# Smallest single-AAA with clicky switch?



## jk037 (Sep 23, 2010)

My girlfriend has mentioned that she's like a little torch to put on her keyring. Immediately I whipped out my small selection of AAA lights and said she could take any of them... however...


The iTP A3 was ruled out because she doesn't like the "twisty" switch 
The Black Cat HM-01 was ruled out for being bigger than the A3 (82mm as opposed to 67mm).
The Trustfire XP-EF23 was ruled out for being bigger than the Black Cat, plus she hates the flashing modes (understandably) - just a "low" and "high" would be plenty, or failing that a single mode.
Nearest I've spotted to her ideal of tiny, clicky and single-mode is the Tank007 TK-701, which is 70mm long according to the manufacturers' description. However, it looks to have a pretty heavy current drain for an AAA cell, and as she'll most likely end up feeding it alkalines this could be an issue.

Does anyone know of an alternative that's better than the TK-701? The criteria are:

*Single-AAA format*
*As small as possible*
*Clicky switch*
*Able to attach to keychain*
Preferably single- or 2-mode
Moderate output, say 20 to 60 lumens (i.e. "real" power LEDs, no 5mm's)
Decent runtime, say an hour or more on alkaline
If it comes in a nice bright girl-friendly colour, so much the better! 
(The items in *bold* are essential; the others are preferred but not strict requirements)

I'd like to keep the cost down to around $25; apart from anything else, at the current exchange rate anything over about $28 will be over the UK Customs threshold meaning I'll get stung for a further £12 or so in taxes and "handling fees"! :hairpull:


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## scott2907 (Sep 23, 2010)

jk037 said:


> and said she could take any of them...



Dude NO!


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## mcnair55 (Sep 23, 2010)

Look in the market place you may get something in there that would suit,a second hand 4sevens light with the clicky option.

My 23 year old daughter loans my Led Lenser K3 clicky when she goes out clubbing with her mates,snag is it is a button cell but she prefers the small size for her house keys in her purse.


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## jk037 (Sep 23, 2010)

scott2907 said:


> Dude NO!


 
:laughing: I can see your point, but...

... I'd then have an excuse to buy more lights as replacements! :naughty::twothumbs


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## EZO (Sep 23, 2010)

Your girlfriend sounds pretty fussy for a non "flashaholic" type. Are you sure she doesn't have a secret membership with CPF?

I've been on a similar quest for a AAA clicky and own some of the same lights as you. Certainly, the Black Cat and Tank offerings deserve more credit than they get, especially for what they cost. You know, I'm quite sure your girlfriend would enjoy a nice Preon I with the tail clicky add-on but of course, that shoots your budget I guess. I was hoping the new Tiablo E3A might be worth purchasing but so far it seems like a no go for several reasons, and it too would blow your budget. How about a Litelux? It's expensive, but, hey, how much do you really love this girl? I mean, you've already offered to let her choose one of your precious lights, right?

I think if you show your girlfriend how to work a one hand twisty operation of the different modes on a ITP A3 EOS she might reconsider, eh?. Get her a blue one and see what happens. The ITP A3 EOS is rather impressive all in all, Twist and Shout as I like to call it.


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## Brian10962001 (Sep 24, 2010)

I bought a cheapo $1.00 "3W police" light from eBay. It's a single AA has an ugly bezel and a single mode tail switch. It also has a cool key chain lanyard with a cool quick clip. My g/f couldn't be more happy with this little thing. It's hooped around the handle of her purse so she can get to it easy. It's pretty long really, about 4in or so but it's very thin and she likes it quite a bit.


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## Zeruel (Sep 24, 2010)

If having the smallest size with clicky is the most important, nothing beats TANK007 AFAIK.


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## sol-leks (Sep 24, 2010)

I don't know the measurements, but the MXDL AAA clicky they sell on ebay is really sweet, amazingly so for about 2.25 shipped. The seller is autoshop 8810. It puts out a nice floody 25-30 lumens with a respectable cool white tint. Comes with a really nice clip.

EDIT: Actually, probably not what you want. I measured it. and it's actually around 3.75 inches....


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## Paul_in_Maryland (Sep 24, 2010)

Zeruel said:


> If having the smallest size with clicky is the most important, nothing beats TANK007 AFAIK.



Which model(s)?


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## Zeruel (Sep 24, 2010)

TANK007 TK-701.
2.95" (L)


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## Kindle (Sep 24, 2010)

jk037 said:


> Nearest I've spotted to her ideal of tiny, clicky and single-mode is the Tank007 TK-701, which is 70mm long according to the manufacturers' description.





Zeruel said:


> TANK007 TK-701.
> 2.95" (L)



I was going to point that out. All of the retailers list the TK-701 as being 2.95" in length which is 75mm.

I have the TK-703 which is (correctly) listed as 3.15"/80mm by both Tank007 & the resellers.

Obviously there is a disconnect between the manufacturer & the resellers on the TK-701's length so you might want to double check with someone who owns one to find out which measurement is correct.


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## jk037 (Sep 24, 2010)

Kindle said:


> I was going to point that out. All of the retailers list the TK-701 as being 2.95" in length which is 75mm.
> 
> I have the TK-703 which is (correctly) listed as 3.15"/80mm by both Tank007 & the resellers.
> 
> Obviously there is a disconnect between the manufacturer & the resellers on the TK-701's length so you might want to double check with someone who owns one to find out which measurement is correct.


 
Yeah, I noticed that too - DX list it as 75mm rather than the 70mm quoted by TANK007's own site.

Can't decide who I trust more (or should that be distrust less?!): a little-known Chinese flashlight manufacturer, or an only-slightly-better-known Chinese discount emporium nororious for "exaggerated" product specs!

EZO: My girlfriend, fussy? ... you must have met her!  

The first light I offered her was my A3 EOS - along the lines of "you take this for now and I'll order you your very own in red or that purply-pink colour". But she really wouldn't go for the twisty - she wants to be able to take it out of her pocket and switch it on easily with one hand while, for example, unlocking her car door with the other.

The other snag is that if I bought her a really nice light, she'd be reluctant to carry it and use it in case it got lost/broken! Which rules out some interesting options such as the Preon 1. 

She also wants it to run on ordinary alkaline AAAs as she already buys these for her MP3 player and they're much more cost-effective than button cells.

Sooooo... on current form the little Tank007 TK-701 is still looking favourite. The only off-putting feature is that power-hungry SSC emitter. I've spotted some TK-701s listed on fleabay with "Q5 CREE LED" emitters, which bizarrely are 80mm long as opposed to the 70 or 75mm for the SSC variants (and of course will achieve nowhere remotely close to the "200 lumens" claim).


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## jk037 (Sep 24, 2010)

Just seen the world's silliest tailcap design: have a look on DX at SKU44167, particularly the tailcap... with a "normal" flat tailap design, that light could be about 15mm smaller and hence of interest to me


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## Sprinkles (Sep 24, 2010)

Zeruel said:


> If having the smallest size with clicky is the most important, nothing beats TANK007 AFAIK.



I'll second this. It's the light my wife uses....and it's freaking bright for a little thing!! The clicky is really easy to hear too, letting her know it was properly engaged. Also, the anodizing isn't half bad either. It's managed to survive so far. Besides - it's only like $9.


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## Kindle (Sep 24, 2010)

jk037 said:


> Just seen the world's silliest tailcap design: have a look on DX at SKU44167, particularly the tailcap... with a "normal" flat tailap design, that light could be about 15mm smaller and hence of interest to me



That's the same style tailcap that the Tank E08 has. 

In some ways it would almost be ideal to me. It's a clicky (yay!) and still features a strong central attachment point. 

The main problem with hanging a clicky off your keychain is that you're usually limited to mounting it off centered via a couple of tiny holes drilled in the edge of the tailcap.

I'm not a big fan of that.


FWIW I'm guessing the primary reason for the difference in length between the 703 & 701 is the depth of the reflector.

If the 701 is anything like the E06 (also a P4) it's very shallow whereas the ones using a Cree (703) have a much deeper reflector.

When I get home tonight I'll remove the extension tube from the E06 and see how long it is in the 1xaaa format.



jk037 said:


> I've spotted some TK-701s listed on fleabay with "Q5 CREE LED" emitters, which bizarrely are 80mm long as opposed to the 70 or 75mm for the SSC variants (and of course will achieve nowhere remotely close to the "200 lumens" claim).



They're probably mislabeled 703s.


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## jk037 (Sep 24, 2010)

Sprinkles said:


> I'll second this. It's the light my wife uses....and it's freaking bright for a little thing!! The clicky is really easy to hear too, letting her know it was properly engaged. Also, the anodizing isn't half bad either. It's managed to survive so far. Besides - it's only like $9.


 
How does she find it in terms of runtime? My reservation with this light is that it draws quite a lot of current although my girlfriend will mainly be using it in short bursts rather than for extended periods.


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## march.brown (Sep 24, 2010)

Clickies switch on all by themselves , but twisties don't ... If you ask around , I'm sure you will find another nice girl who likes ITP torches ... Why settle for less !
.


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## Kindle (Sep 24, 2010)

march.brown said:


> If you ask around , I'm sure you will find another nice girl



Well that's certainly one solution to the problem! lol

lovecpf


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## jk037 (Sep 24, 2010)

march.brown said:


> ... I'm sure you will find another nice girl who likes ITP torches ... Why settle for less !
> .


 
:lolsign: That would probably be a world first... "My boyfriend dumped me because of my taste on switches on flashlights!"


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## Rjkpsmith (Sep 24, 2010)

Try the Streamlight Microstream... Around $15 + shipping at most stores. It has a forward clicky, which many budget AAA lights don't have. The output is rated at 20 lumens for 1.5 hours... It is a great little light and it throws pretty well for its size.
It also has a pocket clip which is very well made, which is another thing that a lot of budget AAA lights don't have. The only drawback might be that it is a little long...


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## Kindle (Sep 24, 2010)

The Microstream is a great little light but it's a bit longer than the OP is looking for. It's around 3 1/2" rather than the <3" he's looking for. Also the only way to mount it to a keychain would be through the ring on the clip which isn't optimal.


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## boondongle (Sep 24, 2010)

jk037 said:


> Just seen the world's silliest tailcap design: have a look on DX at SKU44167, particularly the tailcap... with a "normal" flat tailap design, that light could be about 15mm smaller and hence of interest to me



It's not silly, it's just not suited to everyone's needs. If you just want a small light to clip on a belt loop or purse handle, it's perfect. I own one and haven't had any problems.


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## Rusty Shackleford (Sep 24, 2010)

I like the Black Cat and the Tank E08 or clone.


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## Kindle (Sep 25, 2010)

Kindle said:


> FWIW I'm guessing the primary reason for the difference in length between the 703 & 701 is the depth of the reflector.
> 
> If the 701 is anything like the E06 (also a P4) it's very shallow whereas the ones using a Cree (703) have a much deeper reflector.
> 
> When I get home tonight I'll remove the extension tube from the E06 and see how long it is in the 1xaaa format.



The E06 with a single battery is exactly 3" long (76.2mm).

My 703s are 3 1/8" long (79.375mm).

The difference in length is all in the head. The body tubes are the same and the clicky tailcaps are the same length (although a slightly different design...ie the E06 has an integrated clip). The different in overall length is all due to the head.

If I were to hazard a guess...it would be that the 701 is closer to the 75mm listed by DX rather than the 70mm listed by the manufacturer.


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## jk037 (Sep 25, 2010)

Given the limitations of the lights currently available I asked my lady if she would rather compromise on size or on battery life and she says she would rather have a slightly larger torch than one that will eat Duracells.

So based on that, there's a new favourite - the Black Cat HM-01. I already have one of these and have established that it will produce a and reasonably consistent level of brightness for around an hour on a NiMh AAA; based on the relative discharge characteristics I'd expect it to go for longer, albeit at lower and less consistent ouput, on a decent alkaline cell.

Will give her my HM-01 today and see how she gets on with it


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## EZO (Sep 25, 2010)

I rotate the use of several key chain flashlights with a Black Cat being one of them (small split ring through one of the lanyard holes works great for key chain carry). For the moment the two others I use are an ITP A3 and a Quark mini CR2. Each light offers things that I enjoy about using them but for some reason it's the Black Cat I keep reaching for. It has remarkable throw for a light like this, has been amazingly durable and there's just something about that clicky; it really is the UI of choice. And because it only cost 8 bucks I just never worry about it like I do with more expensive lights. Even though it's probably the cheapest light I own and has some drawbacks its one of my favorites for it's given purpose.


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## EZO (Sep 25, 2010)

Anybody familiar with or own a Lions AAA S-A7? (42670 at DX) Black Cat sibling?
XP-E Q4 81.78mm x 14.02mm. Takes a 10440! I believe this is manufactured by Tank007.

Edit: Poster at DX claims emitter is XP-C Q3, not XP-E Q4. Also, "Output on one AAA is definitely brighter than BlackCat. Output on 10440 is MUCH brighter"


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## coyote (Oct 7, 2010)

i'm into the same thing and been thru quite a few of these cheapies. 

my pick is the TANK007 TK-701.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.18630

its smaller than the 703 and a better light than the black-cat.

i have a bunch of them. why? 1xAAA, clickie, small, bright enough, smooth fairly wide beam with nice hot spot, and around $8 

all they need is some textured stair tape (aka skateboard tape) added to the tiny button so you can feel which-end-is-which (so you don't accidentally press to hard on the lens).


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