I just bought 5 AAA lithium batteries because I needed 2 for a remote control.
I was looking at the Tank007 HM-01 (black cat) but I thought I’d check with what others thing first.
I haven’t even considered a AAA flashlight before now so I haven’t paid any attention to what is good or not.
The thing to note about the blackcat is that it draw 2A from a AAA, which means nimh are really the only practical battery. I personally like it because of the neutral-ish tint, but not the best light in general.
Dinodirect sells an AAA extension for the tank 703 which fits the blackcat (it’s red) which I use on one of mine. The light’s driver is constant power so current drops to half or 1A with 2xAAA.
My personal favorite AAA is the Thrunite Ti . It’s ~15$ and it’s two stage twist. Just twist some for low, and more for high.
Other good AAA are Olight i3 (formerly itp a3) or Trustfire f23 (stainless) if you want something fancy looking.
As of late, a lot of folks like the Tank E09. Twist multimode like the i3.
The tk703 extension tube fits in the blackcat? OMG!! It fits nicely? no gap between the parts? It is the same diammeter both internal and external?
Tank007 manufactures the Black Cat lights, so it’s not so surprising.
The 703 tube is inconsequentially thicker but it fits perfectly otherwise. I think it makes the blackcat a better light.
And it has the same amount of threads? No gap between the BC body and the extension tube or the tailcap?
i dont know any noteworthy AAA light with starting price 10USD or lower.
which lights have you looked at already?
olight i3/itp a3, bronte RA01 are at least 15US$, Tanks are 12$ or higher.
No. I imagine the blackcat is cut the same as the 703, only slightly thinner.
It’s basically impossible to get a AAA with premium led for much less than $10.
Folks in the US can get the $3.50 s/h Coast 5mm led light, which is also good but not too bright. I would think there are decent 5mm lights elsewhere for ~$5
two good comparison reviews are:
in the budget section (this forum!) my #1 recommendation goes to Tank E09; i havent experienced any other Tanks TBH.
Nothing really just this one
But I noticed there is another 3-4 Tank007’s in that price range, as well as some UltraFire, AKORAY, Brinyte.
There is also a AKORYA with a Q5 that claims 150 lumens for $12.
I don’t actually need one, thats why I have a small budget for it.
I got my $3.50 Coast light. I was not impressed. It was the G-10 and while it looks nice and is made nice, the 5mm led really lets it down.
I have Tanks, Blackcats, ITPs, Olights, Streamlight, Pelican, Thrunlite, and other 1AAA lights. While I am a huge fan of clicky lights, the tiny size of the 1AAA lights do not lend themselves to easy clicking. A twisty makes a 1AAA light smaller and lighter. The best twisty is the Thrunlight UI system with the two modes and single twist. I was lucky enough to get one for $5 but would pay $15. It seems fair considering what you get and how good it is. I use mine with 10440 batteries.
Tank007 E09 is one hell of a light with a 10440 in it. Much better then the Black cat. Have both.
But you have to pay a little more than 10$. Its worth it!
Another vote for Thrunite Ti .
Love my edc Tank 007 E09! Amazing even on a AAA alkaline!
-Garry
ThruNite Ti all the way!
I used to have the Tank007 TK703, and it was a great light; a bit bigger than the E09, and was significantly throwier, but it's performance was significantly less on Alkalines than with 10440s. The tube was glued making it very difficult to disassemble. The battery tube spring was on the positive end of the light, and the negative end on the tailcap was flat. You could not use a cell which had a wrapper extending past the shoulder on the negative end of the cell, meaning that any 10440 cells had to have a small magnet to make contact on the negative end.
I eventually shorted the driver accidentally, killing it in the process, so I modified the light to be DD, but I would imagine that's not good for the little 10440s, so I wasn't comfortable carrying it that way, and moved on to the E09 which is smaller than the 703 due to the twisty vs. clicky.
Surprisingly, before I started carrying the E09, I had purchased the (extremely) generic and very cheap SuperBright 7-1...
http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/superbright-71-led-flashlight-1aaa-p-5818
and the larger diameter SuperBright 7-2 and really liked having them. They both use the same generic low-end, large-die, 5mm type of LED that the really budget lights have, but it still puts out enough light for the vast majority of tasks needed for my normal EDC use. They will not run from 10440s and are not water tight or extremely bright, but they are very lightweight and very cheap, and if lost or stolen, it would not be nearly as upsetting as losing a higher-end light. The 7-1 is the same size as the TK-703 and both have clicky switches.
The 7-1 and 7-2 are both available from DX and are significantly cheaper from there than the 7-1 from Manafont: http://dx.com/p/super-bright-7-1-3w-30-lumen-led-flashlight-with-strap-black-1-aaa-44705?item=13, http://dx.com/p/super-bright-7-2-1w-30-lumen-led-flashlight-with-strap-black-1-x-aaa-57748?item=15.
The larger head of the 7-2 doesn't gain you anything over the smaller 7-1. I preferred the 7-1 due to it's smaller diameter and lack of crenelation. I had to give my 7-2 the Foyzel treatment for pocket carry...
Here's a review Old4570 wrote on the 7-2:
https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/2048
These are the TRUE budget lights; they present a value due to their low cost and the actual function they provide. And they are cheap enough to add onto an order to prevent a significant loss if they fail to live up to your expectations...
...and the 7-2 bakes to a very nice orange/gold/copper if you try...
See Thrunite store T10 (AA) + Ti (AAA) for $30 is 2 lights for $15 each if the deal is still on when you read this . . . for quality lights.