAA or 1xAA for EDC; having that as a backup anyway, I don’t necessarily “need” my 2xAA to function as a smaller light.

I have sort of dismissed the 4Sevens Quarks - they sound like good lights, but I’m not sure they’re worth the extra $20 or so more than the ones already listed. However, a monkey wrench got thrown into the works today, in that Google Wallet is running a special through Newegg.com that gets you $15 off a $50 purchase. Newegg sells 4Sevens for a reasonable price anyway (MAP?), so maybe I should consider them.

I’m still trying to sort out the 4Sevens Quark models; they seem to have 4 different 2xAA models, starting with the QP2A and the QT2A. It looks like the slightly more expensive QP2A-X and QT2A-X just have the XM-L2 emitter instead of the XP-G2. If I can live with the XP-G2, Newegg sells them for $55, or $40 after the discount, which is right in the ballpark of the Shiningbeam and other lights. Hmmm, time to do some more reading…

Yeah, I’m beginning to see why…