I wont get into all the reasons I hate 123s.

So, Does there exist an AA light that is reasonably priced?
I dont need it  bright enough to set trees on fire at 100yds.
Its actually going on my s&w mp 15 22.  Armadillos and what not.


Thoughts?

Buy some rechargeable 123's and a charger.

How big of a light?



I have some 500+ lumen flashlights that are the size of a 2-D cell maglite (or so), they use 6 AA cells.  Walmart has a good selection.



If you want something smaller, weapon-attachable size, then I got nuttin.

Fenix has some AA powered handhelds that could be placed in a mount. Switch is on the side of the  light body though.

I think the main problems with AA batteries and the lights that they power comes down to energy capacity and density, a representative example can be seen in the Surefire E series lights. You can get an E1D that puts out 300 lumens and is only 4.25" long thanks to it running on a single CR123, or there is the E2D which gives you 500 lumens from a pair of CR123's at 5.6" long, finally there is the E2L AA which can offer 115 lumens from a pair of AA batteries but is 6.8" long. Of course this isn't a perfect example because, among other reasons, the AA powered light doesn't draw nearly as much power from its batteries as the other two lights in order to offer a substantially longer runtime by design.

When comparing the batteries against each other though, the same issues seem to generally follow the example above. For instance at a 1 amp draw (which I think is a good benchmark for this application,) we see that:
A good rechargeable AA battery (in this case a Sanyo Eneloop) offers ~2.29Wh of energy giving you roughly  0.289Wh per cubic centimeter, compared to a CR123 (which is 2mm larger in diameter but 16mm shorter than a AA,) which gives ~3.18Wh for 0.442Wh per cubic centimeter. An alkaline AA by the way, only offers 0.145Wh per cubic centimeter. At the same current draw however, the newest 18650 lithium ion batteries manage just over 11.7Wh for an energy density of 0.628Wh per cubic centimeter.

tl;dr - get a single mode flashlight that runs on an 18650.

Most single AA lights only put out 150ish lumens, because that's about all a AA can support. Most LED's need at least 2.5V to light, that's roughly twice the voltage of a AA under load. So in order to supply the emitter with an amp of power, the driver has to draw 2 amps off the AA and turn current into voltage, invariably losing some energy in the process. This is why CR123's are so popular, because they have much more energy density than even a lithium AA.

Now, is it cost? Because you can get CR123's for $1 each at Battery Junction and they're about as good as the Surefire-branded cells. You could also use a 16340 rechargable battery, also commonly called a RCR123, which have an under-load voltage of 3.7v. mtnelectronics.com sell protected xtar 16340's that work pretty well, but having only 450-500mAh they're about half as energy-dense as a lithium primary cell.

Wrong thread

I have two of these. I've been happy with them

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004IKTKDG/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Surefire 9P
Malkoff M31
Oveready Delrin AA battery sleeve

Guaranteed to be the most expensive (and most bulletproof) AA light you'll ever own

I bought a Brinkman LED at Wal-Mart. Don't know the model, but you can look at the lumens and range on the packaging. Some will require a bicycle innertube to adapt it to a 1" scope ring. Mine's bright enough for backyard varmiting.

http://www.surefire.com/e2laa-a-outdoorsman.html
+
http://www.surefire.com/parts-accessories/led-conversions/ke1a.html

Keep in mind, Unless you run Lithium AA's, standard AA's work like poo in colder climates...
And they just don't produce the juice to power a light for long... since your in LA, that should not be an issue...

You can also get a light that runs CR123's and rechargeable 18650's. So your not buying CR123's all the time.

The light I bought, with regular batteries, I got it 6 months ago when I started graveyard shift. Those batteries lasted almost 6 months. Not continuios, of course, but for regular use, turning it on for a few seconds at a time or whatever.

Honestly, both of the 2 out of the 3 fenix lights that I have owned have just died on me spontaneously. They were both PD30s and just decided one day to stop working.

As for a AA light to mount on a firearm, I've heard good things about OLight

I own both, and I just am not impressed with the build quality of the Olight I own in comparison to the same size Fenix. YMMV

+1

OP, what are some of the reasons you don't like the 123's?

I, personally, would rather EVERYTHING go CR123..at .99 or less /ea, they are wonderful.

Weapon stuff, lights, etc..

I would take a look at PowerTac brand lights.

PowerTacUSA

They are somewhat newer to the game.  But, I have generally switched over all of my lights to their brand.  Most of their lights ARE imported.  HOWEVER, this is nothing different than any other brand besides Surefire.  I personally use the E5 model with a single 18650 battery for my Mossberg 590.  It is rated at 950 lumens with a throw of over 250 meters with a fully charged 18650.  It weighs less than 69 grams (w/o battery).  It replaced a 4Sevens Maelstrom MMX that weighed more than double that amount with only 600 lumens output.

Check out this video of the PowerTac Warrior model being "torture tested":  PowerTac Warrior Torture Test

I realize that the OP was interested in AA powered lights.  I am just not sure, from my personal experience, that AA powered lights would provide the capability needed in a weapon light (you are obviously putting the light on a weapon in hopes of seeing what you are shooting at in low-light or no-light situations) AND I am unsure that AA powered lights would withstand the abuse of the recoil from anything more than a .22 caliber rifle.  AA powered lights usually do not have the shock-isolation systems (dual springs, constant circuit connection insured, etc.) that CR123 and 18650 powered lights have.

McClicky switch on Solarforce L2m with extension to use two AA.
There are a couple guys on CPF Marketplace that will make a low power dropin that uses two AAs that may save you a few bucks over Malkoff or be able to make it a little more specialized.
Less efficient XRE or XPE LEDs have higher surface temp on smaller LED which gives more throw all else being equal with reflector size/driver output etc.

It looks like Surefire is out with an AA powered weapon light, the M600AA.

look over surefires 2015 offers they have aa & aaa coming out.  

the stream light aa bats are great handhelds but impossible to mount on a rail

for a real handheld aa bat see walmart

Only thing I don't like about AA batteries is that they tend to corrode and leave this white powdery mess in devices.  It may just be that it would happen more here in Hawaii than the mainland US due to humidity, I don't know, but I will not buy a weapon light that takes AA batteries.

Actually, convert to LED if you are still running an incandescent buld and then switch to rechargeables.

This!

We need a Flashlight Forum here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


OP, I'm actually very interested in why you don't like CR123s.  Do tell!

I'm running this light now:
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_20/664090_Any_reviews_of_BLACKHAWK_Night_Ops_Legacy_Tactical_Handheld_Light_L_2A2.html
Pretty sweet. Got 2 at $20ea. from PSA. Kinda wish I had bought more, but money is tight ATM.