Really? Hmm, mine were “cool” but not too objectionable.
You want green, lookit my Quark 2AA-X.
That’s one I’d bother with an emitter-swap…
Consider also quality of ligtning (tint).
In this case Nichia 219B is the best option.
Jaxman has a model wiht 219B and the price is around 22$.
Here is the review.
If you not going to use 14500 this is good choice.
Not too concerned with tint. Appreciate all the advice, but the Jet I looks good and nothing posted looks better yet. Open to suggestions still and not in a huge rush 
I also recommend the Jetbeam Jet I MK. For the price it is a no brainer AA/14500 edc light. The twisty is smooth and easy to operate one handed. Compact, light and slick body. I’m carrying one in my tight jean pocket and i use it all the time. With a 14500 it’s very bright and quite impressive for the size.
I also have a few side switch (and more expensive) lights (Mi7, UT01…) but you need to lock them out either with a click sequence or a twist of the head/tail for edc which i find annoying - it’s hard to remember how to lock/unlock each of these lights…
You can’t go wrong with the Jetbeam.
How about a Thorfire TG06S? It has been reviewed a couple times here recently. Here’s a review by SoCalTiger. I’ve also received one for review and my review should be up in a few days. I’ve been carrying it every day since I received it. It seems to be a nice light.
UT01 is my EDC when I wear dress pants (cargo pants allows a BLF A6 or X6). I have not had any problems with the switch, and the option of AA or 14500 is very nice.
I have a Jetbeam E10R and I’m very happy with it.
On an alkaline/Eneloop it does 190 lumen, pretty good, and if you happen to have a decent 14500 around it gets you 650 lumen. It is compact and has a USB-charging port (but using that to charge the Eneloop gives you only half the charge, a known defect of this light, 14500’s charge fine).
There still is a discount on Gearbest.
http://www.gearbest.com/led-flashlights/pp_618210.html
Nice light indeed! I was just about to order one to see for myself and then i checked the size… quite big for a AA - it’s almost the size of a DQG Tiny 18650. The specs and price are nice though.
I will throw my recommendation in for the Acebeam M10. About $25 in the US, on sale for $17 right now. I have been carrying one everyday for a few weeks now and love it. I did do an emitter swap, but the stock xp-g3 wasn’t terrible, I just like warm white.
https://www.amazon.com/Acebeam-Cree-XLamp-XP-G3-Flashlight/dp/B01N6GPLK2?th=1&psc=1
The Jet I MK is also very good if you go that route, I have one of those as well, I just prefer the Acebeam for the rear clicky switch.
The ThorFire TG06S looks good. I like the tail cap better than the twist in the JetBeam, but is the twist likely to last longer? I’ve had a few smaller torches and they all fail within a couple of years - other than my mini maglite with LED upgrade kit.
Can anyone recommend a “cheap but not going to explode” reasonable quality 14500 charger / 2 battery combo for less than $15? I don’t know what brands are good. I might just stick with the Eneloops, but the extra brightness could be handy.
Tail cup i better than twist.
Much more convenien and secured in pocket.
NW tint also.
Liitokala Li200 is good cheap charger.
I ended up finding the Lumintop ED25 group buy and got one of them. I wanted 1xAA, then wanted AA with 14500 battery, but it wasn’t worth buying the battery and charged. The 2xAA weren’t a lot bigger and were a fair bit brighter, so I went with that.
I may end up with the Thorfire or Jetbeam if I decide I want a 1xAA as well. Thanks for the help everyone
The Thrunite T10 was not mentioned but is a nice 1xAA light too.
Klarus mi7 maybe?
Actually, back when this thread started, I was going to suggest a minimag, but it’s 2×AA, and wasn’t sure if the longer length was something you’d tolerate. Aside from the crappy slide-in holster (“Whups, lost it again…”), it’s a great (not-so)little light.
Every single light I ever carried in my pocket, whether side-clicky or tailcap, has managed to turn itself on accidentally. Can’t tell you how many alkies and Li primaries (Energizer, $:money_mouth_face: I’ve burned through lighting up pocket-lint.
The only lights that never did that were twisties. Kinda hard to get accidental torque in a pocket…
Alas, with all the other sharp/abrasive crap I keep in my pocket (coins, keys, etc.), any light in there will get scuffed up. Hence my “bobofett” light, where the peaks of the knurling are all worn off that the knurling looks gray vs black. So I’m not about to ruin a Jet I or the like by pocket-carrying it.
Dunno, I might “abuse” my ’348, because the threads are half-stripped to the point it’s almost press-fit, and hopefully SS won’t show up scuffs that much. But again, there’s that tailcap switch…
Anyway, in a pocket, switch bad, twisty good. 
I also would recommend a TG06S. 1xAA or 1x14500 for EDC. It’s only ~$10 in the US via Amazon. Not sure about price shipped to you in NZ.
Good point about pocket activation, but I don’t keep a torch in my pocket very often. It’s for around the house.
I got an LED upgrade to a very old mini maglite about 10 years ago. It’s not super bright, but it’s ok. I could probably get a much brighter LED now, but there’s no high/low, just on off.
I have a Thrunite Archer 1A and with the longer days and busy schedule I haven’t needed the power of my other lights. It’s the only light I’ve really used all month. I love it. High is 200 lumens and it drops to 130 over 12 minutes. I like the momentary on and mechanical switch. It’s on the floody side with a bit of a hot spot. It will tail stand and run a 14500 but I don’t need that. And, it’s in your budget.
Dunno if any are still around anywhere, but I just recently reminded myself of the Xtar WK50, last seen for 8bux a pop.
4 modes, no blinkies, FC tailcap… what’s not to like?
Don’t have any myself, but in the AA world, Hugsby seems to be highly regarded.
Don't know if you are still looking but my EDC is the Inova X1
Single AA 80 Lumen high 11 for low Tail cap twisty
I carry mine in a Mini Mag nylon belt holster Just does stick
out enough to pull with two fingers but rides good an deep
to not get popped out when cutting firewood or climbing in
an out of my CJ5 (where it gets hit every time) Seems like
it gets few nods for some reason I like it cause it simply just
works when I need it Not sure about shipping thou