I’ve been looking for a good general-purpose utility light. This will be mostly for DIY stuff around the house. I’m not looking for something tiny but powerful or something huge that can outshine the sun, I just want a regular old light that can be useful around the house. I like quality products and want to get something that’s good value, but there are just too many brands out there!
Right now I have a no-name 3xAAA light that’s in terrible shape… I’d really like something better than no-brand Chinese. I like the size of this one (about 1.5” in diameter at the head, about 1” at the tail, and about 4” long). It’s easy to grab on to when I’m working on something and big enough that it doesn’t get stuck places it shouldn’t. It’s also not too bulky — I don’t need this thing for home defense, I have better options for that!
AA or AAA batteries are a must. We have tons of those and no fancy lithiums. Being able to change batteries in a hurry is important to me.
Any good suggestions? Budget is about $40 tops, though if I come in well below that I’ll just buy more than one light. Batteries and form factor are the two most important criteria to me.
Check out Lumintop SD10 GB. $39 for a very nice light that will take many different types of batteries. You may have to wait some time for the GB to be approved and the light manufactured and shipped.
If you want AA not 18560, and you dont want a small light, then the XinTD X3 might suit. Its far from tiny, far from huge and runs on AA. You can run 18650 and 26650 if you choose too. Not expensive either around $30 IIRC. There was a group buy a while back (now closed) but the consensus I think was positive. I have one and like it. There are a couple of versions available, one with plastic holder for AA, and one with a metal one (International Outdoors I think), the metal cage is nice but the lights are the same. I got my cage from a member here who had them made. Costs a bit more that way but its very nice IMO.
If youre happy to spend a bit more, the Sunwayman D40A is a good choice. I also have one of these, and really like it despite not really using it as I always have an EDC in my pocket.
Theory is the XinTD with only 3 aa will struggle to maintain voltage (its still very bright) while the 4 aa D40A should avoid voltage sag longer. Personally Ive been happy with both. There is obviously some degree of truth to it but I think its very technical and only really a numbers game seen in measurements, not what you see with the light. It wouldnt run as long I suppose so thats something you might notice without specific measurement.
+1 on the d40a. Plenty of options on the power settings and runs on aa. Very powerful on high. Wouldnt need another light. Price is more than you wanted but is a quality name brand. Also has option for neutral white.
I would take a look at some of the big box stores like Lowes or Costco.
AA powered isn’t going to be a problem and there are some pretty good lights available right off the shelf. Plus, if you don’t like it or have a warranty problem, you can take back to the store.
fenix and nitecore have several quality lights that run on AA’s. their websites let you pick by battery type. I have ordered several times from fenix-store.com and they have great service. the main reason I got into these lights was that I needed a good bright light that could get into small places—-something my 4D mag couldn’t do let alone the d-cells being a hassle. get one of these lights and some good nimh LSD cells and a good independent channel charger and you’ll be set for a long time
First up, using alkaline batteries of any sort will always offer less performance and very high chance of them leaking and ruining your electronic goods.
There is nothing wrong with AA or AAA batteries, just avoid alkaline ones.
Alkaline batteries such as bronze top Duracells simply can’t offer up the amp draw and will suffer massive voltage sag in use, making them appear to be flat way earlier than they really are. But they are pretty useless in torches.
What you want to do is get yourself some quality NiMh rechargeable batteries. The best are probably Sanyo Eneloops. These are Low Self Discharge rechargeable and will hold 70%+ of their charge for 3 years. Normal NiMh batteries might have slightly higher capacity, but they will self discharge within a couple of weeks.
If you don’t want to go down the rechargeable route, then Lithium primary batteries are the way to go, these are not Li-ion. Lithium primaries have the same 1.5v as an alkaline battery, but they have much longer shelf life, don’t leak, work well in cold conditions (alkalines don’t) and importantly have a much better discharge curve, so will massively out perform even the best alkaline batteries by a large margin.
As for torches, well several good ones have been mentioned already, although be warned some of them are physically much bigger than what you are asking for. 3xAA is substantially more bulky than 3xAAA.
I’m not sure what country you are in, if you are in the USA. Then I’d say it’s well worth looking at the current MagLite line-up.
The MiniMag Pro runs on 2xAA and pumps out 272 lumens. Great price and performance. Also Mags are about the best torches you can get if you really must run alkaline batteries, although they work well on the other ones I mention above too.
If you want something more similar in size to your current light, then the Maglite XL200 is well worth a look too. Down on outright lumens vs the MiniMag, but will be a lot brighter than what you are using now. The XL200 also has a very cool user interface.
If you fancy something a little more premium, then I recommend you checkout the EagleTac D25 series. Available as twisty lights, or clicky swtich lights and many battery options. Lots of places to buy in the US.
The Olight S15 with the AA extender for 2xAA is also very nice:
However 2xAA lights tend to be longer and thinner. If you want short then you’ll need to look at a different format. Not that many “proper” torches use 3xAAA, so you’ll probably need to look at single AA lights.
