Looking for a rugged, ipx7 water resistant flashlight I can use on my camping trips. Nothing too pricey and a simple on/off switch would be ideal.
Thanks in advance
3xAA is pretty specific and cuts out a lot of options. Any particular reason why you would want a 3xAA flashlight?
Lights that run off of 3 AA or AAA cells are usually cheap direct drive lights whose brightness drops with the Voltage. These lights usually depend on a battery carrier of some sort, which is just another component that can fail or get lost.
For a survival light I would recommend something that is regulated and runs on 1 cell (it's a lot easier to scrounge up 1 cell than 3). Specifically, I would suggest the Streamlight 1L-1 AA which will run on either a single AA cell or a CR123 and even AAA's will work all without any parts to switch out or reconfigure. Cheap carbon Zinc AAs and AAA's (which is the type of cells you are likely to find in remote parts of the third world) will work in this light, although output and runtime will be less than Alkalines or NIHM's. Energizer L91 ultimate lithium batteries work great in this light and may be the best choice for a survival light due to their long run times, light weight, long storage life, and ability to work in extreme high and low temperatures.
My issue with the 1L-1AA is that its "low" mode is 40L. If I'm in a situation where I'm scavenging batteries to get by, then I want a light with a true low mode so that I can get as much run time as possible out of my scavenged cells. If it had a 5L low mode, I'd be much happier with it.
--flatline