Help to find AAA Light / Help me choose the AAA keychain light. Merged.

[KingPro500]

I have been lurking for a while, and am now the proud owner of an Zerbralight H51. I will buy some more from them, its the greatest build quality! Thank you guys for the tip.

So, now i am looking for a good EDC AAA to have on my keychain / around my neck, and i have read that Titanium is the way to go when you have it around the neck. But i did want a black one. I want to find it on eBay, or someone who ships worldwide(I live in Norway).

I was going to buy a Fenix LD01 R5 stainless steel(dont want ss, but it had cool features otherwise, so maybe the alu version?), but then i read that for neck wear, i should have a Titanium flashlight.


Absolutes;
AAA
Shpis to Norway/worldwide
Two modes(at least) High, Low

Want:
"High end"
Pride of ownership, like my Zebralight
Lightweight
Alu or titanium? What is best for neck wear with my keys?
Black or dark body
Price 40-120$
Reliable


Would be nice:
"High end"
Tailstand like the LD01(cool)
Some flood
Neutral or warm light
Small


So far my candidates are


Bought:
Preon 1 Black
Fenix E05 - One mode
mmace1 made me realize that i am going to need much more than 1and i can gift them, so what am i waiting for?


Short list:
Preon 1 , Titanium, R5 Edition [FS.P1-Ti] from 4sevens, ships worldwide
Preon ReVO, Stainless Steel, S2 Edition [FS.PRev-SS-S2]

Fenix LD01 SS XP-G R5
Peak Eiger
Mako (but when and if? I cant wait months, are u crazy, i want noooow...


Will maybe buy/cheap price:
Lumintop Worm. AAA, Xpe R2, 60 hi/ 10 lo, tail stands,
iTP A3 EOS Cree XP-E Q5 Flashlight AAA 80 LMs TITANIUM
at this price i will probobly buy them anyway, but i want a "high end" also. (we are flashaholics, no?) Thanks for the tips.







Any suggestions?

 

[Flying Turtle]

Re: Help to find AAA Light

Welcome to CPF, KingPro500. If I was buying a new AAA light now it would probably be a Preon Revo. Seems to be a great combination of small size and high performance. Not sure if 4Sevens ships across the pond. Right now his site only lists a stainless steel version.

Geoff

 

[KingPro500]

Re: Help to find AAA Light

He does ship international. But it says "out of stock".

Why Revo before Preon 1?

 

[Flying Turtle]

Re: Help to find AAA Light

He does ship international. But it says "out of stock".

Why Revo before Preon 1?

I like the looks of the Revo better. No technical reason. I just checked 4Sevens site and it said the SS version is still in stock.

Geoff

 

[pobox1475]

Re: Help to find AAA Light

Fenix E05.

 

[robostudent5000]

Re: Help to find AAA Light

since it doesn't get mentioned as often, i'll throw this one in. how about a Lumintop Worm. AAA, Xpe R2, 60 hi/ 10 lo, tail stands. some HK webshops have them, world wide shipping. the Alu version costs around $20.

 

[GeoBruin]

Re: Help to find AAA Light

Sounds like the Peak Eiger is right up your alley. It is available in aluminum (black hard anodized), it will run a variety of battery chemistries, and if you get the QTC version, you get INFINITE brightness settings. I don't know about shipping however.

 

[vali]

Re: Help to find AAA Light

He does ship international. But it says "out of stock".

Why Revo before Preon 1?

Current controled vs Voltage controled + PWM (IIRC).

 

[KingPro500]

Re: Help to find AAA Light

Current controled vs Voltage controled + PWM (IIRC).

Wait, What?

 

[KingPro500]

Re: Help to find AAA Light

I like the looks of the Revo better. No technical reason. I just checked 4Sevens site and it said the SS version is still in stock.

Geoff

You are right. I will look in to that one.

 

[KingPro500]

Re: Help to find AAA Light

Sounds like the Peak Eiger is right up your alley. It is available in aluminum (black hard anodized), it will run a variety of battery chemistries, and if you get the QTC version, you get INFINITE brightness settings. I don't know about shipping however.

Looks like you are on to something. But that is the worst website for Chrome. What model is the AAA version? Also what is body style "lug", and what is "QTC version"

Fenix E05.

Is this a one level flash? I want a low mode also.


Thanks for the great suggestions guys, i will look in to all of them, and just keep on suggesting other ones.

 

[samgab]

Re: Help to find AAA Light

Wait, What?

The Preon 1 (and 2) - and most tiny flashlights including the Zebralights - use Pulse Width Modulation to lower the output for the low modes, flickering the light on and off so fast -in the order of 2.40 to 2.43 kHz for the preon for instance - you (hopefully) can't see it unless the light is moving fast and making an audible, dependant on how good your hearing is, whining sound at some levels; whereas some other flashlights - the Preon ReVO S2 SS and the Fenix R5 LD05 stainless steel for instance - use a circuit that increases the current as the voltage decreases to maintain constant brightness, so there is no flickering at all and no sound, and it's apparently more efficient, though I don't have the numbers at hand to prove that part.
But neither of them are black or dark coloured, or aluminium or titanium. They're better, than aluminium anyway, in my opinion. Especially for keychain carry, the stainless is robust.

 

[StandardBattery]

Re: Help to find AAA Light

There is possibly a small number of Mako lights being made soon; AAA Titanium semi custom lights, top quality.

The less expensive titanium options would be the relatives of the iTP A3, I think they can still be found in Titanium at dealers that will ship world wide. Over all quality though does not match ZebraLight though.

 

[Derek Dean]

Re: Help to find AAA Light

Howdy KingPro500 and welcome to CPF,
One reason you would want the Revo over the Preon 1 is the attachment point for a neck chain, etc. The Revo has a nice, super solid lug on the end. With the Preon 1, it looks like you would have to have the clip on it to use as an attachment point.

You can get a light that is almost exactly like the Revo, but in dark aluminum. That is the Klarus Mi10. It seems to be built by the same company that did the Revo. Goinggear.com has both the stainless steel and aluminum versions.

One thing to consider is the UI (user interface). The Revo (and Preon 1 and Klarus Mi10) come on in the low mode. That can mean a lot of twisting in order to get to high mode if that is the one you use the most. However, some folks really prefer that it comes on in the low mode, as that can keep from blasting you with a super bright light when you only want a little bit of light.

Now, to help you sort through all this info, you might want to spend some time looking at these links:

The CPF welcome mat will help you learn the lingo we use to discuss flashlights. Don't think you have to read or understand it all, just glance over it to get started.
CPF Welcome Mat:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?277224-The-Welcome-Mat-a-FAQ

Here you will learn all about batteries, both regular and rechargeable:
Battery University:
http://batteryuniversity.com/

And finally, some excellent flashlight review sites to help you compare features.
Flashlight review sites:
http://www.light-reviews.com/reviews.html
http://www.sliderule.ca/flashlight.htm
http://www.lygte-info.dk/review/Reviews UK.html

By the way, I had the Revo Stainless Steel version for a while, and it's a GREAT little light. The machining was beautiful and it had a beautiful beam and 3 well spaced levels, however, I ended up selling it because I didn't like that it came on in low, which I rarely needed. The Klarus Mi6 comes on in the medium level, and is a light I'm considering at the moment.

In any case, take your time and don't be in a hurry. After a week or two you'll begin to get a good feel for what's available and which light will work best for YOU.

Have fun!

 

[pjandyho]

Re: Help to find AAA Light

I like my stainless steel Preon ReVO very much. I have 3 of them, 2 in neutral white and one in cool white. One of the neutral white is my current shelf queen and the other one is permanently attached to my keychain. It has been on my keychain for more than 6 months and hasn't shown any signs of wear. Really tough material for a keychain light. The cool white is the older XP-G R2 version and it has been put on drawer duty. Meaning doing nothing at all and only gets used once in a long while. They are probably one of the most useful light around.

I can understand why some would not like to have the low output coming on first, but I find this setup real nice for my use. First, as what Derek Dean has mentioned, I don't get blinded when switching it on with night adapted vision. Secondly, I use the medium mode most of the time for general use and since the medium mode is placed in the second stage of the interface, the next switch would lead me to high output if I needed more light. At least I don't have to go through the low output to get to high.

 

[GeoBruin]

Re: Help to find AAA Light

Looks like you are on to something. But that is the worst website for Chrome. What model is the AAA version? Also what is body style "lug", and what is "QTC version"

The Peak Website is not the best, but you can look at their products on RMSK (just Google that).

The AAA version is the "Eiger". It is available in two variants: Key (tail cap has an integrated hole through which a split ring or string can be threaded) and Lug/Pocket which does not have knurling and does not have the hole for the split ring.

The QTC version is relatively new. It incorporate a QTC "pill" which is just a piece of QTC (Quantum Tunneling Composite) between two machined caps (as I understand it). QTC technology is what allows the infinitely adjustable brightness settings. The concept is pretty complex, but suffice it to say it is new technology in the flashlight realm and Peak are one of the first to incorporate it. The Peak lights also come in one of three choices of optic. Narrow, medium and wide. That will dictate the beam pattern you get. Also, you may choose the tint if I remember correctly. The Eiger has only become available in HA Aluminum with the QTC pill as of this last week.

 

[combinatorix]

Re: Help to find AAA Light

I like my stainless steel Preon ReVO very much. I have 3 of them, 2 in neutral white and one in cool white. One of the neutral white is my current shelf queen and the other one is permanently attached to my keychain. It has been on my keychain for more than 6 months and hasn't shown any signs of wear. Really tough material for a keychain light. The cool white is the older XP-G R2 version and it has been put on drawer duty. Meaning doing nothing at all and only gets used once in a long while. They are probably one of the most useful light around.

Do you guys know if neutral white Reon ReVo lights still available, or is 4sevens planning to make any more?

 

[mmace1]

Re: Help to find AAA Light

It's only 1-mode (sorry), but for AAA, I prefer the Fenix E05 to others. To me, it's brightness level/beam are about perfect for a 1xAAA light. It lacks throw but...if I wanted throw, why am I using a 1xAAA light? The upside is very good spill/~5m illumination. It's very comfortable for hiking at night, navigating a house at night/etc.

Since its circuit is simple (1-mode), it's also very efficient, which I prefer given the low capacity of a AAA cell. The only thing I'd prefer would be *one* lower level for reading, etc.

If not this, I'd probably vote he AAA Revo. I prefer the beam pattern of the E05 though (more spill). I feel like the Revo is *worse* at near illumination, even on high. It also has lower efficiency, but...is better at distance illumination by far. That said; if I wanted much distance, why am I using a 1xAAA? Seems kinda silly. If I actually needed throw very often, it seems I could suck it up and carry an extra *50* grams or so for a 1xAA light at least.

For everyday carry/everyday situations - I prefer the E05 for it's nice spill/efficiency. The efficiency comes at the cost of multiple levels (darn, and throw (don't care), though.

 

[menoceros]

Re: Help to find AAA Light

I love my Fenix LD01. Its small, three mode (comes on in med) twistie is very smooth. I carry it all the time. Low is enough to read with, high is bright enough, med for walking to car etc.

 

[KingPro500]

Re: Help to find AAA Light

Thanks guys for all this great information. Was going to pull the trigger now, but then i saw all the new info here. I thing i have to digest it.

The Revo is looking good, and the Eiger seems even better, but to me a little hard to understand even with GeoBruin`s excellent explanation. Have anyone looked at the order form? Too many choises for me. Why cant i just click "add to cart"? Maybe this is a sign that i am not ready for it, even if it seems perfect. Also i wear a lot of black, and i do want a black flash if at all possible to fit my other criteria.

Also i am finding it strange that i am using 2+ hours a day for over a week to read about flashlights. (its really more...) I am not so much in to flashlights, as to get the best product for the money, or the best in a category. This applies to other things i buy, i will do many hours of research for buying all kinds of things. And its not about saving money, when you look at the time i put in, and the money i "save". But i do get satisfaction from knowing i have the best product or the best value for money.


At least I am going to buy a Zebra H51Fw today as a gift.