That’s a minus.
In all honestly I hardly ever use a AA in my Tool.
I just like the fact that in an ‘emergency’ I can put in AA.
That would be great, but only if not too much trouble, because there a lot of options/suggestions to consider.
I’ve put that one on my list. Have to find a review with runtimes.
What kinda skills does switching heads involve?
My vast experience modding lights is limited to changing the battery 
It would be a lie I never use high lumen, so a hidden turbo is a bonus.
The main reason I use a 1450, is that it packs more energy, meaning longer runtimes.
Tool AA size is great.
Smaller might be better if it doesn’t mean compromises elsewhere.
[quote=“roostre, post:9, topic:217096, username:roostre”]
I would have appreciated the “Lumintop Tool AA 2.0” much more if it had a lower brightness level
[/quote]True. I always use a 14500 for extended runtimes, but like using an Eneloop for the lower low.
This is where I bought mine, back in 2017: Page Not Found - Aliexpress.com (they are still there, just follow the link).
The runtimes will probably be a bit better than the Tool AA (with Nichia), but just because the Osram Led is more efficient. If you have a Tool AA with another LED, I can’t be sure about efficiency/runtime.
Check zeroair.org or 1lumen.com to see if they have reviews on that.
To take the TIR Optic from the EDC15 and put it into the Tool AA , you need some pointy tweezers that whose tips fit into the small holes in the driver’s back. Then rotate clockwise to unscrew and counter clockwise to screw the pill again.
Check my video, minute 9m30s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ge3kGRdlEtI&t=69s&ab_channel=MascaratumBLF
Then you just need to take the TIR out and put it on the head of the Tool AA, and screw the pills again. Always be careful and make sure that the TIR opening is not damaging the LED.
I hope this helps in some way.
There is also another light you can check, although…I am not sure if you’d like it: the DQG Slim Ti AA (you need to buy the light and the extension tube, if you can find it): This is my review of it: “REVIEW”: DQG Slim Ti (1/2 AA and other batteries) ***[DISCOUNT CODE ADDED - 05/22/2018]***
It takes AA and 14500, it is not brighter than 600 lumens, it has 3 modes, always starts on the lowest mode, and has reverse clicky switch, so, no parasitic draining.
It is lightweight. I never did runtime test with it, so I can’t be sure how long it lasts. I do know that when using 14500s on max, it gets hot, since the driver and the LED are all in 1 board. Also, the flashlight is quite thin, so heat dissipation is quite…nhe… But it is one of the smallest AA/14500 lights you’ll find!
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If you set the floor level of the ramp brightness to 1/150 when you configure Anduril on the “Sofirn SP10 Pro” or the “Wurkkos TS10”; the difference between the low brightness levels of either the “Sofirn SP10 Pro” (with a Li-ion or NiMH battery) or the “Wurkkos TS10” (with a Li-ion battery) and the “Lumintop Tool AA 2.0” (even with a NiMH battery) is not even closely comparable in my opinion.
I am not exaggerating when I say, “If you haven’t seen the difference, it’s almost like night and day”, with the “Lumintop Tool AA 2.0” appearing many times brighter (which is not advantageous for a moonlight brightness level - the SP10 & TS10 are the clear winners here).
The SP10 Pro would get my vote too. I’ve got it and a brass TS10. The TS10 has an initial wow factor if a very short burst of brightness is required (before it quickly starts overheating/ reducing the light output.) The SP10 Pro doesn’t overheat anywhere near as much (1 LED vs 3 LED’s) helps, but can maintain a decent output level. It seems more practical for everyday use to me.
You can also check these reviews for the Wurkkos TS10 to help make up your mind:
Jackson still has the old Enogear AA/14500 lights for sale (this was Jack before he changed to Fireflies). I recently got one because I’d always meant to but shied away from the usual antics with shipping and such - figured I’d better try it out before they disappear. It’s really a very nice light, growing on me over the last few weeks. He has the “bell head” that takes both chemistries, and he has the straight-head with usb charging that only takes 14500. Nice 219B emitter, solid and reasonably protected clicky tail switch, LMH no memory. The beam has a hot spot but it’s soft-ish and such a nice color with good spill (and spill color) that it’s different than most spot beams, imho…but it’s not true floody. If you can find the optic that fits the head it would be very easy to swap it with no soldering needed…has a screw-in pill similar to the Convoy S2. Or a little DC Fix on the front will soften it further and it sounds like even with the light reduction that will give, it should still make you pretty happy.
I love the T2/T3 lights and they’re definitely worth a look, and buying one with a cell and an optic that MascaratumB could link you to would be cheaper than the Enogear…plus you can get exactly the emitter you like the most from Simon’s wide choices.
This Enogear will take just about any cell. I have some old Sony flat tops that are nearly recessed they are so flat, and it won’t take those due to the physical polarity protection bar, but it will happily take all of my Vapcell H10 and L10 flat tops, which have their tops just slightly higher. Any button top is fine. I haven’t measured but run time seems on par with most other 14500 lights. It can get pretty warm on high with the H10 cells but it doesn’t get hot-hot. Machining is excellent and it feels and looks great.
I don’t know I need moonlight or a little above, I do know from experience bright can be blinding.
I use my light for many things that’s why it’s a my EDC and in my pocket 24/7. One of the things is reading a label on say a paint can. Usually not in a pitch dark but low light enviorment. High lumen reflects with decreases visability. Hotspots don’t do much good either.
It’s good info for me. When I look up brightness specs of a light I try to find runtime reviews and start looking for the highest output the light can sustain for 30 minutes. Everything that ramps down sooner I call turbo.
Quite often the mode spacing is odd. For sake of explanation let’s assume I want 300lm output.
The light offers 200lm that doesn’t step down.
The 800lm turbo steps down 300lm and stays at that level for a while.
So, to get my 300lm I need to use 800lm first.
The first 30 minutes… I do exactly the same.
Yes, it can be interesting reading run time reviews and it’s often disappointing how short a lot of flashlights can maintain even their highest (non turbo) setting.
That’s where Anduril comes into it’s own. You can set it up to ramp up or down smoothly or in steps. You’re not stuck with preset mode levels. You instantly can access moonlight (which is adjustable) by a click- short hold , or turbo by two clicks, or whatever the last setting used was by a simple click on (I’m sure memory could be turned off too if desired.) It’s a steep learning curve in the advanced mode but worth it. Both the TS10 and SP10 Pro use Anduril 2. The TS10 has auxiliary lights, but to me they’re not much use with such a small capacity battery. You can also change the ramp down temperature with Anduril e.g. experiment and set it higher to keep the “turbo mode” going for longer.
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I think @jon_slider mentioned that the TS10 could maintain 300 lumens with the a 50 degree thermal setting.
I have the top of ramp set so I get about 300 lumens at the top. Honestly I have not pushed it beyond maybe 10 minutes. I really haven’t used Turbo for more than 10 seconds to show it off… It does start to get hot. But really, if I need more output, I just use a bigger light that is more suited for doing it. Still, the TS10 is the one in my pocket everyday. I do have a few SP10 PROs too, but for the size, versatility and the tail switch, I pick the TS10 every time.
I have the AUX lights turned off. With my usage (mostly at level 3 to 10 of 150) I only charge the thing about once per month (when the voltage check says 3.9V). Great little light.
Maybe @ZoomieFan it has a few compromises from your wish list, but I bet you would love it if you got one… and they are cheap to try.
How firm is the “no parasitic drain” requirement here? Because that rules out several lights. Some of the e-switch lights have very little with the aux turned off but there is always some, and we’re talking about small 14500 cells. Is that imperative to have zero drain, like you’d need a mechanical switch instead?
Yes. A mechanical switch or a twisty or mechanical lockout are the only ways to fully avoid parasitic drain.
Which rules out the SP10 PRO or TS10 (though you can loosen the tail cap on the SP10 to kill the drain). But with either, if one is conscientious and tops them off occasionally, no problem.
Both of mine don’t get used a lot and have literally been sitting for a couple of months (4+ ?) and the 14500 batteries haven’t been depleted. (I have the aux turned off on the TS10.)
Here’s an older post from the SP10 Pro thread:
So it’s really miniscule.
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Isn’t the Skilhunt E2A pretty much perfect?
- AA/14500
- Floody pebbled TIR
- Available with a 95CRI 4000k SST-20
- One of the smaller AA clickies
- Mechanical switch, so no parasitic drain
- Capable of 600 lumens only with low CRI emitter, so warmer variants will be lower output than that.
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@ZoomieFan Have you looked at the Acebeam Pokelite AA in Copper? The copper is running the 519a 5000K emitter (instead of the 219F in the aluminum ones) , High CRI, No extreme center hot spot (Just a well defined circle), Accepts both aa and any 14500, and no parasitic drain! I think this one checks all the boxes for you!