single AAA LED light

Hi all

This is my first post here... I am looking for a single AAA led light for EDC. The Arc AAA seems to be the consensus, but thought I would ask the experts about a few of the other options. For the same price, it seems the Arc is brighter and longer lasting than the Peak Matterhorns (except for the Ultra bright 3 LED one which has really short battery life.) Unless I want a colored LED there doesn't seem to be any advantage to the Peaks. According to their website, the Arc Premium is brighter than the standard Arc, but has the same battery time. Is this correct? If so, it makes it worth the extra $10.

I think I will go with the Arc Premium becuase overall it seems like the best value, but I though I would ask about the much cheaper Gerber Sonic - if it is really a great value maybe I will go with it instead. The older CMG version has been well reviewed. How does the Gerber version compare to the CMG one?

Will

First off, welcome to CPF!

I'll try to answer some of your questions. The Arc Premium is indeed the cutting edge right now due to the fact that it uses the Nichia CS LED. Nichia developed a way to get more light out of their LEDs (by using a transparent material that allowed more light to get through rather than an opaque one in the older units). This means that at the same current as the older models, the LED will give more light (approx 80% more). Nichia LEDs are also the most robust LED out their, meaning that they won't dim over time all that much, even if overdriven (the Arc AAA does overdrive the LED, meaning that it pushes it harder than factory spec). The only major disadvantage of the Nichia LED is that the tint tends to have an obvious blue hotspot surounded by a yellow/brown corona. The beam is bothersome to some people, but doesn't really impact the utility of the light. As you stated, the Arc is brighter for longer than the Peak because of a good regulation circuit.

The Peak lights main advantage is that they use a different LED (called Snow 29) that has a much cleaner, whiter tint. The brightness between this and the Arc are comprable (the Peak is perhaps a little less). The main problem is that to get this level of light, the Peak's LED must also be overdriven, and the snow LED is not nearly as durable;

*Edit: the graph by chimo shows that the LED hits 50% in about 100 hrs, not 20. I appologize to anyone if I caused some concern. Here's a new thread about the lifetime of these LEDs and and the graph I was looking for, with a link to the original test thread (thanks for finding this rdshores):

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=95693

This isn't such a big deal as these lights are mostly used for small bursts, and the Peak regulation isn't as flat- the light drops significantly after the first hour or two. Of course, this means that the light is much less bright throughout the course of the battery. A Peak light would probably be a better choice for reading, but not as good for general purposes.

In terms of build quality, I'd say the lights are about equal. Note that the Peaks are available imediately and are a bit cheaper ($30-$35 shipped vs $40 plus shipping). The Arcs are still on preorder so you'd have to wait.

The Sonic is OK. It will certainly do the job, but just isn't quite as nice in terms of build and regulation. Its a bit bigger as well and I personally find the tail activation annoying. If you find it cheap, you might as well check it out though. After all, the CPF motto is "buy them both." There isn't a huge difference between the CMG and Gerber versions of the Sonic (there is with the AA Infinity line) but you could find info by searching.

I'd also like to mention that probably the *best* value is the Dorcy AAA found at Walmart and Target. While its needlessly bigger than the other options and not nearly as well built, it has a momentary on button and does a surprisingly good job for only $6- check it out.

Whatever you go with, its sure to start the addiction, so watch on to your wallet!

Hope this helps,

Jon

I use Dorcy AAA with plenty useful light. Arc is my next AAA light but cost still high.

The only difference between the old CMG and the new Gerber Sonic is that the LED in the Gerber apparently protrudes slightly from the front of the light. I suppose this change gives it a bit more flood than before, but would expose the LED to possible damage and take away the old one's "covert" beam. The Sonic is probably more like the standard Arc in brightness, at least the old one is. For pocket carry I'd consider the Sonic to be third best in class behind the Arc and the Peak.

Geoff

Oh the much maligned poor ole' sonic :mecry: I actually like mine, I got one silver that is for some strange reason real bright, one sonic "G" HA-III version, and a black one that sucks.(all CMG)

I think being a southpaw i can actually use it easy and quick from my usual carry mode for 1xAAA light's, a dog tag chain around my neck.

I think the light would kill with a newer gen 5mm LED,, nichia CS, snow29, 35K (maybe?)
But dispite several kind CPF bros walking me through the mod short of coming over and showing me how I guess i am too scared to mess them up, being CMG's and one sorta rare mil spec version.

Man I do have an addiction to the little light's! ARCs, peaks, Sonics, dorcys, My personal solitaire mod's, etc.
I don't know if it's the lower cost, or the "cute pound puppy
of flashlights" thing, but I am always on the lookout for a new one.
None the less more then enough good ones out there! VDG

1 Vote for the Dorcy. Read my review here

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=1125876#post1125876

Will_ wrote: "I am looking for a single AAA led light for EDC. The Arc AAA seems to be the consensus, but thought I would ask the experts about a few of the other options."

First, welcome to CPF -

I'll agree with others in the recommendation of the Dorcy 1AAA (single LED) for less than $6 from a local WalMart. Here's a comparison review with a classic ArcAAA (2003)

Dorcy 1AAA #2 (vs ArcAAA vs Ultra-G vs Dorcy #1)

There is also a cheap Chinese "clone" of sorts that might be worth looking at - a comparison with the ArcAAA (2003) -

1LED 1xAAA "clone"?

and a lot of discussion -

1xAAA chinese e-bay light partII

A size comparison -


Lastly the standard CPF advice -
since both these lights are not very expensive - you can actually afford to
buy more than one flashlight!

I was in the same situation as you were, trying to decide between the Peak and The Arc Premium. I just put my order in for three Arc Premiums. After reading several post on Arc AAA flashlights, I'm sure I made the right choice for me. Now I just can't wait to get them.

Solstice said:

Nichia LEDs are also the most robust LED out their, meaning that they won't dim over time all that much, even if overdriven (the Arc AAA does overdrive the LED, meaning that it pushes it harder than factory spec). .........The brightness between this and the Arc are comprable (the Peak is perhaps a little less). The main problem is that to get this level of light, the Peak's LED must also be overdriven, and the snow LED is not nearly as durable; it will start to dim significantly in under 20 hours.
Jon

Click to expand...

Jon,

Just curious. Are you saying that there will be a noticable tint or dimming with the snows in under 20 hours? We're not talking about dimming due to battery drain but over driving?

If constantly driven at full brightess on a fresh battery, yes. A lithium battery will keep the light brighter for much longer but will also work the LED a lot harder. I'm trying to remember the post with the graph...?

*Edit: The various graphs and testing was done by chimo and the thread was found by rdshores. It shows the LEDs do start dimming at 40ma right away, but it takes much longer than I had recollected to reach 50%. I have the link to another thread listed above.

As an aside, what I'd personally like to see is an Arc that runs the Nichia CS at around 30 mA. I'm guessing the brightness would be on par with the old versions (which is good enough for me with this type of light), the runtime would kick a** (probably over 10 hours) and the LED lose virtually no brightness over time since it isn't really overdriven.

Gotta love CPF--do these guys rock or what?

I would add to tthe confusion by stating that all of the above appear to be great lights. I have an older Arc, and it is excellent. If you want the best, the new Arcs or Peaks would probably be fine.

For an inexpensive screamer, take a Dorcy AAA ($6), and transplant one of the new Nichia CS LED's ($1). You won't believe your eyes. It is as bright as most 3-LED lights.

The mod is pretty simple--only requiring very basic soldering skills (my soldering sucks, but I have made a bunch of these).

Bob

I wanted to bump this thread to appologize for my inaccurate memory in what the findings on the snow LEDs lifetime showed. I've edited my posts and included a link (which in turn has a link to the orginal thread) in my first post of this thread.

Thanks for the replies guys, and for explaing the difference in LEDs. It sounds like the Sonic is good enough for what I want, but I feel like spoiling myself with the Arc Premium anyway. The $40 isn't that much in the grand scheme of things, and as Vincent points out, I can buy more than one. I can always sell off what I don't want later. Next time I am at Walmart I will pick up a Docy also - I can try some mods on it.


Will

Will_ said:

Thanks for the replies guys, and for explaing the difference in LEDs. It sounds like the Sonic is good enough for what I want, but I feel like spoiling myself with the Arc Premium anyway.

Click to expand...

I have absolutely no regrets over having had to wait just over 6 weeks for my ARC Premium. It is everything I expected it to be, and well worth the wait. (In the mean time, as it happens, I also bought a Fenix L1P and now I EDC it and the ARC.)

I've beem meaning to pick up a couple of the Dorcy AAA lights. One to keep in the car, and another to mod (I have a few UV LEDs waiting for a light).

The Arc AAA and Fenix EDC combo is just about the best there is right now in my opinion. Wish I could have gone straight to these like you did- would have saved myself a lot of $$

The Dorcy is a good starter light. Available in Canada so no fighting with Canada Customs. It's the customs brokerage charges on top of the shipping and taxes that gets to me. $5 if shipped by post. More if by courier. I got a quote once $43 for UPS Global Express for a $15 item!!!
It is brighter than the basic Arc, Peak or Sonic. You need the Arc Premium or Peak 3LED to get more light.

You should be able to find them at Sears Canada. About C$13.

When I first started looking for them there were posts that London Drugs & Home hardware & Marks Work Warehouse had them but that was 2 year old info. I got my first 2 from Allbattery.ca in Vancouver but my link to the website is now dead.

Walmart Canada does not sell them. They are still carrying the (gasp) Solitaire.
I envy the Yanks who can get them for US$6 at Walmart USA.

Where can I purchase Nichia CS led's to upgrade a Dorcy light?

snowfam007 said:

Where can I purchase Nichia CS led's to upgrade a Dorcy light?

Click to expand...

Welcome to CPF
Grumpy does group buys for the Nichia CS led's.
Link in the group buy forum:
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=94487

Here are some links I found on modding the Dorcy:
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=76351
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=84291
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=84658

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=84660

Regarding the life of Peaks "snow" LEDs.

NONE of us run a light continuously for hours, or days at a time. Typical use of a few seconds, or minutes, would increase the life of the snows by a HUGE margin.

In this respect, I think the chart is very misleading.

No heat buildup, no (or very limited) degradation of the LED.

In real life, my "snow" LEDs will out live me.

JohnK said:

Regarding the life of Peaks "snow" LEDs.

NONE of us run a light continuously for hours, or days at a time. Typical use of a few seconds, or minutes, would increase the life of the snows by a HUGE margin.

In this respect, I think the chart is very misleading.

No heat buildup, no (or very limited) degradation of the LED.

In real life, my "snow" LEDs will out live me.

Click to expand...

The chart has to be taken/interpreted in context - hopefully most people will take the time to read the thread, rather than jump to any conclusions. There is also some discussion in the part 2 burn-in thread regarding the duty cycle of the LEDs as a factor of the LED's lifespan.

Now, I agree with you that for "typical" flashlight use, the LEDs would not suffer such rapid deterioration in light output, however, not all LEDs are destined for flashlights. Some people put these LEDs in devices with other applications such as a nightlight or some type of decorative lighting. For these purposes, I feel those charts could be very useful. The charts can also give people an idea of "safe" overdrive levels and form a basis for comparison between LEDs.

Paul