EDC AA/14500 Light?

tocirahl · Apr 16, 2017

Looking for an AA EDC. I used to / still carry an SC63w, but I was hoping to find something a little lighter and smaller.

Requirements:

Floody
Neutral CCT
Non-twisty (side-switch or tail-switch ok)
Lighter than 70g with battery
Moonlight / Low mode (<= 1 lm), Medium mode (~100 lm), High mode (200 ~ 300+ lm)

Would really like:

Decent CRI
Accepts 14500
No PWM
Under $50

I've looked into the following flashlights:

Manker E11 Neutral - very close to what I want, but I hear the interface is less than ideal. Also hear that the light is prone to come on in the pocket.
ZL SC52Fw - looks pretty good but is a bit thicker than I'd ideally want
ZL SC5d Mk II - too heavy and very thick, but pretty much everything else is good
Thrunite T10 - no shortcut to low, poor mode spacing on 14500

If you have any suggestions in other battery sizes that still have decent battery life at ~100 lumens, and aren't too thick, I'd be open to that as well!

Let me know if you guys have any suggestions!

AVService · Apr 16, 2017

SC52 all the way,it is not too thick in person!

LetThereBeLight! · Apr 16, 2017

Klarus Mi7

Timothybil · Apr 17, 2017

It has high frequency PWM, so I don't know if it would be acceptable to you, but the Nitecore EA11 is a very nice EDC light. It will run on either a normal AA cell (alkaline, lithium primary, NiMH) or a 14500 Li-Ion cell. Using the 14500 it meets your lumens requirements, is rated at 190m max throw. It has a secondary red LED as well, so adds those features. It is a side switch that fits very comfortably in one's hand. It has a nice clip, so would work clipped to a pocket, as well as dropped into a jacket or coat pocket. It comes with the standard Nitecore nylon holster, which is very well build. It will slide onto a belt, has a Velcro strap for temporary use with a belt or on a MOLLE harness. The only drawback it has for me is that it has a relatively high parasitic drain, but that is easy to counter with a simple quarter twist of the tail cap. It sounds worse than it is. It is very easy to get in the habit of tightening or loosening the tail cap as needed. Best of all, with some judicious shopping it will be within your budget.

tocirahl · Apr 17, 2017

AVService said:
SC52 all the way,it is not too thick in person!

Thanks!

LetThereBeLight! said:
Klarus Mi7

Seems to me that the Mi7 is basically just a throwier version of the E11 with no option for a neutral tint, so I'm going to have to pass. Thanks though!

Timothybil said:
It has high frequency PWM, so I don't know if it would be acceptable to you, but the Nitecore EA11 is a very nice EDC light. It will run on either a normal AA cell (alkaline, lithium primary, NiMH) or a 14500 Li-Ion cell. Using the 14500 it meets your lumens requirements, is rated at 190m max throw. It has a secondary red LED as well, so adds those features. It is a side switch that fits very comfortably in one's hand. It has a nice clip, so would work clipped to a pocket, as well as dropped into a jacket or coat pocket. It comes with the standard Nitecore nylon holster, which is very well build. It will slide onto a belt, has a Velcro strap for temporary use with a belt or on a MOLLE harness. The only drawback it has for me is that it has a relatively high parasitic drain, but that is easy to counter with a simple quarter twist of the tail cap. It sounds worse than it is. It is very easy to get in the habit of tightening or loosening the tail cap as needed. Best of all, with some judicious shopping it will be within your budget.

The EA11 is way to large for me. It's larger and heavier than the ZL SC63w, while having a lower brightness and significantly less run time.

cyclesport · Apr 17, 2017

For me, the SC62/62w series of ZL's are a little too large to EDC as well. As a result my favorite AA EDC lights are the ZL SC52w (now the L2) and the Manker E11 in neutral...in that order. IMO the ZL is a superior light in design (button is shielded by a shroud to avoid accidental activation), and I like, or perhaps am more accustomed to ZL's UI. The Manker E11 has really grown on me though *(even though the UI is counter-intuitive if one is used to ZL's UI).

The Manker does activate in pocket if the cap isn't unscrewed 1/4 turn and it's a cooler neutral than most ZL warm tints at around 5K, but it's a very floody beam making it great for inside use. The E11 has 4 readily accessible modes w/good spacing, and best of all, it is extremely bright on an Eneloop (it's actually one of the few lights that I don't use a Li-ion with since it's really unnecessary)! I like it so much I now own 4 of them.

EDC AA/14500 Light?

tocirahl

Newly Enlightened

AVService

Flashlight Enthusiast

LetThereBeLight!

Enlightened

Timothybil

Flashlight Enthusiast

tocirahl

Newly Enlightened

cyclesport

Enlightened

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