i'm new here and i admit i feel overwhelmed at the huge amount of choice.
after deciding on an itp a3 eos to replace my old defunct Maglite Solitaire which served me well at the army awhile back, i'm now looking for a good light, to be used as follows:
1) emergency car light, with 2xAA Alkalines, with a good spill.
2) beach party light, 2xAA NIMH - used for hours on low/medium, high for a few minutes to check out the meat grill.
must have features:
long lasting on medium/low.
good environmental seal (especially sand).
maximum flood/spill.
I only intend to use it with AA's.
it should cost a max of 25$, and be available at a "free shipper" a la DX, Lightake etc...
naturally it should have a decent build quality, beam quality, etc...
I don't really know much about 2xAA lights. The only one I own is the Romisen RC-I3, and I don't use the 2xAA extension. Have you thought about a 1xAA light instead? Some of them have fantastic runtime on low and are extremely bright on high.
I wouldn't normally recommend Quark flashlights because they're normally priced way over my budget. But they are having a fantastic sale right now on the Quark MiNi AA² at 4Sevens.Com for something like $31.00. (Sorry I can't seem to access their site at the moment, I hope the link is right.) It looks like it would be floody, excellent quality, and best of class runtime. But it appears to have a twisty switch, which is less than ideal.
thanks, guys.
the Romison looks nice and cheap, but i wonder about its usability - if the mode selection is annoying, i’ll just end up resenting it. also, how is the light output on high? I could really use a bright flooder to easily search for stuff in the dark.
the Solarforce looks to be a slightly better, if more expensive and less flexible, choice. is it? can you help me find some reviews of the specific emitter/body suggested by Vectrex?
Twisties, as ezeqdb noted, might be a problem in sand.
There are not much 2xAA multimode flashlights around. I would consider the Solarforce of above.
From DX, you can go for the Romisen, or an Ultrafire C3 like this one http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.7938. You will also need to buy some 18-19mm orings, to put on the glass, because water can get into it.
A couple of days ago there was an Olight T25-T-R5 at 46% off on ebay and an online shop (35usd), it would have been a very good choice, but it costs 60 usd again .. (I missed this one and the $30 quark mini too )
If you're set on a 2xAA light, the Solarforce is probably the best option. The nice thing about Solarforce is that you can upgrade the emitters with newer technology as it's released extremely easily.
ok guys, went with the Solar Force.
I like the idea of easily replacing the emitter if it breaks, or if i just want an upgrade.
too many years of pc enthusiasm makes me favor upgradability…
plus, i think that the fact that the array can go as low as 0.8 volt, means that a 2xAA config is much better than using 2 single AA, especially Alkalines (since that way both can get as low as ~0.5V and still drive for a bit on low). that makes it perfect for emergencies.
also the lantern add-on looks sweet! but is way too expensive for now. maybe i’ll catch it on sale someday.
thank you all!
if it doesn't already come with the extra battery tube they are available for about 3~5 bucks lots of places
these aren't nessesarily the best places to buy them I just was looking for links to pics ..
I like the lights they are tough as nails I worked over dino direct for them at 8 $ each and extentions for 2.50..you say AA I say tank 566and a tube for flexability best 10.50$ i spent yet
Ah, yes of course! Thanks Boaz, I forgot all about the Tank007 TK-566. I have one without the extender, and it is a really high quality light. But be aware that I had to tighten the light module and the switchplate upon initially receiving it else it would flicker.
Yes they are. I can attest to this. Mine fell onto a cement floor from at least 1 meter, and it never even shut off. Still works perfectly.
Get in the time machine and go back to thanksgiving morning and don't refresh the shopping cart at dino direct
After the dino direct debockle i have no idea how to get a deal from them ..I thought it was 65% off now ( if you signed up or something ??).. not sure if you can add coupon codes ontop of that or not ... like cpf codes or blf codes ... not sure they weren't tossed outta cpf or if they ever gave blf a discount ...?? dunno