[Review] Lumintop Tool AA 2.0: Small, simple and superb!

MascaratumB · 2019-06-03T15:24:03.000Z

~~X3~~:

Way too thin IMO. The clip is easily detachable from the flashlight, plus it’s too narrow so it won’t accept a jeans pocket for example.
Here is what I’ve done to mine :

Hum, any info on how did you this X3?
Any specific drill thickness? Did you use bolt and nut?

I am thinking about getting a new Tool AA 2.0 and the clip is always the headache in this light :person_facepalming:
Not sure if I will be doing something similar to what you’ve done, but I appreciate any info on this :innocent:

X31 · 2019-06-04T11:03:56.000Z

MascaratumB:

~~X3~~:

Way too thin IMO. The clip is easily detachable from the flashlight, plus it’s too narrow so it won’t accept a jeans pocket for example.
Here is what I’ve done to mine :

Hum, any info on how did you this X3?
Any specific drill thickness? Did you use bolt and nut?

I am thinking about getting a new Tool AA 2.0 and the clip is always the headache in this light :person_facepalming:
Not sure if I will be doing something similar to what you’ve done, but I appreciate any info on this :innocent:

Drilled two holes, then tapped them with a tap at work… Alignment is not perfect but it does what it’s supposed to.
I didn’t use any bolt, but I grinded the stock alu washer in the tailcap because the screws were a bit long

MascaratumB · 2019-06-04T11:48:15.000Z

~~X3~~:

MascaratumB:

~~X3~~:

Way too thin IMO. The clip is easily detachable from the flashlight, plus it’s too narrow so it won’t accept a jeans pocket for example.
Here is what I’ve done to mine :

Hum, any info on how did you this X3?
Any specific drill thickness? Did you use bolt and nut?

I am thinking about getting a new Tool AA 2.0 and the clip is always the headache in this light :person_facepalming:
Not sure if I will be doing something similar to what you’ve done, but I appreciate any info on this :innocent:

Drilled two holes, then tapped them with a tap at work… Alignment is not perfect but it does what it’s supposed to.
I didn’t use any bolt, but I grinded the stock alu washer in the tailcap because the screws were a bit long

Thank you very much for your answer mate
I guess I will try first on my “old” Tool AA, so that I can perfect it when I get the new one! And eventually with a new type of washer
I liked this method and if you don’t mind I may borrow it!

X31 · 2019-06-04T12:40:08.000Z

MascaratumB:

~~X3~~:

MascaratumB:

~~X3~~:

Way too thin IMO. The clip is easily detachable from the flashlight, plus it’s too narrow so it won’t accept a jeans pocket for example.
Here is what I’ve done to mine :

Hum, any info on how did you this X3?
Any specific drill thickness? Did you use bolt and nut?

I am thinking about getting a new Tool AA 2.0 and the clip is always the headache in this light :person_facepalming:
Not sure if I will be doing something similar to what you’ve done, but I appreciate any info on this :innocent:

Drilled two holes, then tapped them with a tap at work… Alignment is not perfect but it does what it’s supposed to.
I didn’t use any bolt, but I grinded the stock alu washer in the tailcap because the screws were a bit long

Thank you very much for your answer mate
I guess I will try first on my “old” Tool AA, so that I can perfect it when I get the new one! And eventually with a new type of washer
I liked this method and if you don’t mind I may borrow it!

Hey, the B in BLF might be for “borrowing”, who knows ?
One small advice though : make your holes slightly farther from the tail. That way if your screws are protruding in the tailcap, you can rotate your switch to aligne the flat side of the Omten with the screws

MascaratumB · 2019-06-07T11:59:37.000Z

~~X3~~:

Hey, the B in BLF might be for “borrowing”, who knows ?
One small advice though : make your holes slightly farther from the tail. That way if your screws are protruding in the tailcap, you can rotate your switch to aligne the flat side of the Omten with the screws

Ahah, thanks ! I guess I’m borrowing some ideas from you (opening the Olight, the eventual mod for the LT Tool clip…), hope you don’t mind

Thanks for the tip on this. If I drill it, I will try to do that, just to be sure it will all fit internally.

One thing I’ve been thinking after seeing a thread from CPF, is to use the M1T Raider clip on the Tool AA, if it fits. A guy there was/is using streamlight pocket clips, so maybe the M1T fits too !!

zeroed4x · 2020-12-13T22:06:45.000Z

Re read this review again to kill some boredom…. Lumintop makes so damned good lights, especially the Tool AA 2.0, wish they still made the Tool 25 Penlight.

MascaratumB · 2020-12-13T23:04:40.000Z

zeroed4x:

Re read this review again to kill some boredom…. Lumintop makes so damned good lights, especially the Tool AA 2.0, wish they still made the Tool 25 Penlight.

True and agree
I managed to get a Tool 25, and I’d get another one if they were still on sale!
I have some plans for mine, though

BOO5TED · 2020-12-15T17:10:23.000Z

MascaratumB:

~~X3~~:

Way too thin IMO. The clip is easily detachable from the flashlight, plus it’s too narrow so it won’t accept a jeans pocket for example.
Here is what I’ve done to mine :

Hum, any info on how did you this X3?
Any specific drill thickness? Did you use bolt and nut?

I am thinking about getting a new Tool AA 2.0 and the clip is always the headache in this light :person_facepalming:
Not sure if I will be doing something similar to what you’ve done, but I appreciate any info on this :innocent:

Old post I know but if you’re still thinking about doing this it’s easy. I used an old clip off of my Benchmade Mini Bugout. The hole spacing on the clip is perfect for the lanyard loop on the tailcap of the light.

My original plan was to tap the lanyard loop and screw the clip to the light. Stupid me used the wrong size bit and made the holes too big so I had to improvise. :person_facepalming: What I ended up doing was just finding nuts to fit the screws I had and just attaching it that way. I EDC this light at work pretty much every day for the last 3 months or so and it works perfectly. Now I know it doesn’t tail stand anymore but as a work light it doesn’t have to and I’m perfectly ok with that.

fxsniper · 2021-09-12T21:04:14.000Z

What are the best 14500 batteries for the Tool? And, what about the Lumintop 14500 battery with integrated mini-USB charge port, that any good? Seems like light + battery with port makes a nice gift……

Sometimes it is sold that way:

https://www.amazon.com/LUMINTOP-Flashlight-Rechargeable-Battery-Magnetic/dp/B07Z3H3WZR/ref=pd_lpo_2?pd_rd_i=B07Z3H3WZR&psc=1

TIFisher · 2021-09-12T22:09:34.000Z

fxsniper:

What are the best 14500 batteries for the Tool? And, what about the Lumintop 14500 battery with integrated mini-USB charge port, that any good? Seems like light + battery with port makes a nice gift……

Sometimes it is sold that way:

https://www.amazon.com/LUMINTOP-Flashlight-Rechargeable-Battery-Magnetic/dp/B07Z3H3WZR/ref=pd_lpo_2?pd_rd_i=B07Z3H3WZR&psc=1

I’ve used the Lumintop supplied battery in mine with no problems, but I’m currently using Keeppower P1450C2, 1000 mAh (4A) protected cell.

NorthernHarrier · 2021-09-12T22:21:34.000Z

I’m also using the KeepPower P1450C2 cells in mine, and they work well for me (although I admit that I don’t use the Turbo output level). This cell is relatively short in length, compared to most other protected 14500 cells, as HKJ pointed out in his thorough BLF review of this cell.

Correllux · 2021-09-12T23:02:28.000Z

Vapcell gold 1000mAh would be a great choice. The newer purple L10 and H10 from Vapcell also. Have to compare on HKJ's site again but at the applicable current flow I think the L10 might beat the gold by a little bit...about the same capacity but less sag. The H10 is a high drain and not a benefit for the Tool but it's great in some other lights. A buddy had the included cell from Lumintop and it's fine, just not as much capacity. The only usb-port AA I've tried was a Nitecore which I think is 750mAh or so...about the same as the Lumintop although we never compared them side by side. Lots of decent cells out there but I'm partial to the more or less legit extra capacity in the Vapcell models...so far, anyway.

jon_slider · 2021-09-13T03:37:44.000Z

fxsniper:

What are the best 14500 batteries for the Tool?

I prefer to use Eneloop in my AA Tool, not LiIon
but yes, if you prefer LiIon, a usb rechargeable battery makes a good gift package

some of the AA tools turn on some tail LEDs when on LiIon, and I hear this kills the battery pretty fast. some people break off the tail LEDs to stop that drain

also the AA Tool has a lower low mode when not using LiIon… I prefer the option to use lower levels.

another factor that is important to me, is a High CRI LED… the AA Tool does not come with one… though it can be modified, if one has a few tools and skills, that can be easily learned, if want to learn… I will be glad to coach you

here are some photos of the process of changing the LED in an AA Tool

Sillen · 2021-09-13T05:29:08.000Z

Correllux:

Vapcell gold 1000mAh would be a great choice. The newer purple L10 and H10 from Vapcell also. Have to compare on HKJ’s site again but at the applicable current flow I think the L10 might beat the gold by a little bit…about the same capacity but less sag. The H10 is a high drain and not a benefit for the Tool but it’s great in some other lights. A buddy had the included cell from Lumintop and it’s fine, just not as much capacity. The only usb-port AA I’ve tried was a Nitecore which I think is 750mAh or so…about the same as the Lumintop although we never compared them side by side. Lots of decent cells out there but I’m partial to the more or less legit extra capacity in the Vapcell models…so far, anyway.

I’ve got a dozen odd of Vapcell Gold, FT & BT and they all have 50+ ohm resistance tested with YR1030+. H10 is around 15ohm. Don’t have any L10 to test but perhaps that’s why they test better?

Correllux · 2021-09-13T23:45:04.000Z

Sillen:

Correllux:

Vapcell gold 1000mAh would be a great choice. The newer purple L10 and H10 from Vapcell also. Have to compare on HKJ's site again but at the applicable current flow I think the L10 might beat the gold by a little bit...about the same capacity but less sag. The H10 is a high drain and not a benefit for the Tool but it's great in some other lights. A buddy had the included cell from Lumintop and it's fine, just not as much capacity. The only usb-port AA I've tried was a Nitecore which I think is 750mAh or so...about the same as the Lumintop although we never compared them side by side. Lots of decent cells out there but I'm partial to the more or less legit extra capacity in the Vapcell models...so far, anyway.

I’ve got a dozen odd of Vapcell Gold, FT & BT and they all have 50+ ohm resistance tested with YR1030+. H10 is around 15ohm. Don’t have any L10 to test but perhaps that’s why they test better?

Maybe so. I don't have a good way to see resistance (my charger is a big erratic liar...usually) and will probably never get set up to do a proper 4-wire test. Whatever magic sauce made its way into all three of these cells, it's a big improvement over what has been available for so long. Makes you wonder what Samsung or Sony could do if they gave 14500 some attention.

Firelight2 · 2021-09-14T00:03:10.000Z

Love the light, but need a better clip.

Any recommendations for a better clip for the Lumintop Tool AA?

BOO5TED · 2021-09-14T02:27:26.000Z

Firelight2:

Love the light, but need a better clip.

Any recommendations for a better clip for the Lumintop Tool AA?

fxsniper · 2021-09-14T07:55:32.000Z

Thanks! Mainly interested to buy as gifts….

MascaratumB · 2021-09-14T09:21:25.000Z

Firelight2:

Love the light, but need a better clip.

Any recommendations for a better clip for the Lumintop Tool AA?

I like to use the Olight M1T Raider clip (photos from here ). Some people have also talked about a clip from Streamlight.

benz · 2024-02-04T15:50:10.810Z

Thanks for this review, GeraldL! I know it is old but I found it researching if I should buy a V3.0 at the moment, considering I already have a V2.0…

“Hidden strobe”: I wanted to clarify something you mentioned briefly in your original review that took me more than a minute to work out - the strobe only seems to come on (for mine at least) if you change the modes quickly. If you change them slowly (maybe one level per second) - no strobe ever. Also, when it does come on, it’s not in the same spot in the cycle each time. At first I thought it was every 6th brightness level, but mine sometimes does it on the 5th, sometimes on the 6th no matter what brightness setting I was on before I started changing modes. The strobe also triggers after different numbers of presses depending if the light was on or off, or if the strobe was on or not, as you start counting.

I know everyone seems to want a different UI to everybody else but this one drives me crazy.

Also, my V2.0 won’t work with a KeepPower 840mAh 14500. It just won’t turn on, I don’t know why. The same li-ion works fine in my V1.0 Tool AA. (Edit: it works now, it was just the shrink wrap sitting a bit too proud and not allowing the button top of the cell to contact the driver).

Also regarding deep carry clips, I saw a thread on CPF about someone using a Streamlight ProTac 1AA clip and loving it, post #24:

Candle Power Flashlight Forum

Best 1xAA like Lumintop Tool AA 2.0 only with better clip and nicer LED

Thanks again, guys. I don't want to admit to myself that I might have started a new hobby here, but looking at my growing collection of flashlights just for testing, it's hard to ignore. I currently justify it by planning on giving most of these...

The clip:

BrightGuy

Streamlight ProTac 1AA and ProTac 2AA Pocket Clip 880104 | Authorized...

Streamlight 880104 pocket clip fits Streamlight ProTac 1AA and ProTac 2AA flashlights only. (NOT for ProTac 1L-1AA) This is a genuine Streamlight brand part.

Est. reading time: 1 minute