I actually have this Dereelight Javelin setup and in real life it doesn't look near as silly as you might think. As a AA P60 they are a great light.
You probably would buy it as a host though as the standard Dereelight XM-L pills are not designed to give full output on less than two Li-Ion cells.
Another option would be to look at the Solarforce hosts which can be setup for 3AA with the right combination of body and extension tube. (Yep, I've done this too - but I prefer the Javelin)
The Balder SE-1 with two extension tubes will also run 3AA on its XM-L head.
I did a mod on a light that looks like the first choice from ebay, above 3AA mod . It was a pretty easy mod and turned out to be a nice, practical light and definitely budget.
There are several lights out there, but you would need to mod them. If you really want a 3AA Mini-Mag, there is this method. You could use an XM-L and TIR or the 3-up shown there.
It would be easier to do the mod that soytnly links to in the previous post.
I have a 3AA MiniMag I'm building, with a copper pill that duplicates the original Mag LED pill design (tighten to turn off, loosen to turn on and focus), single mode direct drive, and a 20x19mm AL reflector cut on the OD to fit in the stock Mag LED head. I might could be persuaded to part with it once finished... ;)
(maybe off-topic: do 3x NiMh need a boost driver? I'm not familiar enough with the world of sub-17mm drivers to know what options are available. Any tips?)
3xNiMH shouldn’t need a boost driver. This will give you a plateau voltage of around 3.6-3.9V, which is plenty. Also remember that a Malkoff XM-L2 drop-in for 3-4C/D uses only a linear driver. And a 3C/D Mag with a Malkoff XM-L2 is perfectly capable of draining the batteries.
I have to say that I’m liking this Dereelight Javelin. The only problem is that I can’t find a good place to get it. The Dereelight site wants a FORTUNE ($20) to ship it. And Flashlight Connection (which is local) is out of stock on both the light itself and accessories (like the extension tube).
Now that you mention it, it does say that on the bottom on the screen. Yet if I click on the shopping cart, it takes me to Paypal, and shows a $20 shipping charge. And for whatever reason, I can’t even click on the shopping cart for just the host.
The website has always been a bit cryptic but there now appear to be some inconsistencies.
The Javelin, DA3 and C2H pages are displaying free shipping via China Post
The CL1H-T and DBS-T don't mention any shipping fee
The Nightmaster and XSearcher pages are saying free shipping for orders over $200, otherwise $20 shipping fee
They did offer free shipping in the past as I have bought a number of items from them. Perhaps they have changed their policies. Shoot an email off to Alan and ask, he is usually pretty prompt with replies. The Javelin is a very good light, but an extra $20 shipping on a $54 order would certainly push it into a premium price category.
I hope the whole $20 shipping unless it’s over $200 isn’t the way things are now. Because that would SERIOUSLY be a deal killer for a $30 host and $8 extension tube. As far as getting the light locally, there is Flashlight Connection here in Northern California. But they appear to be out of stock on the Javelin.
Speaking of the Javelin, I wonder if it could be used with two extension tubes for more runtime.
I talked to Dereelight. And it looks like they discontinued the extension tube. 2AA = worthless as far as running an XM-L with any degree of finesse. So scratch that one.
