Seeking small reliable quality AAA EDC light for $20 or under

[Max]

I have a Maratac AAA in polished stainless steel that I'm looking to replace. I find the low and med modes to be uncomfortable to use because of the low PWM frequency, so I'm looking for something in the $20 and under range to replace it with.

Should be
- reliable (which is why I'm not going straight for the first cheap-o light that looks good on eBay)
- reliable doesn't mean "built like a tank" - I want something small that slips into my pocket, with minimal crenulations or variations in diameter.
- run well on alkaline AAA
- no flickery PWM
- used mostly close up, so smooth floody beam is best
- should have a light output mode with at least about 30 lumens. All else being equal, 80 on high would be better, but willing to trade off power for quality.
- multiple levels would be nice, but willing to give that up to get something extra quality.
- I really want to stick to $20 and under.

Thanks all!

 

[enomosiki]

Peak Eiger with QTC and wide beam angle will be great for you. There is no PWM, but the downside is that it is over your budget and is not regulated.

 

[jacktheclipper]

The standard version of the ITP A3 is one mode , no PWM .

 

[think2x]

Thrunite Ti?

 

[AaronG]

Fenix E05.

-Smooth floody beam
-It is about as small as they get
-no flicker
-27 lumens ( about all you'll get with alkaline anyway)
-well regulated
-Fenix build quality
-$20 shipped from 4sevens

I've gifted three and have one on my keys

 

[GaAslamp]

The standard version of the ITP A3 is one mode , no PWM .

That sounds like a plan...if you can find one.... :thinking:

Thrunite Ti?

Two modes, High and Low, within the specified budget, and no PWM, but it is unregulated (if that matters) and I've read about it having some "high frequency noise" (maybe from a weakly filtered boost circuit? :shrug.

It's not easy to find even a single-mode AAA flashlight from a major manufacturer that meets your specs for $20 or under. Aside from the ones already mentioned, all I could find was:

Streamlight MicroStream: Output is a bit low for your needs, and the beam is probably narrower than you'd want for close-up use.

Fenix E05: 27 lumens for 3 hours is pretty good, and the beam is nice and floody, but with little throw.

In this price range, there are also a few off-brand AAA flashlights that provide higher output (with less run time, of course), such as the UltraFire A3, UltraFire WF-602C, and Akoray K-103 (all single mode).

 

[fyrstormer]

The only 1xAAA lights I really like are the old Arc AAA, the new Fenix E05, and the McGizmo Sapphire. The 1xAAA form factor does not lend itself to accommodating complex, high-quality electronics, because the battery is so narrow, so it's very hard to make circuit boards that small with any room for complex electronics. Considering that, the best 1xAAA lights are the ones that don't attempt to do anything fancy. The most affordable one right now is the Fenix E05 -- one mode, usable within a range of 10 feet or so, lightweight, and long runtime.

 

[GaAslamp]

The 1xAAA form factor does not lend itself to accommodating complex, high-quality electronics, because the battery is so narrow, so it's very hard to make circuit boards that small with any room for complex electronics.

That's all true, although the Klarus Mi10 (essentially the same as the discontinued 4Sevens Preon ReVO?) and Mi X6 (very similar) seem pretty impressive. I would have suggested the Mi10 for the OP, but it's nearly $40 (the Mi X6 is at least $10 more). Unless somebody has something bad to say about them from experience, these appear to be the "best" non-custom, fairly affordable 1xAAA flashlights currently. I'm tempted to buy one myself despite the fact that I don't really need such a fancy AAA flashlight (since I carry a bigger flashlight, otherwise I would have bought one already).

The most affordable one right now is the Fenix E05 -- one mode, usable within a range of 10 feet or so, lightweight, and long runtime.

I like the E05, too. It's not versatile in the sense that you could use it for virtually anything, but it's very practical for what it does, all the same. Within its limitations, it's the best there is for the price, certainly. Most people don't need more runtime or output than it offers most of the time, which makes it a great gift for non-enthusiasts, too, and it has far superior beam quality than 5mm LED-based flashlights. Runtime is about 2 hours on an alkaline cell, 3 hours on an 800 mAh NiMH cell, and close to 5 hours on an L92 lithium AAA cell (I have an E05+L92 in my backup EDC rotation)--that's for full and very flat and level regulation only (it'll run for a while longer with declining output).

 

[Max]

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Thrunite Ti looks interesting. Didn't know about that one before. Can you see with 0.04 lumens? (I saw the 3 lumen one too)

Thanks for the pointers on the cheaper lights. It's hard to pick out of those that are good values.

 

[GaAslamp]

Thrunite Ti looks interesting. Didn't know about that one before. Can you see with 0.04 lumens? (I saw the 3 lumen one too)

Sure, 0.04 lumens is usable if it's dark enough and if whatever you're doing is close enough. I've used even less light than that while doing amateur astronomy, and with the 0.3 lumen mode on my EDC flashlight I can see clear across a sizable room when it's really dark (well enough to navigate and recognize large objects). On the other hand, unless you're going for maximum runtime or need to preserve every last bit of your dark adaptation, 3 lumens is more versatile--that's how much I use most of the time for flashlight-related tasks, anyway.

 

[FlashKat]

I just got my 2 Thrunite TI's with the 3 lumen low & 60 lumen high. For me the 3 lumen low is perfect all around to use when you just need a little light, then when you really need more light the 60 lumen is bright enough to see things with detail. Buy it!!!!!! Very well made!!!!!! Worth it!!!!
Plus even with shipping it is still under $20.00

 

[Fallingwater]

Olight i3?

It's a slight bit over-budget at $27 (shipped), but:
70 lumens on high
3 modes
would probably run well on an alkaline if you stuck to medium mode, which is still a respectable 20 lumens (and would still give you a higher mode in an emergency)
fairly smooth beam
you can also unscrew the clip to make it perfectly pocketable.

Not sure about quality as I don't own one (this might change soon), but from what I've heard Olights should be pretty good.

 

[Jrubin]

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Thrunite Ti looks interesting. Didn't know about that one before. Can you see with 0.04 lumens? (I saw the 3 lumen one too)

Thanks for the pointers on the cheaper lights. It's hard to pick out of those that are good values.

I have the Ti next to my bed. With night adjusted eyes, I can see clearly 15 to 20 feet. It seems bright at dead darkness. But it won't wake up the grandkids at night checking on them while sleeping. To me it's very useful

 

[GaAslamp]

Olight i3?

I recently recommended the Olight i3 to somebody else on this forum, as a matter of fact, but the reason I did not do so in this thread is that it's an updated version of the iTP A3 EOS, which in turn is basically the same flashlight as the Maratac AAA that the OP is trying to replace expressly because of its use of PWM (all three use PWM). Looking deeper into this subject, however, it seems that at some point the A3 EOS was upgraded to a much higher PWM frequency of 2.4 kHz (about 12 times higher than before), which has been carried over to the i3. But even so, there are still questions and potential issues. For example, what if the OP has a Maratac that was similarly upgraded (I don't know whether they were), but the PWM is still bothersome? Despite what some claim, it's detectable in specular reflections even at 2.4 kHz depending on how you move your eyes and how sensitive you are. And even if the OP's Maratac uses the lower frequency, there is still no guarantee that the i3's PWM will be undetectable. If the OP could try it out in person first, that would be ideal, but if not then I think it's a big risk to purchase the i3 knowing that it uses PWM...that is, unless the OP somehow knows that 2.4 kHz PWM is good enough.

 

[Muddquez]

I've found the Thrunite Ti (Firefly) to be the most useful light that I own. I carry it with me daily and use both modes equally. I mainly purchase this light to see if the ultra low level was as useful as some people claim and now I just can't stop using it.

 

[Paul_in_Maryland]

3 weeks ago, I ordered three Thrunite Ti lights from SBflashlights.com. Their website listed only the version with the firefly mode. But when the lights arrived, a "3lm" sticker had been applied over the box's low-mode description. I'm glad; I think most folks will find 3 lumens more useful than a fraction of 1 lumen.

 

[Max]

For example, what if the OP has a Maratac that was similarly upgraded (I don't know whether they were), but the PWM is still bothersome?

Thanks. My Maratac is not upgraded, so has a PWM frequency of about 100Hz, I believe. I'm keeping the upgraded iTP A3 EOS on my list because the frequency is now so much higher.

 

[moshow9]

Another vote for the Thrunite Ti here. I keep the firefly version at my bedside and with me as a backup in my jacket pocket, and the 3lm-low version on my keychain. As Jrubin said, with night adapted vision the firefly low is plenty bright (I actually find it too bright sometimes). I think both versions are useful and the option is there for those that might prefer a higher low over the firefly model (or vice versa ).

 

[Fallingwater]

If the i3 was upgraded to a point where PWM is no longer an issue, I'd say go for that. I've found one on eBay for $21 shipped, which essentially brings it inside the allotted budget too.

 

[slumber]

If you're willing to go single mode, look at the Streamlight Microstream. 28 lumens and it's under $20. I've had mine for over a year and it's very reliable.