Why i favour AAA/AA!!

[wjv]

I've never understood why people claim they like CR123 because it lasts so long. Sure, it may have twice the energy of an Eneloop AA, but unless you throw it away after every use and always use a fresh battery, chances are it's going to be significantly depleted when you need to use your flashlight for awhile. So the greater initial energy is completely negated by the fact that I always have a freshly recharged Eneloop in my lights. If you use a rechargeable CR123, then it has less energy than an Eneloop, so there's no benefit there (other than higher voltage, which you can get from a 14500 if you need it).

CR123 just seems like a money-waster to me.

So you don't carry any spare batteries with you?

 

[Dave D]

UK retailer CR123 Lithium Camera 3V Battery 1 Pack....£8.49

I found a UK retailer selling 12 x Surefire CR123's for £27.49 including delivery, equivalent to £2.29 per battery.

I'm restricting my collecting to rechargeable battery sizes, AAA & AA Eneloops, 14500, RCR123 and 18650 Lithiums.

 

[mcnair55]

I found a UK retailer selling 12 x Surefire CR123's for £27.49 including delivery, equivalent to £2.29 per battery.

I'm restricting my collecting to rechargeable battery sizes, AAA & AA Eneloops, 14500, RCR123 and 18650 Lithiums.

Which shop will pop in and buy 1 till i get to my normal supply,just noticed you mean on line and that is expensive as i pay £18.50 with vat.

 

[Etsu]

So you don't carry any spare batteries with you?

No. I always make sure to use a fully-charged battery, if I'm going out with a light. In my favorite 2xAA format, that will last close to 24 hours on medium in one of my Quarks.

If camping, or going somewhere for several days, then yes I'll take along spares. That's about the only place where I can see CR123 having an advantage, albeit an expensive advantage that is infrequent, and probably unnecessary because you'd have to carry spare 123's as well.

 

[Seattle Sparky]

200 lumens for almost two hours is too short for an EDC light? Rechargeables will outlast alkalines by a long shot in all flashlights. Are you from 1950?

From my experience, the Eneloopes I got from Costco have to be changed at a double rate of non rechargeable Duracells.

 

[lunas]

i actually prefer lights that can handle multiple types of battery my ideal light would be able to use cr123, aaa, or 18650. I have a ozark trail all abs light that does 240 lumen uses 6 AA 3 in series with 2 stacks of 3.

 

[Etsu]

From my experience, the Eneloopes I got from Costco have to be changed at a double rate of non rechargeable Duracells.

That may be because the Duracells are unable to provide enough current to run the light on high for very long, so it steps down to a lower level which lasts much longer.

 

[ArmoredFiend]

I have been using AA since i got my 1st LED 10yrs ago....every device uses AA in a house..at least majority of them.

But the main factor is due to cost...where i stay, a normal Panasonic CR123 costs around USD3.30...while an AW RCR123 750mah costs USD8.50 each...

On top of that, i scatter my lights around the house in case any of my family members need them when i am not in the house in the event of a blackout. At least with AA, i have less worries about them dangerously over depleting the cells.

And finally, travelling. I backpack alot. Heck, jst got back from Iceland and Netherland a month ago. Went to Ice cave and Lava cave but unfortunately, both caves were pretty bright somehow. But that's not the point. Thing is...do you know how difficult it is to even locate a gas pump out there? Not to mention usually it's not manned. So when i did have the opportunity to pass by one that's manned with some accessories, it's no surprise that they only sell AA and AAA cells. You can bring a dozen 18650 or 2 dozens of Eneloops, but i find it more comfortable knowing i can get AAs easier than 18650 or CR123. Or maybe that's jst a false sense of security. Though i noticed flight nowadays prevent storage of li-ion together or as hand-carry. Didnt read fully when i saw those notices....so if someone could share, that would be nice.

Opps..missed out the LSD rate...i always have 8pcs of eneloopies hidden in the drawer for emergency use....no worry about them depleted when i needed most...

so that's why i still stick to AA for most cases....though i plan to get a 18650 x 2 or 3 or 4 lights like the TK75 for in-country use simply for the sake of the wow-factor...

 

[Poppy]

Just to be clear, the '13 and '14 D25As do retain distinct L/M/H levels on 14500s, but they all shift ~5x brighter than spec (I have a lightbox). Course, that's fine for many people, but I much prefer having my low lows. This is from ETs spec sheet:



Moonlight mode is not well regulated either - on all my versions, output drops by half to two-thirds, and with PWM-like behavior when <1.3v (typical Eneloop voltage). I really love its half-lumen moonlight mode, esp from the N219 version, but the only cell that can consistently produce it is an L91.

reppans,
Thank you so much for that clarification.

I had seen that misstatement before and wondered if it was accurate.

 

[wjv]

No. I always make sure to use a fully-charged battery, if I'm going out with a light. In my favorite 2xAA format, that will last close to 24 hours on medium in one of my Quarks.

I rather wear my enloops down, but carry 2-4 spares with me in a small battery carry case.

My edc is the EagleTec D25A clicky in NA so it only takes 1 AA cell.

My first couple of lights were AA, but then I went to CR123 and 18650 lights. Now the last 4-5 or so lights I have purchased have all been AA formats

EagleTec D25A clicky
Nitecore Sens A2
Fenix LD22 (liked it so much I bought a second one. I have 2 daughters so they are the designated lights for them)
L3 Illumination L10 with a Nichia 219
ITP A2 EOS

The Fenix LD22 (2xAA) with a XP-G2 (R5)
3L - 150h / 50L - 14:30h / 105L - 6h / 215L - 2:30h

The EagleTac D25A Clicky (1xAA) with a XP-G2 R4 in NW
0.45L - 150h / 4L - 40h / 9L - 20h / 68 - 2.5h / 90 - 1:20h / 110 - 200 sec

The Nitecore Sens AA2 (2xAA) with a XP-G (R5)
20L - 29:30h / 50L - 8:45h / 170L - 2:25h

Either way that's pretty good performance from a small package.

 

[Poppy]

I've pretty much concluded that AA is the perfect EDC size, it's just a pity there aren't many really small lights that make full use of it, other than twisties which I find to be a pain. So far I have 3, which I believe are the only small AA clickies that exist:

• Eagletac D25A (I have the Ti version)
• Thrunite 10S
• Solarforce Z2

Every other AA light with a proper on/off switch is so big it might as well be a 2xCR123. In fact, the next smallest torch I have after these is the ITP A4 EOS, which is not much bigger and runs on 2xCR123. Of course, it's a twisty.

So, what's so great about them? Two things: Size and flexibility.

<BIG _ SNIP>

Robert.t
Very nicely written. :thumbsup:

"Every other AA light with a proper on/off switch is so big it might as well be a 2xCR123." Is my perception as well. And to go one step further, if you are going to carry a 2*CR123, you may as well carry a cigar shaped 18650 light.
Because I don't need a light for work, any AA light is too big for me to EDC so I opt for the DQG IV a particularly small AAA light.

If I were to go to a single AA light, there's a good chance it'd be the eagletac D25a

Can you verify that the d25a clicky, and mini are the same dimensions.

 

[Perfectionist]

I've always liked standard cells - and I have about a dozen of these to prove it!

 

[berry580]

I've never understood why people claim they like CR123 because it lasts so long. Sure, it may have twice the energy of an Eneloop AA, but unless you throw it away after every use and always use a fresh battery, chances are it's going to be significantly depleted when you need to use your flashlight for awhile. So the greater initial energy is completely negated by the fact that I always have a freshly recharged Eneloop in my lights. If you use a rechargeable CR123, then it has less energy than an Eneloop, so there's no benefit there (other than higher voltage, which you can get from a 14500 if you need it).

CR123 just seems like a money-waster to me.

Agreed, especially when it's so expensive retail. In Australia, it easily costs close to aud$10 if not more, which is roughly aud$10 depending on the volatile exchange rate.

IMO, CR123 is a legacy thing. Back in the days when li-ion technology is not mature and is expensive, high drainage electronic device that required high voltage in a small package, e.g. flashlights, cameras, flashguns, etc sees CR123s as the best solution even though they're expensive. Nowadays, li-ion should be mature enough to replace the CR123 and there should be little reason for a typical consume to not like it.

On the other hand however, CR123s can be purchased at a significant discount online compared to retail price. So if you're the type of guy who likes primaries and pay the recurring cost, you can stick with it for whatever reason. I'll stick with rechargeables (NiMH & li-ion)

 

[RetroTechie]

I'm restricting my collecting to rechargeable battery sizes, AAA & AA Eneloops, 14500, RCR123 and 18650 Lithiums.

Same here; I use primaries occasionally but that's the exception. So the price of primaries isn't much of a concern to me.

If you use a rechargeable CR123, then it has less energy than an Eneloop, so there's no benefit there (other than higher voltage, which you can get from a 14500 if you need it).

CR123 just seems like a money-waster to me.

RCR123's have relatively poor capacity compared to CR123A primaries. But it's not too bad in comparison with (for example) an Eneloop AA (~2 Wh vs. 2.5 Wh or so). But CR123's are also shorter than AA's (as are the lights they go in), and weigh less than AA sized NiMH's. Which makes the average CR123 light more pocketable than the average AA light.

Not that big a difference, but significant enough (for me) to pick one over the other depending on situation.

 

[Etsu]

But CR123's are also shorter than AA's (as are the lights they go in), and weigh less than AA sized NiMH's. Which makes the average CR123 light more pocketable than the average AA light.

Shorter, but also fatter. For my EDC, I don't mind the length of a AA, but anything fatter becomes uncomfortable. Actually, I prefer AAA for EDC, but I can handle AA in a small size like a L3 Illum L10, or a ZL SC52. My favorite hand-held format is 2xAA, like a 47s Quark, but it's not very pocketable for EDC.

 

[RetroTechie]

"Take in hand, filp around a bit" - That's my whole definition of "pocketable": AAA > CR123A > AA > 18650 / 2x AA.

Runtimes matter, but that's a 'separately measured attribute'.

 

[Pila]

I am using batteries professionally for 20+ years (journalist, photographer). With time, I decided that I do not care how much a battery lasts, but if I have a spare. I could not afford to not finish a job due to batteries (Camera, flash) or to get lost in the middle of nowhere (GPS). I use solely AA and AAA batteries, and to not even think about buying a device using another kind. I only have another battery in my pro camera and notebook (OK, in Cell phone also)..For over 20 years: only rechargable. Currently Eneloops. I cary spare in small plastic holster which acepty 2 or 4 AA/AAA cells. As for the light, I do not carry spares everyday, since I am a bit paranoid so I try to carry (an extra) AA light whenever I can, and leave my AAA light to be a backup since it is allways with me but is not the most often used one! I carry spares when traveling, working (carrying photo bag) and when going to longer trips, hikes, sails, night walks... In case of disaster: I can not only buy AA / AAA anywhere on the world, but can raid any apartment for them (remotes, weather stations, cordles phones, cappuchino makers...) I was never left in a dark in my life following this plan.