Best AA or AAA Light For General Use

[Texpatriate]

I've got a great Surefire E2D LED, that need is filled. I'd like to pick up a couple of flashlights for day to day use and to keep in my kit and my truck. Here are my requirements:

• uses regular AA or AAA batteries, but I'll probably use lithiums in it.
• high quality LED
• reasonably rugged and shockproof along the lines of a Surefire
• is about the size of a AA Maglight or smaller
• I would prefer longer battery life over brightness

I picked up a Coast HP14 a couple of months ago but it's bigger than I'm looking for and doesn't seem to be very shockproof. I've heard positive things about the Fenix LD22, but would love to hear other suggestions or confirmation of that option.

[Tx_Aggie]

They may not be to your taste,but have you looked at the AAA MagLites? I picked up a couple of LD50s (3 AAA batteries) and have been happy with them.

They have a high, low, and strobe setting, with the high being 200 lumens and the low around 50. Run time is 25 hours on low output and over 6 1/2 on high. Beam distance is about 200 meters on high output. The only area they might be lacking in would be durability, when compared to something like a Surefire. They have the same drop resistance rating as the Fenix you mentioned (1 meter) but MagLite describes them as "water resistant" instead of waterproof.


(Not my image)

They also run about $30.00 on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/MAGLITE-XL50-S.../dp/B004JJQ3UY

http://maglite.com/shop/maglite-xl50...l#.VOlTpPnF92E

[Neville]

Check out the quark line of lights. If you lego them together, you get about 600 lumen from a 14500imr battery.

[CRAMBONE]

You should look at the mini Maglite LEDs. They are fairly reasonable and give off a decent amount of light. I keep them in the vehicles instead of my Surefires.

http://maglite.com/shop/flashlights/...ashlights.html

[lobstradomus]

If you are really looking for something small, I think there are a lot of great options for single AA battery lights depending on your budget and preferences. Towards to upper end there is the Malkoff MDC - simple operation with three well spaced modes, designed to be very rugged and with a lifetime warranty. Slightly less expensive is the Zebralight SC52 line which offers lots of options for tint, beam profile and programmable modes. There is the Quark line from FourSevens that Neville mentioned - they are like Legos in that you can mix and match parts from just about any other Quark. There is the Fenix LD line (which you know about already,) and the EagleTac D25A series. If you want something even less expensive there is the L10 from L3 Illumination -which I have been very impressed with for the price.

While lithium primary batteries are fantastic for long term storage and high drain applications or cold weather use, if you really plan on using these lights for day to day use then I would also recommend picking up some Sanyo Eneloop batteries.

[Leaveammoforme]

Delete

[jbsmwd]

I have been using the Fenix E11 for the last couple of years with no problems other then a battery leaking that I did not know about. Its a simple Hi/Low knob on the front, no funky UI, and clicky tailcap on the back. Both ends come off to make it easy to clean out a bad battery. Its not made any more been replaced by the E12, I don't know anything about it, but the E11 can still be bought online. It stay's with me at all times.

[EricSF]

The best flashlight you can buy is Zebralight. Amazing brightness, run times and reliability. This is the AA model: http://www.zebralight.com/SC52w-L2-A...ite_p_138.html Everything you ever wanted to know about flashlights you can find at Candle Power Forums www.candlepowerforums.com

A great AAA is the Thrunite Ti3 http://www.thrunite.com/thrunite-ti3/

[Tequila45]

Stream light stylus pro. Size of a pen, runs on 2 AAA batteries, 6.5hrs run time, 65 lumens and $20 on amazon

[Shao]

I stopped trusting Zebralight after two lights I bought from them gave up the ghost within months of each other after only half a year of ownership. I also don't trust Fenix anymore for similar reasons. Chinese lights are like anything else made in China - subject to questionable quality control.

Just buy yourself a Surefire E2LAA-A (the one with the upgraded LED module). 115 lumens for 8.5 hours and 5 lumens for 100 hours on two AA batteries. It's a very nice light and the output is plenty for 99% of anything that you're going to use it for. It's made in the USA and has a lifetime warranty. I would settle for no less.